Yarrabah Queensland | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Coordinates | 16°54′27″S145°52′03″E / 16.9076°S 145.8674°E | ||||||||||||||
Population | 2,505 (2021 census) [1] | ||||||||||||||
• Density | 16.058/km2 (41.589/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Established | 1892 | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 4871 | ||||||||||||||
Area | 156.0 km2 (60.2 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Time zone | AEST (UTC+10:00) | ||||||||||||||
Location |
| ||||||||||||||
LGA(s) | Aboriginal Shire of Yarrabah | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Mulgrave | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Kennedy | ||||||||||||||
|
Yarrabah (traditionally Jarrabah in the Gunggandji language spoken by the indigenous Gunggandji people) [2] is a coastal town and locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Yarrabah, Queensland, Australia. [3] [4] It is an Aboriginal community. [5] In the 2021 census, the locality of Yarrabah had a population of 2,505 people. [1]
The town is about 51.5 kilometres (32 mi) by road from Cairns CBD on Cape Grafton. [6] It is 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) by direct-line distance, but is geographically separated from Cairns CBD by the Murray Prior Range and Trinity Inlet, an inlet of the Coral Sea. [7]
Gunggay (also known as Gunggandji, Kongandji, Kongkandji, Gungganyji, Idindji and Yidiny) is an Aboriginal language of Far North Queensland. The Gunggay language region of Cape Grafton includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Cairns Regional Council and Yarrabah Council. [8]
An Anglican church missionary, Ernest Gribble (1868–1957) in 1892 began to regularly visit an Aboriginal group who inhabited the Yarrabah area living a very traditional lifestyle. These visits by Gribble were to encourage the tribe to move to a mission settlement he was setting up. With the help of the tribe's leader, Menmuny, the tribe moved to the mission now known as Yarrabah Community. The mission was settled in 1893. Over time, many people (including some South Sea Islanders) were relocated from homelands in the surrounding area to Yarrabah. [9]
Yarrabah State School was opened on 1 January 1892. [10] In 2017, Yarrabah State School celebrated its 125th anniversary. [11]
In 1957, the Yarrabah residents staged a strike to protest poor working conditions, inadequate food, health problems and harsh administration. The church expelled the ringleaders and many others left voluntarily, never to return. A few years later, the Government of Queensland assumed control of the mission. [9]
As a result, still today most of Yarrabah is Crown Land. Native Title claims here are hard to put forward, due to the very fragmented ethnic composition of this community, with many Aboriginal people in Yarrabah having been settled here from other areas, including interstate.[ citation needed ]
In 1965, an advisory council was set up which allowed Aboriginal people to give "advice" to the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, [9] but it had no actual power and the government continued to control all aspects of local people's lives. In 1979, several community members joined a union but were stood down.[ citation needed ]
Eventually, on 27 October 1986, the community received Deed of Grant in Trust land tenure, making it subject to the Community Services (Aborigines) Act 1984, which allowed for self-governing Aboriginal Community Councils with a range of powers and controls over the land. With the passage of reforms in 2005, the Council became an "Aboriginal Shire" and gained the authority of a legal local government. [9]
Following the 2001 Cape York Justice Study findings, Yarrabah became one of many indigenous communities in Queensland to be subject to an alcohol management plan. Restrictions on alcohol possession [12] commenced on 6 February 2004, with a review by 2006. [13] A 2012 survey for another review showed the community was divided on easing restrictions. [14]
In 2002, the first Indigenous Knowledge Centres (IKCs) were developed in partnership with then Aboriginal Community and Island Councils across Queensland, with the State Library of Queensland. The Indigenous Knowledge Centre opened in 2015. [15] The $1.9 million facility was built both for and by the people of Yarrabah, offering learning opportunities even during its construction. Funding for the Centre was secured in 2012 by Treasurer and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Curtis Pitt, who officially opened the Yarrabah Knowledge Centre on 19 November. Leeanne Enoch, Minister for Science and Innovation, was also in attendance. [16]
On 23 July 2007, Yarrabah hosted the Cabinet of the Queensland Government in the first ever Cabinet meeting to be held in an indigenous Australian community. [17] On 1 October 2007, the Howard Coalition Government chose Yarrabah as the first recipient of what was said to be a 'landmark housing and welfare reform agreement'. [18]
In 2009 as part of the Local Government Reform Agenda in Queensland, the Council gained recognition as a local government council. [19]
The population of community was given to be about 630 indigenous persons in 1952. [20]
