Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory

Vibrant culture, art, adventure… it’s all here.

Tiwi Island Retreat.

Young Aboriginal artist Wally Brook was telling me about his life and his art. He’d just produced a stunning carved and painted tutini pole for Tarnanthi, the annual exhibition of contemporary Aboriginal art at the Art Gallery of South Australia. He would be travelling to Adelaide for the exhibition, his first trip out of the Northern Territory, and his excitement was palpable.

Tiwi Island Retreat.

We were standing out the back of the Jilamara Arts Centre on Melville Island, a hub of the Tiwi Islands 80km north of Darwin, when there were some shouts from out the front. Wally disappeared for a few minutes, returning with a dead wallaby. “Some fellas was out doin’ the dump run and it was hoppin’ along and then bang!” he said. “They run over it and them fellas drop it off ’ere… there’s a lot of old people who work ’ere and it’s full of iron and it’s good for them to eat it, hey.”

Wally grabbed a boning knife, gave it a few scrapes on a corner of concrete to sharpen the blade, and then sliced through the hock; I helped him hang it from a tree branch. Then Wally gutted and skinned the unlucky wallaby. “You only get one chance, one good opportunity to go somewhere in life, ya know,” he said of his trip to Adelaide. “I gunna seize that chance.” He’d been learning from the old fellas about Tiwi art and culture. “When they go we are the mob that is gunna carry on.”

Tiwi women gathering seafood along a shore. Picture: Alamy.

My three days on the Tiwi Islands, accompanying AGSA assistant director Lisa Slade, left me enchanted, and I dream of returning with my family. I want my kids to absorb the stories and culture. And I want to introduce them to a fella called Patrick Freddy Puruntatameri.

It was September when we met, and the earth was hot and parched and eagerly awaiting the annual drunken splurge of monsoon. Patrick took me to a stunning place called Karslake, a popular camping spot on a sand spit on Melville Island. It’s where Dutch sailors first made contact with the Tiwi in 1705.

Tiwi Islands. Picture: Alamy.

I followed Patrick, who was carrying a barbed spear, and we headed out to an exposed reef. We looked under rocks and in pools for crabs and shellfish as Patrick talked about his life. He often took his grandkids to Karslake to teach them the old stories and the old ways, he said, showing me how they erected barriers around the camps to guard against crocs while they slept. He promised that if I brought my kids back he’d take them out fishing.

Tiwi Islands art. Picture: Greg Bearup.

Melville Island is mainly wooded savannah country, punctuated by lush rainforests that hug its rivers and estuaries. It’s Australia’s second largest island, after Tasmania. But the islands are sparsely populated; at the last Census the Tiwi Islanders numbered 2400. The main centre, Wurrumiyanga, is on Bathurst Island; Melville has two smaller towns, Pirlangimpi (Garden Point) and Milikapiti (Snake Bay). All three towns have excellent arts centres where you can watch the sculptors, painters and screen printers at work and chat with them about island life.

Accommodation options include fishing lodges, which will arrange tours. “But if I was coming here as a tourist, I’d just ask around locally,” says Mike Stitfold, manager of Munupi Arts Centre. Each town has a community club, open daily, and everyone is welcoming. “There are some incredible remote beaches and you won’t get access to them unless you are with a local, so have a beer, have a chat and plan the next day’s adventure.” That is my kind of travel.

One of the artists at work.

Perfect for: Anglers and art lovers.

Must do: Take a dip in a freshwater swimming hole or waterfall; at beaches #BeCrocWise. Visit an art centre and buy a piece to take home. In March, don’t miss the annual Tiwi Islands art sale and football grand final.

Getting there: Book through a fishing lodge or tour operator; permits to visit the island are included in packages. Check Covid travel restrictions; at the time of writing NT was closed to visitors from Victoria and Sydney. Darwin and Bathurst Island are connected by daily flights of about 20 minutes and a thrice-weekly 2.5 hour Sealink ferry service.

Bottom line: Melville Island Lodge and Clearwater Island Lodge offer 2-6 day packages (from about $1200pp) including flights and meals. Go upmarket at Tiwi Island Retreat (2 nights from $2350pp, including flights) or try a full cultural immersion at Tarntipi Bush Camp.

TIWI ISLANDS, NORTHERN TERRITORY
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