Gapuwiyak, also known as Lake Evella, is an

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 ...

community located in north-eastern

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...

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 ...

, south of the head of Buckingham Bay and about the same distance south-west of Arnhem Bay. The settlement had a population of 871 people recorded at the 2016 census. Gapuwiyak is adjacent to Lake Evella. The lake was seen by Harold Shepherdson from his

Miles Hawk The Miles M.2 Hawk was a twin-seat light monoplane designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Miles Aircraft Limited during the 1930s. It is the first of the company's aircraft to attain quantity production. The Hawk's developm ...

aeroplane in 1935 and he named it Lake Evella after his wife Ella, and Eva, the wife of a fellow missionary Rev. T.T. Webb. ''Gapuwiyak'' means "brackish water" (''Gapu'' – water; ''Wiyak'' – salty). In the 1960s David Burrumarra advocated for the creation of the community as a part of the

outstation movement An outstation, homeland or homeland community is a very small, often remote, permanent community of Aboriginal Australian people connected by Aboriginal kinship, kinship, on land that often, but not always, has social, cultural or economic signi ...

. The community is serviced by a barge from Darwin once a week that comes up the

Buckingham River Buckingham River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia. The headwaters of the river are on the northern edge on the eastern side of the Mitchell Ranges near where the Central Arnhem Road crosses the Range. The river flows in a nort ...

. The community comprises Aboriginal people from many different families or

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

s. It produces a

newsletter A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of ...

called ''Gapuwiyak Dhäwu''. In April 2017, a four-day festival to mark the Rom ceremony was attended by about 500 people at Gapuwiyak School. The Yolngu Rom comprises the

laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

, values,

beliefs A belief is a subjective Attitude (psychology), attitude that something is truth, true or a State of affairs (philosophy), state of affairs is the case. A subjective attitude is a mental state of having some Life stance, stance, take, or opinion ...

songs A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usuall ...

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

and

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

of the people, and the young people learn from participation in the event, which is attended by people of all ages. It was planned to hold the event each term. The health clinic transitioned to a community-managed model in 2018, and is managed by Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation.

References

External links

Gapuwiyak Community IncGapuwiyak Culture & Arts
Geography of the Northern Territory Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory {{NorthernTerritory-geo-stub

See also

References

External links