Yirrkala
Yirrkala Federal division(s) | Lingiari |
---|
Yirrkala is a small community in
In the 2016 census, Yirrkala had a population of 809 people.[3]
History
Mission
There has been an
Mission superintendents included founding superintendent Wilbur Chaseling, Harold Thornell, and Edgar Wells, who wrote about their experiences there. The residents were free to come and go as they wished, and the interaction was on the whole positive in those early days, with a lack of dogmatism by the missionaries, and the Yolngu people accommodating Christianity within a version of their own beliefs.[5]
MOM received a government subsidy to run the mission, and school classes operated from 1936, at first outdoors under a tree, and later beneath the Mission House. In 1951, a new school building was built, and, by 1952, it had 47 children regularly attending classes there, taught by a Miss Proctor. She was not a trained teacher, but had worked at the mission on
During World War II, a
Around 1974, control of the mission was passed to the Yirrkala Dhanbul Community Association, and it no longer was operated as a mission from that time.[4]
Land rights
Yirrkala played a pivotal role in the development of the relationship between
Outstation status
The settlement was funded as an outstation during the 1980s.[7]
At the 2021 census, Yirrkala had a population of 657.[8]
Governance and people
As of 2024 the
The
In the 2016 census, Yirrkala had a population of 809 people, of whom 83.1% identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.[3]
Culture
Yirrkala is home to a number of leading Indigenous artists, whose traditional
It is also a traditional home of the
Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre
The Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre, formerly Buku-Larrŋgay Arts and also known as the Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Art Centre and Museum, is a world-renowned centre, with well-known artists such as Nyapanyapa Yunupingu based there.[14] It is often referred to as Buku for short.[15][16]
The inspiration for the gallery arose in the 1960s, when Narritjin Maymuru set up his own gallery on the beachfront.[17]
In 1976 Buku-Larrŋgay Arts was established by local artists in the old Mission health centre, after missionaries had left and as the
In 1996, extra gallery spaces and a
The current centre, greatly expanded, comprises two divisions: the Yirrkala Art Centre, which represents the artists exhibiting and selling
There is a stage called the Roy Marika Stage at the centre, which is used for the annual Yarrapay Festival. In June 2021, the festival was directed by Witiyana Marika, and featured the Andrew Gurruwiwi Band, Yothu Yindi, Yirrmal, and East Journey.[20]
Artists, works and exhibitions
The historic
The National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne has been collecting bark paintings by Buku artists for over 20 years, which are included in its significant collection of work by Yolŋu women artists.[24]
Women artists who have worked at the centre include five sisters: Nancy Gaymala Yunupingu, Gulumbu Yunupingu, Barrupu Yunupingu, Nyapanyapa Yunupingu, and Eunice Djerrkngu Yunupingu; as well as Dhuwarrwarr Marika; Malaluba Gumana; Naminapu Maymuru-White; Nonggirrnga Marawili; and Dhambit Mununggurr; and Margaret Wirrpanda. Their work was included in a December 2021 – April 2022 exhibition at the NGV, called Bark Ladies: Eleven Artists from Yirrkala.[15][24][25]
Education
At Yirrkala School, formerly Yirrkala Community School, renamed Yirrkala Community Education Centre or Yirrkala CEC after it became a location of one of the trial Community Education Centres (CEC) in 1988,
Yalmay Marika Yunupingu
Artist and teacher-linguist
She has translated children's books into
Yunupingu was appointed senior teacher at the school in 2004,
She retired in early 2023 after 40 years at the school, with family, friends, colleagues and other community members gathering to celebrate her contribution.[32] Since retirement, she has been teaching traditional healing with bush medicines.[36]
On 25 January 2024 she was announced as 2024 Senior Australian of the Year, and travelled to Canberra to accept the award.[36][35]
Heritage listings
Yirrkala has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Notable people
- Timmy Burarrwanga, businessman and cultural leader
- Gatjil Djerrkura (1949–2004), ceremonial leader
- Nathan Djerrkura (1988–), Australian rules footballer
- Nonggirrnga Marawili (c.1938), painter
- Banduk Marika (1954–2021), artist
- Kathy Balngayngu Marika (1957–), dancer
- Raymattja Marika (c.1959–2008), scholar, educator, linguist and cultural advocate
- Roy Marika (1925–1993), councillor and artist
- Wandjuk Marika (1927–1987), artist, actor, Indigenous rights activist
- Yirrmal Marika (1993–), Australian singer
- Maminydjama Maymuru(1997–), model
- Wukun Wanambi
- Western Sydney Wanderers
- Yothu Yindi (1986–2000), rock band
- Galarrwuy Yunupingu (1948–2023), land rights activist and chair, Northern Land Council
- Mandawuy Yunupingu (1956–2013), musician and educator
- Nyapanyapa Yunupingu (c.1945), painter
References
- ^ "Yirrkala". NT Place Names Register. Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 14 October 2018.
