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56-671: Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd , also known as the Gove land rights case because its subject was land known as the Gove Peninsula in the Northern Territory , was the first litigation on native title in Australia , and the first significant legal case for Aboriginal land rights in Australia , decided on 27 April 1971. The decision of Justice Richard Blackburn ruled against the Yolngu claimants on

112-661: A bark petition after the government had sold part of the Arnhem Land reserve on 13 March of that year to a bauxite mining company, Nabalco without consultation with the traditional owners at the time. However, in 1968 the Commonwealth government granted a special mineral lease to the company over the land for a period of 42 years. In December 1968, the Yolngu people living in Yirrkala , represented by three plaintiffs , obtained writs in

168-406: A chief , matriarch or patriarch ; or such leadership role is performed by elders. In others, leadership positions may have to be achieved. Examples include Irish , Scottish , Chinese , Korean , and Japanese clans , which exist as distinct social groupings within their respective nations. Note, however, that tribes and bands can also be components of larger societies. The early Norse clans ,

224-652: A coat of arms or other symbol. The English word "clan" is derived from old Irish clann meaning "children", "offspring", "progeny" or "descendants". According to the Oxford English Dictionary , the word "clan" was introduced into English in around 1425, as a descriptive label for the organization of society in Ireland and the Scottish Highlands . None of the Irish and Scottish Gaelic terms for kinship groups

280-562: A collection of families who bear the same coat of arms , as opposed to claiming a common descent (see Polish heraldry ). There are multiple closely related clans in the Indian subcontinent , especially South India . Romani people have many clans which are called vitsa in Romani. Scottish clans are social groupings that have played a pivotal role in the history and culture of Scotland. Unlike some other clans that focus solely on common descent or

336-520: A number of issues of law and fact, rejecting the doctrine of Aboriginal title . Instead his ruling recognised that in the law of the time of British colonisation of Australia there was a distinction between settled colonies, where the land, being "desert and uncultivated", was claimed by right of occupancy, and conquered or ceded colonies. The decision also noted that the Crown had the power to extinguish native title, if it existed. The issue of terra nullius

392-431: A primary school which supports further afield community schools. Yolngu culture and ties to the land are still very strong and sacred. Many people still live mainly a traditional life. The Garma Festival , which celebrates Yolngu culture, is held each August at Gulkula , attracting thousands from around Australia and the world to enjoy and learn from music , dance, art and craft, and sport. There are three art centres on

448-405: A primitive state of society". In such a territory, the laws of England (unless inconsistent with local laws) were imported when sovereignty was acquired. The doctrine of continuity did not relate to settled colonies, and therefore, "if there were no local laws then there were no rights of property to respect". A distinction between settled and conquered colonies was drawn. The decision also noted that

504-459: A shared coat of arms, Scottish clans are unique in their elaborate systems of tartans, insignias, and mottos. Clan culture in Scotland also extends to community events such as clan gatherings and Highland Games. Each clan may have an official leader known as a "Chieftain" or "Chief." Members of Scottish clans often have a shared interest in preserving their historical and cultural landmarks, as well as

560-482: Is a big part of the lives of people in Nhulunbuy and there are facilities including a sports ground, golf course, yacht club, swimming pool, fishing club, surf-lifesaving club, speedway and skate park. Gove Harbour is a popular stop off point for yachts sailing the northern coast of Australia or heading to the countries to the north of Australia and beyond. Apart from the months of December to April when cyclones can affect

616-434: Is at the northeastern corner of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia . The peninsula became strategically important during World War II when a Royal Australian Air Force base was constructed at what is now Gove Airport . The peninsula was involved in a famous court case known as the Gove land rights case , when local Yolngu people tried to claim native title over their traditional lands in 1971, after

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672-416: Is cognate to English clan ; Scottish Gaelic clann means "children": In different cultures and situations, a clan usually has different meaning than other kin-based groups, such as tribes and bands . Often, the distinguishing factor is that a clan is a smaller, integral part of a larger society such as a tribe , chiefdom , or a state . In some societies, clans may have an official leader such as

