Photos from the REAL Australia

The Tiwi Islands - Bathurst Island

The Tiwi Islands are, apart from Tasmania, the largest islands off the Australian coast. They lie 80 kilometres north of Darwin in the Arafura Sea. There are two main islands, Bathurst Island and Melville Island with a total land mass of 8,320 km². Bathurst island, the smaller of the two, lies to the west and is about 2,070 km². The islands have been inhabited since time immemorial by people, referred to as "Tiwi", a word that, in their language, simply means "People". It is thought that they may originally have come from the mainland, many thousands of years ago, but became isolated when sea levels dropped. They have developed a unique culture, quite different from the mainland.

Bathurst Island Catholic Mission was established in 1911 by a French missionary, Father Gsell, of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. The Tiwi may at first have been puzzled at this man who performed strange corroborrees by himself but he gradually earned their trust, especially as he used medicine to heal their ailments. The Tiwi measured the prestige of a man by the number of his wives; young girls were often married to older men. When a girl, who refused to go with an older man, sought refuge at the mission, Fr. Gsell defused the situation by "buying" her for a wife. This seemed a satisfactory solution and over the years, he acquired as many as 150 "wives", who were taught domestic skills by nuns in the convent that had been established. As a result, the Tiwi are firmly Catholic, although they still keep the many aspects of their culture that don't clash with their Catholic faith.

There are regular tours from Darwin, where tourists may visit the wooden church and an interesting museum at the school. The island has a beautiful coastline, with wide beaches where large sea turtles lay their eggs, ammonite fossils embedded in the sandstone rocks at Mukanuwu, weird rock formations like Rocky Point, and a wonderful waterfall and pool at Tumwarripi. And, best of all, there are the friendly Tiwi people, with their unique art and craft that can of course be bought during the tour.

To see a photo full size, just click on it;
you may then send it as a postcard if you wish.

Tiwi face painting	Watching the game	Nguiu church	Tiwi portrait	Grandfather
School girl	With grandpa	Smoking a pipe	Cape Fourcroy	Beach at Rocky Point
"Ampiji" dreaming site	Swimming in Tumwarripi	Road to Cape Fourcroy	Bushfire	Near Rocky Point
Cliffs, Rocky Point	Bathurst Island sunset	Rocky Point	Apsley Strait	Tarntipi beach
Turtle tracks, Artiwini	Playing after rains	Tumwarripi Falls	Cemetery in Nguiu	Sunrise and Mary
Artiwini beach	Cliffs at Mukanuwu	Painted for dance	Face painting	Cemetery in Nguiu

Back to Menu at Top of the Page