Indigenous students to benefit from Port Keats Road upgrade at Saddle Rail Creek

A $25.9 million upgrade of the Adelaide River to Wadeye Corridor, funded as part of the federal government's 10-year, $110bn Building Our Future infrastructure investment plan, includes the improvement of a high priority section of Port Keats Road which is vulnerable to flooding.

The communities of Nauiyu, Peppimenarti, Nganmarriyanga and Wadeye, with a combined population of about 3150, are affected by the flooding.

Dr Ungunmerr-Baumann said that during the wet season, people from some communities could not cross the river.

"At the moment we have to wait for the creek to go down," she said.

"When the upgrades are finished, the kids can go on an excursion to play interschool sports or meet with the students from across the river.

"They can come in and get out and about."

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She said that Nauiyu became an island during the wet season and locals would have to take a boat in and out in order to then drive and get supplies from Darwin.

"It's even more difficult for communities across the river when the rivers come up, as they're further out on the floodplains," Dr Ungunmerr-Baumann said.

"They can only get contractors and service providers in or out during the dry season, and before the monsoons come.

"That's for the majority of people in the area - Nauiyu is only a few hundred people, but there are more than two thousand across the river."

The project involves construction works on Port Keats Road around the point it crosses Saddle Rail Creek, which is currently the section most vulnerable to flooding, and includes construction of a 45-metre bridge over Saddle Rail Creek and several floodway sections and culvert crossings.

Not only will the upgrade benefit students, it will improve efficiency, reduce road repair and maintenance costs, make freight routes more efficient in helping to reduce the costs of goods and services, and provide stronger support for industry, business and investment.

Dr Ungunmerr-Baumann said the upgrade would ensure the communities remained connected.

"There are immediate and extended families across our communities, who will now be able to see each other regardless of whether it's dry season or not [and] they can come from across the river, for things like funeral ceremonies and family gatherings," she said.

"There are also about fifty or sixty people that have tourist homes in the area - they come during the dry season and fish in the river, but with the upgrades we might see more tourism in the area.

"It's a good thing the government has now started to see there are problems when we don't have access for people to come and go."

She said the reaction to the news had been positive.

Dr Ungunmerr-Baumann was the Northern Territory's first fully qualified Aboriginal teacher and later became principal of St Francis Xavier Catholic School in her home community.

Her organisation, the Miriam Rose Foundation, aims to bridge the divide between Aboriginal culture and mainstream society at the grassroots level, and she said another positive from the upgrade was access with Darwin.

"It will also help the kids get into Darwin. When it's built, they can then go any season, wet or dry," she said.

"Government organisations and NGOs [non-government organisations] can now come in anytime and don't have to rely on flying in and out of the area.

"It's going to really help teachers, nurses, council workers, and anyone who needs to come in."

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