A Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT) is the name for a system of community-level land trust established in Queensland to administer former Aboriginal reserves and missions. They came about through the enactment by the Queensland Government of the Community Services (Torres Strait) Act 1984 and Community Services (Aborigines) Act 1984 in 1984, allowing community councils to be created to own and administer former Aboriginal reserves or missions under a Deed of Grant in Trust). [1] The trusts are governed by local representatives who are elected every three years to councils called Incorporated Aboriginal Councils. These councils have the power to pass by-laws, appoint police for the community, and are responsible for maintaining housing and infrastructure, running the Community Development Employment Program and issuing hunting, fishing and camping permits. [2] As such, they work much like a local government, but are different in character as they own the land they administer on behalf of the community. [3]
Most of the Torres Strait Islands entered DOGIT arrangements in October 1985, with the notable exception of Mer Island, which became the subject of the Mabo No.1 (1988) and No.2 (1992) cases. The first Aboriginal community to receive a DOGIT was Hope Vale on 27 July 1986. [4] In the years following, many DOGIT communities were established—mostly in the Cape York Peninsula, Torres Strait Islands and Carpentaria regions. The Local Government (Community Government Areas) Act 2004 extended to community councils many of the provisions and benefits of the Local Government Act 1993 normally enjoyed by shire councils.
From 1 January 2015, some trustees, namely those classified as "urban" or "future urban" (numbering 34) are able to convert parts of the collective title to either Aboriginal freehold or Torres Strait Islander freehold title. [5]
The following is a list of DOGIT communities in Queensland.
Name of community | Area (km²) | Population | Excised from | Date granted | Deed number | Primary occupants |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Badu Island | 102.0 | 786 | Shire of Torres | 17 October 1985 | 21296126 | |
Bamaga | 67.6 | 869 | Shire of Torres | 27 October 1986 | 21328057 | |
Boigu Island | 71.7 | 295 | Shire of Torres | 17 October 1985 | 21296127 | |
Cherbourg | 31.3 | 1241 | Shire of Murgon | 28 August 1986 | 16929228 | Wakka Wakka |
Dauan Island | 3.6 | 120 | Shire of Torres | 17 October 1985 | 21296130 | |
Doomadgee | 1786.0 | 1181 | Shire of Burke | 1987 | 50184313 | Gangalidda/Waanyi |
Erub (Darnley) Island | 5.9 | 320 | Shire of Torres | 17 October 1985 | 21296129 | |
Hammond Island | 15.7 | 208 | Shire of Torres | 17 October 1985 | 21296131 | |
Hope Vale | 1115.4 | 856 | Shire of Cook | 27 July 1986 | 21321062 | |
Iama (Yam) Island | 1.7 | 363 | Shire of Torres | 17 October 1985 | 21296138 | |
Injinoo | 795.4 | 463 | Shire of Cook | 27 October 1986 | 21328058 | |
Kowanyama | 2571.9 | 1112 | Shire of Carpentaria | 23 July 1987 | 21345064 | Kokoberra, Yir Yorant, Kunjen |
Kubin Island | 152.5 | 226 | Shire of Torres | 17 October 1985 | 21296132 | |
Lockhart River | 3596.9 | 605 | Shire of Cook | 29 October 1987 | 21352021 | |
Mabuiag Island | 6.4 | 240 | Shire of Torres | 17 October 1985 | 21296133 | |
Mapoon | 550.1 | 262 | Shire of Cook | 26 April 1989 | (none) | Tjungundji |
Napranum | 2007.3 | 921 | Shire of Cook | 1 October 1989 | 21378037 | |
New Mapoon | 93.9 | 381 | Shire of Torres | 27 October 1986 | 21328060 | |
Palm Island | 71.0 | 2165 | City of Townsville | 27 October 1986 | 21328055 | Bwgcolman, Manbarra |
Pormpuraaw (Edward River) | 4362.0 | 653 | Shire of Carpentaria | 28 July 1987 | 21345063 | Thaayorre, Mungkan |
Poruma (Coconut) Island | 6.5 | 175 | Shire of Torres | 17 October 1985 | 21296128 | |
St Pauls Island | 18.5 | 239 | Shire of Torres | 17 October 1985 | 21296136 | |
Saibai Island | 104.5 | 368 | Shire of Torres | 17 October 1985 | 21296134 | |
Seisia (Red) Island | 2.6 | 184 | Shire of Torres | 29 October 1987 | 21352022 | |
Ugar (Stephen) Island | 0.4 | 57 | Shire of Torres | 17 October 1985 | 21296135 | |
Umagico (Alau) | 53.4 | 267 | Shire of Torres | 27 October 1986 | 21328059 | |
Warraber (Sue) Island | 0.9 | 239 | Shire of Torres | 17 October 1985 | 21296137 | |
Woorabinda | 388.1 | 928 | Shire of Duaringa | 27 October 1986 | 30563185 | |
Wujal Wujal (Bloomfield River) | 11.0 | 361 | Shire of Cook | 29 October 1987 | 21352023 | Kuku Yalanji |
Yarrabah (Cape Grafton) | 156.1 | 2599 | Shire of Mulgrave | 27 October 1986 | 21328056 | Gujangii |
Yorke Island | 1.6 | 336 | Shire of Torres | 17 October 1985 | 21296139 |
Hope Vale is a town within the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and a coastal locality split between the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and the Shire of Cook, both in Queensland, Australia. It is an Aboriginal community. In the 2016 census the locality of Hope Vale had a population of 1,015 people.
