Nhulunbuy
Nhulunbuy | |
|---|---|
  Nhulunbuy | |
 Interactive map of Nhulunbuy | |
| Coordinates: 12°10′57″S 136°46′55″E / 12.18250°S 136.78194°E | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Northern Territory |
| LGA | |
| Location | |
| Government | |
| • Territory electorate | |
| • Federal division | |
| Area | |
• Total | 7.12 km2 (2.75 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 20 m (66 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 3,267 (UCL 2021)[2] |
| Postcode | 0881, 0880 |
| Mean max temp | 30.8 °C (87.4 °F) |
| Mean min temp | 23.3 °C (73.9 °F) |
| Annual rainfall | 1,305.3 mm (51.39 in) |
Nhulunbuy (/nuːlənbaɪ/), also formerly known as Gove, 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 economy largely revolved around its alumina refinery until it closed in May 2014. The town is a private mining town residing on Aboriginal-owned land.
In the 2021 census, the locality of Nhulunbuy had a population of 3,350 people.[3]
History
[edit]This area in Northeast Arnhem Land has been home to various Yolngu clans of Aboriginal people for at least 40,000 years.[citation needed]
Matthew Flinders, in his circumnavigation of Australia in 1803, met the Macassan trading fleet near present-day Nhulunbuy, an encounter that led to the establishment of settlements on Melville Island and the Cobourg Peninsula. A beach close to the township is named Macassan Beach in honour of this encounter.[citation needed]
Flinders also named the highest rise on the low-lying escarpment, a flat-topped hill rising to 200 m (660 ft), Mount Saunders. This hill was a sacred site for the Rirratjingu clan of Yolngu people, who already had a name for it – Nhulun. The site had been assigned to Wandjuk Marika by his father, the respected elder Mawalan Marika.[4] Flinders named it Mt Saunders after Robert Dundas, 2nd Viscount Melville.[5] Flinders also gave names to various other nearby features after the same man, including Mount Dundas, Melville Isle (renamed Bremer Island in 1934), and Melville Bay (which now includes Gove Harbour).[6]
Exploration of bauxite reserves in the area began in 1955.[7] In 1963, an Australian Government decision excised part of the land for a bauxite mine and alumina refinery, to be developed by the Gove Bauxite Corporation,[8] a French-owned company known as GOMINCO. The Yolngu people at Yirrkala were upset at not having been consulted about the excising of their land, and forwarded two petitions, known as the Yirrkala bark petitions due to their being mounted on bark, to the Australian House of Representatives.[9] The federal government appointed a select committee to investigate the people's grievances, which made recommendations to protect certain sacred sites and allocate hunting rights in some areas.[7] The bark petitions attracted national and international attention, and are now regarded as a landmark in the fight for Indigenous land rights in Australia, although unsuccessful. One of the petitions hangs in Parliament House, Canberra.[9][10][8]
After GOMINCO had abandoned its bid for the site,[11][12] in 1968 the Gove Agreement was negotiated between the Commonwealth Government and the North Australian Bauxite and Alumina Company (Nabalco), which gave Nabalco the rights to establish the mine and refinery. In 1969, Nabalco assigned its interests in the agreement to the Gove Joint Venture Participants (Swiss Aluminium and Gove Aluminium Ltd.), and the government granted a Special Mineral Lease (SML 11) and several Special Purpose Leases to this entity.[7] In 1971, the Yolngu people at Yirrkala took court action against Nabalco and the Commonwealth Government, in a case later known as the Gove land rights case. The people asked for their lands to be freed from occupation by the mining company and prevention of further mining activities; the main issue was recognition by Australian law of the rights of Aboriginal people to ownership of the land through the doctrine of communal native title. The plaintiffs lost the case, which was presided over by Justice Blackburn.[7] Nabalco developed the mine, plant, and associated infrastructure, and began its export of alumina bauxite in 1972.[7]
The town of Nhulunbuy was established to house the workers employed by the company. The town was originally gazetted as Gove on 21 August 1968, but, after a delegation of Yirrkala people who said that Nhulunbuy was the name given to the area Dreamtime ancestor Wuyal, Prime Minister John Gorton (who was in office from January 1968 to March 1971), on a visit to the NT, announced that the town would be given this name. It was only officially renamed Nhulunbuy in 2007.[13] The name of the town is derived from combining "Nhulun" (Mount Saunders) and buy, which means "nearby" in the local language.[14]
Nabalco became Alcan Inc. and acquired 100% of the Gove project in 2001.[7] In 2003, Alcan Gove issued a notice of intent to the Government of the Northern Territory re third stage expansion of the alumina refinery.[15] Rio Tinto acquired Alcan in 2007.
