Tiwi Tours, Bathurst and Melville Islands, NT, Australia in the years 1980 - 1988

Annette and Stephen Marshall pioneered aboriginal culture tourism to Bathurst and Melville Islands, operating Tiwi Tours to the Islands1980 to 1988, when the business was then sold to a joint venture between the Tiwi people and a Darwin-based tour operator. Bima Wear clothing, Tiwi Design screen-printing, Tiwi Pottery and Tiwi Art were all successfully promoted, and significant monies were generated for the communities by way of sales and marketing. Culture and history was shared extensively, and visitors loved interacting with Mary-Margaret and Ruth, the Tiwi Tours morning tea ladies. The first tour was 18th October 1980, 22 French men and women.The number of visitors in 1981 was 454, growing to 2,371 in 1988. Thank you to the Tiwi people who made it possible to commence the tours; Alfie, our first Tiwi guide; the priests, brothers and nuns of the Catholic Mission who were so helpful in so many ways; so many others on the Islands who helped us; Air North who gave us fantastic air support, and the then Northern Territory Tourist Bureau who actively sold our offering. It grew into a significant logistical exercise every day - air flights between Darwin and the Islands, 2 Toyota Coaster buses on Bathurst Island, 2 more on Melville Island, a Toyota 4WD troop carrier, and a 6 metre hydrafield boat to ferry passengers across the Apsley Straits. All bookings were handled in our Darwin home, all supplies for morning teas, lunch, were sourced from Darwin too and flown to the Bathurst Island, thank you Annette! And thank you to my very faithful and very capable friend, Leo, and wife Steph, for their being an integral part of the team.