Seisia is a coastal town and a locality in the Northern Peninsula Area Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Seisia had a population of 260 people.
Mapoon is a coastal town in the Aboriginal Shire of Mapoon and a locality split between the Aboriginal Shire of Mapoon and the Shire of Cook in Queensland, Australia.
New Mapoon is a town in the Northern Peninsula Area Region and coastal locality split between the Northern Peninsula Region and Shire of Torres, Queensland, Australia. At the 2016 census, New Mapoon had a population of 383.
Moa Island, also called Banks Island, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago that is located 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Thursday Island in the Banks Channel of Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. It is also a locality within the Torres Strait Island Region local government area. This island is the largest within the "Near Western" group. It has two towns, Kubin on the south-west coast and St Pauls on the east coast, which are connected by bitumen and a gravel road. In the 2016 census, Moa Island had a population of 448 people.
Badu or Badu Island, pronounced ['ba:du:] in English, in Kala Lagaw Ya Badhu [bad̪u], is an island in the Torres Strait 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Thursday Island, Queensland, Australia. Badu Island is also a locality in the Torres Strait Island Region, and Wakaid is the only town, located on the south-east coast. This island is one of the Torres Strait Islands. The language of Badu is Kala Lagaw Ya.
Yorke Island, or Masig in the Kalau Lagau Ya language, is a coral cay island of the Torres Strait Islands archipelago, situated in the eastern area of the central island group in the Torres Strait, at the top end of the Great Barrier Reef and northeast of the tip of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia.
The Shire of Cook is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia. The Shire covers most of the eastern and central parts of Cape York Peninsula, the most northerly section of the Australian mainland.
The Shire of Torres is a local government area located in Far North Queensland, Australia, covering large sections of the Torres Strait Islands and the northern tip of Cape York Peninsula north of 11°S latitude. It holds two distinctions—it is the northernmost Local Government Area in Australia, and is the only one to abut an international border – it is at one point just 73 kilometres (45 mi) from Papua New Guinea. It is administered from Thursday Island.
The Aboriginal Shire of Palm Island is a special local government area of Queensland, Australia, managed by the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council under a Deed of Grant in Trust granted to the community on 27 October 1986. The local council was previously the Palm Island Community Council, which had far fewer powers. The shire is located on the Palm Island group, off the north Queensland coast near the city of Townsville.
The Aboriginal Shire of Doomadgee is a special local government area in North West Queensland, Queensland, Australia. It is managed under a Deed of Grant in Trust under the Local Government Act 2004.
The Northern Peninsula Area Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia, covering areas on the northwestern coast of Cape York Peninsula. It was created in March 2008 out of three Aboriginal Shires and two autonomous Island Councils during a period of statewide local government reform. In June 2018, the area had a population of 3,069.
The Torres Strait Island Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia, covering part of the Torres Strait Islands. It was created in March 2008 out of 15 autonomous Island Councils during a period of statewide local government reform. It has offices in each of its 15 communities, and satellite services in Thursday Island and in Cairns.
Land councils, also known as Aboriginal land councils, or land and sea councils, are Australian community organisations, generally organised by region, that are commonly formed to represent the Indigenous Australians who occupied their particular region before the arrival of European settlers. They have historically advocated for recognition of traditional land rights, and also for the rights of Indigenous people in other areas such as equal wages and adequate housing. Land councils are self-supporting, and not funded by state or federal taxes.
The Aboriginal Shire of Kowanyama is a special local government area which is located on western Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. It is managed under a Deed of Grant in Trust under the Local Government Act 2004.
The Aboriginal Shire of Pormpuraaw is a special local government area which is located on western Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. It is managed under a Deed of Grant in Trust under the Local Government Act 2004.
Commonwealth, State, and Territory Parliaments of Australia have passed Aboriginal land rights legislation.
Indigenous land rights in Australia, also known as Aboriginal land rights in Australia, relate to the rights and interests in land of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia, and the term may also include the struggle for those rights. Connection to the land and waters is vital in Australian Aboriginal culture and to that of Torres Strait Islander people, and there has been a long battle to gain legal and moral recognition of ownership of the lands and waters occupied by the many peoples prior to colonisation of Australia starting in 1788, and the annexation of the Torres Strait Islands by the colony of Queensland in the 1870s.
The Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, north of the town of Cooktown. The majority of the Shire consists of Deed of Grant land that is held for the benefit of Aboriginal people particularly concerned with the land and their ancestors and descendants.
In Australia, an Aboriginal land trust (ALT) is a type of non-profit organisation that holds the freehold title to an area of land on behalf of a community of Aboriginal Australians. The land has been legally granted to a community by the government under a perpetual lease, usually after the community makes a formal claim of traditional ownership. Land granted under Aboriginal title is inalienable; it can not be bought, sold, traded or given away. The land trust is the organisation appointed by the community to legally hold the title deeds. The land trusts are administered by Aboriginal land councils.