Daguragu, previously also known as Wattie Creek by the Gurindji people,[11] is a locality in the Northern Territory of Australia located about 551 kilometres (342 mi) south of the territory capital of Darwin and located about 460 kilometres (290 mi) south-west of the municipal seat in Katherine.[1][4][6] Daguragu community is situated on Aboriginal land held under perpetual title;[12] it was also formerly a local government area until its amalgamation into the Victoria Daly Shire on 1 July 2008.

Daguragu Northern Territory
Daguragu
Coordinates	17°25′12″S 130°48′18″E[1]
Population	242 (2016 census)[2][3]
• Density	5.488/km2 (14.21/sq mi)
Established	prior to 1974 (community) 4 April 2007 (locality)[1]
Postcode(s)	0852[4]
Area	44.1 km2 (17.0 sq mi)[5]
Time zone	ACST (UTC+9:30)
Location	551 km (342 mi) S of Darwin[5] 460 km (286 mi) SW of Katherine[6]
LGA(s)	Victoria Daly Region[1]
Territory electorate(s)	Stuart[7]
Federal division(s)	Lingiari[8]
Mean max temp[9] Mean min temp[9] Annual rainfall[9] 34.3 °C 94 °F 19.0 °C 66 °F 682.9 mm 26.9 in
Suburbs around Daguragu: Gurindji Gurindji Gurindji Gurindji Daguragu Gurindji Kalkarindji Gurindji Gurindji Kalkarindji Kalkarindji
Footnotes	Adjoining localities[10]

As of 2006, Daguragu Community Government Council provided "municipal and other services to the township and surrounds of Kalkarindji (formerly known as Wave Hill Welfare Settlement) and to Daguragu, a community settled on land under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976". The total council area was about 3,237 square kilometres (1,250 sq mi).[13] Kalkaringi was within a gazetted township area, with the land being leasehold under the auspices of the Northern Territory Government.[12]

Daguragu's boundaries and name were gazetted on 4 April 2007. It is named after the Aboriginal community located within its boundaries where in 1975, then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam presented the title to the land granted to the Gurindji people following the events of the Wave Hill walk-off in 1966. As of 2020, it has an area of 44.1 square kilometres (17.0 sq mi).[5][1][14]

Daguragu Community was amalgamated into the Victoria Daly Shire on 1 July 2008.^{[citation needed]} As of 2020^[update] Daguragu is located within the federal division of Lingiari, the territory electoral division of Stuart and the local government area of the Victoria Daly Region.[8][7][1]

The 2016 Australian census reported that Daguragu had a population of 242 people of whom 233 (96%) identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.[2][15]

Heritage sites

The Wave Hill walk-off route was listed on the Northern Territory Heritage Register on 23 August 2006 and on the Australian National Heritage List on 9 August 2007.[16][17] There are also seven other associated sites on the National Heritage List, of which five are in the Kalkaringi area and two within Daguragu.[18]

2020 Wave Hill native title

A native title claim was lodged in 2016 by the Central Land Council on behalf of the traditional owners, as there were mining interests in area covered by Wave Hill Station's pastoral lease.[19] On 8 September 2020, the Federal Court of Australia recognised the native title rights of the Gurindji people to 5,000 square kilometres (1,900 sq mi) of the Wave Hill Station, allowing them to receive royalties as compensation from resource companies who explore the area. Justice Richard White said that the determination recognised Indigenous involvement (Jamangku, Japuwuny, Parlakuna-Parkinykarni and Yilyilyimawu peoples) with the land "at least since European settlement and probably for millennia".[19][20] The court sitting took place nearly 800 kilometres (500 mi) south of Darwin, and descendants of Lingiari and others involved in the walk-off celebrated the determination.[19] The owners will participate in the mining negotiations and exploration work, from which royalties may flow in the future, which may allow people in the Kalkarindji and Daguragu communities to create their own businesses. Just as important is the right to hunt, gather, teach and perform cultural activities and ceremonies, and allow the young people to connect with their land.[19]

See also

• Kalkarindji

References

Further reading

• Ward, Charlie (20 August 2016). "An historic handful of dirt: Whitlam and the legacy of the Wave Hill Walk-Off". The Conversation. Article by the author of the 2017 book A Handful of Sand: The Gurindji Struggle, After the Walk-off.
  • Gerritsen, Rolf (2017). "A Handful of Sand: The Gurindji Struggle, After the Walk-offby Charlie Ward... Book Review" (PDF). Aboriginal History. ANU Press. 41: 233–234.