Kakadu National Park Visitor Guide
Commonwealth of Australia, 2008
PDF file
About the Guide
The Board of Management and park staff invite you to Kakadu. When visiting the Park, we hope you will enjoy learning about Aboriginal culture, land management and caring for country.
Kakadu is a cultural landscape. It was shaped by the spiritual ancestors of Aboriginal people during the Creation Time. These ancestors or 'first people' journeyed across the country creating the landforms, plants, animals and Bininj/Mungguy (Aboriginal people). They brought with them laws to live by: ceremony; language; kinship and ecological knowledge. They taught Bininj/Mungguy how to live with the land and look after the country.
The name 'Kakadu' comes from an Aboriginal floodplain language called Gagudju which was one of the languages spoken in the north of the park at the beginning of the twentieth century. Although languages such as Gagudju and Limilngan are no longer regularly spoken, descendants of these language groups are still living in Kakadu. Aboriginal languages used in the park today include Kunwinjku from the north-eastern region, Gun-djeihmi from the central region and Jawoyn from the southern region.
Kakadu National Park is a Commonwealth Reserve covering almost 20 000 square kilometres, and includes the traditional lands of a number of Aboriginal clan groups. Kakadu is managed jointly by its Aboriginal traditional owners and the Director of National Parks.
Further information about Kakadu National Park is available from the Kakadu National Park web site.
