Alyangula is the largest township on Groote Eylandt in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

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History

Groote Eylandt Mining Company ( GEMCO) established Alyangula as the residence for the mining company workers in the late 1960s. The township was established under a special purpose lease between GEMCO, Anindilyakwa Land Council and the Anindilyakwa Land Trust. The township of Alyangula is an unincorporated territory within the northern region of the

Climate

Alyangula has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Aw'', Trewartha: ''Awhb/Awha''), with a very hot, oppressive

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

from mid-November to April and a very warm, muggy

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...

from May to mid-November, typical of the

Top End The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ...

region of the Northern Territory. From May to mid-November, the prevailing winds are from the east, which due to the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...

, cast a rain shadow throughout the Top End of the Northern Territory. Lower humidity, high winds, and lack of rain increase the likelihood of bushfires, which peak during the second half of the dry season. Typically, temperatures at day and especially night are significantly cooler than in the summer, which increases relative comfort. The record high temperature during this season was 39.2 °C (102.6 °F) on 23 October 1987, and the record low temperature was 10.5 °C (50.9 °F) on 19 July 1985. Starting from mid-November, northwesterly winds from 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 is ...

draw in warm, moist ocean air, which leads to monsoonal rainfall, oppressive dew points and spectacular lightning storms. Flooding, cyclones, storms and low monsoonal troughs sometimes occur during this season. Temperatures are more stable in this season, ranging from 40.3 °C (104.5 °F) on 31 December 1990 to 16.0 °C (60.8 °F) on 15 April 1994. However, temperatures above 35 °C (95 °F) or below 20 °C (68 °F) are rare during this season.

Present day

In the , the township recorded a population of 873 people who are employees of GEMCO and are almost exclusively non-Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 8.3% of the population). The township comprises a first-class resort and four clubs; an arts centre; a coffee shop; a golf course and other sporting facilities; a 25m swimming pool; a church; half a dozen shops; a bank; a post office and a travel agency. The township also has a school (up to and including Year 11); a child care centre; a training centre; an area health centre; and a court house and police station. The town also has the cheapest fuel in Australia subsidised by the mine (August 2020 - unleaded fuel is 102.0cpl).

References

Groote Eylandt {{NorthernTerritory-geo-stub