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Wurrumiyanga

Coordinates: 11°45′32.76″S 130°38′4.92″E / 11.7591000°S 130.6347000°E / -11.7591000; 130.6347000
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Wurrumiyanga
Map
Wurrumiyanga on Bathurst Island off the coast of the Northern Territory, Australia
Geography
LocationTimor Sea
Coordinates11°45′32.76″S 130°38′4.92″E / 11.7591000°S 130.6347000°E / -11.7591000; 130.6347000
ArchipelagoTiwi Islands
Administration
Australia
TerritoryNorthern Territory
Demographics
Population1563[1] (2016)
Ethnic groupsTiwi

Wurrumiyanga (/wʊrʊmiˈjɑːŋə/), formerly Nguiu (/ˈnjj/, locally [ˈŋuju]), is a community on the southern coast of Bathurst Island, Northern Territory, Australia.

Nguiu was founded in 1911 as a Catholic mission by Francis Xavier Gsell.[2]

In 2010 Nguiu was renamed Wurrumiyanga, meaning the place where the cycads grow, by the Tiwi Land Council.[3]

Nguiu Post Office opened on 3 June 1974 as the first office on Bathurst Island.[4]

There are two Catholic schools in the town; Murrupurtiyanuwu Catholic Primary School, and Xavier Catholic College (Years 7-13).[5]

Wurrumiyanga (Nguiu) is the home of Tiwi Designs,[6] an art corporation (involving some 100 indigenous artists) which produces fabric, carvings, ceramics, print and paintings and whose aim is to promote, preserve and enrich Tiwi culture.[7]

It is also home of the ground where Australian rules football is played and Tiwi Islands Football League matches.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2016 Census QuickStats: Wurrumiyanga". quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  2. ^ F.X. Gsell, The Bishop with 150 Wives (Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1956), ch. 3.
  3. ^ "NT Place Names Register". Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  4. ^ Premier Postal History, Post Office List, retrieved 21 March 2012
  5. ^ "Xavier Catholic College". xcecnt.catholic.edu.au. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Tiwi Designs". Tiwi Designs. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  7. ^ "Tiwi Designs: About Us". Tiwi Designs. Retrieved 5 August 2020.