Maningrida (Maningrida)
Maningrida, also known as Manayingkarírra and Manawukan, is an Aboriginal community in the heart of the Arnhem Land region of Australia's Northern Territory. Maningrida is 500 km east of Darwin, and 300 km north east of Jabiru. It is on the North Central Arnhem Land coast of the Arafura Sea, on the estuary of the Liverpool River.
The Kunibídji (Ndjebbana) people are the traditional owners of this country. Major players in the town's economic and political life include the West Arnhem Regional Council, the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation, the Maningrida Progress Association, and Mala'la Health Service Aboriginal Corporation. Maningrida Arts & Culture, with its Djómi Museum, is a major art centre, known both nationally and internationally.
At the 2021 census, Maningrida had a population of 2,518.
The Kunibídji (Ndjebbana) people are the traditional owners of this country. The name Maningrida is an Anglicised version of the Kunibídji name Manayingkarírra, which comes from the phrase Mane djang karirra, meaning "the place where the Dreaming changed shape". It is also known as Manawukan, the name assigned to it by the neighbouring Kuninjku people, which refers to a wetland area north-east of Maningrida.
The township of Maningrida dates back to just after World War 2. Syd Kyle-Little, working for the newly-formed Native Affairs Department, came up with the plan of a trading post to create a self-sufficient Aboriginal community, to stop the drift of Aboriginal people leaving their homelands and moving to Darwin. The intention was to make Maningrida self-sufficient and independent of welfare support. Jack Doolan became Kyle-Little's cadet patrol officer, and together they made the first white contact with the Aboriginal peoples since a hostile encounter with Matthew Flinders on his circumnavigation of Australia. Kyle -Little had intended to open other trading posts to serve other peoples on their own lands, but with a change in administration of the NT in 1950, the trading post was closed, and Kyle-Little resigned in disgust.
David and Ingrid Drysdale, former missionaries, established a new settlement in 1957. Maningrida became the first government-sponsored settlement, as opposed to a mission settlement, in Arnhem Land. An airstrip, school and hospital were built, and people from far and wide drifted in to live at the settlement. The government's motive was partly to quell the post-war migration of Aboriginal people from the Blyth and Liverpool Rivers regions into Darwin. Patrols went out to spread the word and encourage people to move into the settlement. Within a few years, the population had grown rapidly and the demographics of the area changed. This exacerbated traditionally strained relationships, and further tensions were created by the growing population of non-Indigenous people, known as Balanda, who were able to get jobs and decent housing. The number of Balanda grew from about 40 to 250 people between 1970 and 1974. The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 gave Maningrida and other Aboriginal communities independence and self-government; however, Balanda still held most of the skilled and highly paid service positions.
From the 1960s onwards, the outstation movement led to many people returning to live on their traditional lands, which led to the establishment of the Bawinaga Aboriginal Corporation in 1970 (see below).
On the night of 24 April 2006 Cyclone Monica, the most severe cyclone ever to strike Australia at the time (later tied with Cyclone Marcus in 2018), passed just to the west of the community. The community was spared the full brute force of the category 5 cyclone and infrastructure damage was only light to moderate, despite a reported wind gust of 148 km/h at the town.
In 2015, the town became the subject of international news when it was incorrectly reported that "more than 25,000 venomous spiders suddenly descended upon [the town]". The confusion stemmed from a new article documenting a floodplain near the town with an extremely high concentration of tarantulas.
The Kunibídji (Ndjebbana) people are the traditional owners of this country. Major players in the town's economic and political life include the West Arnhem Regional Council, the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation, the Maningrida Progress Association, and Mala'la Health Service Aboriginal Corporation. Maningrida Arts & Culture, with its Djómi Museum, is a major art centre, known both nationally and internationally.
At the 2021 census, Maningrida had a population of 2,518.
The Kunibídji (Ndjebbana) people are the traditional owners of this country. The name Maningrida is an Anglicised version of the Kunibídji name Manayingkarírra, which comes from the phrase Mane djang karirra, meaning "the place where the Dreaming changed shape". It is also known as Manawukan, the name assigned to it by the neighbouring Kuninjku people, which refers to a wetland area north-east of Maningrida.
The township of Maningrida dates back to just after World War 2. Syd Kyle-Little, working for the newly-formed Native Affairs Department, came up with the plan of a trading post to create a self-sufficient Aboriginal community, to stop the drift of Aboriginal people leaving their homelands and moving to Darwin. The intention was to make Maningrida self-sufficient and independent of welfare support. Jack Doolan became Kyle-Little's cadet patrol officer, and together they made the first white contact with the Aboriginal peoples since a hostile encounter with Matthew Flinders on his circumnavigation of Australia. Kyle -Little had intended to open other trading posts to serve other peoples on their own lands, but with a change in administration of the NT in 1950, the trading post was closed, and Kyle-Little resigned in disgust.
David and Ingrid Drysdale, former missionaries, established a new settlement in 1957. Maningrida became the first government-sponsored settlement, as opposed to a mission settlement, in Arnhem Land. An airstrip, school and hospital were built, and people from far and wide drifted in to live at the settlement. The government's motive was partly to quell the post-war migration of Aboriginal people from the Blyth and Liverpool Rivers regions into Darwin. Patrols went out to spread the word and encourage people to move into the settlement. Within a few years, the population had grown rapidly and the demographics of the area changed. This exacerbated traditionally strained relationships, and further tensions were created by the growing population of non-Indigenous people, known as Balanda, who were able to get jobs and decent housing. The number of Balanda grew from about 40 to 250 people between 1970 and 1974. The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 gave Maningrida and other Aboriginal communities independence and self-government; however, Balanda still held most of the skilled and highly paid service positions.
From the 1960s onwards, the outstation movement led to many people returning to live on their traditional lands, which led to the establishment of the Bawinaga Aboriginal Corporation in 1970 (see below).
On the night of 24 April 2006 Cyclone Monica, the most severe cyclone ever to strike Australia at the time (later tied with Cyclone Marcus in 2018), passed just to the west of the community. The community was spared the full brute force of the category 5 cyclone and infrastructure damage was only light to moderate, despite a reported wind gust of 148 km/h at the town.
In 2015, the town became the subject of international news when it was incorrectly reported that "more than 25,000 venomous spiders suddenly descended upon [the town]". The confusion stemmed from a new article documenting a floodplain near the town with an extremely high concentration of tarantulas.
Map - Maningrida (Maningrida)
Map
Country - Australia
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The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately 65,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first known European to reach Australia, in 1606. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. The European population grew in subsequent decades, and by the end of the 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing British colonies established. Democratic parliaments were gradually established through the 19th century, culminating with a vote for the federation of the six colonies and foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
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| AUD | Australian dollar | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
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| EN | English language |