Wujal Wujal Queensland |
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Sign welcoming people to Wujal Wujal, having travelled from the south along the Bloomfield Track
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Coordinates | 15°56′43″S 145°19′08″E / 15.94528°S 145.31889°ECoordinates: 15°56′43″S 145°19′08″E / 15.94528°S 145.31889°E |
Population | 326 (2006 census) |
• Density | 16.349/km2 (42.34/sq mi) |
Postcode(s) | 4895 |
Area | 19.94 km2 (7.7 sq mi) |
Location | |
LGA(s) | Aboriginal Shire of Wujal Wujal |
State electorate(s) | Cook |
Federal Division(s) | Leichhardt |
Wujal Wujal is a small Aboriginal community on the north and south sides of the Bloomfield River in northern Queensland, Australia. It has an area of 19.94 square kilometres of land. At the 2006 census, Wujal Wujal had a population of 326.
It is located approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Cape Tribulation and 60 kilometres (37 mi) south of Cooktown. Access to the community is via sealed road from Cooktown, or by the Bloomfield Track, an unsealed road from Cape Tribulation which is only suitable for four wheel drive vehicles. This is due to the gradient of the terrain and the many streams and rivers that make up the Daintree drainage basin which cross the path at very regular intervals. During high waterflow the road from Cape Tribulation is impassable.
The rare Bloomfield River Cod (Guyu wujalwujalensis) is found only in the Bloomfield River and is named after this community.
The community of Wujal Wujal is located in the Cape York region with the surrounding environment and cultural tourism attracting many people to the region. Wujal Wujal is part of the traditional homelands of the Eastern Kuku (Goo-goo) Yalanji (Ya-lan-gee).
The name ‘Wujal Wujal’ or ‘many falls’ is derived from the local language. There are several Indigenous languages spoken within this community.
The Bloomfield River mission was established on land belonging to the Kuku-Yalanji people. The first recorded Europeans to visit the Bloomfield River were Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander Frederick Bedwell and Captain Phillip Parker King on board the HMS Mermaid on a hydrological survey of the east coast of Australia. In June 1819, HMS Mermaid anchored in Weary Bay and: