Mona Mona Aboriginal Mission

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Mona Mona Mission
Queensland
Mona Mona Hospital, 1959-1960.jpg
Mona Mona Hospital, 1959
Australia Queensland relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Mona Mona Mission
Coordinates 16°42′45.8″S145°32′19″E / 16.712722°S 145.53861°E / -16.712722; 145.53861
Postcode(s) 4881

The Mona Mona Aboriginal Mission is a former Seventh-day Adventist mission for Aboriginal people established around 1913 near Kuranda, Queensland, Australia, now within the locality of Mona Mona.

Contents

History

Main street, Mona Mona Aboriginal Mission, 1959 Mona Mona Main Street, 1959-1960.jpg
Main street, Mona Mona Aboriginal Mission, 1959
School at the mission, 1959 Mona Mona school, 1959-1960.jpg
School at the mission, 1959

In 1913, large numbers of people, particularly of the Djabugay people, were rounded up and forcibly taken to the mission. [1] Until 1940 it was almost self-sufficient, growing its own food, and cutting and milling timber. [2] After this period, soil fertility deteriorated and with the increasing costs, the mission soon became unviable. Also the city of Cairns was growing and needed more water. A decision was made to flood Flaggy Creek, which flowed through the mission land and would have flooded the mission houses. [3] [4]

In 1962 the mission was closed and the people were removed to other missions in places such as Great Palm Island and Woorabinda. [1] [4] However the dam did not go ahead, and some Djabugay people and former residents have moved back to Mona Mona and built houses. [3] They have been waiting for the Queensland Government to consider building new houses for all residents and other infrastructure, including a school.[ citation needed ]

In 2010, the Queensland Government gave the local Indigenous people a 30-year lease over 1,600 hectares (4,000 acres) of the Mona Mona mission site. [1] [5] [6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sam Davis (8 December 2010). "Mona Mona descendants welcome historic indigenous land handover". ABC Far North Queensland. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  2. "Mona Mona Mission Station". The Cairns Post. 16 January 1923. Archived from the original on 21 November 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Mona Mona". National Centre for Indigenous Genomics. Australian National University. Archived from the original on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Mona Mona Mission". Find & Connect. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 11 November 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  5. "Mona Mona residents welcome land handover". ABC News. 8 December 2010. Archived from the original on 5 May 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  6. Boyle, Desley (12 December 2010). "Historic lease handover of Mona Mona land a new chapter". Media statements. Queensland Government. Retrieved 26 April 2025.

Further reading