Barunga Festival 2026: Marines gain cultural experience in the outback of the Northern Territory

DARWIN, Australia – Three vehicles pulled up to an empty plot of grass at the end of a short row of houses, and a group of men and women disembarked. Their clothing, their accents, their mannerisms—all an immediate tell that they were not from here. This was the first indication to the small community of Barunga, which typically consists of about 350 people, that their town was about to be flooded by thousands of people. And the Marines had just arrived to help them welcome the crowds.

Approximately 30 Marines and Sailors with Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 26 volunteered six days to be a part of the working party that would help set up, facilitate, and take down the Aboriginal culture festival known as Barunga Festival, in Barunga, Northern Territory, Australia, June 2026. Marines who volunteered for this opportunity did so to offer their hard physical labor for the once-in-a-lifetime chance to interact with a culture and people that they may otherwise have never been able to meet.

After the four-and-a-half-hour journey into the outback, and once the tents were set up and properly covered and aligned as overseen by their staff noncommissioned officer in charge, Gunnery Sgt. Elkan Meyervolinek, the acting first sergeant of Headquarters Company, 5th Marine Regiment, MRF-D 26, the Marines were taken on a walking tour of the community. Barunga locals greeted and waved at the newly arrived Marines, asking to take pictures and telling the Marines how excited they were for the upcoming weekend festivities. At the end of the tour, the Marines were invited to a barbecue at the Barunga School by community organizers and leaders. Malcolm Hales, the principal of the Barunga School, introduced the Marines to Aussie-rules football (or “footie”), the most popular sport in the Northern Territory and one of the main events of the Barunga Festival. The Marines took turns learning how to kick the football as one does in footie, which is quite different from how it is done in American grid-iron football. Over dinner, the Marines engaged with community organizers about the local community and culture and the work that was to be done to prepare this small town for the weekend.

Hard work followed, as the Marines spent the next day and a half carrying concrete blocks, fence panels, tables, and tents to prepare the community for the festival. What motivated these Marines to give their time and energy to this community was a sense of gratitude and desire to reciprocate the kinship that the Indigenous people of Australia had given to them. Not only does MRF-D train on the land of the Indigenous people—they are also considered family.

In 2023, an MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft crashed on Tiwi Island, and three Marines tragically passed away in an incident that reminds all Marines of the dangerous nature of their job. The Indigenous people of Tiwi Island, particularly the Mantiyupwi—who are the traditional custodians of the land on which the incident occurred—wanted to support the Marines in honoring the life of their brothers and sister in arms, especially since the Marines of MRF-D are so far from their families while on deployment. After the traditional mourning period of 1 year and 1 month—known to the Indigenous people as “sorry business”—the Mantiyupwi officially adopted MRF-D as family and invited them to the final farewell ceremony for the Marines who passed away. Those Marines are referred to by the Mantiyupwi as “big brother,” “big sister,” and “little brother.”

As a show of mutual appreciation and respect, Esther Bulumbara (who goes by “Auntie Esther”), the senior traditional owner of the Bagala clan lands where the Barunga Festival is held, and U.S. Marine Corps Col. George Flynn, commanding officer of Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 26, exchanged gifts, as Marines stood in formation. Auntie Esther’s gift to the MRF-D was a woomera (a device to assist in throwing a spear) and three spears painted in ochre, tipped in bright red—a significant color to the Indigenous groups of the Northern Territories, and typically reserved for the most significant ceremonial uses.

As the festival kicked off, the Marines’ work did not stop. They refereed basketball games between local communities, showed off their talents on the barbecue grill, and continued to assist in physical labor to keep the event running. Throughout the weekend, Marines engaged with the local community and participated in traditional and modern arts and culture. Marines made didgeridoos, threw spears in the spear throwing competition, participated in a run, and watched bungul dancing to traditional music.

While the more senior Marines talked (or “yarned,” as they say) with older members of the community, the younger Marines found a common language with the younger community members through sports, participating in basketball and tug-of-war, and trying their hands at footie.

“Engaging directly with the community at this festival really gave the Marines who volunteered a great chance to gain a deeper respect for the Indigenous culture of our host nation,” said 1st Lt. Braeden Garrett, commander of Headquarters Co., 5th Marines, MRF-D 26. “Serving as the officer-in-charge of the Marines and Sailors who volunteered this week, getting to see them have this cultural experience, and having the chance to show respect and appreciation for the Indigenous community that adopted us is a huge honor.”

At the closing ceremony, Marines stood by and reverently watched the final bungul while bearing the spears gifted to them by Auntie Esther, held properly in the way that Meyervolinek had been taught by a senior in the community. Community members shook hands and took pictures with the Marines as the weekend came to a close—locals thanking Marines for their assistance, and Marines thanking locals for their hospitality.

The Marines completed their work by taking down all they had set up, making sure as always to leave no trace other than the impressions they made on the local community, and the impression made on them by all they learned from their interactions with a new group—an extended family they had just met for the first time.