728-458: Is quite common to speak of "clans" in reference to informal networks within the economic and political sphere. This usage reflects the assumption that their members act towards each other in a particularly close and mutually supportive way, approximating the solidarity among kinsmen. Similar usage of the term applies to specific groups of various cultures and nationalities involved in organized crime . Polish clans differ from most others as they are

784-541: Is the large bay between the peninsula and the mainland, and there are many unnamed beaches both within the bay and on the western side of the peninsula, as well as named beaches (such as Ski Beach and Wallaby Beach ). Other popular locations around the peninsula include: There are three coastal walking trails : Daliwuy to Garanhan (3-kilometre (1.9 mi)), Garanhan to Ngumuy (2.5-kilometre (1.6 mi)) and Ngumuy to Baringura (1.5-kilometre (0.93 mi)). Informative signposts explaining Yolngu culture's relationship to

840-627: The ætter , are often translated as "house" or "line". The Biblical tribes of Israel were composed of many clans. Arab clans are sub-tribal groups within Arab society. Native American and First Nations peoples, often referred to as "tribes", also have clans. For instance, Ojibwa bands are smaller parts of the Ojibwa people or tribe in North America . The many Native American peoples are distinguished by language and culture, and most have clans and bands as

896-482: The 2016 census , Nhulunbuy SSC (urban area) had a population of 3,240, with a median age of 32. Only 2.8% were Indigenous. Nhulunbuy Indigenous region had 9,559 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander residents, with 97.7% of these Aboriginal, 0.5 Torres Strait Islander , and 1.9% both. Owned by the traditional Aboriginal owners , the Yolngu people, it is a place rich in culture with Yolngu maintaining strong ties with their land, religion and traditions. Rather than

952-576: The Australian Government had granted a mineral lease to a bauxite mining company without consulting the local peoples. Today the land is owned by the Yolngu people. The Gove Peninsula is on the west coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria within Arnhem Land , a vast tract of Aboriginal -owned land on the Northern Territory coastline. The township of Nhulunbuy is the main commercial and service centre of

1008-528: The Equator , the Gove Peninsula has a tropical savanna climate ( Köppen : Aw ). The non-Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory tropics recognise two distinct seasons, the dry season from mid-May to mid-November, and the wet season from mid-November to mid-May. Yolngu however recognise eight seasons derived from changing behaviours and patterns apparent in the land, flora and fauna , as follows: On

1064-605: The Second World War was the first place to be named Gove, after Pilot Officer William Gove, who was killed on 20 April 1943 in an air accident on the peninsula. In the late 1960s and through the 1970s, many Yolngu people objected to the renaming of many places with English names, including Nhulunbuy. They presented a bark petition was to the Commonwealth Parliament in 1968 about the renaming of Nhulunbuy. Linguist Raymattja Marika and Melanie Wilkinson have recorded

1120-802: The Supreme Court of the Northern Territory against the Nabalco Corporation, which had secured a 12-year bauxite mining lease from the Federal Government . The plaintiffs were Milirrpum Marika , elder of the Rirratjingu clan; Munffaraway, elder of the Gumatj clan, and Daymbalipu, an elder of the Djapu clan, who represented that clan as well as acting on behalf of 11 other peoples with interests in

1176-640: The Yirrkala bark petitions . He later became chairman of the Northern Land Council and in 1978 became Australian of the Year for his work on Indigenous rights . The impact of the international law doctrine of terra nullius on domestic laws, which was not contemplated in this decision, was later addressed in Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (1992), where it was found to not precluded the common law recognition of native title. Gove Peninsula The Gove Peninsula

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1232-419: The rocket launch pad , and NASA has confirmed that it will use the facility again in the future. It is possible to hire four wheel drives, conventional vehicles or bicycles in Nhulunbuy and an airport bus and taxi company service the town. The Gove Airport is located 13 km from the town centre of Nhulunbuy. AirNorth has a daily flight to Gove from Cairns and Darwin which then connect to cities around

1288-418: The Crown had the power to extinguish native title, if it existed. Blackburn examined comparative Commonwealth, Canadian, New Zealand and US jurisprudence. He accepted that the applicants had established that under traditional law any given part of the land could be “attributed” to a particular clan , but held that this did not amount to a proprietary interest. He also found that the evidence did not establish

