Shire of Aurukun facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shire of Aurukun Queensland
Location within Queensland
Population	1,101 (2021 census)
• Density	0.14830/km2 (0.3841/sq mi)
Established	1978
Area	7,424 km2 (2,866.4 sq mi)
Mayor	Keri Pauline Tamwoy
Council seat	Aurukun
Region	Far North Queensland
State electorate(s)	Cook
Federal Division(s)	Leichhardt
Website	Shire of Aurukun
LGAs around Shire of Aurukun: Cook Cook Napranum Gulf of Carpentaria Shire of Aurukun Cook Gulf of Carpentaria Pormpuraaw Cook

The Shire of Aurukun is a special area in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is managed by a local government council. This shire covers a part of the western Cape York Peninsula, which is the northernmost tip of the Australian mainland.

The Shire of Aurukun is about 7,424 square kilometers (2,866 square miles) in size. It has been a local government area since 1978. In 2021, about 1,101 people lived in the Shire of Aurukun.

History of Aurukun Shire

The land that is now the Shire of Aurukun was once an Aboriginal reserve. It was managed by the Presbyterian Church under a special law called the Queensland Aborigines Act. The Aurukun Mission was started in 1904. Many Aboriginal people from all over Cape York were moved to this mission.

In 1978, the Queensland Government took over the land. They created a new law called the Local Government (Aboriginal Lands) Act 1978. This law officially made the Shire of Aurukun a local government area. It also gave the shire a special land lease.

At first, an elected Aboriginal council was in charge, but only for one month. After that, a government administrator was put in charge instead. News reports at the time suggested that money from mining a mineral called bauxite was a big reason for the government's decision. In the 1990s, an elected council was once again put in charge of the shire.

Towns and Communities

The Shire of Aurukun includes one main settlement:

• Aurukun

Language and Culture

Aurukun is known as part of the Wik Nation. The Wik Mungkan Tribe are the traditional custodians of the Aurukun area. This is a very strong First Nations community. It is the last Aboriginal community in Queensland where a traditional language, Wik Mungkan, is still a very strong first language. More than 1,200 people, from children to elders, speak it fluently.

Many cultural programs that include the five Wik Language Groups have been run from the local Indigenous Knowledge Centre (IKC). One important project is the Kaap Thonam: Woyan-Min Biocultural Project App.

In 2022, Perry Yunkaporta, a Wik Elder and traditional owner, led the Biocultural Project. He worked with Noel Waterman and Gabe Waterman from the community. Together, they created a software app called 'Kaap Thonam, a Wik Seasons Calendar'. This app teaches important knowledge about Aurukun's seven seasons. Perry Yunkaporta has been working on this project for many years. He shares his deep knowledge of language and culture with students from the local school.

Libraries and Learning

The Aurukun Shire Council runs the Wik Mungkan Indigenous Knowledge Centre in Aurukun. They work with the State Library of Queensland to do this. This center was the sixth Indigenous Knowledge Centre to open, on November 22, 2002.

The council has managed the IKC for 20 years, though it has been closed sometimes. Today, the IKC offers library services. It is also home to the Aurukun Flexi Learning Centre. This center focuses on learning that is based on local culture, including classes for the Wik language.

Population and Demographics

The population of the Shire of Aurukun is sometimes hard to count accurately. This is also true for the Shires of Cook, Torres, and Mornington. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which counts people every five years, has noted this challenge.

Reasons for this difficulty include language and cultural differences. Also, transport and how spread out the population is make it hard. Most people live in isolated communities. Because of these challenges, the numbers collected might be lower than the actual number of people living there.

In 2016, the Shire of Aurukun had a population of 1,269 people. By 2021, the population was 1,101 people.

Shire Leaders

The Shire of Aurukun has leaders called Chairmen or Mayors. They are elected by the community to manage the local government.

Election Information

2024 Election Results