The Aborigines of the Yolngu Aboriginal tribe on the island speak Gupapuyŋu and Djambarrpuyŋu. English is the second language. The island has an airplane landing strip and a weather station .
Aboriginal art
The local Aborigines have a long tradition of bark painting, carving and weaving. The place has produced numerous artists of national and international standing. The bark was painted long before the colonizers came to Australia. This art was first reported in 1912. It was collected in the 1920s by the first Methodist missionaries trying to commercialize the creative arts of the Yolngu Aborigines. The artistic breakthrough of bark painting did not come until the 1960s. The artists on this island made bark paintings for their own ceremonial purposes and for sale.
