Nhulunbuy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nhulunbuy Northern Territory
Nhulunbuy Location in Northern Territory
Population	3,350 (2021 census)
• Density	470.5/km2 (1,219/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	0881, 0880
Elevation	20 m (66 ft)
Area	7.12 km2 (2.7 sq mi)
Location	1,016 km (631 mi) E of Darwin 18 km (11 mi) NW of Yirrkala 729 km (453 mi) ENE of Katherine
LGA(s)	Unincorporated area
Territory electorate(s)	Mulka
Federal Division(s)	Lingiari
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 30.8 °C 87 °F 23.3 °C 74 °F 1,305.3 mm 51.4 in

Alumina plant at Nhulunbuy, June 2000

The old airport terminal at Gove Airport.

Nhulunbuy (say "noo-lun-bye") is a town in the Northern Territory of Australia. It's located on the Gove Peninsula in the northeast part of Arnhem Land.

This town was started in the late 1960s. It grew because a special mine for bauxite (a rock used to make aluminium) and a deep-water port were built there. For many years, the town's main business was an alumina refinery, which processed the bauxite. This refinery closed in May 2014.

In 2021, about 3,350 people lived in Nhulunbuy.

History of Nhulunbuy

This part of Northeast Arnhem Land has been home to the Yolngu Aboriginal people for at least 40,000 years. They are the traditional owners of this land.

In 1803, a famous explorer named Matthew Flinders sailed around Australia. He met traders from Macassar (now part of Indonesia) near where Nhulunbuy is today. A beach in the town is even named Macassan Beach to remember this meeting.

Building the Mine and Town

In 1963, the Australian Government decided to use some of this land for a bauxite mine. They also planned to build a factory to process the bauxite into alumina. A company called Nabalco would run it.

The Yolngu people from nearby Yirrkala were very against this plan. They sent a special message, known as the bark petition, to the Australian Parliament. This petition got a lot of attention around the world. Today, it is displayed in Parliament House, Canberra.

The town of Nhulunbuy was built to house the workers and their families who worked for Nabalco. The town grew, and by the 1970s, about 3,500 people lived there. A new high school opened in 1981. Later, the mine was owned by Rio Tinto, a large mining company.

Getting to Nhulunbuy

It's hard to drive to Nhulunbuy because the roads are unsealed and very long (over 700 kilometres). Because of this, most supplies and visitors arrive by plane at Gove Airport or by boat.

Nhulunbuy is only about 20 kilometres from the Indigenous community of Yirrkala. Yirrkala is well-known for its amazing Aboriginal art.

Changes in Population

When the alumina refinery closed in May 2014, about 1,100 workers lost their jobs or moved away. This caused the population of Nhulunbuy to drop. By 2016, there were about 3,240 people living there.

In 2019, a new project was announced near Nhulunbuy: the Arnhem Space Centre. This is a place where rockets can be launched into space. In June 2022, NASA (the US space agency) launched three rockets from this centre. This was the first time NASA launched rockets from a private launch site outside the United States!

Education

Nhulunbuy has three schools:

• Nhulunbuy Primary School
• Nhulunbuy High School
• Nhulunbuy Christian College

The Nhulunbuy Christian College started its first classes in 1999. In 2017, Nhulunbuy High School opened a new boarding facility. This helps students from remote areas get a good education.

Places to Visit and Use

Nhulunbuy has many useful places and things to do:

• Walkabout Lodge & Tavern (a place to stay and eat)
• Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation (an Indigenous organisation)
• Endeavour Square (a shopping centre with a Woolworths supermarket, a BWS liquor store, and a Westpac bank)
• Gove Country Golf Club (the most northern golf course in Australia)
• Gove District Hospital
• Gove Boat Club

Refinery Closure and Its Impact

On November 29, 2013, Rio Tinto announced that the alumina refinery would close by July 2014. This meant about 1,100 jobs would be lost. The refinery stopped making alumina in May 2014.

The town's population quickly dropped after the closure. Some workers stayed to help shut down the refinery, but most left by early 2015. The closure also affected flights to Nhulunbuy. QantasLink had to stop some flights because there weren't enough passengers.

Media

For a while, the Arafura Times was the only local newspaper in Gove. But it published its last issue in October 2016 because of the refinery closure and less money from advertising.

Now, Gove Online shares news about Nhulunbuy and the East Arnhem Land area.

In Film

A movie called The Boat With No Name was made by a local filmmaker, Phil O'Brien. It premiered at the Gove Boat Club in 2022. All the actors in the film are local people. The movie shows off the area and its unique characters. It also highlights how Indigenous (Yolngu) and non-Indigenous (balanda) people work together in the East Arnhem region.

Climate

Nhulunbuy has a tropical savannah climate. This means it's hot all year round, even at night. The wet season is from December to May, with lots of rain. During the dry season, from June to November, it hardly ever rains. Nhulunbuy's temperature doesn't change much throughout the year.

See also

In Spanish: Nhulunbuy para niños