The alumina refinery closed in May 2014, which resulted in 1,100 workers being redeployed or made redundant,[16] and reduced the Nhulunbuy population by 700 to 3,240 in the 2016 Australian census.[17]
On 29 November 2013, Rio Tinto announced the closure of the alumina refinery (but not the bauxite mine) by July 2014, with the loss of 1,100 jobs, or almost 25% of the town's population.[16][18] The refinery ceased production in May 2014.[19] Nhulunbuy's population had already dropped by mid-2014, with some of the workforce retained to monitor the shutdown and survey holding ponds full of toxic compounds, but most scheduled to be gone by January 2015.[20][16] A range of measures were announced to support the town and its former workers through the closure and the following three years, but locals anticipated further cuts to services, since the school, hospital, power plant and flights were backed by Rio Tinto.[21] The closure of the refinery also left flights on the Darwin-Nhulunbuy route to fall to around 50 to 60 per cent full, causing QantasLink to suspend flights on the route from 17 August 2014.[22]
For the purposes of granting tax rebates to residents of isolated areas as per Section 79A(3F) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, the census population of Nhulunbuy was taken to be less than 2,500,[23] although it was in fact 3,240 in the 2016 census.[24]
In 2019, the Arnhem Space Centre near Nhulunbuy, an equatorial satellite launch facility, was announced.[25] In June 2022, it was announced that NASA would launch three rockets from the Arnhem Space Centre. This is the first time NASA launched a rocket from a commercial launch site outside the United States.[26]
Geography
[edit]The hill behind the town, Mount Saunders or Nhulun, has an elevation of 200 m (660 ft).[4]
Governance
[edit]Nhulunbuy is an unincorporated area.[27] It is a "Special Purpose" private mining town situated on Aboriginal Land, with a complex tenure. Since 1972, Nhulunbuy Corporation Ltd has controlled the town.[13] Since 2022 and as of December 2025[update], Shane Whitten is CEO of the company.[28]
The town is within the Northern Territory Electoral division of Mulka,[29] and the federal Division of Lingiari.
The Territory division was created in 1974 for the first election of the Legislative Assembly, then named Nhulunbuy. It was renamed Mulka in the 2019 redistribution, when the division was enlarged significantly outside the town. Mulka is a Yolngu Matha word, for which several translations have been offered: according to the NT Electoral Commission, it means "dry area", also used to describe a meeting place for business and diplomatic discussions.[29] According to the Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre website, the word means "a sacred but public ceremony", as well as "to hold or protect".[30] In the 2024 NT election, Independent Yingiya Mark Guyula was elected for Mulka by a large margin, although the town of Nhulunbuy voted for candidate Allen Fanning by a small margin.[31]
The federal Division of Lingiari was established at the 2001 election, with the present boundaries gazetted on 4 March 2025. It was named in honour of Vincent Lingiari, the Indigenous land rights leader who led the Gurindji strike in 1966.[32] At the 2025 Australian federal election, Australian Labor Party candidate Marion Scrymgour won the seat with 44.64% of votes cast.[33]
Tourism and recreation
[edit]Most supplies and visitors are brought by air to Gove Airport or by sea.
