Deals > Explore > Darwin > Tiwi Islands
Tiwi Grand Final
The Tiwi Islands Grand Final takes place every March in Nguiu, the main settlement on Bathurst Island. The football is fast and skillful with many players electing to play barefoot. An art sale is held on the Island in the morning before the festivities begin on the football field at around noon.
Tiwi Art
Tiwi art is distinctive due to its strong design, decorative features and vivid colours. Painting, textiles, carvings, pottery, pandanus weaving and Pukumani or burial poles are the most common. Art centres are located at Nguiu on Bathurst Island and Palarumpi and Milikapitti on Melville Island. A major art sale is held each year in conjunction with the Tiwi Football Grand Final at Nguiu in March.
Morning Tea with Tiwi Ladies
Some Tiwi Tours includes a chat with some of the local Tiwi ladies over billy tea and damper as they demonstrate traditional weaving and painting. The ladies also perform a traditional dance and a ‘smoking’ ceremony, which they say will clear bad spirits and keep spirits safe on their future travels.
Patakijiyali Museum
Located in Nguiu, a visit to the museum is included on most tours to Bathurst Island. The museum has three main galleries depicting the culture and mythology of the Tiwi people and the impact of European contact. A photographic exhibition informs the visitor on local methods of gathering bush tucker and hunting.
Fishing Tiwi Islands
The coastline of the Tiwi Islands offers a wide variety of fishing experiences, from creek and river mouth to estuary and blue water. Accredited fishing operators provide the best opportunity to get amongst the many tropical species of fish found in abundance in Tiwi waters, including large Barramundi.
Melville and Bathurst Islands, known collectively as the Tiwi Islands, lie 80 kilometres north of Darwin.
Dense rainforest, sandy beaches and rock pools combine to create the Tiwi Islands’ landscape. The area of both islands combined is 8000 square kilometres and Melville Island is in fact, Australia’s second largest (after Tasmania).
The Tiwi people have lived on the Islands for thousands of years and their lives have been greatly influenced by the Catholic mission that was built on Bathurst Island in 1911.
Many Tiwi Islanders are prolific artists who produce distinctive and valuable art, pottery, sculptures and wooden carvings. Their work is displayed at a gallery on Bathurst Island and can be visited during the day tour. They are also passionate footballers, which is evident at the annual Tiwi Island Grand Final held on Bathurst Island in March.
You can travel to the Tiwi Islands on 20-minute flight in a light aircraft from Darwin or cross the Timor Sea, in around two hours, on a ferry from Darwin Harbour to Bathurst Island.
A day or overnight tour is available from Darwin and takes you to Nguiu (pronounced new-you). The Tiwi owned and operated tour provides the requisite visitor permits, transport and catering.
On arrival travellers will be transported into the modern lives of one of the world's oldest living cultures. The Tiwi guides share their favourite places with visitors, while sharing stories about their culture, beliefs, ceremonies and renowned artwork.
