Aurukun, Queensland
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Aurukun Queensland |
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2014
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 Aurukun
Location in Queensland
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| Coordinates | 13°21′23″S 141°43′37″E / 13.35639°S 141.72694°ECoordinates: 13°21′23″S 141°43′37″E / 13.35639°S 141.72694°E |
| Population | 1,295 (2011 census) |
| Postcode(s) | 4892 |
| Location | |
| LGA(s) | Shire of Aurukun |
| State electorate(s) | Cook |
| Federal Division(s) | Leichhardt |
Aurukun /ærəˈkuːn/ is a town and locality in the Shire of Aurukun in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is situated approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Weipa. The town faces west to the Gulf of Carpentaria, and during the wet season, roads are impassable. It is an Indigenous community.
In March 2008, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that standards of justice, education and child safety had collapsed in Aurukun, and that the local community justice group had called for children to be removed from the town for their own safety and wellbeing.
The area is rich in bauxite.
At the 2011 census, Aurukun had a population of 1,295, including 1,193 Indigenous people, up from a total population of 1,043 in 2006. The traditional language is predominantly Wik Mungkan with a mixture of other dialects. English is taught in the school. Aurukun has a plethora of clan and tribal names. There are some 50 to 60 families from five major clan groups, which are split into two factions — the "top end" and "bottom end". Violent conflict between the two groups creates problems in the community on a regular basis.
The first recorded contact between Europeans and Aboriginals was near Aurukun on the Janszoon voyage of 1605–06.
The Aurukun Mission (known then as the Archer River Mission Station) was established on 4 August 1904 for the Presbyterian Church of Australia by the Reverend Arthur and Mrs Mary Richter, two Moravian missionaries and managed under the provisions of the Queensland Aborigines Act. (Several of the current residents were taught by these missionaries and remember them well.) Aboriginal people were relocated from a large surrounding area, many against their will, to the mission settlement. Aurukun was "ruled" for 40 years by Reverend William Mackenzie - as the missions Chief Protector for the Aboriginal Protection Board. The town also had a sawmill, butcher and bakery. Today there is only a general store.
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Wikipedia