Gapan — or "white ochre" in English — is a "very sacred" thing, says Yolngu man and Yirrkala art centre worker Djuwakan 'DJ' Marika.

Key points: A vein of white ochre was discovered beneath Yirrkala's Buku-Larrnngay Mulka Art Centre

A vein of white ochre was discovered beneath Yirrkala's Buku-Larrnngay Mulka Art Centre The clay is sourced for use in painting for ceremonies and in art works

The clay is sourced for use in painting for ceremonies and in art works The deposit was struck during long-awaited renovations to the art centre workshop

The pale, naturally occurring clay is prized by Aboriginal communities across north-east Arnhem Land and beyond.

"It's sacred for anything like dancing, and for painting on our body for ceremony," DJ said.

And it is used in big volumes by the artists painting works — on bark, canvas, whatever else strikes the imagination — that have made Yirrkala's Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Art Centre famous across the country and the art world.

But sourcing the material normally takes some effort.

In recent times, DJ and other art centre workers have been scaling seaside cliffs around Yirrkala to access a deposit.

So a recent discovery made during earthworks for an art centre expansion came as a big deal to everyone connected to it.

The naturally occurring clay is used in painting for ceremonies and art works. ( ABC News: Jacqueline Breen )

Contractors preparing to lay a concrete slab hit a vein of white ochre two metres below the ground.

"When they did the digging here, people were noticing the white clay underneath the soil," DJ said.

"I was feeling happy because it's just there, we were just looking at it [this whole time]."

"It's been here since I was a little boy."

Art centre coordinator Will Stubbs says the art centre team walked outside to find two big piles of gapan sitting beside the worksite, gleaming in the sun.

One of the piles of gapan dug up during earthworks at Buku-Larrnggay. ( Supplied: Instagram )

"We just sort of looked at each other and scratched our heads," he said.

"It's normally pretty hard-won, this gapan.

"[But] it's just one of those things that's not that surprising that this art centre which is so important happens to be sitting on a sacred foundation."



Behind-the-scenes expansion

The expansion will change the behind-the-scenes workspace where mostly Yolngu men prepare the art centre's materials.

They work cutting, stripping, sanding and stripping bark and hollowing trunks to make larrakitj (hollowed out stringy bark logs), as well as organising supplies and packing artworks in a small workshop and an outside area exposed to the hot northern sun.

DJ, who is now 29 and has worked at the centre since he was 17, told Mr Stubbs that he thought they could do better.

Inside the Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre in Yirrkala. ( Supplied: Facebook )

"It was really hot and we were feeling really sticky, a bit sweaty," DJ said.

"It's alright to work in the dry season but [in the heat] sometimes we get headaches and sweaty."

Mr Stubbs said DJ had raised "a management deficiency" and that the work was overdue.

"I guess you're always thinking about the artists and the customers — money's always tight and you sort of direct your efforts to the front of house stuff," he said.

"We had neglected the fact that the strength of the operation is the loyal and long-serving staff who are the engine room of the place and keep us moving."

The new space will feature an air-conditioned workshop and a larger space outside covered from the sun and rain, finished hopefully in time for the onset of the wet season.