Yarrabah, Queensland

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Script error: No such module "redirect hatnote". Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Side box Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". 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 Template:CensusAU, the locality of Yarrabah had a population of 2,505 people.[1]

Geography

The town is about Script error: No such module "convert". by road from Cairns CBD on Cape Grafton.[6] It is Script error: No such module "convert". 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]

History

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]

File:Yarrabah Mission Station near Cairns, Qld - very early 1900s.jpg
Yarrabah Mission Station, very early 1900s

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.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

File:Aerial view of Yarrabah Mission Station, circa 1972.jpg
Aerial view of Yarrabah, circa 1972

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.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

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]

Demographics

The population of community was given to be about 630 indigenous persons in 1952.[20]

In the Template:CensusAU, 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 Template:CensusAU, 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 considered a dialect of English.[23]

Education

File:Yarrabah State School, 2023.jpg
Yarrabah State School, 2023

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]

File:AU-Qld-Yarrabah state high school.jpg
Entrance to the secondary school campus, 2020

The school operates from three sites:

  • the Early Childhood and Prep campus at Workshop Street (Script error: No such module "Coordinates".)[24]
  • the primary school (Years 1-6) campus at Gribble Street (Script error: No such module "Coordinates".)[24]
  • the secondary campus (Years 7-10) campus at Back Beach Road (Script error: No such module "Coordinates".)[24]

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.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". 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.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

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.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Facilities

File:Yarrabah.JPG
Yarrabah, from Back Beach Road, looking towards 'the mission', a reference to the main settlement.

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.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

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]

Amenities

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.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

The Yarrabah community has its own newsletter entitled Yarrabah News, published monthly since the late 1970s.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

There is a police citizens youth club in the town.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

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]

Attractions

The Yarrabah Menmuny Museum, opened in 1996, is in the Jilji suburb.[42] The museum's name comes from the local tribe leader of the late 1800s, Menmuny, who was given the title 'King John' Menmuny, and died circa 1919.[43][44] A later elder was 'King' Albert Maywee.[20]

Events

The Yarrabah Band Festival is held annually around October, drawing a crowd of about 4,000 people.[38]

Transport

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.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

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.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Gallery

References

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  1. ↑ a b c Template:Census 2021 AUS
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Template:Cite QPN
  4. ↑ Template:Cite QPN
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Template:Google maps
  7. ↑ a b Template:Queensland Globe
  8. ↑ Template:Cite SLQ-CC-BY
  9. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Template:Cite QldSchool
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Template:SLQ-CC-BY
  16. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Queensland Cabinet Meets in far north, news.com.auScript error: No such module "Unsubst".;
  18. ↑ Yarrabah, Govt to sign welfare deal news.com.au website. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
  19. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ a b c Template:Census 2016 AUS
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
  23. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  36. ↑ 2015 'Chris Tamwoy to play Yarrabah Festival', Torres News (Thursday Island, Qld. : 1957-2015), 2 November, p. 7., viewed 10 May 2020, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article255548448 Template:Webarchive
  37. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  38. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  39. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  40. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  41. ↑ Template:SLQ-CC-BY
  42. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  43. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  44. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  45. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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External links

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