Mowanjum

History

After an initial attempt to set up a mission near Walcott Inlet by Dr. John Yule had been abandoned by the lay missionaries who followed, Robert and Frances Wilson, owing to lack of fresh water at the site, a fresh site was sought. In 1912 Rev. R.H. Wilson and his party selected a new site at Port George IV, not far away. Within a few more years, sometime before 1930, this site too had to be abandoned, owing to lack of water and arable land, with the new site known as Kunmunya. Rev. J.R.B. Love was in important figure in the history of the mission, although he was away from the outbreak of World War I in 1914, when he enlisted in the First Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) in 1914, and only returned in 1927. He subsequently remained as superintendent until 1941. Love translated the gospel of Saint Mark and Saint Luke into the Worrorra language, and mission children were taught in both English and Worrorra. In 1949, the land, livestock and equipment of Munja Aboriginal Cattle Station was handed over to the missionaries, which overstretched the capacity of the missionaries. In the meantime, Kumunya experienced crop failures, and after deliberations among the various groups, they all relocated in 1951 to Wotjulum, near Yampi Sound, about south-west of Port George, near Coppermine Estuary. finally to the outskirts of Derby near the airport in 1956. The name Mowanjum was inscribed in the Derby marsh in 1956 by David Mowaljarlai. It means "settled" or "on firm ground. The three men attributed to founding the Mowanjum Community are Albert Barunga, Alan Mungulu and David Mowaljarlai. The community was again shifted in 1975 to its present site east of Derby, following government requirements for additional land for the Derby Airport.