Jawoyn Land

Jawoyn traditional land stretches across 50,000 square kilometres.

It extends from the regional town of Katherine, south-east to the township of Mataranka, eastwards past Barunga and Beswick, then north-east in an arc crossing from Bulman in Arnhem Land across to the southern part of Kakadu National Parkand and south-west Arnhem.

The region incorporates a diversity of vast landscapes, with a rich natural and cultural history. However a lot of our land is accessible only by helicopter. It has remained hidden from the outside world, left by our ancestors who walked and lived in the area for more than 40,000 years.

The recognition of traditional ownership of all our land has not been recognised by Australian Governments, but a large majority has been handed back to us since the introduction of Aboriginal land rights and native title legislation.

Land Ownership

Since we won our first land claim of the area we named Nitmiluk National Park in 1989, we have become the recognised owners in the Katherine region, western Arnhem Land and the southern areas of Kakadu National Park.

The foundation of the Jawoyn’s economic development
has been its ownership of land.

Without the secure title that it enjoys, the Jawoyn Association would not be where it is today. It has provided a strong bargaining position in the establishment of joint management arrangements, especially in the early years of the associations development.

The majority of Jawoyn Lands are held under the Aboriginal Land Trust (ALT), obtained through the Aboriginal Land Rights Act (Northern Territory) 1976. Jawoyn land ownership is comprised of a combination of land trust areas, freehold and national parks, including:

• Jawoyn Aboriginal Land Trust
• Beswick Aboriginal Land Trust
• Eva Valley (Manyallaluk) Aboriginal Land Trust
• A portion of the Arnhem Land Aboriginal Land Trust
• Banatjarl freehold
• Barnjarn (Northern Territory enhanced freehold)
• Jawoyn Lands include two national park areas - Nitmiluk National Park and Kakadu National Park. Nitmiluk National Park is wholly within Jawoyn country. Jawoyn Lands also include the Gunlom area in southern Kakadu National Park.
• The town of Katherine (Crown and freehold land)
• Indigenous communities