Ngukurr, NT

My name is Mercy Gumbula. I am an Alawa woman from Ngukurr. My skin is gali gali and My totem is quiet snake. My country is Nanguya.

My mother is from Numbulwar and my father is from Borroloola. They didn’t want to go to either of those places, so they stayed at Ngukurr in the middle to raise their family.

My mother, when we went hunting, would always take a bag and a rake with her. We would always have to respect the traditional owners of that place we were visiting, and keep it clean. I learnt from her, and this is what I do now with the grandchildren as well.

My mother had leprosy, so I was born in Darwin at the old East Arm leprosarium, like a hospital. People from other communities would go there too. My father was a stockman first at Ngukurr, and then he worked for police taking their mail on horseback from Roper Bar to Queensland, and back again.

My Dad was always well prepared when we would go on trips, hunting or goign to Katherine or other communities. Then he wanted to be close to Mum, and we moved to Bagot community. We had a house there, and grew up in Darwin. We went to Ludmilla Primary School. I would walk to school with my little sister Valarie, and after school walk her back.

My Dad worked in Darwin with the old Post Master Gernal (PMG) and then moved to Darwin City Council. At night he would work with other men as part of the Night Patrol, making sure Bagot community was safe.

As I grew up I went to Darwin High, and then boarded at Kormilda College, where I met my husband Ian Gumbula. We went togehter to Batchelor College where I trained as a teaching assistant.

I lived with my husband’s family in Galiwin’ku. I taught at Shepherdson College for ten years before taking various positions with the childcare, the Arnhem Land Progress Association (ALPA) and the Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF).

After a while, I wanted Ian to come and stay with my family, and we moved to Ngukurr. He was really respected there, especially by the old men.

I have had previous experience working on a number of projects with CDU including:

For a long time Mercy worked with Ian Gumbula for Gumbula Consultancies. Now she works casually as a researcher with CDU. She is interested in working on future projects, drawing on her skill as a consultant, negotiator, interpreter, facilitator, mediator, and cross cultural advisor assuring an ethical approach in all her work.

Mercy can be contacted through this website.

 

Mercy Gumbula working on the ‘Investing in Aboriginal Languages Project – Ngukurr’