1344-454: The Gove Peninsula (East Arnhem Region), of which almost 64% are Indigenous people , and a population of nearly 4,000 in Nhulunbuy , the majority being non-Indigenous people. Those people not living in Nhulunbuy live in surrounding communities and traditional homelands. In the five years to 2004, the population declined in Nhulunbuy and Groote Eylandt and increased in the non-urban areas. At

1400-462: The Peninsula and is 600 kilometres east of Darwin . As Europeans started land exploration throughout the Northern Territory and subsequently settled closer to Yolngu homelands, conflicts with the Yolngu became more frequent. In 1931, an area of 96,000 square kilometres (37,000 sq mi) was proclaimed as an Aboriginal reserve , named Arnhem Land Aboriginal Reserve. Land on the peninsula

1456-466: The Yolngu people could not prevent mining on their lands. He held that native title was not part of the law of Australia , and even had it existed, any native title rights had been extinguished. Further, even if extinguishment had not occurred, the plaintiffs were not able to prove native title. Blackburn rejected the claim on the bases that: The terms "settled" and "desert and uncultivated" included territory in which resided "uncivilized inhabitants in

1512-547: The basic kinship organizations. In some cases tribes recognized each other's clans; for instance, both the Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes of the Southeast United States had fox and bear clans, who felt a kinship that reached beyond their respective tribes. Apart from these different historical traditions of kinship, conceptual confusion arises from colloquial usages of the term. In post- Soviet countries, for example, it

1568-437: The bauxite mine would be closed by 2030 or sooner. The Arnhem Space Centre has created employment for local people, and brought NASA staff and many tourists to the town when three rockets were launched in mid-2022, booking out accommodation for weeks. The longterm future of the site is not known, but the owners of the project, Equatorial Launch Australia, has indicated that there are other space companies interested in using

1624-478: The claimants' ritual and economic use of the land and that they had an established system of law "a subtle and highly elaborate" system of laws ( Madayin ). The judgement concludes: "I cannot help being specially conscious that for the plaintiffs it is a matter in which their personal feelings are involved". In a confidential memorandum to the Government and Opposition, he opined that a system of Aboriginal land rights

1680-451: The closure of the mine associated alumina refinery (but not the bauxite mine) in July 2014 with the loss of 1,100 jobs, or almost 25% of the town's population. The 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 will be gone by January 2015. A range of measures were announced to support

1736-402: The coast line, the waters surrounding the Gove Peninsula provide excellent sailing conditions. The Gove Boat Club is often packed full of visiting yachties from all over the world and the club often holds regattas and other annual events. Clan Clans preceded more centralized forms of community organization and government, and have existed in every country. Members may identify with

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1792-564: The government Nabalco was set up and was granted a lease with a commitment to build a township, port facility and mine. The construction of the mine lead to the Gove land rights case (see above), which initially resulted in ruling in favour of the mineral company. The market economy of the Gove Peninsula was centred on the Alcan Gove Mine, located on leasehold land within the boundaries of Aboriginal freehold land. In November 2013 Rio Tinto announced

1848-490: The land is provided on these marked trails. Ecosystems on the Gove Peninsula and in its coastal waters are of great conservation significance, being largely undisturbed due to isolation, huge area and sparse population. The waters provide a shallow-water tropical marine ecosystem , with varying habitats for marine and estuarine wildlife, and include mangroves , beds of seagrass , tidal flats , salt pans and saltmarshes . Some place names were assigned to various places on

1904-673: The land. The plaintiffs' lawyers were Edward Woodward , Frank Purcell, John Little and John Fogarty. The plaintiffs claimed they enjoyed sovereignty over their land, and sought the freedom to occupy their lands. The applicants asserted before the Court that since time immemorial , they held a “communal native title” that had not been validly extinguished, or acquired under the Lands Acquisition Act 1955 (Cth), and should be recognised as an enforceable proprietary right. The lengthy legal battle culminated in 1971. Justice Blackburn found that

1960-429: The landholding model asserted. Blackburn acknowledged for the first time in an Australian higher court the existence of a system of Aboriginal law . He also recognised the validity of the use of oral evidence to establish property rights , normally inadmissible, but a vital precondition for a successful land rights case, and he also acknowledged the claimants' ritual and economic use of the land. Blackburn acknowledged

