The Mission Aviation Fellowship team was in the thick of both pre- and post-cyclone action in Arnhem Land, against the backdrop of increasing fuel costs.
Tropical Cyclone Narelle made landfall in Arnhem Land in Australia’s Northern Territory on 22 March. The system brought damaging winds, heavy rains and flood risks across the region.
But before the ‘Category 3’ storm hit, Mission Aviation Fellowship aircraft were kept busy making evacuation flights for more than 70 residents from the Laynhapuy homelands to the safety of cyclone shelters in the town of Nhulunbuy.
The residents of these isolated communities were later safely repatriated to their homelands after the cyclone passed.
Tropical Cyclone Narelle damaged tracks and depleted fuel supplies across the region, rocking homeland food security and causing several homelands to run out of food in the following weeks.
Fortunately, the team was again able to help, and in the week of 6th April, the MAF fleet of bush-airstrip-friendly utility aeroplanes flew 1.7 tonnes of food drops to the worst affected homelands.
Ashleigh Ayres, Health Administration Manager at Laynhapuy Homelands Aboriginal Corporation, said, “Laynha coordinated and funded free food drops to Baniyala, Garrthalala, Wandawuy, Gurrumurru, Gan Gan and Dhalinybuy in the wake of Cyclone Narelle making the roads too wet to drive.”
It was great to see the residents happy to receive their food as they helped unload our aircraft.
MAF pilots and operations staff, helped by volunteers, loaded and flew five aircraft in three days to transport food supplies to four different homelands, including 627 kg of food into Baniyala, and 409 kg into Gan Gan.
“MAF flew the food out to these homelands over the last couple of weeks and helped distribute it on the ground,” said Ashleigh.
MAF Reservations Officer Rhett Griffiths was close to the action.
“I attended one of the food drops myself,” he said. “It was great to see the residents happy to receive their food as they helped unload our aircraft.”
The global increase in fuel prices is taking its toll on land and air transport across Australia, but MAF remains focussed on delivering vital services to the people of Arnhem Land.
Director of MAF in Arnhem Land Ben Brown said, “‘Our costs are rising, but the need is not going away. In Arnhem Land, aviation remains a lifeline for remote communities, and we not stepping back from that responsibility.'”
The Laynhapuy Homelands are a group of small, remote communities of Yolŋu people living on their traditional lands. The homelands are scattered across an area of some 30,000 square kilometres across East Arnhem Land.
Four-wheel-drive vehicles can normally access the homelands along rough dirt tracks, which can be described as unsealed and informal roadways in the bush – often nothing more than just two thin tyre-worn paths between the gum trees and anthills.
During the monsoonal wet season from December to March, these tracks are regularly flooded and therefore aviation provides a vital link to goods and services for cut-off communities.
The flights and food were organised and paid for by the Laynhapuy Homelands Aboriginal Corporation in a continuing partnership with MAF to bring help, hope and healing to the Yolŋu of East Arnhem Land.
