Angurugu, Northern Territory
Angurugu is an Aboriginal settlement on the island of Groote Eylandt, which lies about 50 kilometers from Arnhem Land in the Gulf of Carpentaria and is part of Australia's Northern Territory. The settlement is located approximately in the middle of the west coast of Groote Eylandt six kilometers upstream of Anuguru Rivers and about a kilometer from the airport. Darwin is located about 650 kilometers east and the mainland coast is located at a distance of about 50 kilometers.
History
The first people who lived on Groote Eylandt, were the aborigines of Anindilyakwa. 1921 was the first European settlement, 13 kilometers south of Angurugu, the Emerald River Mission. Angurugu was founded in 1943, when the Royal Australian Air Force built a runway during the Pacific War. Likewise, there opened the Church Missionary Society, a Aboriginal Mission Station, which already in the 1950s, all of Groote Eylandt Aborigines lived.
Started in 1964 at Angurugu the degradation of one of the largest manganese ore deposits of the earth with an annual production of more than three million tons. Is operated the mine from the GEMCO ( Groote Eylandt Mining Company Pty Ltd. ), A joint venture between Anglo American and BHP Billiton, keep the 40 or 60 percent of the company shares. The mining company employs numerous local Aborigines.
The entire archipelago of Groote Eylandt 2006 was declared the Indigenous Protected Area. 97 % of the population of the town are Aboriginal.
In the village there is a school with 19 full-time teachers and the Angurugu Health Centre.
Anindilyakwa
The aboriginal tribe of Anindilyakwa consists of 14 clans. They speak their own language Anindilyakwa and English. Part of Yolngu Matha also speaks. In order to travel to Angurugu, a permit from the East Arnhem Shire is required. The life and culture of the aboriginal tribe in 1948 was the subject of the Arnhem Land expedition led by Charles Mountford.