2016-562: The name of a clan or family group, Yolngu is the word that Aboriginal people from East Arnhem Land, including the Gove Peninsula, use to refer to themselves. The main five clan groups of the region are Gumatj, Rirratjingu, Djapu, Madarrpa and Dhalwangu. The prominent Marika family, many from Yirrkala, includes a number of artists and land rights activists, including Banduk Marika (13 October 1954 – 12 July 2021); Roy Dadaynga Marika (c.1925– 1993); and Wandjuk Marika (1927–1987). Educator and linguist Raymattja Marika (c.1959 – 11 May 2008)

2072-622: The natural environment and wildlife of Scotland. The clan system in Scotland has also been influenced by key historical events like the Highland Clearances and the Jacobite uprisings, which have left lasting impacts on clan structures and Scottish diaspora. Clannism (in Somali culture, qabiilism ) is a system of society based on clan affiliation. The Islamic world , the Near East , North and

2128-453: The night of the 2001 Census there were 13,080 people living in the East Arnhem region, which covers most of the Gove Peninsula. Of these 60.7% were Aboriginal people. On the night of the 2001 Census there were 3,766 people living in the "Urban Centre" of Nhulunbuy. Of these 7.3% were Indigenous. Based on a 2004 NT Government Socio-Economic Snapshot, there is a population of 14,115 within

2184-504: The northern coast of Australia by the Macassan traders and Dutch and English explorers, including Matthew Flinders before the 20th century, including Arafura Sea and Arnhem Land (early alternative spelling: "Arnheim Land"). Flinders named Point Dundas, Drimmie Head , Melville Bay and Mount Saunders. However, an increasing number of non-Aboriginal people started arriving in the 20th century and assigning names. The airstrip constructed during

2240-610: The origin and meaning of the Yolŋu place names, many of which relate to the stories of ancestral beings known as Wuyal (aka Birrinydjalki or Gandjalala), the "Sugar Bag Hunters", who had originally been Wäwilak and then Mandhalpuy. Eventually the Yolngu prevailed and the name Nhulunbuy was retained, but within the town, there are only two other Yolngu-derived names: Wuyal Road and the Rotary Marika Lookout, named after Dr Marika's father, Roy Marika . Situated just 12 degrees south of

2296-472: The peninsula: Nambara Arts and Crafts near Nhulunbuy, Buku Larrngay Mulka in Yirrkala, and Elcho Island Arts , producing work that is known worldwide. Arnhem Land , including the Gove Peninsula, is home to what is commonly referred to as the didgeridoo , known as the yidaki locally, and Yolngu are master players and craftsmen of the instrument. In this region, the rhythms, techniques and compositions endemic to

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2352-676: The people are of outstanding musical interest. Didgeridoos from north-east Arnhem Land are instruments of the highest cultural integrity. The use of the didgeridoo in this part of Australia continues as an unbroken tradition since time immemorial. In recent times, the Yothu Yindi band and Djalu Gurruwiwi - "Mr Didgeridoo" - has done much to popularise the yidaki around the world. Yidaki are commonly made in north-east Arnhem Land from gadayka - Eucalyptus tetradonta or Stringybark, gungurru - Eucalyptus miniata or Woolybutt, and badawili - Eucalyptus ferruginea or Rusty Bloodwood. Sport

2408-599: The plaintiffs (and by extension to other Aboriginal Australian peoples), and thus the concept of land rights, was maintained as a possibility, at least until the membership of the High Court had changed. Milirrpum led to the establishment of the Woodward Royal Commission by the Whitlam government in 1973–4, and the eventual recognition of Aboriginal Land rights in the Northern Territory . In 1975, shortly before he

2464-508: The principles on which the case were based were overturned in the Mabo case 21 years later. Today the Land Trust holds about 100,000 square kilometres (39,000 sq mi) as Aboriginal freehold land (with the exception of mining leases). The Gove Peninsula was heavily involved in the defence of Australia during World War II . Three operational air squadrons were based there at an airfield on

2520-400: The region which administer the townships of Nhulunbuy and Angurugu and a number of local communities that primarily service Indigenous people. Nhulunbuy is a purpose-built town developed by the former owner of Alcan Gove ( Nabalco ), a huge bauxite mine and now closed alumina refinery 15 km (9.3 mi). The town is built on a Special Purpose Lease on Aboriginal land and as of 2007

