Gurruwiling, which is known as the Arafura Swamp, its catchment and adjacent sea country stretches across about 1,200 square kilometres in central Arnhem Land, about 450km east of Darwin.
It is Aboriginal-owned land and sea country. Our rights are protected by the Aboriginal Land Rights Act.
Our landowners have strong control of what can happen there, who can visit and what they can do.
Our old people — our mothers and our fathers — brought us to where we are now. Old people give us everything. We look backwards to get a full story. Through that connection we know many things. We now look forwards, and must give a strong story to our children and grandchildren.
They come from groups in the region include the Rembarrnga-speaking Bi Ngong of the swamp and its catchment, the Bi from the western area and Yolngu people from east of Arafura Swamp (including speakers of the Yolngu languages Djinang, Djinba, Djambarrpingu, Ganhalpuyngu, Mandhalpuyngu, Ritharrngu, Wagilak).
The area supports over a thousand species of plants and hundreds of fish, bird, mammal, reptile and other animal species. Its large and diverse wetland habitats support as many as 300,000 birds at any one time.