In the 2016 census, the locality of Yarrabah recorded a population of 2,559 people, [21] but some people may not have been counted due to language barriers and the transient nature of residence at the outstations. [21] [22] Of those recorded, 97.4% identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. The median age of Yarrabah residents was 23, compared with 38 nationally. The majority of the Yarrabah workforce was engaged as either labourers or as community and personal service workers, and worked in local government administration or social assistance services. The median individual income was $224 per week compared with $534 per week for the Cairns statistical district. 84.8% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Kriol at 6.7%. The most common responses for religion were Anglican 84.6% and No Religion 7.4%. [21]
In the 2021 census, the locality of Yarrabah had a population of 2,505 people. [1]
The town is home to a creole language known as Yarrabah Creole though it is still consider it a dialect of English. [23]
Yarrabah State School is a government primary and secondary (Early Childhood-10) school for boys and girls [24] [25] It includes a special education program. [24] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 443 students with 46 teachers (44 full-time equivalent) and 41 non-teaching staff (29 full-time equivalent). [26] In 2022, the school had 465 students with 43 teachers (41 full-time equivalent) and 54 non-teaching staff (39 full-time equivalent), of whom 29 staff (21 full-time equivalent) are Indigenous. [27]
The school operates from three sites:
The nearest school for students continuing on to senior years (Year 11–12) is Gordonvale State High School in Gordonvale to the south-west. [7] There is a free-of-charge school bus to Gordonvale State High School, which is the only public transport available for Yarrabah residents.[ citation needed ] A few decades back a ferry service transferred students to and from school in Cairns, before the road to Yarrabah was sealed. This service is no longer in use.[ citation needed ]
The Yarrabah community has a public library which serves a number of purposes including access to computers and the Internet, equipment to watch movies on DVD, and educational links including a Homework Centre (a Federal Government initiative) and access to the RATEP (Aboriginal Teacher Education Program) at James Cook University in Townsville for those training to be teachers.[ citation needed ]
Ergon Energy powers the station and the residences. Ergon Energy power lines power the whole community as far as the Oombunji are (5-10 kilometres from the town). Residents who live further than Oombunji and other places/suburbs in Yarrabah such as Wungu ('sounds of corroboree dance'), Back Beach, Buddabaddoo, King Beach, Turtle Bay and Jilji have to use power generators for electricity. People who live in these outer places/suburbs have to adapt to live without power. The area is subjected to power blackouts especially during the wet season. During the blackouts there are no cooking facilities. Some blackouts have been known to last up to five days.[ citation needed ]
Yarrabah's medical needs are serviced by a multi-disciplinary primary health care centre, which handles emergencies and general practice care, but does not have inpatient facilities. It is staffed 24 hours a day by staff who mostly commute from Cairns. [28] [29]
There is a police station in the town. Issues of concern include violence, alcohol/substance abuse, domestic violence, and high unemployment. [30] [31] Previously youth suicide was higher than surrounding areas. [32]
Yarrabah has one small supermarket run by local people, two hot food take-away shops, a local bakery and a drive-in pub, as well as a service station. For most other commercial needs, people need to travel to Gordonvale, Edmonton or Cairns. The road to the community is bitumen sealed and is accessible all year round despite weather conditions.[ citation needed ]
The Yarrabah community has its own newsletter entitled Yarrabah News, published monthly since the late 1970s.[ citation needed ]
There is a police citizens youth club in the town.[ citation needed ]
The township has had a brass band since 1901 to the 1950s, [33] [34] [35] until resurrected in 2013, [36] making their debut at the inaugural Yarrabah Band Festival. [37] The festival itself is now held annually around October, drawing a crowd of about 4000 persons. [38]
Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Council operates an Indigenous Knowledge Centre (IKC) library service located at Lot 207 Noble Drive [39] [40] which opened in 2015. The $1.9 million facility was built both for and by the people of Yarrabah, offering learning opportunities even during its construction. Funding for the centre was secured in 2012 by Treasurer and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Curtis Pitt, who officially opened the Yarrabah Knowledge Centre on 19 November. Leeanne Enoch, Minister for Science and Innovation, was also in attendance. [16] Yarrabah has a long history of providing a library service to the community. Before the establishment of IKCs, the then-Yarrabah Aboriginal Council operated a Country Lending Service (CLS) as far back as 1984. In 2003, the council asked the State Library of Queensland to transform the CLS into an IKC and lobbied for funds for a new building. The CLS was operational until it suffered irreparable damage during Cyclone Yasi in 2011. [41]
