24 Sep Curijo Travels to the Northern Territory

Recently our team had the pleasure of visiting the Northern Territory as part of a service provided to a large government department. We were contracted to examine the effectiveness of services being delivered to remote communities across the Top End.  As part of this engagement, the Curijo team spent 5 days meeting with community residents and with service providers.  Despite the isolation from the larger town and city centres, the team enjoyed the trip and saw first-hand the challenges faced living and working in remote areas.

One remote Aboriginal community that we visited was Gunbalanya which is located in the Western Arnhem Land.  This community is approximately 300 kilometres from Darwin and is located just east and outside of Kakadu National Park.  Gunbalanya has a fluid population of around 1,200 residents and these numbers can vary depending on whether it is the wet or dry seasons.  The area surrounding Gunbalanya includes the flood plains of the East Alligator River that are covered by water from December to April and a rocky sandstone escarpment plateau that rises to the south of the flood plains.

Gunbalanya sits at the base of the Arnhem Land escarpment and all visitors to the community are required to  obtain a permit. Our team travelled four hours in the dry season by road in a four wheel drive vehicle with 90 per cent of the way by bitumen and the remaining trip on dirt road.  Visitors can fly by private air charters to an all-weather airstrip. During the wet season, Gunbalanya is isolated by road for several months with the only access by air charter.

There are two main aspects to visiting this Aboriginal community. They are the people themselves and how their community functions and secondly, the surrounding scenic landscapes and its wildlife. Local services and attractions one can see in Gunbalanya include – the Injalak Arts Centre, the community school, the health clinic, the police station, the local supermarket, the West Arnhem Regional Council, the local abattoir and the local radio station.  Gunbalanya also has its own community development program which is actively attempts to offer training and employment opportunities to local residents.

Curijo are pleased to be able to offer interstate services for all aspects of our two practices: Community, Culture, Education and Change and Business, Evaluation, Audit, Assurance and Transformation. We work effectively and efficiently with senior leaders to deliver solutions in complex environments. Our team strives to deliver high quality services across our practices and work collaboratively and respectfully within local communities to achieve the end goal.