Bilinarra Elder Passes PDF Print E-mail

The late Ivy Hector Nambijina-NangariIvy Hector Nambijina-Nangari was born in 1935 and was regarded as one of the last speakers of her language Bilinarra, a severely endangered Indigenous language of the Victoria River District in Northern Australia. Throughout her life, Ivy dedicated herself to keeping her language and culture strong in her tiny remote community of Nijburru (also known as Pigeon Hole - 450km south-west of Katherine). Ivy sadly passed away on November 13, 2007.

language and culture and with her passing, she takes with her knowledge that is now irreplaceable. Thankfully, her work and achievements over the past two decades are great and form a legacy that will be carried on by future generations of Bilinarra people. Her efforts to maintain her language and culture were assisted by working closely with the Katherine Regional Aboriginal Language Centre. Ivy was instrumental in developing the Bilinarra Language Program at Pigeon Hole School, a program that has helped maintain Bilinarra Language and Culture for new generations – and this work continues today with the help of Ivy’s daughters and other community members from Pigeon Hole.