Nauiyu, NT

My name is Latisha Marranytya. I am from Nauiyu community, Daly River.

I’m an Ngen’giwumirri woman from the Fitzmaurice region. I have paternal ties to Tiwi, the Tipungwuti mob. I grew up in Daly and then spent some time in Katherine at boarding school for three years, went to St Josephs College and boarded at Kingston house.

I then went to Melbourne and went to Siena College in Camberwell with my younger sister for three years. I had home stay with Julie and Michael who took me under their wing and supported me as my second parent. While being in Melbourne I did a lot of sport representing the state in softball and athletics. I was also involved with the local Yarra junior football league, and we won two under 18 premierships. That was good fun. In the U18 Javelin I was Victorian champion. I was selected to represent Victoria at the national athletics championship, I won bronze for my age group. I also competed nationally in discus (where I came 4th or 5th), and shot put.

While I was at Siena College I won a national writing competition – the National History Challenge, 2011. The essay was about my community Daly River, and I won in two categories.

I moved to SA and attended Loretta College for my year 12.

After I graduated I went to Flinders University. I started a double degree in early childhood education and Arts thinking I would be a teacher and I would come home and teach. But I did my first placement and realised that it didn’t feel it was right for me to do early childhood education. I then focused on the Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous and Australian studies, and a minor in Sociology. When studying the sociology I really enjoyed how it focussed on how people work in society, and reading about how people live and work together day-to-day.

After that COVID hit, and I moved back home to Darwin. That is when I worked casual part time at St John’s doing house parenting and studying full time while living in Darwin with my Aunty and Uncle and their 3 kids. Then I moved to AFL NT and worked as an education coordinator. And after that I went to Haileybury and first became an Indigenous Liaison Officer, then was promoted to boarding and enrolment travel officer, working with families, dealing with enrolments, bookings and other things.

I really liked working at these schools in liaison and engagement roles. Its good to talk to teenage students about lots of things. I’m still young, so they will talk to me and I can guide and empower the young ones.

My next job was at the City of Palmerston in another engagement and liaison role. It was the first they ever created.

I took some time off after that and went to Emu Point for my nephew’s men’s business, and then came back home working at the school as an Assistant Teacher. Again I was working in engagement with staff and students and parents at the school. After that, I had another engagement and liaison role in Life without Barriers. This was for young people with intellectual disabilities and people who have been in and out of prison. That was a difficult role working with families and foster carers for their best outcomes.

I’m best working with families and in engagement roles. This is where I feel most comfortable, and where I have some sort of presence to help families wherever I can. When someone suggested I help with the research, I said yes please. I was helping my family at the time to deal with the loss of our loved one. I didn’t hesitate, and said yes. It is good to get perspectives not just from one side of families, but hear about whole community.

Previous experience 

Education 

  • Year 12 – Loretta College, Adelaide
  • Bachelor of Arts, Flinders University (current)

Leadership roles

Research Projeccts

  • Ground Up monitoring and evaluation of the West Daly Peacemaking project

Availability

I am very interested to work on future projects as researcher or as Indigenous engagement and liaison. If you are interested in working with me, please be in touch through this website.

 

Fig 1. Connecting together researchers from Nauiyu and Peppimenarti. Left to right: Karl Lucanovic and Annunciata Wilson (Peppi), Latisha Marrayntya and Tynisha Cronin (Nauiyu)

Fig 2. Interviewing senior ladies as part of the Ground Up peacemaking research. Left to right: Latisha Marrayntya, Tynisha Cronin, Angela Wungung, Monica Mishwan, Bridget Kikiden