Bäniyala is a tiny community of

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

people, known as a

homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...

, situated on Blue Mud Bay in the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria is a sea off the northern coast of Australia. It is enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea, which separates Australia and New Guinea. The northern boundary ...

in East Arnhem Land 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 ...

of Australia, located from

Nhulunbuy Nhulunbuy () is a town and locality in the far north of the Northern Territory of Australia. Founded on the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land when a bauxite mine and deep water port were established in the late 1960s, the town's econ ...

. It is home to about 150 Yolŋu people.

History

Bäniyala was re-established by

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

of the land in the 1970s. The Bäniyala Garrangali Aboriginal Corporation (BGAC) was established for the purpose of selling food in 1975, later expanding its purpose to expanding opportunities for economic and social development in the region. Investment is needed in order to help support local enterprises and create more jobs, in order to help the local people living on country. The people of Bäniyala community were key players in the '' Blue Mud Bay case'', decided by the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

in July 2008, establishing a precedent for sea rights in Australia over an

intertidal zone The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various ...

for the first time.

Facilities

The Bäniyala Garrangali Aboriginal Corporation operates a campground and cabin accommodation at Bäniyala. A permit is needed to visit or transit the homeland.

Industry

In 2019, the people of Baniyala engaged the

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

to investigate industries which could help boost the local economy, including the potential for

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelu ...

(in particular

sea cucumber Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class (biology), class Holothuroidea ( ). They are benthic marine animals found on the sea floor worldwide, and the number of known holothuroid species worldwide is about 1,786, with the greatest number be ...

s), mining, forestry, eco-tourism, and chartered fishing expeditions. In July 2019, Northern Land Council entered into an agreement with the NT Government for rights over access to the waters for

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

and

recreational fishing Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is occupational fishing activities done for profit; or subsistence fishing, ...

, before consulting the appropriate traditional owners. After community leader Djambawa Marawili raised the matter, a meeting was held with the NLC, and on the 11th anniversary of the High Court's Blue Mud Bay decision, traditional owners signed an agreement to allow fishing access to these waters for the following 18 months. In July 2020, the Northern Land Council and the NT Government signed the "Blue Mud Bay Action Plan", by which both are committed to securing fishing rights for the region's Indigenous people. This plan is part of the Nitmiluk Agreement (signed in 2019), which aims at building economic opportunities for Aboriginal people in the

fishing industry The fishing industry includes any industry or activity that takes, cultures, processes, preserves, stores, transports, markets or sells fish or fish products. It is defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization as including recreational, sub ...

, including establishing an Aboriginal-owned fishing enterprise. The

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case in Aust ...

has had significant impact on this remote community, including loss of

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

income and shortages of goods and groceries, leading to health risks, but a five-year strategic plan has been established to help BGAC to overcome these challenges.

Notable people

* Djambawa Marawili , artist, community leader, and member of the Prime Minister's Indigenous Advisory Council * Garrangali Band

In film

''Baniyala: The Yirrkala Film Project'' is a

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

released in 1996, made by Ian Dunlop, showing "the 1974 lifestyle of the Madarrpa people of Baniyala on Blue Mud Bay".

History

Facilities

Industry

Notable people

In film

References

Further reading