Aboriginal intra-urban mobility in Katherine, Northern Territory

Abstract

Very little is known about the movements of Aboriginal people within North Australian towns. This is partly due to a lack of adequate census data with which to measure intra-urban mobility but also reflects an enduring research interest in town camps to the relative exclusion of other arenas of Aboriginal urban existence. This paper presents some brief descriptive data from one Northern town which highlights the existence of Aboriginal population movement between housing sectors and provides an indication of the magnitude and direction of flows. A simple descriptive model of Aboriginal urban settlement is proposed as a basis for comparison with mobility patterns in other urban settings.