Wadeye

The township was originally founded as a Roman Catholic mission station by Father Richard Docherty in 1935 at Werntek Nganayi (Old Mission), located between the Daly and Fitzmaurice Rivers. In 1938 it moved {{cvt|14|km}} inland to the community's present location, owing to lack of water supply. Dormitories were established, in which Aboriginal boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 17 lived, away from their families and culture, along with a school. The Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart looked after the girls, and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart the boys. Apart from accommodation and education, the missionaries also provided medical care and religious instruction. The school was closed between 1941 and 1946 due to the Second World War.{{cite web | title=Port Keats Mission (1935 - 1978)| publisher=Commonwealth of Australia| website= Find and Connect | url=https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/nt/biogs/YE00004b.htm | access-date=17 June 2023 | page=}}

A report on the mission written by a government inspector in 1951 included the following statement on mission policy, which had been provided to him by the superintendent.{{blockquote|

1. To obtain control of and train the children through dormitories.
2. When the children are baptised to purchase the complete marriage rights of the girls and boys from the parents and guardians.
3. To christianise the children.
4. To raise the standard of living of the people through the development of agricultural and stock activities.}}

The mission dormitories at Port Keats Mission later operated as a residential school, until 1975. In the 1970s, the Northern Territory Government took over control, operating as an Aboriginal reserve, before it was passed to the Kardu Numida Council in 1978, when the community's name was changed to Wadeye.

In April 2022, ongoing disputes among family groups flared into mass unrest.{{Cite news |date=2022-04-20 |first=Roxanne |last=Fitzgerald|title=Man, 18, charged over death in remote NT community, amid ongoing community unrest |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-20/nt-police-charge-man-with-manslaughter-over-death-in-wadeye/100997996 |access-date=2022-07-04}}{{Cite web |last=Wood |first=David |title='Absolute mayhem in Wadeye': Sources tell of community in violent crisis and a lack of information made public |url=https://ntindependent.com.au/absolute-mayhem-in-wadeye-sources-tell-of-community-in-violent-crisis-and-a-lack-of-information-made-public/ |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=ntindependent.com.au/ |language=en-AU}} Violence escalated between the 22 family groups{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Rohan |date=4 May 2022 |title=Violence out of control in outback town of Wadeye, home to 22 clan groups |work=News.com.au |url=https://www.news.com.au/national/northern-territory/violence-out-of-control-in-outback-town-of-wadeye-home-to-22-clan-groups/news-story/e9106e52ce0e1d9d240ffbb8f51d1601 |access-date=4 July 2022}} over the incident, resulting in around 37 homes being extensively damaged by fire in arson attacks, and 125 of Wadeye's 288 properties needing repairs, according to the Northern Territory Government. Hundreds of residents were forced from their homes.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-23 |title=NT social unrest cost grows as homes hit |url=https://7news.com.au/news/urban-planning/nt-social-unrest-cost-grows-as-homes-hit-c-7275614 |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=7NEWS |language=en}} On 19 April, a 33-year-old man died in hospital, after he had been allegedly attacked by an 18-year-old man. The teen was charged with manslaughter. The victim's death was caused by a metal bar that had pierced his skull, causing a brain bleed. In May 2023 the teen, now 19, was sentenced by the Northern Territory Supreme Court to seven years' prison for manslaughter. He had been one of the first high-school graduates in over 10 years in Wadeye, and was emerging as a leader.

After the violence, many of the residents fled the area and resettled elsewhere, with some camping in the bush and some moving to Darwin. However leaders started working on peacekeeping initiatives, and a year later, over 150 men and women gathered for a traditional initiation ceremony for young men. Traditional owners, assisted by Northern Territory Police, are working on re-establishing peace and making Wadeye a place where young people can live safely, after houses had been rebuilt.{{cite web | last=Garrick | first=Matt | title=Wadeye's fight for peace | website=ABC News | date=17 June 2023 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-17/nt-after-riots-wadeye-fights-for-peace/102456568 | access-date=16 June 2023 | page=}}

The population has fluctuated around 2000 people in the past, before the 2022 riots. In the 2016 census, 2280 residents were counted.{{Census 2016 AUS|id=SSC70275|name=Wadeye (State Suburb) |access-date=11 April 2018|quick=on }} In 2021, there were 1,924 people (408 families).{{Census 2021 AUS|id=SAL70275|name=Wadeye (Suburbs and Localities) |access-date=17 June 2023|quick=on }} Wadeye is one of the biggest Indigenous communities in the NT.

