About Ngaarda TV

Ngaarda TV

Ngaarda TV is the Pilbara's Indigenous television service: the television arm of Ngaarda Media, the Indigenous-owned television, radio, production and broadcasting organisation based in Roebourne, Western Australia. Broadcasting from 45 Roe Street in Ieramagadu (Roebourne), it promotes Aboriginal culture, issues and enterprise locally and nationally. Its own description of the mission: "Discover the heart and soul of the Pilbara through stories that inspire, connect, and celebrate our diverse communities." Its flagship program is First Nations Report — a weekly news and current affairs show sharing First Nations news, culture, Country, community, sport and current affairs from the Pilbara, Western Australia and across Australia, with new episodes every Tuesday. Ngaarda TV is the voice of the Pilbara's First Nations: "This is us, this is our voice, this is our message, this is our country and we're here to stay" — and, as Michael Woodley added, "a very very long time."

Overview

Ngaarda TV is an Indigenous-owned television service based in Roebourne, Western Australia — known in the Yindjibarndi language as Ieramagadu. It is the television arm of Ngaarda Media, an Indigenous-owned television and radio, production and broadcasting organisation that promotes Aboriginal culture, issues and enterprise locally and nationally. Ngaarda Media is part of the Juluwarlu Group of organisations in Roebourne — the family of Aboriginal organisations anchored by the Juluwarlu Aboriginal Corporation, established in 1998 at Ngurrawaana Community to collect, sustain and promote Yindjibarndi language, religion, cultural practices, Country and social history. Juluwarlu records and preserves this knowledge through photographs and film, writing, song, spoken narratives, documentaries and radio broadcasts — and Ngaarda TV is the screen expression of that mission: the Pilbara's stories, told by the Pilbara's people. The service's home is ngaardatv.com.au, where viewers can watch and catch up on programs: "From captivating documentaries to local tales and cultural showcases, Ngaarda TV is your gateway to authentic storytelling that brings the Pilbara to life." First Nations Report, its flagship weekly program, airs new episodes every Tuesday at 8:30pm AWST in Perth (10:30pm AEST in Brisbane/Queensland; 11:30pm AEDT in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart during daylight saving, 10:30pm AEST outside daylight saving).

History

Ngaarda Media was founded in Roebourne — one of the Pilbara's oldest towns, and a place with a deep and difficult colonial history — to give the region's Aboriginal people a media voice of their own. Roebourne's history runs through Ngaarda's programming: the town grew around the 1860s pastoral frontier, Aboriginal people were forced onto the Roebourne Native Reserve (established 1938, lasting until 1975), and the 1983 death of 16-year-old John Pat in police custody at Roebourne — and the transformation of the Victoria Hotel, the site associated with that history, into the Aboriginal-owned Ganalili Centre — remains one of the defining stories of modern Aboriginal Australia. One of Ngaarda's founding members, Michael Woodley, set out the vision: "I think the vision of the future for the Aboriginal people of this country is to be heard and recognized, and that's always the goal for us, to be recognized and acknowledged and respected in our country. Ngaarda Media will do that, you know — 'This is us, this is our voice, this is our message, this is our country and we're here to stay a very very long time'."

The organisation grew into a full media operation: television, radio, production and broadcasting, all Indigenous-owned and based in Roebourne. Ngaarda TV became the screen arm of that operation, producing and broadcasting First Nations content from the Pilbara to the nation. Its flagship, First Nations Report, is produced by Ngaarda Media — with episodes produced and directed in collaboration with filmmakers such as Tangiora Hinaki — and presented by journalists including Marli Ryan, with narration by Donny Imberlong and editing by crew including Javier Diaz. The program's second season has covered the length and breadth of First Nations Australia: Whadjuk Noongar leadership in Perth, the Ord River, and the layered history of Roebourne itself — the Pilbara's stories, told with the Pilbara's voice.

Programming and Content

Ngaarda TV's flagship is First Nations Report, a weekly program sharing First Nations news, culture, Country, community, sport and current affairs from the Pilbara, Western Australia and across Australia. Recent episodes have covered Whadjuk Noongar leadership and identity — with Leon Ruri speaking on Whadjuk Noongar Boodja about identity, cultural leadership and economic development, and learning from Māori iwi in Aotearoa — proposals to expand the Ord River Irrigation Scheme across the WA–NT border, and the history of Roebourne's Victoria Hotel — from segregation and the death of John Pat to its transformation into the Aboriginal-owned Ganalili Centre, with community voices reflecting on healing, culture and history. The program marks the milestones of Pilbara history: a special episode commemorated 80 years since the 1946 Pilbara Strike — the walk-off by Aboriginal pastoral workers that became a defining moment in Aboriginal labour rights in Australia — and regular stories celebrate community achievements such as the 50th anniversary of the Yandeyarra Remote Community School, where Nyamal Elder Aunty Doris Eaton remembers the fight for education and students now learn language and culture on Country. New episodes air every Tuesday at 8:30pm AWST, and are available to watch and catch up at ngaardatv.com.au.

Coverage and Audience

Ngaarda TV broadcasts from Roebourne in the Pilbara, Western Australia — Yindjibarndi, Ngarluma, Banyjima and Gurrama country — to audiences across the Pilbara, Western Australia and the nation. The Pilbara is a region of red earth, ancient gorges and iron ore — and of some of the oldest continuous cultures on earth, with the Yindjibarndi among them. Ngaarda's audience is the First Nations of the Pilbara and beyond: the Aboriginal communities of Roebourne, Port Hedland, Karratha and the remote communities of the region, and the national audience that tunes in online for First Nations news and culture. Through ngaardatv.com.au and its social channels, Ngaarda's stories travel far beyond the Pilbara — to Perth, to the eastern states, and to anyone who wants to hear the Pilbara's voice: the heart and soul of the Pilbara, on screen.

Ownership

Ngaarda Media is an Indigenous-owned television and radio, production and broadcasting organisation, based at 45 Roe Street, Roebourne, Western Australia. It is part of the Juluwarlu Group — the Roebourne-based Aboriginal organisations anchored by the Juluwarlu Aboriginal Corporation, established in 1998 at Ngurrawaana Community. Juluwarlu's purpose is to collect, sustain and promote Yindjibarndi language, religion, cultural practices, Country and social history, and the wisdom and knowledge held by one of the world's oldest continuous living cultures — for Yindjibarndi children and future generations, and for the multicultural fabric of Australia. Ngaarda Media's mission is the promotion of Aboriginal culture, issues and enterprise, locally and nationally: the media arm of a cultural mission, broadcasting Yindjibarndi country to the world.

Digital Presence

Ngaarda TV's home is ngaardatv.com.au — "WATCH NGAARDA TV" — where viewers can watch new episodes and catch up on First Nations Report and the organisation's other productions, anytime and anywhere, on any device. Ngaarda Media is active on social media, including TikTok (@ngaarda), where its stories reach new audiences. New episodes of First Nations Report every Tuesday: Ngaarda TV, the Pilbara's Indigenous television — "This is us, this is our voice, this is our message, this is our country and we're here to stay" — the Pilbara's voice, on screen, every week.