2576-514: The rest is a gravel road. A four-wheel-drive vehicle is recommended, particularly for the two major river crossings, the Wilton River near Bulman Aboriginals Community and the Goyder River , about 300 kilometres from Nhulunbuy. Fuel needs to be carried as travellers may not be able to purchase fuel along the way. The Central Arnhem Road is 682 kilometres long, plus the 52 kilometres from Katherine to

2632-640: The site of the present Gove airport and at a flying boat base at Drimmie Head . The Peninsula derives its name from a RAAF navigator who died in a mid-air collision. The Gove Peninsula is nearly pristine, apart from Nhulunbuy, along with the bauxite mine and associated alumina refinery which brought the town into existence and closed in 2014. There are savannah woodlands , wetlands , monsoon forests and rocky escarpments stretched across its huge area, as well as many beaches, bays and islands . Melville Bay ( 12°15′S 136°42′E  /  12.25°S 136.70°E  / -12.25; 136.70 )

2688-467: 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. The closure of the mine also left flights on the Darwin-Nhulunbuy route to fall to around 50-60% full, causing Qantas to suspend flights on the route from 17 August 2015. Rio Tinto announced that

2744-441: The turnoff makes a long drive, approximately 8 or 9 hours drive with good conditions. Travellers require a permit as the road runs across many Yolngu Clan lands. Nhulunbuy has one public primary school, which incorporates pre-school, and one public secondary school which provides education to a Year 12 level. There is also a private school, Nhulunbuy Christian College, which provides education from Transition to Year 10. Yirrkala has

2800-520: The world. Qantas used to run a daily flight but when the refinery closed they discontinued this service. The Cairns – Gove flight is 1 hour and 40 minutes duration and Darwin – Gove is 1 hour and 10 minutes. The most direct route to Nhulunbuy from a major Highway is via the Central Arnhem Road which leaves the Stuart Highway 52km south of Katherine. The first 30 kilometres are sealed and then

2856-498: Was "morally right and socially expedient". There was a deliberate decision to pursue a political course rather than legal challenge to the High Court of Australia , which at the time because of the membership of the Court was likely to reject Blackburn’s finding that there was a coherent system of Aboriginal law relating to land. By not having the appeal rejected by the High Court, the findings of Justice Blackburn that were favourable to

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2912-406: Was NT Australian of the Year in 2007. Yingiya Mark Guyula is the only independent Indigenous member of parliament in the Northern Territory as of 2020 , representing the electoral division of Mulka , formerly the electoral division of Nhulunbuy . The Yolngu people call white people " balanda " (probably derived from the word "Hollander" – Dutch person ). There are 10 local councils in

2968-472: Was dismissed, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam drew up the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 which was later passed (in a slightly diluted form) by the conservative Fraser government on 9 December 1976. The court interpreter for the case was Galarrwuy Yunupingu , the son of a Gumatj clan leader, Munggurrawuy, who was one of the Yirrkala plaintiffs. Galarrwuy had earlier helped his father draft

3024-431: Was famously part of the 1971 Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd , aka the Gove land rights case, a milestone in the history of Indigenous land rights in Australia . The plaintiffs , elders of various clans of the local Yolngu people, claimed they enjoyed sovereignty over their land, and sought the freedom to occupy their lands. The ruling went against them, as native title in Australia had not yet been recognised, but

3080-626: Was not contemplated in the case. Although Milirrpum was not appealed beyond the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory , it was overruled by the High Court of Australia two decades later in Mabo v Queensland (No 2) , when native title was recognised under Australian Law. The Yolngu people , the traditional owners of Arnhem Land (which includes the Gove Peninsula), had petitioned the Australian House of Representatives in August 1963 with

3136-468: Was the largest town in East Arnhem Land, the fourth largest town in the Northern Territory and the administrative centre for the region. The Commonwealth Government carried out mineral explorations in the 1950s and was successful in discovering a bauxite deposit that covered 65 square kilometres (25 sq mi) and contained an estimated 250 million tonnes. After initial resistance to mining by

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