The people are drawn from seven language groups, with the main language spoken being Murrinh-patha.{{cite web | title=Wadeye story | website=Missionaries of the Sacred Heart | url=https://www.misacor.org.au/item/1100-wadeye-story | access-date=17 June 2023 | page=}} Other languages include Marri-Ngarr, Marri-Tjavin, Magata-ge, and Djamindjung.{{cite web | website=indigenous.gov.au | url=https://www.indigenous.gov.au/community/wadeye |title=Wadeye (previously known as Port Keats)| access-date=17 June 2023 | page=}}

The town is remote, situated on the western edge of the Daly River Reserve about {{convert|230|km}} by air south-west of Darwin. The Fitzmaurice River more or less forms its southern boundary.

It lies close to the Hyland Bay and Moyle Floodplain Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for large numbers of waterbirds.BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Hyland Bay and Moyle Floodplain. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2011-12-23.

Wadeye has a sealed airstrip, Port Keats Airfield, with regular passenger flights to Darwin. Road access is mostly unsealed via the Port Keats/ Daly River Road. Wadeye is accessible by road only during the dry season; in the wet season many river crossings are impassable, with access being possible only by light aircraft or coastal barge.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Wadeye is serviced by several organisations including government and non-government organisations. There is a Catholic school operated by Our Lady of the Sacred Heart that provides education to students from transition through to year 12. In 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, seven students completed high school in Wadeye. It was the first time since 2007 that anyone had completed the final year.{{cite news |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/these-year-12s-are-the-first-to-finish-school-in-their-remote-community-in-13-years |title=These Year 12s are the first to finish school |work=SBS News |first=Samantha |last=Allemann |date=3 November 2020 |access-date=6 November 2020}}

There is a clinic operated by the Northern Territory Government that provides primary health care and emergency care services for the community. Clients requiring care that is not able to be managed in the community are transferred to Royal Darwin Hospital via the Top End Medical Retrieval Service operated by CareFlight.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

The development corporation for the community is Thammarurr Development Corporation (TDC), which represents the local 21 clan groups, providing funding, governance and leadership around issues surrounding community development related to health, housing, education and country.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

There is a well stocked shop and a take-away operated by the TDC.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Wadeye is also the site of a temporary ADF Radar site that is used during exercises conducted in the Top End.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

In November 2023, the town's swimming pool reopened after being closed for five years.{{cite news |last=Garrick |first=Matt |date=25 November 2023 |title=NT community of Wadeye rejoices as its pool is finally reopened after sitting empty for half a decade |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-25/nt-wadeye-remote-community-reopens-swimming-pool/103146474 |work=ABC News |access-date=2 December 2023}} Residents see the reopening as a positive for the town, with the pool providing a safer place to swim than nearby creeks inhabited by crocodiles.

Nym Bunduk was the first painter in Wadeye who had international interest. He was asked by Bill Stanner, an anthropologist who had come with Richard Docherty in 1935, to produce pieces explaining traditional law, which he made after he saw a map produced by Stanner. He produced many bark paintings of the dreaming which informed Stanner's research. In the 1958 George Chaloupka commissioned 64 paintings by local artists including Nym Bunduk,{{cite web|date=2021-06-30|title=Nym Bunduk {{!}} port keats bark painting {{!}} value {{!}} sell {{!}} Nym Bandak|url=https://www.aboriginal-bark-paintings.com/nym-bunduk/|access-date=2021-08-09|website=Aboriginal Bark Paintings|language=en-US}} Charlie Mardigan{{cite web|date=2021-07-02|title=Charlie Mardigan {{!}} port keats bark {{!}} value {{!}} sell {{!}} Wadeye bark painting|url=https://www.aboriginal-bark-paintings.com/charlie-mardigan/|access-date=2021-08-09|website=Aboriginal Bark Paintings|language=en-US}} and Charlie Brinken. By the 1960s the Catholic Mission was buying artworks from local artists at the mission store. Bark painting soon became a small mission-run cottage industry.{{cite web|date=2021-07-04|title=Port Keats painting {{!}} Wadeye painting {{!}} Port Keats bark painting|url=https://www.aboriginal-bark-paintings.com/port-keats-painting/|access-date=2021-08-09|website=Aboriginal Bark Paintings|language=en-US}}

Following in the tradition of Nym Bundak is Richard 'Skunky' Parmbuk.{{cite news| url=http://lryb.aiatsis.gov.au/PDFs/aasj08.01_wardcrocombe.pdf.|title=Port Keats painting: Revolution and continuity|author= Graeme K Wardand Mark Crocombe|date=15 November 2011|access-date=2011-01-13}}{{cite news|url=http://thamarrurr.org.au/index.php/tr/wec.|title=Wildlife Enterprise Centre|date=15 November 2011|access-date=2011-01-13}}

As any other regions in the Top End, Wadeye has a tropical savanna climate (Aw) with distinct wet and dry seasons. The dry season normally occurs from about May to October. The temperature of the dry season can drop below {{convert|10|°C|°F}} during the coolest months between May and August, and it can peak above {{convert|40|°C|°F}} in the build up months between September and November. The wet season is generally associated with monsoon rains and tropical cyclones. Most of the rainfall occurs from December to March (southern hemisphere summer), when thunderstorms are not very uncommon and afternoon relative humidity averages over 70 percent during the wettest months.