Visitors need to obtain a visitor access permit from Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation, a Yolŋu-owned and -operated not-for-profit organisation that looks after the Dhimurru Indigenous Protected Area, covering 550,000 ha (1,400,000 acres) of Aboriginal land and sea country, to access certain recreation areas, including:[34][35]
- The Roy Marika Lookout is located at the summit of Nhulun / Mount Saunders, accessible via Wuyal Road, or via the Nhulunbuy Walk Trail Network's Nhulun Walk. The walk from Nhulunbuy town centre to the lookout is around 4 km (2.5 mi) there and back.[36]
- Gadalathami, the Town Beach, on the eastern side of the town, is the closest beach to Nhulunbuy. It faces the Gulf of Carpentaria.[37]
- Dharrpamiwuy, or Middle Beach, is around 5 km (3.1 mi) from the town, and serves as the venue for the Nhulunbuy Rotary Club's annual Beach Volleyball Tournament. The beach has white sand and plenty of shade.[38]
- Wirrwawuy (Cape Wirrawoi) is a popular fishing spot, around 5 km (3.1 mi) away via a sealed road.[39]
Nhulunbuy is around 18 km (11 mi) north of the community of Yirrkala,[40] famous for its Aboriginal art, and home to the Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre, where the Yirrkala church panels are held.[41]
Facilities
[edit]East Arnhem Regional Council provides services to residents such as:[42]
- aged care and disability services
- animal management
- childcare services
- nutrition and wellbeing programs
- youth, sport and recreation programs
Healthcare facilities include Gove District Hospital, community clinics, sobering up shelters, and community patrol services.[42]
Education
[edit]There are three schools in Nhulunbuy: Nhulunbuy Primary School, Nhulunbuy High School, and Nhulunbuy Christian College.[43]
Nhulunbuy Primary School was established as Nhulunbuy Area School in 1972, becoming a primary school in 1981. It is one of the largest primary schools in the Northern Territory.[43]
Nhulunbuy Christian College, established as Nhulunbuy Christian School in 1999,[44] is a non-denominational primary and middle school. Northern Territory Christian College provides senior school education.[45][43]
Nhulunbuy High School, which opened in 1981, caters for students in years 7–12.[43] In 2017, Nhulunbuy High School opened a $20 million boarding facility, which provides increased educational opportunities to remote students.[46]
Media
[edit]As a result of the refinery curtailment and subsequent loss of advertising revenue, Gove's only source of local news, the Arafura Times, published its final issue in mid-October 2016.[47]
Gove Online publishes news about Nhulunbuy and East Arnhem Land.[48]
In film
[edit]A feature film called The Boat With No Name, directed by local filmmaker Phil O'Brien (also an author, musician, and former crocodile farmer, who describes himself as a raconteur[49]), premiered at Gove Boat Club early in 2022. All of the actors are locals, with the lead role taken by O'Brien. Local businesses provided A$10,000 of funding to the low-budget film, which showcases the area and characters, "and captures the ethos of the East Arnhem region: Indigenous and non-Indigenous people (Yolngu and balanda) working together to create something new".[50]
Climate
[edit]Nhulunbuy has a tropical savannah climate (Aw). Temperatures are hot year round with very warm nights. The wet season lasts from December to May and experiences consistent and very heavy rainfall. Rainfall does occur during the dry season, but it usually is very uncommon and limited. Nhulunbuy has a very narrow temperature range like most tropical climates, with a temperature range of only 23.8 °C (42.8 °F).
