Boats

It opens with the founding story of Mata Mata as it has been told to the author: Gatirri Burarrwaŋa, a legendary builder of dugout canoes, lent his canoes to the Warramirri people when they fled, and they allowed him to run Mata Mata. It traces the lipalipa (dugout canoe) that came with the annual Makassan trepang voyages, Matthew Flinders’ meeting with the prau commander Pobassoo in the English Company’s Islands in 1803, and replaced the bark canoe for sea travel; the tinnie that in turn replaced the lipalipa, and the sea journeys families still make when they can afford the fuel; Donald Thomson’s 1935 walk towards Mata Mata in search of his boat; the Methodist mission luggers that supplied Milingimbi, Elcho Island and Yirrkala; and today’s barge services from Darwin to Galiwin’ku, Milingimbi and Gove. It sets out what is publicly known about barge freight costs and landings, notes how much is not published, and proposes a subsidised coastal boat service from Galiwin’ku to the homelands and Nhulunbuy.

This paper is a companion to Planes, Roads, Automobiles: The Realities of Life on NE Arnhem Homelands (Botsman 2026). It links to the Mata Mata Transport feature on isx.org.au (https://www.isx.org.au/features/planes-roads-automobiles-bush-taxis).

6,000 words 16 pages