Yarrabah
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Yarrabah Queensland |
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Yarrabah residents, 1931
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 Yarrabah
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| Coordinates | 16°54′34″S 145°52′13″E / 16.90944°S 145.87028°ECoordinates: 16°54′34″S 145°52′13″E / 16.90944°S 145.87028°E |
| Population | 2,559 (2016 census) |
| Established | 1892 |
| Postcode(s) | 4871 |
| Location | |
| LGA(s) | Aboriginal Shire of Yarrabah |
| State electorate(s) | Mulgrave |
| Federal Division(s) | Kennedy |
Yarrabah, traditionally Yagaljida in the Yidin language spoken by the indigenous Yidinji people, is an Aboriginal community about 53 kilometres (33 mi) by road from Cairns CBD on Cape Grafton. It is much closer by direct-line distance but is separated from Cairns by the Murray Prior Range and Trinity Inlet, an inlet of the Coral Sea. At the 2016 census, Yarrabah had a population of 2,559. The Yarrabah area was originally inhabited by the Gunggandji people.
An Anglican church missionary, Ernest Gribble ( 1868–1957 ) 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.
Yarrabah State School was opened on 1 January 1892. In 2017, Yarrabah State School celebrated its 125th anniversary.
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. 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.
In 1965, an advisory council was set up which allowed Aboriginal people to give "advice" to the Department of Aborigines, 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.
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.
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