At a packed town meeting in late 2013, residents of the remote Northern Territory town of Nhulunbuy were told the news they had feared for months. The nearby bauxite refinery – the region’s largest employer – was curtailing operations and forcing over 1000 people out of work. For many, this was a life-shattering announcement.
“We were going to retire here… just stay in this quiet little town and live our life out, but that all changed. Move on, no choice,” remembers Greg “Grub” Stevens, former refinery employee and local firearms dealer.
Many who had been drawn to this far-flung location by generous mining salaries, found themselves seduced by the beauty of remote Arnhem Land and the lifestyle that came with it.
“I would never go back to Scotland after living in this part of Australia,” said Scottish pharmacist Rhona Woodhead whose husband worked at the refinery. “I don’t think we could ever find a better place to live and a better quality of life.”
Nine months later, removal vans were on every street corner as one-by-one families started to pack up and relocate across the country.
During this time of upheaval, Sydney filmmakers Melanie and Louis Garrick began recording the stories of Gove residents, both leaving and staying.
Having previously visited East Arnhem Land close to when the announcement came in 2013, the pair was expecting to encounter a similar feeling of uncertainty when they returned in July 2014 to film.
“We filmed dozens of interviews and the impact of the closure was different for everyone,” director Melanie Garrick said. “Some people’s lives were turned upside down and others couldn’t have cared less.”
The divisive response to the closure is unsurprising in a community that has had a fraught history with mining. In 1963, the Indigenous Yolngu people sent the historic Yirrkala bark petition to Canberra in protest of the proposed bauxite mine. The mine went ahead regardless, however the petitions were extremely significant in the Yolngu’s fight for land rights.
Since the sixties, many Yolngu elders have witnessed the full life cycle of bauxite mining operations on their land – from birth, life and ultimate scaling back of operations. “When the mine started, I remember what happened,” recalls Ranydjupi Yunupingu, cultural advisor at Yirrkala’s Mulka centre and sister of Yothu Yindi’s Mandawuy Yunupingu and land rights leader Dr Galarrwuy Yunupingu.
“I used to see my father and the other old men have meetings everyday, talking talking, and then we see all of the miners come and dig the bauxite… It’s changed a lot, they dug lots of holes and covered them up. Our land doesn’t look the same as it did before.”
Along with the environmental changes, the construction of the township of Nhulunbuy brought about its own challenges.
“After the mine came, the Walkabout came. They dug holes everywhere and next minute you knew there was a building where they sell bad drinks… Problems were everywhere after the pub came,” Yunupingu said.
As the economic centre of East Arnhem Land, Nhulunbuy services many surrounding remote communities. With the shutdown, there was concern over how services such as schools, hospitals and even supermarkets, would be affected.
“The lack of services would put a lot of pressure on families, because they would have to leave Yirrkala to fly to Darwin or another city to get the services they need,” says Yirrkala mother Vanessa Gambley. “Just for example this morning, I had to go to the IGA in town to get varnish for my son’s didgeridoo and they said there’s nothing left. So it’s like ‘youse closing down?’” The said IGA did close down not long after.
Despite the threat the closure posed to jobs and services, many of the Yolngu youth were pleased to see the refinery scale back.
“From the very start, Yolngu didn’t want the mine,” said East Journey band member Patrick White. “They were one of the first to start up the land rights case. And also the mine created division with the tribes. Nowadays they still have that in the back of their minds, so they don’t want to work there. And in their mind, they’re thinking it’s destroying their own land.”
For filmmaker Ishmael Marika, the grandson of land rights activist Milirrpum Marika, the closure was also positive. “My grandfather’s dream… the struggle they went through to fight for the land and (losing) their case. For their sake, I am happy.”
East of Arnhem doesn't delve too deeply into Arnhem Land’s complex mining history, or the economic implications the closure will likely bring to the region. It instead explores the personal stories so unique to this historic and remote area.
“For many people, the economic climate of the town really has no influence on whether they choose to live there. It was really fascinating hearing from them, and recording their predictions for the future,” said director Melanie Garrick.
“In my life, I’ve had bigger things to worry about than this,” said 20-year old dancer and National Indigenous Youth Parliament representative Ineke Wallis. “It (Gove) will definitely change, whether it’s for the good or the bad, we don’t know yet but I will be here to watch it happen… I really hope it is for the good, the people here need it.”
EAST OF ARNHEM airs on SBS ONE on December 28 at 5pm EST, and on NITV on January 29 at 9pm and January 30 at 1pm.
