Proud saltwater people
Ewuny (Sunday Island), the traditional country of the Jawi people. Our people have been navigating the waters around the Jawi islands for thousands of years. Our ancestors used the massive tidal currents to travel between the islands to hunt, fish and trade with neighbouring peoples. Jawi tribes lived on Ewuny until the mission was established in 1899,
Woman with beautiful cicatrices
Man with Ilma, ceremonial headwear
Woman in necklace in front of hut
Biel Biel
Our ancestors navigated the massive tidal currents of Pearl Passage using BielBiel, a traditional raft made from mangrove wood. 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.
Sunday Island Mission
Discover a little known part of Australia’s history
Originally a trepang (sea cucumber) and pearling station relying on Aboriginal labour and indigenous knowledge of the reefs, the mission on Sunday Island was established in 1899 by Sydney Hadley. Visit the barge landing, built by the Bardi and Jawi people, and learn how supplies and people were ferried to and from the island.
The Missionary's House
Waiting for the supplies barge
Arriving at the barge landing
Hear stories of Mission life
Those who chose to remain on Ewuny assimilated into Mission life. Children attended the Mission school, women worked as housemaids and seamstresses, while the men built infrastructure and farmed. When the mission closed in the early 1970’s, many moved to the newly established One Arm Point community. Today little remains of the Mission buildings and houses, just the old memories of families that once lived on the Island.
Seamstresses at work
Children from the Mission school
Building the storage shed