The Aboriginal Shire of Pormpuraaw is a special local government area which is located on western

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupació ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. It is managed under a

Deed of Grant in Trust A Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT) is the name for a system of community-level land trust established in Queensland to administer former Aboriginal reserves and missions. They came about through the enactment by the Queensland Government of the '' ...

under the ''Local Government (Community Government Areas) Act 2004''.

History

Kuuk Thaayorre Kuuk Thaayorre (Thayore) is a Paman language spoken in the settlement Pormpuraaw on the western part of the Cape York Peninsula, Queensland in Australia by the Thaayorre people. As of 2006, 250 of the 350 ethnic Thaayorre speak the language. It ...

'' (also known as ''Koko-Daiyuri, Kuku Yak, Thayorre'', and used as a generic name for several related languages/dialects) is an Australian Aboriginal Language spoken on Western Cape York, particularly in the area around Pormpuraaw (

Edward River Edward River, or Kyalite River, an anabranch of the Murray River and part of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the western Riverina region of south western New South Wales, Australia. The river rises at Picnic Point east of Mathoura, a ...

). The Thaayorre language region includes the landscape within Pormpuraaw Community Council and the Cook Shire Council. The area originally was set up as the Edward River Mission in 1938.

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

from the region were gradually drawn from their traditional lands into the mission settlement. In 1967 the

Anglican church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

were no longer able to sustain their activities in the area as a Church Mission. The Department of Aboriginal and Islander Affairs, a government department, under the Act continued running the affairs of the community. On 28 July 1987, under the ''Community Services (Aborigines) Act 1984'', a

was given to the Pormpuraaw community. Like other DOGIT communities of the time, Pormpuraaw had a town Council elected by Aboriginal people living in the community. The newly formed Pormpuraaw Council assumed responsibility for implementing certain conditions of the DOGIT. Four elected Aboriginal residents plus a mayor hold four year terms of office.

Responsibilities

As the Shire is not operated under the Local Government Act and operates the land on behalf of the community, the Shire Council's responsibilities are quite different from a typical local government body. This includes responsibility for fisheries, alcohol management and even operation of some commercial enterprises. The Pormpuraaw Shire Council operates an Indigenous Knowledge Centre at Pormpuraaw.

Chairmen and mayors

* 2008–2016: Richard Tarpencha * 2016–2020: Ralph Kendall * 2020–present: Richard Tarpencha

Current councillors

2020 - Councillors: Tim Koo-Aga, George Conrad, Andrea Foote & Ronald Kingi Jnr

References

External links

PDF Map including detail of Pormpuraaw DOGIT Lands
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pormpuraaw Shire Pormpuraaw Aboriginal communities in Queensland Far North Queensland 1987 establishments in Australia