Day 37 Baruwei Lookout and Loop Walk

Today we drove to the south part of Nitmiluk National Park (Katherine Gorge). We got up early to avoid the heat of the day already 25 degrees at 8am as we chose to walk the Baruwei Lookout and Loop Walk a 4.8km track. At the finish it was 30 degrees.
















On the way our of the national park we had a look through the visitors centre and watched the video on the area and how they manage the land etc.






We made our way home for lunch and in the afternoon went into town for some supplies and had a look at the street art whilst we were there. It was very busy being a Friday afternoon and again we were so surprised at how out of stock the shelfs are for food at the only grocery store in town. It is worse than anything we saw at home during panic buying through covid. Hardly any free vegetable or fruit etc



In 1911 Neighbour was arrested, placed in neck and hand chains and was walked to the police station at Roper Bar by a policeman on horseback. When they reached the crossing at the Wilton River, Neighbour swam across in chains and the policeman followed. However, the horse stumbled and the policeman was swept down the river. Despite being in chains, Neighbour dived into the river and saved the policeman from drowning. It is an incredible story of a heroic man. You will be pleased to hear the charges against Neighbour were dropped and he was awarded the Albert Medal for Bravery!



Cherry Daniels OAM for Best Memorial or Monument: Cherry Wulumirr Daniels OAM was a champion of language rights, remote education and female Indigenous involvement in the management of country across our region. Born and raised in Ngukurr on the Roper River, Cherry grew up under the missionary administration of the time. Alongside her Missionary education, where she was banned from even speaking her traditional language, Cherry's elders would secret her into the bush for the outlawed transmission of cultural knowledge.



It honors Mr. Robert Lee (a Jawoyn elder) alongside his brother, the late Mr. Raymond Fordimail. The mural celebrates their roles as land rights champions who successfully fought for the historic 1989 handback of Nitmiluk National Park (Katherine Gorge) to its traditional owners.






Nida Lowe, more commonly known as Auntie Nida, is a child of the Stolen Generations who made Katherine her home after the Second World War. Her portrait, installed by Jesse Bell, commemorates her amazing journey from Brunette Downs to Groote Eylandt and later Croker Island – then her epic trip in 1941 by boat, foot, truck and train to New South Wales with missionaries and 94 other stolen children. It’s also a tribute to her kindness and support for many throughout the years. Nida had 12 children. Many more grandchildren and great grandchildren still live in Katherine. Her daughter, Maddie Bower, and grandson Joseph Perner were at the unveiling on 4 June and were overjoyed with the portrait.