Croker Island is an island in the Arafura Sea off the coast of the Northern Territory, Australia, 200 km northeast of Darwin. It is separated from Cobourg Peninsula in the west by Bowen Strait, which is 2.5 km wide in the south and up to 7 km in the north, and 8.5 km long. In the north and east is the Arafura Sea, and in the south and southeast Mountnorris Bay. Croker Island measures 43 km from Point David to Cape Croker, up to 15 km wide, and has an area of 331.5 km². At its highest point it is only 15 m above sea level. Croker Island is the largest island, and the only permanently inhabited island, in the Croker Group.
Settlement
At the earliest time of European contact, the indigenous people of Croker Island were the Jaako, who spoke Marrgu, a language isolate. The modern indigenous communities speak Iwaidja and Mawng. The only notable settlement on Croker Island is the Aboriginal community of Minjilang, located on Mission Bay on the east coast. Apart from that, there are nine small family outstations, the largest ones of which is Inngirnatj at the southern end of the island. The settlements from north to south:
Alamirra
Timor Springs
Wanakutja
Minjilang, the only village and main settlement of the island
Adjamarrago
Keith William's Outstation
Walka
Sandy Bay
Marramarrani
Inngirnatj
Between 1940 and 1968, the Methodist Overseas Mission operated the Croker Island Mission at Minjilang.
1942 exodus
The Pacific theatre of World War II saw the Japanese militaryaerial bombing Darwin in February 1942. Non-indigenous children from the island were evacuated. To avoid the bombing, missionary Margaret Somerville led 95 indigenous children from the island's orphanage, part of the Croker Island Mission, on a journey that saw the party arrive on the Australian mainland. Travelling a distance overland, they boarding a train through central Australia, arriving in Sydney, New South Wales. Over forty-four days, the group covered. The children returned to Croker Island in 1946. This expedition was described by Somerville in her book They crossed a continent, and later explored in the ABC documentary Croker Island Exodus. The period is considered part of the Stolen Generations events.
The traditional custodians of Croker Island, the Yarmirr people, filed a claim over the sea surrounding Croker Island. The case, Yarmirr v Northern Territory, was settled in the High Court of Australia on 11 October 2001. The case established that the Yarmirr people do have native title of the sea and sea-bed, however common law rights of fishing and navigation mean that only non-exclusive native title can exist over the sea.
