Yalangbara, Northern Territory

Yalangbara is a coastal area in the East Arnhem region of Australia's Northern Territory. It is on the country of the Rirratjingu clan of the Yolŋu people.[1] The area is around 35 kilometres south of Nhulunbuy, the largest town in the area.[2] In Yolŋu terminology, Yalangbara is a yaku bathala (literally 'big name'), a term for a general area that comprises various smaller named localities.[3]

Geography

The main beach, known as Yalangbara beach, is white sand beach located on Yalangbara Peninsula (also known as the Port Bradshaw Peninsula or Cape Arnhem Peninsula) and faces east into the Gulf of Carpentaria.[4] The community of Bawaka is also located on this peninsula. The area is dominated by one of the largest coastal dune systems in the Northern Territory, at 16km long and up to 2km wide.[5]

Aboriginal significance

Yalangbara beach is important as the first site the mythical Djang'kawu sisters reached on the Australian mainland.[6] From Yalangbara they travelled west, establishing the Dhuwa moiety of the Yolŋu people. These stories are described in a 2008 monograph, Yalangbara: art of the Djang'kawu, edited by Margie West and produced in partnership with Banduk Marika and other members of the Rirratjingu clan, and published by Charles Darwin University.

References
  1. McLennan, Chris. "Banduk Marika says ancestral stories retain their relevance today". Katherine Times. Katherine Times. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  2. West, Margie (2008). Yalangbara : art of the Djang'kawu. Darwin, N.T.: Charles Darwin University Press. p. 31. ISBN 9780980384673.
  3. West, Margie (2008). Yalangbara : art of the Djang'kawu. Darwin, N.T.: Charles Darwin University Press. p. 31. ISBN 9780980384673.
  4. Prowse, Geoff; Zaar, Ursula. "Water resources of East Arnhem Land". Territory Stories. Darwin: Northern Territory Government. p. 8. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  5. West, Margie (2008). Yalangbara : art of the Djang'kawu. Darwin, N.T.: Charles Darwin University Press. p. 31. ISBN 9780980384673.
  6. West, Margie (2008). Yalangbara : art of the Djang'kawu. Darwin, N.T.: Charles Darwin University Press. p. 35. ISBN 9780980384673.
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