Elcho Island
Historically, Gäwa, on the northern tip of Elcho Island, was a meeting place for Indigenous groups long before white people came to these shores. The seafaring Macassans from Indonesia visited Elcho Island to collect trepang, a sea animal that is to be found lying on the sea bed, a Chinese delicacy. The Macassans visited for a period of over 200 years prior to 1906 when the Australian Government stopped the practice. During that time, some Gäwa and Elcho people travelled back to Macassar. Since then some have made periodic visits back and forth. Many Macassan words, artefacts and cultural practices were adopted into the local languages and lifestyle. Macassan artefacts have been bartered via Indigenous trading routes as far as the southern and western coasts of Australia.