Maningrida is an old Macassan well which means 'the watering place'. It was originally set up as a trading station by Syd Kyle-Little and Jack Doolan. Part of the idea was to try to stem the flow of Aborigines into Darwin in the wake of World War II - an exodus had begun to take place from Arnhem Land.

It is located on the northern part of Arnhem Land on the Liverpool River. Originally the government was not able to sufficiently fund the project and so they resorted to selling trepang and crocodile skins as a source of income.

The Gunavidji people owned the land on the eastern side of the river, whilst the Gambalang people owned the side on the west of the river. A cyclone hit the area, destroying much of what had been established. Finally in 1957 the station became a Welfare Settlement and in the following decades grew considerably, becoming the fifth largest town in the Territory in the 1970s.

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