About Wadeye | Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Thamarrurr Catholic College

Community

Wadeye pronounced wad-ayeR

Wadeye is a large remote Aboriginal community located 420km south-west of Darwin by road. The town was previously known as, and is still often referred to as Port Keats, after the Catholic Mission established here in 1935. Our community is located on the land of the Kardu Diminin people and has a population of approximately 2,800. Before the mission, people lived across the region in clan and family groups on their own country throughout the Thamarrurr region. The word Thamarrurr comes from the local Murrinhpatha language and means ‘coming together to work as one people’. Now, people from seven language groups and over twenty clans live in Wadeye on the land of the Kardu Diminin people, of the Murrinhpatha tribe. People from other language groups now speak Murrinhpatha, as they live on Diminin land, and it is the first language of the majority of people living in Wadeye.

The Thamarrurr region is part of the Daly River Port Keats Aboriginal Lands Trust. It is private land that belongs to the Traditional Owners of the region and is protected by the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (NT) 1976. All visitors require a permit from the Northern Land Council to work or visit Wadeye. If people wish to visit land outside of Wadeye township, a separate permit is required from the Northern Land Council as well as permission from appropriate Traditional Owners.

Traditional culture, language, kinship and connection to land are central to people’s lives in Wadeye. The community is home to people from several tribal groups, language groups and over twenty clans. Each clan belongs to a particular land and dreaming sites. A child inherits their father’s land and totems. A person is generally allowed to visit the land and places on their own country, and to visit their mother’s country, but not to go to any other clan’s country. If visiting this land, they need to seek permission from the relevant Traditional Owner. There are four ceremonial dance groups in the region: Wangga, Lirrga, Tharnpa and Wurlthirri.

Wadeye is accessed by the Port Keats Road which is unsealed from the Daly River crossing. The drive takes about 6 hours from Darwin and a 4WD is recommended due to river crossings and corrugations. The road is open during the dry season (May to October) and closed at other times of year due to seasonal flooding. Wadeye can also be reached by air. There is a sealed airstrip accessible throughout the year with automated lighting for night time landings. Murin Air runs a daily service. Freight and deliveries come into Wadeye by plane, road train and weekly barge.

Wadeye has a Shop which is restocked weekly with fresh food and vegetables. It is also possible to make orders through shops in Darwin to have delivered via the weekly barge. The town has a Clinic, Variety Store, Post Office, Pool, Aged Care, Men’s Shed, Women’s Centre, Centrelink, Creche, Mechanic’s Workshop, Rangers, Boarding House for Secondary School students, Police Station, Youth Centre and TDC Village offers a Take Away and overnight accommodation for visitors.

Port Keats was originally set up as a Catholic Mission in 1935. Father Richard Docherty established a mission at Werntek Nganayi, also now known as Old Mission, in 1935. The mission was relocated further inland to Wadeye in 1937. In the 1970s, the Northern Territory Government took control of the mission, operating briefly as an Aboriginal Reserve, before it was passed to the local Kardu Numida Council in 1978 and the town's name was changed to Wadeye.

Since first interacting with the now dominant culture in Australia in 1935, rapid disruption and changes to traditional Aboriginal ways of life have created numerous challenges for people in the region. Despite many changes and challenges of the past 90 years, people of the Thamarrurr region hold on strongly to traditional culture, language and ceremony.

Photo: School children with Sisters, Brother Pye and Harry LUKE in front of the Partly built School, 1941.
The Founding of the Mission at Port Keats, Wadeye Press Port Keats, 1991.