{{Weather box

|location = Wadeye Airport, Northern Territory, Australia (1997-present normals and extremes)

|metric first = Y

|single line = Y

|width = auto

|Jan record high C = 38.9

|Feb record high C = 37.8

|Mar record high C = 38.3

|Apr record high C = 38.0

|May record high C = 37.4

|Jun record high C = 35.3

|Jul record high C = 35.6

|Aug record high C = 37.5

|Sep record high C = 41.1

|Oct record high C = 41.0

|Nov record high C = 40.6

|Dec record high C = 38.9

|Jan high C = 32.5

|Feb high C = 32.7

|Mar high C = 33.5

|Apr high C = 34.3

|May high C = 33.0

|Jun high C = 31.2

|Jul high C = 31.4

|Aug high C = 32.2

|Sep high C = 33.6

|Oct high C = 34.5

|Nov high C = 34.6

|Dec high C = 33.8

|Jan mean C = 28.8

|Feb mean C = 28.8

|Mar mean C = 29.0

|Apr mean C = 28.5

|May mean C = 26.2

|Jun mean C = 24.2

|Jul mean C = 24.2

|Aug mean C = 24.8

|Sep mean C = 27.3

|Oct mean C = 29.3

|Nov mean C = 30.0

|Dec mean C = 29.6

|Jan low C = 25.1

|Feb low C = 24.8

|Mar low C = 24.4

|Apr low C = 22.6

|May low C = 19.5

|Jun low C = 17.4

|Jul low C = 16.9

|Aug low C = 17.6

|Sep low C = 21.1

|Oct low C = 24.2

|Nov low C = 25.4

|Dec low C = 25.5

|Jan record low C = 21.0

|Feb record low C = 19.8

|Mar record low C = 17.0

|Apr record low C = 13.8

|May record low C = 10.0

|Jun record low C = 8.2

|Jul record low C = 8.5

|Aug record low C = 10.0

|Sep record low C = 12.0

|Oct record low C = 14.6

|Nov record low C = 19.0

|Dec record low C = 21.2

|rain colour = green

|Jan rain mm = 376.3

|Feb rain mm = 308.4

|Mar rain mm = 205.1

|Apr rain mm = 80.1

|May rain mm = 16.4

|Jun rain mm = 3.4

|Jul rain mm = 1.3

|Aug rain mm = 0.6

|Sep rain mm = 8.3

|Oct rain mm = 42.6

|Nov rain mm = 86.8

|Dec rain mm = 202.5

|Jan rain days = 14.2

|Feb rain days = 14.0

|Mar rain days = 12.9

|Apr rain days = 5.5

|May rain days = 1.5

|Jun rain days = 0.3

|Jul rain days = 0.2

|Aug rain days = 0.1

|Sep rain days = 0.7

|Oct rain days = 3.4

|Nov rain days = 6.2

|Dec rain days = 10.6

|unit rain days = 1 mm

|Jan humidity = 70

|Feb humidity = 69

|Mar humidity = 63

|Apr humidity = 45

|May humidity = 36

|Jun humidity = 31

|Jul humidity = 30

|Aug humidity = 36

|Sep humidity = 45

|Oct humidity = 51

|Nov humidity = 57

|Dec humidity = 64

|Jan dew point C = 24.3

|Feb dew point C = 24.3

|Mar dew point C = 23.1

|Apr dew point C = 18.6

|May dew point C = 13.5

|Jun dew point C = 9.8

|Jul dew point C = 9.4

|Aug dew point C = 12.1

|Sep dew point C = 17.2

|Oct dew point C = 20.1

|Nov dew point C = 22.7

|Dec dew point C = 23.9

|source 1 = Australian Bureau of Meteorology{{cite web

| url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_014948_All.shtml

| title = Climate statistics for Australian locations – Port Keats Airport, Wadeye, Northern Territory

| date = 25 April 2022}}

}}

{{reflist}}

{{Localities and communities of the West Daly Region|state=collapsed}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Towns in the Northern Territory

Category:Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory

Category:Australian Aboriginal missions