Maningrida

About

Maningrida is one of the largest remote towns in the Northern Territory, and is located approximately 500km east of Darwin in Arnhem Land at the mouth of the Liverpool River.

A permanent settlement was established in the late 1940s, originally as a trading post with Aboriginals in the area. It was converted into a mission during the 1950s.

According to the Northern Territory Place Names Committee, the name Maningrida is an Anglicised version of the Kunibídji name Manayingkarírra, from the phrase “Mane djang karirra”, meaning “the place where the Dreaming changed shape.”

These days, the town is the major service centre for the population of 2,500 as well as more than 30 outstations or homelands, with a school, health clinic, multiple food outlets, two supermarkets, service station, arts centre, créche and a tarmac airport with daily commercial flights to Darwin.

Small-scale tourism ventures, including cultural tours and fishing expeditions, also operate out of Maningrida.

Council Services

West Arnhem Regional Council provides a range of services including sport and recreation programs, rubbish collection, parks and gardens maintenance, as well as other services on behalf of government agencies. Council also manages the 25-metre public swimming pool.