Geography and Population
The Tiwi Islands lie 80 km to the north of the Australian mainland in the Arafura Sea, and are part of the Northern Territory. The island group consists of two large inhabited islands (Melville and Bathurst), and nine smaller uninhabited islands (Buchanan, Harris, Seagull, Karslake, Irritutu, Clift, Turiturina, Matingalia and Nodlaw). Bathurst Island is the fifth-largest island of Australia and accessible by sea or air. Melville Island is Australia's second largest island (after Tasmania).
The main islands are separated by Apsley Strait, which connects Saint Asaph Bay in the north and Shoal Bay in the south, and is between 550 metres and 5 km wide, 62 km long. At the mouth of Shoal Bay is Buchanan Island, with an area of about 3 km². A car ferry at the narrowest point provides a quick connection between the two islands.
They are inhabited by the Tiwi people, as they have been since before European settlement in Australia. The Tiwi are an Indigenous Australian people, culturally and linguistically distinct from those of Arnhem Land on the mainland just across the water. They number around 2,500. In 2011, the total population of the islands was 2,579, of whom 87.9% were Aboriginal. Most residents speak Tiwi as their first language and English as a second language. Most of the population live in Wurrumiyanga (known as Nguiu until 2010) on Bathurst Island, and Pirlangimpi (also known as Garden Point) and Milikapiti (also known as Snake Bay) on Melville Island. Wurrumiyanga has a population of nearly 1500, the other two centres around 450 each.
There are other smaller settlements, including Wurankuwu (Ranku) Community on western Bathurst Island.
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