The Yarrabah Menmuny Museum, opened in 1996, is located in the Jilji suburb. [42] The museum's name comes from the local tribe leader of the late 1800s, Menmuny, who was also given the title 'King John' Menmuny, [43] who died circa 1919. [44] A later elder was 'King' Albert Maywee. [20]
The Yarrabah Band Festival is held annually around October, drawing a crowd of about 4,000 people. [38]
Yarrabah was formerly served by the Paradise Bus, which is based in Babinda and privately run. As of 2016, this bus service only provides a regular service along the Bruce Highway, about 30 km from Yarrabah, which joins the community of Gordonvale (south of Cairns), with the suburb of Edmonton and the Cairns CBD.[ citation needed ]
When there were no sealed roads to reach Cairns, a ferry service provided access to Yarrabah. Locals called this ferry a 'flatty'. It carried school children back and forth from Yarrabah to the city of Cairns. A construction project to build a new wharf at Yarrabah commenced in May 2021, after the Queensland Government allocated 7 million dollars to this purpose. [45] It is expected when this new wharf becomes operational, regular and reliable water transport will be resumed for Yarrabah, which lies only 11 kilometres by sea from the Cairns waterfront.[ citation needed ]
Youth can be occasionally riding some of the brumbies of the area, without saddles.[ citation needed ]
Gordonvale is a rural sugar-growing town and locality situated on the southern side of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Gordonvale had a population of 6,944 people.
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 2021 census, the locality of Hope Vale had a population of 1,004 people.
Kuranda is a rural town and locality on the Atherton Tableland in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. It is 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Cairns, via the Kuranda Range road. It is surrounded by tropical rainforest and adjacent to the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage listed Barron Gorge National Park. In the 2021 census, the locality of Kuranda had a population of 3,273 people.
The Shire of Aurukun is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia. The shire covers part of western Cape York Peninsula, the most northerly section of the Australian mainland.
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. In the 2021 census, the locality of Mapoon had a population of 469 people.
Mossman is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre for the Douglas Shire Council In the 2021 census, the locality of Mossman had a population of 1,935 people.
The Cairns Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, centred on the regional city of Cairns. It was established in 2008 by the amalgamation of the City of Cairns and the Shires of Douglas and Mulgrave. However, following public protest and a referendum in 2013, on 1 January 2014, the Shire of Douglas was de-amalgamated from the Cairns Region and re-established as a separate local government authority.
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.
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.
Cape Grafton is a cape located to the north-east of Cairns in Queensland, Australia. The cape was named by Lieutenant James Cook during his first voyage of discovery in 1770. It was named after Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, the British prime minister when Cook sailed. Cook set anchor two miles from the shore and briefly inspected the cape with botanists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander.
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.
The Aboriginal Shire of Yarrabah is a special local government area in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, east and southeast of Cairns on Cape Grafton. It is managed under a Deed of Grant in Trust under the Local Government Act 2004.
East Trinity is a coastal rural locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was formerly known as Trinity East. In the 2021 census, East Trinity had a population of 238 people.
Wrights Creek is a rural locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Wrights Creek had a population of 160 people.
Glen Boughton is a rural locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Glen Boughton had a population of 19 people.
Packers Camp is a rural locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Packers Camp had a population of 136 people.
Green Hill is a rural locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Green Hill had a population of 177 people.
Giangurra is a coastal town in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It is within the locality of East Trinity on the eastern coast of Trinity Bay.
Muriel Conomie Stanley, also known as Sister Stanley, was an Indigenous Australian Anglican home missionary, obstetric nurse and social worker. Before earning her nursing degree, she served as the matron of a Church Army children's home in Tasmania. She became an obstetric nurse in 1945, making her one of the first Aboriginal Australians to become a registered midwife. She then served as matron of the Yarrabah mission hospital. She held this role from 1945 to until 1959. Leaving the mission, she moved to London for a training course in moral welfare. She returned to Australia and became a social worker for the Anglican Church in Australia, working in Aboriginal Australian communities in Queensland.