| Climate data for Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory, Australia (1975-1985 normals and extremes) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 35.7 (96.3) |
35.6 (96.1) |
35.7 (96.3) |
35.6 (96.1) |
34.0 (93.2) |
32.3 (90.1) |
31.2 (88.2) |
33.4 (92.1) |
34.6 (94.3) |
37.8 (100.0) |
37.3 (99.1) |
35.3 (95.5) |
37.8 (100.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 32.0 (89.6) |
31.7 (89.1) |
31.5 (88.7) |
31.5 (88.7) |
30.5 (86.9) |
29.5 (85.1) |
28.6 (83.5) |
29.0 (84.2) |
29.8 (85.6) |
30.9 (87.6) |
31.9 (89.4) |
32.4 (90.3) |
30.8 (87.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 28.8 (83.8) |
28.5 (83.3) |
28.2 (82.8) |
27.8 (82.0) |
26.9 (80.4) |
25.5 (77.9) |
24.6 (76.3) |
24.5 (76.1) |
25.5 (77.9) |
26.9 (80.4) |
28.5 (83.3) |
29.2 (84.6) |
27.1 (80.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 25.5 (77.9) |
25.2 (77.4) |
24.9 (76.8) |
24.0 (75.2) |
23.2 (73.8) |
21.5 (70.7) |
20.5 (68.9) |
19.9 (67.8) |
21.1 (70.0) |
22.9 (73.2) |
25.1 (77.2) |
25.9 (78.6) |
23.3 (74.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 20.5 (68.9) |
22.0 (71.6) |
17.2 (63.0) |
20.5 (68.9) |
17.3 (63.1) |
15.5 (59.9) |
14.6 (58.3) |
14.0 (57.2) |
16.3 (61.3) |
15.1 (59.2) |
20.0 (68.0) |
21.2 (70.2) |
14.0 (57.2) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 235.9 (9.29) |
229.1 (9.02) |
269.0 (10.59) |
232.3 (9.15) |
78.6 (3.09) |
20.0 (0.79) |
12.7 (0.50) |
4.3 (0.17) |
5.0 (0.20) |
10.0 (0.39) |
29.8 (1.17) |
186.4 (7.34) |
1,313.1 (51.7) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 1 mm) | 11.8 | 11.5 | 12.2 | 9.3 | 6.3 | 4.5 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 2.4 | 7.2 | 70.3 |
| Average afternoon relative humidity (%) | 72 | 73 | 73 | 68 | 65 | 61 | 61 | 61 | 61 | 62 | 66 | 69 | 66 |
| Average dew point °C (°F) | 24.6 (76.3) |
24.7 (76.5) |
24.4 (75.9) |
23.2 (73.8) |
21.9 (71.4) |
19.7 (67.5) |
18.9 (66.0) |
19.4 (66.9) |
20.4 (68.7) |
21.8 (71.2) |
23.7 (74.7) |
24.5 (76.1) |
22.3 (72.1) |
| Source: [51] | |||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Nhulunbuy (urban centre and locality)". Australian Census 2021.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Nhulunbuy (urban centre and locality)". Australian Census 2021.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Nhulunbuy (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
- ^ a b Wright, Clare (1 October 2024). Naku Dharuk The Bark Petitions: How the People of Yirrkala Changed the Course of Australian Democracy. Text Publishing Company. p. 491-2. ISBN 978-1-922330-86-4. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
- ^ "Place Names Register Extract: Mount Saunders". NT Place Names Register. Northern Territory Government. Archived from the original on 20 December 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
Named by Matthew Flinders on 11 February 1803 after "Right Hon. Robert Saunders Dundas, first Lord of the Admiralty and Viscount Melville".
- ^ "Place Names Register Extract: Mount Dundas". NT Place Names Register. Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f "History of Gove and the region". Alcan Gove. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ a b "Novel Plea By Tribal Group". 15 August 1963. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ a b Wright, Clare (1 October 2024). Naku Dharuk The Bark Petitions: How the People of Yirrkala Changed the Course of Australian Democracy. Text Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-922330-86-4.
- ^ Stewart, Heather; Rawlinson, Clare (10 July 2013). "Yirrkala bark petitions: A turning point in recognition of Indigenous rights". ABC. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ Wright, Clare (1 October 2024). Naku Dharuk The Bark Petitions: How the People of Yirrkala Changed the Course of Australian Democracy. Text Publishing Company. p. 139, 467. ISBN 978-1-922330-86-4. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
- ^ Grinberg, Ivan; Laparra, Maurice; Mioche, Philippe (2 June 2016). "What bauxite strategy did French aluminium producers adopt?". Cahiers d'histoire de l'aluminium. 55 (2). CAIRN: 84–103. doi:10.3917/cha.055.0084. ISSN 0990-6908.
