Ewuny

Ewuny (Sunday Island), once home to the Jawi tribes that lived and remained until the mission was established in 1899.

Sunday Island Mission

Discover who started the Mission and why Sunday Island was chosen as the site. Learn about life at the Mission and why the culture is still strong.  Visit the barge landing, learn how supplies and people were ferried to and from the island, when and why the mission closed and where the people went.

Barge Landing
Built by the Bardi and Jawi people of Sunday Island to transport building materials to build the Mission.

Working Mission
Little remains of the Sunday Island Mission buildings which included a church, schoolhouse and outbuildings.

Mission School at Middle Beach
The children at Sunday Island were under the guardianship of the departments responsible for Aboriginal welfare.

saltwater people

BielBiel, traditional raft

Our people have been navigating the waters around the Jawi islands for thousands of years. Using BielBiel, a traditional raft fashioned from mangrove wood, our ancestors used the massive tidal currents to travel between the islands to hunt, fish and trade with neighbouring peoples. The BielBiel are still made by some of our old people today using traditional methods which are passed on to preserve and share this saltwater knowledge.

Historic Photos