Latest news with #Nhulunbuy
ABC News
12-08-2025
- General
- ABC News
20th Anniversary Collection: The male midwife who birthed babies in Arnhem Land
Growing up South of Sydney as one of six boys, midwifery wasn't the occupation Christian Wright expected for himself. At the age of nine he experienced a vision that gave him a sense of his future in a life of service. As a qualified midwife, Christian spent time in the tiny town of Nhulunbuy, right on the tip of the Northern Territory. He worked with Yolŋu women of remote Arnhem Land to help them birth their babies. Further information First broadcast March 2021. 2025 update: Several years ago, Christian married his beloved, Caroline in Gove. On the first day of their honeymoon as they were driving up the track, their troop carrier rolled. Christian's spine was broken, and he was airlifted to Royal Adelaide Hospital, where the doctors feared that he may not walk again. Christian went back to work within six months of the accident and has since worked in the NT and Papua New Guinea. He and Caroline now have a baby boy. Learn more about Christian's research into pregnancy and birth. Discover the Djakamirr program, training doulas to help Yolŋu women give birth on their own country. Christian also recommends the book Why Warriors Lie Down and Die by Richard Trudgen as a valuable resource on Indigenous Australia. You can read all about the Conversations origin story on the ABC News website.
ABC News
16-06-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Defence, police detonate suspected WWII bomb on remote NT beach
Specialist bomb technicians from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) have detonated suspected World War II ordnance, found on a beach in the remote Northern Territory town of Nhulunbuy. One of Australia's most isolated towns, Nhulunbuy is located about 1,000 kilometres east of Darwin and is inaccessible by road for long periods during the wet season. Residents of the usually sleepy coastal town awoke to the noise about 6:30am Saturday, after ADF personnel flew into the town the day prior. In a statement, the NT Police Force (NTPF) said the suspected bomb was found on Friday at a stretch of beach near the town's surf life saving club. "The blast was reported to be heard across most of the township, but it was achieved without injury to any persons or damage to property," a police spokeperson said in a statement. "The remnants of the item have been disposed of locally." An NTPF spokesperson later confirmed the bomb was "suspected WWII ordnance". Nhulunbuy resident Kaylie Thompson, who lives about 200 metres away from the blast zone, described the detonation as an "almighty bang". "I felt it in my chest ... I'm in a very, very old house and it kind of rattled a little bit," she said. "There was no warning whatsoever, which I get — they didn't want to have everyone come down to the car park to watch." Beth McCartney, another Nhulunbuy resident, said she heard the loud "bang" while on her morning run near the area. "It was so loud the trees shook," she said. "Every bird in Nhulunbuy, I reckon, evacuated the trees." Dave Suter, the president of the Arnhem Land Historical Society, told the ABC the bomb resembled a "depth charge", which were used during WWII to target submarines. A police spokesperson said the ordnance had likely moved to the beach "naturally" during the April or May rains, by "substantial water flows and some tidal activity in that area". "At this point it has not been formally identified and is believed to have been in situ for a period of around five weeks in a mostly buried state," the spokesperson said. The ABC has contacted Defence for further information on the explosive. According to the Australian War Memorial, northern Australia was hit by 97 air attacks during WWII, including during the bombing of Darwin. While historians say thousands of bombs were dropped on northern Australia, it is unclear how many of those have not exploded. An NTPF spokesperson said there was "no indication of any similar items in the vicinity" in Nhulunbuy. "That said, suspected unexploded ordnance items are periodically located across northern Australia," they said in a statement. "If you do see an item of suspicion, please ensure that you don't tamper with it and that you notify your local police immediately on 131 444."
News.com.au
03-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Nhulunbuy event spotlights Indigenous business leaders and opportunities
East Arnhem Indigenous business leaders have come together in Nhulunbuy to build networks and share ideas for growing success in the region. Impact North's Räl-Manapanmirr event brought together Yolngu entrepreneurs, Aboriginal corporations, government entities, and community leaders on May 30 at the Gove Boat Club. In the morning session on taking 'real steps towards reconciliation', Buymarr Getaways founder Nathan Djerkurra told the crowd that success for his business meant 'rebuilding our community'. 'We're doing this so that people can live back on our home,' he said. Laynhapuy Homelands Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Glenda Abraham said failure was a normal part of running businesses, but key to success was a long term vision. 'We need to have a mindset that grant funding is our seed investor, and then programs need vision and sustainability,' Ms Abraham said. 'For every business that continues, six will fail. For me, it's not a failure but learning to take away and bring back. 'Our dollar is plummeting, which opens up an opportunity for export. People around the world are interested in Indigenous fashion, food and tourism. This is the time that they can come and spend.' In an afternoon Q&A session, co-founder of Dhapirrk Security Michael Maymuru said enjoying what you do was an important first step. 'If you don't like doing it, you will have an uphill battle,' he said. 'Living in two worlds and walking in two worlds is very important.' The event aimed to create a dynamic space for knowledge sharing and mutual learning under the banner of Räl-Manapanmirr – meaning working together hand-in-hand.
