Croker Island is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the

Arafura Sea The Arafura Sea (or Arafuru Sea) lies west of the Pacific Ocean, overlying the continental shelf between Australia and Western New Guinea (also called Papua), which is the Indonesian part of the Island of New Guinea. Geography The Arafura Sea ...

off the coast of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

, Australia, northeast of Darwin. It was the site of the Croker Island Mission between 1940 and 1968.

Indigenous peoples

At the earliest time of European contact, the Indigenous people of Croker Island were the Jaako, an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Is ...

people who spoke Marrgu, a

language isolate Language isolates are languages that cannot be classified into larger language families. Korean and Basque are two of the most common examples. Other language isolates include Ainu in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, and Haida in North America. The nu ...

. The modern Indigenous communities speak Iwaidja (the approximately 150 speakers being the last remaining speakers of the language) and Maung, Kunwinjku and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Post-contact history

1940–1968: Croker Island Mission

Between 1940 and 1968, the Methodist Overseas Mission operated the Croker Island Mission at

Minjilang Minjilang, formerly Mission Bay, is the Aboriginal community located on Croker Island, some east northeast of Northern Territory's capital of Darwin. It is the only settlement of any size on Croker Island, which lies a few kilometres off the ...

. The Pacific theatre of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

saw the Japanese military aerial bombing Darwin in February 1942. Non-Indigenous children from the island were evacuated. To avoid the bombing, missionary Margaret Somerville led 95 Indigenous children from the island's orphanage, part of the Croker Island Mission, on a journey that saw the party arrive on the Australian mainland. Travelling a distance overland, they boarded a train through central Australia, arriving in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountai ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , e ...

, on the east coast. Over 44 days, the group covered . The children returned to Croker Island in 1946. This expedition was described by Somerville in her book ''They crossed a continent'', and later explored in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

documentary ''Croker Island Exodus'' (2012), directed and co-written by

Steven McGregor Steven McGregor is an Australian filmmaker, known for his work on ''Redfern Now'', ''Black Comedy'', '' Sweet Country'', and numerous documentaries, including ''My Brother Vinnie''. Early life and education McGregor grew up near the leprosari ...

and co-written by

Danielle MacLean Danielle MacLean is an Australian filmmaker. She is known for her writing on television series such as '' Little J & Big Cuz'', '' 8MMM Aboriginal Radio'' and ''Redfern Now''. Early life MacLean is of the Luritja and Warumungu peoples of the No ...

. Locals were cast to play all of the roles.

2001: Croker Island native title claim

The traditional custodians of Croker Island filed a claim over the sea surrounding Croker Island in 2001. The case, ''

Yarmirr v Northern Territory ''Yarmirr v Northern Territory'' was an Australian court case, decided in 2001. It was an application for the determination of native title to seas, sea-bed and sub-soil, over an area in the Northern Territory, ultimately determined on appeal t ...

'' (named after the lead claimant, Mary Yarmirr), was settled in the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established following passage of the '' Judiciary Act 1903''. It ...

on 11 October 2001. The clans represented were the Mandilarri-Ildugij, Mangalara, Murran, Gadura-Minaga and Ngaynjaharr clans. The case established that the traditional owners do have

native title Aboriginal title is a common law doctrine that the land rights of indigenous peoples to customary tenure persist after the assumption of sovereignty under settler colonialism. The requirements of proof for the recognition of aboriginal title, ...

of the sea and sea-bed; however, common law rights of fishing and navigation mean that only non-exclusive native title can exist over the sea.

2005: Cyclone Ingrid

Croker Island was severely damaged by Cyclone Ingrid in March 2005.

Geography

Croker Island, which lies about northeast of Darwin, is separated from

Cobourg Peninsula The Cobourg Peninsula is located east of Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is deeply indented with coves and bays, covers a land area of about , and is virtually uninhabited with a population ranging from about 20 to 30 in fiv ...

in the west by Bowen Strait, which is wide in the south and up to in the north, and long. In the north and east is the

, and in the south and southeast Mountnorris Bay. Croker Island measures from Point David (south, local name ''Inngirnatj'') to Cape Croker (north), up to wide, and has an area of . At its highest point it is only above sea level. Croker Island is the largest island, and the only permanently inhabited island, in the Croker Group.

Settlements

The only notable settlement on Croker Island is the Aboriginal community of

, located on Mission Bay on the east coast. Apart from that, there are nine small family outstations, the largest one of which is Inngirnatj (Point David) at the southern end of the island. The settlements from north to south: #Alamirra (close to Somerville Bay 1.5 km further the north) #Timor Springs (north of Minjilang, 8 km by road) #Wanakutja (on Palm Bay in the north-west) #

(Mission Bay), the only village and main settlement of the island #Adjamarrago (800 metres north of Croker Island Aerodrome, west of Minjilang) #Keith William's Outstation (Arrgamumu, Arrgamurrmur) (south-east of Mission Bay) #Walka (Barge Landing) (south side of Mission Bay, with barge pier) #Sandy Bay (close to Sandy Bay on the east coast, but two kilometres to the coast) #Marramarrani (southwest coast) #Inngirnatj (Point David) (southern end, west side, with boat pier)

Environment

The island's beaches, bushland,

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free ( anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s and

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s are host to plentiful wildlife and flora. A cull of

feral horses A feral horse is a free-roaming horse of domesticated stock. As such, a feral horse is not a wild animal in the sense of an animal without domesticated ancestors. However, some populations of feral horses are managed as wildlife, and these ...

was undertaken in 2015.

References

{{reflist Arafura Sea Islands of the Northern Territory Arnhem Land tropical savanna