The Tiwi Islanders go with the times

Tu Tangata, Issue 25, 1 August 1985, Page 35

The Tiwi Islanders go with the times

Melville and Bathurst Islands sit about 80 kilometres north of Darwin in the Northern Territory. Bathurst, the smaller but more populated island has about twelve hundred people on its 800 sq miles, while Melville has about six hundred on its 2,400 sq miles.

The islands have had lots of past contact with Malaysians and Indonesians from the islands to the north and call these visitors, Macassans. There was a small British naval presence on Melville Island from 1824 to 1829 but it was not till 1911 that a Catholic Mission was established on Bathurst by a Sacred Heart missionary Father Gsell.

Some 74 years after this missionary influence, I received permission to visit the Tiwi people. I was shown around by an Aboriginal raised on Bathurst, Luke Morcom, who is employed as a liaison officer for the government. However Luke was brought to the island as a two month old baby, having been taken from his mother living at Booroloola, some hundreds of miles away. This was government policy then, to separate mixed and full-blood aboriginal children from their communities and take them away to get assimilated into white education and society. It also had the effect of weakening kinship ties and land associations so that many tribal people grew up not knowing their true identity. I found that as in New Zealand, being of mixed blood, Maori/pakeha makes for some confusion. It means the person has to find out about his different cul-

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tural background and be comfortable with that before making his way in the world.

Many mixed blood Aboriginals I met have had to come to terms with this inner confusion, sometimes getting flack from both their own people and whites (as non-aboriginals are called).

Anyway I soon found that at Nguiu (as Bathurst is now known), the native Tiwi people had made all the young Mission children welcome. The school goes from infants up to intermediate and is staffed mainly by white teachers, a few aboriginal teachers and teacher aides. The children speak both native Tiwi and English, and a bilingual programme is used to reinforce the lessons.

However the children are handicapped by tropical ear infection which causes deafness and a home environment that is ill-equipped to take advantage of such education.

Although parents may be aware of the benefits of education, from 74 years of missionary settlement, it is not reflected in children going on to college in Darwin.

It’s perhaps here that the reality of the Tiwi lifestyle hits you. Economically the islands are dependant on government funding for essential services like housing, water and electricity. These services require in turn people to run them, with nearly all run by white supervisors. The town-clerk, a southAustralian, said that the locals weren’t qualified for positions and he put it down to children being disadvantaged even before they started school.

Over on Melville Island Cyril Rioli stands out as a man who wants his people to start being more independant. He looks after the local store on behalf of the people’s council and has a proven track record in being able to handle responsibility. He was involved with logging operations on Bathurst, spent some time in management at a Darwin store, and was invited back to Melville to take over the store.

His family is well-known amongst Tiwi Islanders for their sports prowess, with several sons making their mark especially in Australian rules football. This “Aussy rules” has produced a famous national hero for Aboriginals and white Australians alike, Maurice Rioli.

But for Maurice to play competitively, he has to work and play in Melbourne. I watched a television programme about him and was amazed at the contrast in living style. It's a long way from Melbourne to Melville Island. While houses range from two roomed open style to concrete bungalows with air-conditioning, the unhurried pace of life remains. In 35 degree temperatures, it's hard to hurry.

For most adults on the island there’s little paid work. Tiwi Design, is a small silk screening business started by an art teacher in 1969. On my visit there

were many sarongs, wall hangings, shirts and ponchos on display all with distinctive Tiwi design patterns. As well there are carvings.

The boss, Danny Munkara printed a special design for me incorporating the Aboriginal flag, the Tiwi Islands and the legend, Remember Your Ancestors.

Next door was Tiwi pottery, where again very distinctive design pottery is produced.

Bima Wear is a dress-making industry that produces a range of clothing, some incorporating Tiwi design patterns. It started out producing school uniforms.

All these commercial ventures are controlled by the Tiwi people, with profits going back to the community. Tiwi Design, Bima Wear and Tiwi Pottery are marketed locally as well as across Australia and represent a good economic future. For those not employed in these ventures, there are the maintenance crews who seem to spend a lot of

time riding around in Toyota fourwheel vehicles. Some play a local card game, tigeran (spelt by sound) for money while others are fishing, hunting or just resting. One strange thing was the food the local store at Nguiu was selling. In thirty degree temperatures I found hot chips and pies a bit hard to take. I think it unfortunate that junk food is produced in a place that needs all the nutrition it can get. However local food like kawarri (goanna), milipukani (mangrove worms), marntuwungini (dugong) and jarrikarlani (sea turtle) is still on the menu at home.

At around half past four all work ceases on both islands as people head for ‘the club'. It’s a building set aside for having a beer. I found the environment very much like a public bar in Otara, the difference being the lack of

chairs inside, the noise and the steep price ($2.50 NZ per 12 oz glass).

Again white supervisors oversee several aboriginal barmen, presumably because there could be problems. I was told by white and black people about the problems associated with drinking.

In some more traditional communities where contact with white people has been limited, some of the younger members of the tribe are being thrown off the land because of their heavy drinking. Even in areas where there had been a lot of white contact, drinking is acknowledged as a big problem amongst aboriginals.

While in most aboriginal communities, it is an offence to bring in alcohol, it only seems to encourage aboriginals

to hang around white settlements where alcohol is available. Love of sport Just as Maoris love their sport, so to do Tiwi Islanders. At the time of my visit, ‘footy fever’ gripped the islands. All I heard was talk about Imalu, the recent local champions, and how the Saints (St Marys) would thrash Wanderers on Saturday. A natural ability with ball handling, speed and agility, are the hallmarks of these Tiwi players, having produced an Aussie great. David Kantilla who represented South Adelaide in 1964 and then went on to coach locals. Imalu to two seasons wins in a row. Current national champ. Maurice

Rioli is almost outshone by his brother, Sibby, who coached Imalu to their recent victory. The St Marys Football Club is only a young club, comprising mainly Tiwi people who worked on the mainland around Darwin. They celebrated thirty years of football, Aussy style, by defeating arch-rivals Wanderers 98 points to 85 in front of a capacity crowd.

I had a bet with my guide, Luke on the game’s outcome and am now the proud owner of two Saints jerseys. (For which I exchanged a Mana Motuhake teeshirt.)

After the weekend I travelled to Melville Island and after a refreshing swim in one of the many fresh-water swimming holes called Goolumbinni, I spent some time talking with town council president, Cyril Rioli. He and his wife Helena are justifiably proud of their sons, Sibby, Maurice, Emmanuel, Lawerence (nicknamed Dujong by my guide’s little daughter Kathy) John, Cyril junior, Francis and Willy.

Cyril is one who talks to his people telling them that the time to rely on government assisted work schemes and handouts is fast coming to and end. And with his work example and family support, I left the islands with the feeling that although contact with whites has not left much of their traditional culture, their ability to adapt to successive waves of Macassans will continue to stand the test of time.

Hei kona rate iwi kainga o nga moutere. Kia u, kia mau ki o koutou tikanga. Hei maumaharatanga mo o koutou tipuna kua haere. Mo to manaakitanga i taku nohoanga ki kona, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.