- ^ a b "Place Names Register Extract: Nhulunbuy". NT Place Names Register. Northern Territory Government. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
- ^ "Nhulunbuy Hostel". Aboriginal Hostels Limited. Archived from the original on 25 April 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
- ^ "Alcan Gove Alumina Refinery Third Stage Expansion Notice of Intent" (PDF). Alcan. 1 March 2003. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 March 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ^ a b c Perry, Juliet (21 October 2014). "Voices from Gove: Can a mining town survive a shutdown?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
- ^ "2016 Census QuickStats: Nhulunbuy". quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ McGrath, Pat (29 November 2013). "About 1,100 jobs cut as Rio Tinto suspends production at Gove alumina refinery in the Northern Territory". ABC Online. Archived from the original on 6 February 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
- ^ "Rio Tinto delivers another strong quarterly production performance" (PDF). Rio Tinto. 15 October 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- ^ Milman, Oliver (11 August 2014). "Boom and dust: uncertain future for the mining town run by Rio Tinto". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ McGrath, Pat (29 November 2013). "Rio Tinto reveals rescue package for future of Nhulunbuy after alumina refinery closure". ABC Online. Archived from the original on 5 February 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
- ^ Tsang, Daniel (7 August 2014). "Qantas faces defining moment". Aspire Aviation. Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
- ^ "INCOME TAX ASSESSMENT ACT 1936 - SECT 79A". Australian Government. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "{{{name}}}". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ "NASA's surprise Aussie pick for rocket launch". NewsComAu. 31 May 2019. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
- ^ Ransley, Ellen (8 June 2022). "Anthony Albanese confirms NASA will launch rockets from Australia". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022.
- ^ "Nhulunbuy". BushTel. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ "Executive Leadership Team". Nhulunbuy Corporation. 31 July 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ a b "Division of Mulka". NTEC. 12 May 2023. Archived from the original on 6 September 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ "About The Mulka Project". Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre. 24 December 2024. Archived from the original on 20 September 2025. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- ^ "Mulka". NTEC. 24 August 2024. Archived from the original on 26 March 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ "Profile of the electoral division of Lingiari (NT)". Australian Electoral Commission. 24 September 2010. Archived from the original on 12 November 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ "Lingiari, NT". Australian Electoral Commission. 26 May 2025. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ "Access Permits". East Arnhem Land. 1 January 2023. Archived from the original on 3 October 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
- ^ "Dhimurru Recreational Areas". East Arnhem Land. Archived from the original on 9 August 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ "Roy Marika Lookout". East Arnhem Land. Archived from the original on 9 August 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
- ^ "Gadalathami (Town Beach)". East Arnhem Land. Archived from the original on 20 April 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ "Dharrpamiwuy (Middle Beach)". East Arnhem Land. Archived from the original on 15 July 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ "Wirrwawuy (Cape Wirrawoi)". East Arnhem Land. Archived from the original on 20 June 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ "Our Communities". East Arnhem Regional Council. Archived from the original on 11 April 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ "Home". Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ a b "Promote and practice". Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet. Archived from the original on 21 December 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Education". Nhulunbuy Corporation. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ "History". Nhulunbuy Christian College. 13 December 2022. Archived from the original on 18 July 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ "Nhulunbuy Christian College". Nhulunbuy Christian College. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
- ^ Betts, Alyssa (24 May 2017). "Nhulunbuy High School's multi-million-dollar boarding complex for remote education opens". ABC News. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
- ^ "East Arnhem Land newspaper 'Arafura Times' closes down". NITV. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ^ "Community News for Nhulunbuy and East Arnhem Land". Gove Online. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ "Home". Phil O'Brien.
- ^ Garrick, Matt (13 August 2022). "Northern Territory filmmaker Phil O'Brien shoots big-hearted feature in Nhulunbuy". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ "Nhulunbuy". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
External links
[edit]- "Rio Tinto Gove Operations: Asset Information Memorandum" (PDF). Ernst & Young. 2023.
- Pearson, Cecil A. L. (2012). "Australian Councils Unelected by the Citizens in an Indigenous Setting: The Case of Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory". Australian Journal of Public Administration. 71 (3): 278–289. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8500.2012.00784.x. ISSN 0313-6647.