It's Australia’s second largest island and, across Clarence Strait, only 80 kilometres north of Darwin, capital of Australia's Northern Territory.
A land of dense rainforest and cascading waterfalls, Melville Island, together with nearby Bathurst, is home to the Australian Aboriginal people, the Tiwi. (Tiwi is said to translate to people, so saying Tiwi people becomes a redundancy.)
The Tiwi are well-known for their batik and silk-screened clothing, woven bangles, painted conch shells, carvings, pottery, and decorated pukumani burial poles.
Dutch settlers and Japanese pearl divers
The Tiwi had their first contact with Europeans in 1705 when the Dutch sought to establish a settlement. In 1824, the British had their try at Fort Dundas on Melville Island, but this settlement was abandoned in 18 months.
Japanese pearl divers regularly visited Melville Island in the early 1900s and they have descendants on the island. People of mixed Aboriginal and European parentage were also gathered on Melville Island from around the Northern Territory in the mid-1900s.
Melville and Bathurst comprise the Tiwi islands which are administered by the Tiwi Land Council. Entry to the Tiwi islands is by permit, and touring is only allowed on Bathurst Island.
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