The Kunwinjku (formerly written Gunwinggu[1]) people are an
Australian Aboriginal people, one of several groups within the
Bininj people, who live around West
Arnhem Land to the east of
Darwin, Northern Territory. Kunwinjku people generally refer to themselves as "Bininj" (meaning people, or Aboriginal people)[2] in much the same way that
Yolŋu people refer to themselves as "Yolŋu".
Their original heartland is said to have been in the hilly terrain south of
Goulburn Island and their frontier with the
Maung running just south of
Tor Rock. Their northern extension approached Sandy Creek, while they were also present south-east at the head of
Cooper's Creek and part of the
King River.[3] In
Norman Tindale's scheme, the Kunwinjku were allotted a tribal territory of around 2,800 square miles (7,300 km2) in the area south of
Jungle Creek and on the headwaters of the
East Alligator River.[4] The
Gumader swamps near Junction Bay and the creeks east of
Oenpelli/Awunbelenja (now Gunbalanya) also formed part of their land.[5]