Arnhem Land' is an area of 97,000 km² in the north-eastern corner of the Northern Territory, Australia. The region was named by Matthew Flinders after the Dutch ship Arnhem which explored the coast in 1623. Declared an Aboriginal Reserve in 1931, it remains one of the largest Aboriginal Reserves in Australia and is perhaps best known for its remoteness and the strong continuing traditions of its Indigenous inhabitants. Capital Darwin Government Const. ... Captain Matthew Flinders. ... Events August 6 - Pope Urban VIII is elected to the Papacy. ...

The area extends from Port Roper on the Gulf of Carpentaria around the coast to the East Alligator River where it adjoins Kakadu National Park. The major centres are Jabiru on the Kakadu National Park border, Maningrida on the Liverpool River mouth, and the Gove Peninsula in the far north-east. Gove is the site of large scale Bauxite mining with an associated alumina refinery. Its administrative centre is the town of Nhulunbuy, the fourth-largest population centre in the Northern Territory. The Gulf of Carpentaria viewed from orbit. ... The Alligator Rivers is the name of a region in Arnhem Land containing three rivers the East, West and South Alligator River. ... Kakadu National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 km east of Darwin. ... Kakadu National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 km east of Darwin. ... Maningrida is a self-governing indigenous community in the heart of the Arnhem Land region of Australias Northern Territory. ... The Gove Peninsula (12°17′ S 136°49′ E) is at the northeastern corner of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. ... Bauxite with penny Bauxite with core of unweathered rock Bauxite is an aluminium ore which consists largely of the Al minerals gibbsite Al(OH)3, boehmite and diaspore AlOOH, together with the iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite and small amounts of anatase TiO2. ... Aluminium oxide (or aluminum oxide) (Al2O3) is a chemical compound of aluminium and oxygen. ... Nhulunbuy (12°11′ S 136°46′ E) is the name of the township created on the Gove Peninsula in the Northern Territory of Australia when a bauxite mine and deep water port were established nearby in the late 1960s. ...

The climate of Arnhem Land is tropical monsoonal, with a wet and dry season. Temperatures do not fluctuate widely throughout the year, though it can range from overnight lows of 15 degrees Celsius in the dry season (April to September) to daily highs of 33 degrees Celsius in the wet season (October to March).

The Malays and Macassans had contact with the coastal Aboriginal groups and traded with them prior to European settlement of Australia.

Arnhem Land is notable for its Aboriginal rock-art, at Ubirr Rock and in the Canon Hill area. Some of these record early presence of Europeans, sometimes in such detail that Martini-Henry rifles can be identified. Other items depicted include axes, detailed paintings of aircraft and ships. In one remote shelter, several hundred kilometers from Darwin, there is a depiction of the whole wharf at Darwin, including buildings and boats, the Europeans themselves being painted, with their hats and pipes, some without hands (which they have in their trouser pockets); one human figure near the East Alligator River crossing is painted with a gun and long pigtails down his back, identifiable as one of the Chinese labourers brought to Darwin in the late 19th century. See also, List of Indigenous Australian group names. ... Rock art is a term in archaeology for any man-made markings made on natural stone. ... The Martini-Henry (also known as the Peabody-Martini-Henry) was a breech-loading lever-actuated rifle adopted by the British, combining an action worked on by Friedrich von Martini (based on the Peabody rifle developed by Henry Peabody), with the rifled barrel designed by Scotsman Alexander Henry. ...

Arnhem Land is also the home of the members of the influential rock band Yothu Yindi, many of whose members are Indigenous Australians. Yothu Yindi (Yolngu for Child and Mother) is an Australian band with Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal members. ...

Arnhem Land is notable also for the temporary sand sculptures ritualistically created by indigenous inhabitants of Arnhem Land. An elaborate sand castle. ...

One of Arnhem Land's attractions include the magnificent ancient rock art.

Northeast Arnhem Land is home to the indigenous Yolngu people. One Yolngu ground painting, at Maccasans Beach near Nhulunbuy, tells the story of their trade links with the people of Makassar on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. This trading relationship predates European settlement by some 200 years. Location of Yolngu (yellow, top right) in the Northern Territory For Yolngu language see Yolngu Matha. ... Makassar, (Macassar, Mangkasar) is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. ... Location of Sulawesi Island (light green) among the various islands of Indonesia. ...

References

• Arnhem Land. Its History and Its People. 1954. R. M. & C. H. Berndt. F. W. Cheshire, Melbourne.