A Community Dedicated to Growth...

Living together in harmony

Wurankuwu  Community was set up in 1993. and currently has about 15 houses and 70 residents.

The main family groups represented are Tipungwuti, Kantilla, Potaminni and Puatjimi.

Ranku(as it's locally known) is on the western side of Bathurst Island 66 dirt road kilometers from the main town of Nguiu.

Ranku is self sufficient in that it has it's own power generators, bore for water supply and school. Ranku has a health clinic which is currently closed.

Ranku is a close knit community without the problems of the bigger settlements like Nguiu.

The most popular place towards the end of the day is always the licensed Club which is conveniently attached to one of the BEST community stores in the Northern Territory.

Other community amenities include a full Basketball Court and Football Oval.

The local football team - The Ranku Eagles - have a good sporting reputation as they won the Tiwi Island Football League Grand Final in 2003. The locals still talk about it as it was a great achievement.

The boys are going well this year so there maybe another Grand Final Trophy at the end of the season!!

There are some great Water holes nearby which are crocodile SAFE and the kids(even the bigger kids) love to spend hours swimming and playing there.

The fishing and crabbing is sensational and it's not very often that one of the local families does not have an evening fire roasting some wallaby or pig.

Ranku is cooler than Nguiu and people travel here for the fresher weather. Also the non-indigenous visitors are very welcome and often visit the local people to go fishing, hunting or to help them with their favorite pastimes which may involve traditional wood carving.

At the end of the day, all get together and have a few nice cold ales or feast on the delicious meals that are also available at the Club.

Ranku is funded as an outstation of Nguiu. The President of the Wurankuwu Council is Ken Kantilla who's pretty laid back and easy going. He has been President for about three years and often has to travel by 4WD to Nguiu for meetings.

The Chairman of the Tiwi Land Council also lives in Ranku, Robert Tipungwuti, fondly known as "Biscuit". Biscuit has been just about everywhere, and I mean everywhere, and is a very knowledgeable person. Nay, disputes in the community are usually settled with him present. He is also the Club Nominee and Licensee.

Some local people are employed under the CDEP(Community Development Employment Program) and look after the maintenance and grounds work under the supervision of a non-indigenous person.

This person also maintains the generator and supervises the day to day business of keeping a small community like Ranku ticking over.

So, all in all, Ranku is a very nice community. It's clean, peaceful and very quiet - however, there is a ton of stuff to keep the visitor occupied once they get here!!