- ^ "On the Gove Peninsula". Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
- ^ a b c Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Yirrkala (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
- ^ a b c d George, Gary; George, Karen (8 May 2014). "Yirrkala Mission - Summary". Find & Connect. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
Created: 7 February 2011, Last modified: 8 May 2014
- ^ a b Morphy, Howard (2005). "Mutual conversion?: The methodist church and the Yolngu, with particular reference to Yirrkala". Humanities Research. IX (1). ANU Press: 41–53. Retrieved 7 June 2023. PDF
- ^ "Yirrkala bark petitions 1963 (Cth)". Documenting A Democracy. Museum of Australian Democracy. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ Yirrkala (L). 2021 Yirrkala (L), Census All persons QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics. (n.d.). https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/UCL721016
- ^ a b "Yirrkala in detail". East Arnhem Regional Council. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- ^ "Art Right Now2 – IndgRes". gallery.discoverymedia.com.au. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- ^ "Buku Art Centre". Retrieved 16 November 2018.
- )
- ^ "Mawalan Marika | Yirrkala bark Painting | painting | sell Mawalan Marika painting". Aboriginal Bark Paintings. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
- ^ "Coronavirus restrictions are easing, and now this NT gallery is marking two milestones – ABC News". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ a b Perin, Victoria (13 December 2021). "Bark Ladies centres female Yolŋu artists". Art Guide Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ^ Kubler, Alison (19 February 2022). "Bark Ladies at NGV review: This exhibition will knock your socks off". Escape. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka". Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ISSN 1359-1835.
- ^ "Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre". Art Gallery of South Australia. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ Rirratjingu Aboriginal Corporation. "Annual Report 2021–2021" (PDF). p. 15. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ a b Northern Myth (11 July 2013). "Yirrkala Church Panels: how pictures redrew indigenous history". Crikey. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ "Marking Places, Cross-Hatching Worlds: The Yirrkala Panels". E-flux Journal (111). September 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ "Buku-Larrnggay Mulka (Yirrkala)". Lauraine Diggins Fine Art. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ a b "NGV International presents Bark Ladies: Eleven Artists from Yirrkala". Australian Design Review. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ^ "Bark Ladies to open at NGV International". green magazine. 18 August 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ^ "Yirrkala Community Education Centre". Adelaide Schools. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- HREOC Rural and Remote Education Inquiry. Nambara Schools Council. 1999. Retrieved 27 July 2021.)
{{cite report}}
: CS1 maint: others (link - ^ a b Masters, Emma (11 July 2021). "At Yirrkala School, bilingual education has become a model for remote Aboriginal learning". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "Yalangbara: art of the Djang'kawu". Darwin: Charles Darwin University Press (CDU Press). Retrieved 25 January 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
saotyabc2024
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b "The Marika family". National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ a b c James, Felicity (20 March 2023). "Yolngu elder and bilingual educator Yalmay Yunupingu retires from Yirrkala school". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ a b Kennelly, Shane (2 August 2023). "Yalmay Yunupingu: The Bilingual Warrior and Champion of Indigenous Education". Indigenous Employment Australia. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
- ^ Devlin, Brian (12 November 2020). "Government Support for NT Bilingual Education after 1950: A Longer Timeline". Friends of Bilingual Learning.
- ^ a b "Yalmay Yunupiŋu". Australian of the Year. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
- ^ a b Gore, Charlotte (25 January 2024). "Melanoma researchers Richard Scolyer and Georgina Long named joint 2024 Australians of the Year". ABC News. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
...the 68-year-old has been teaching the next generation about traditional healing since her retirement.
- ^ "Wurrwurrwuy (Place ID 106088)". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
Further reading
- Fitzgerald, M. (2022). "Mirrored realms: The bark ladies of Yirrkala". Art Monthly Australasia, (331), 86–91.
- Salvestro, Denise Yvonne (April 2016). Printmaking by Yolngu artists of Northeast Arnhem Land: 'Another way of telling our stories' (PhD). Australian National University.