In the five years to 2004, the population declined in Nhulunbuy and Groote Eylandt and increased in the non-urban areas. At the 2016 census, Nhulunbuy SSC (urban area) had a population of 3,240, with a median age of 32. Only 2.8% were Indigenous. Nhulunbuy Indigenous region had 9,559 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander residents, with 97.7% of these Aboriginal, 0.5 Torres Strait Islander, and 1.9% both. Yolngu people Owned by the traditional Aboriginal owners, the Yolngu people, it is a place rich in culture with Yolngu maintaining strong ties with their land, religion and traditions. Rather than the name of a clan or family group, Yolngu is the word that Aboriginal people from East Arnhem Land, including the Gove Peninsula, use to refer to themselves. The main five clan groups of the region are Gumatj, Rirratjingu, Djapu, Madarrpa and Dhalwangu. The prominent Marika family, many from Yirrkala, includes a number of artists and land rights activists, including Banduk Marika (13 October 1954 – 12 July 2021); Roy Dadaynga Marika (c.1925– 1993); and Wandjuk Marika (1927–1987). Educator and linguist Raymattja Marika (c.1959 – 11 May 2008) was NT Australian of the Year in 2007. Yingiya Mark Guyula is the only independent Indigenous member of parliament in the Northern Territory , representing the electoral division of Mulka, formerly the electoral division of Nhulunbuy. The Yolngu people call white people "balanda" (probably derived from the word "Hollander" – Dutch person). Communities Yirrkala lies south-east of Nhulunbuy. It comprises a predominantly Aboriginal population of about 809 people (2016 Australian Census). Gunyangara, also known as Marngarr or Ski Beach, has a population of around 280, mostly people of the Gumatj clan, with family names Yunupingu, Burarrwanga and Munungirritj. It is situated on Drimmie Head in Melville Bay, west of Nhulunbuy and adjacent to Gove Port. It has an airstrip and full-time doctor and health clinic. There are Makassan historic sites on the island, which is joined to the Gove Peninsula by a causeway built during World War II to provide access to the Catalina flying boat base. Since silting has occurred, Drimmie Head is also sometimes referred to as a peninsula. Drimmie Head was named by Matthew Flinders on 14 February 1803 as he sailed around the island and it reminded him of a place in Scotland. Birritjimi, also known as Wallaby Beach, comprises a stretch of beach in Melville Bay. The north-facing part of