Kowanyama is a town and coastal

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

in the Aboriginal Shire of Kowanyama,

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 , established_ ...

, Australia. It is the site of the former Mitchell River Mission, founded in 1916, after the nearby Trubanamen Mission (established not far away on Topsy Creek in 1905) was abandoned. In the , the locality of Kowanyama had a population of 944 people.

Geography

The locality is on the

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: Agrupación ...

. It is bounded to the west by the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

and to the north by the Coleman River (). The locality of Kowanyama (and the Aboriginal Shire of Kowanyama which has the same boundaries) has a land area of . The Mitchell River enters the locality from the west ( Maramie) and exits to the north-west into the Gulf of Carpentaria. As the river approaches the Gulf, it splits into two watercourses around Wallaby Island () with the southern branch retaining the name Mitchell River (with mouth ) and the northern branch called Mitchell River (North Arm) entering the gulf at . The Aboriginal people who live in this community include people from the Kokominjena, Kokoberra and Kunjen groups of the

Yir-Yoront The Yir-Yoront, also known as the Yir Yiront, are an Indigenous Australian people of the Cape York Peninsula now living mostly in Kowanyama (''kawn yamar'' or 'many waters') but also in Lirrqar/Pormpuraaw, both towns outside their traditional ...

people. In the Yir-Yoront language, Kowanyama means "The place of many waters". The community is situated on the banks of the Magnificent Creek, a tributary of the

Mitchell River Mitchell River may refer to: Australia *Mitchell River (Queensland) *Mitchell River (Victoria) *Mitchell River (Western Australia) Canada *Mitchell River (Cross River) *Mitchell River (Quesnel River tributary) United States *Mitchell River (Mass ...

, inland from the coastline of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Kowanyama is accessed by an all-weather airstrip, as well as unsealed roads in the dry season from

Pormpuraaw Pormpuraaw (pronounced ''porm-pure-ow'') is a coastal town and a locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Pormpuraaw, Queensland, Australia. Pormpuraaw is an Aboriginal community situated on the west coast of Cape York Peninsula approximately halfway ...

to the north, Normanton to the south and

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

to the east.

History

Kunjen Kunjen, or Uw, is a Paman language spoken on the Cape York Peninsula of Queensland, Australia, by the Uw Oykangand, Olkola, and related Aboriginal Australian peoples. It is closely related to Kuuk Thaayorre, and perhaps Kuuk Yak. Two of its ...

(also known as Koko Wanggara, Ngundjan and Olkola) is a language of Western Cape York. The Kunjen language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of Kowanyama Community Council and

Cook Shire Council The Shire of Cook (The Shire) is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia. The Shire covers most of the eastern and central parts of Cape York Peninsula, the most northerly section of the Australian mainland. It covers an ar ...

Kowanyama State School opened in January 1904. Since the beginning of 2014, the school has also started to enrol students in a year 11 and 12 pathways program. In 1905, Trubanamen Mission was established inland on

Topsy Creek Kowanyama is a town and coastal locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Kowanyama, Queensland, Australia. It is the site of the former Mitchell River Mission, founded in 1916, after the nearby Trubanamen Mission (established not far away on Topsy ...

, and Aboriginal peoples of the region were gradually drawn from their ancestral lands into the mission settlement. Later, in 1916, Mitchell River Mission was founded on the present site of Kowanyama and the Trubanamen site abandoned. Some people continued to live on their traditional lands, only moving into Kowanyama in the 1940s. In 1964, a

cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...

destroyed the mission. The Queensland government funded the rebuilding. Kowanyama Post Office opened by 1967. In 1967 the Anglican church 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. In July 1987, the State Government of Queensland implemented legislation for a DOGIT (Deed of Grant in Trust) over the lands in the

delta, an area of . The deed covered the traditional lands of the people of Kowanyama. Like other DOGIT communities of the time, Kowanyama had a town Council elected by Aboriginal people living in the community. The newly formed Kowanyama Council assumed responsibility for implementing certain conditions of the DOGIT. Seven elected aboriginal residents hold three-year terms in office. Since the 1990s, many Kowanyama people have been returning to their ancestral lands through the Homelands Movement. Homelands within the Kowanyama DOGIT include

Scrubby Bore Scrubby may refer to: Places * Scrubby Mountain, rural locality in Queensland * Scrubby Creek, locality in Blackall-Tambo Region, Queensland * Scrubby Creek, locality in Gympie Region, Queensland See also *'' The Sheik of Scrubby Creek'', country ...

Red Lilly Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

, Ten Mile, Shelfo, Stewart Place, Old Rodeo Ground, Kowanyumal, Duck Hole, Wonya Bore, Kokomenjen Island, Wallaby Island, Joe's Lagoon, Yangr Bore, Engkoram, Fish Hole, Robert Demaine great elder and Thilpi. Other homelands, including the Oriners Pastoral Lease and the Sefton Pastoral Lease, were independently purchased by the Kowanyama Council and are located outside the DOGIT boundary. At the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

, the town of Kowanyama had a population of 1,017. In the , the locality of Kowanyama had a population of 944 people.

Culture

Kowanyama is one of the largest communities on the Cape York Peninsula. Kowanyama's Aboriginal people continue to identify strongly with their ancestral countries and with the languages, stories, songs, dances, and histories associated with those countries. Language groups associated with countries in the Kowanyama region are Yir Yoront, Yirrk Thangalkl, Koko Bera, Uw Oykangand, and Olkola.

Education

Kowanyama State School is a government primary and secondary (Early Childhood-10) school for boys and girls at 345 Kowanyama Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 190 students with 21 teachers and 3 non-teaching staff. It includes a

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

program. Secondary education to Year 12 is not available in Kowanyama nor nearby.

Distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

and boarding schools are the options.

Shopping

Kowanyama has a small supermarket that sells fresh foods, packaged and frozen foods, and hardware items. The store is similar to a medium-sized IGA store. The store is operated by Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships (DATSIP), and the manager is able to obtain any goods that are not normally kept for sale. The store prices are somewhat higher than provincial towns, which reflect the high costs of transport and storage. The "Coffee Shop" does not sell coffee; operated by the Anglican Church, it stocks take away food, entertainment media and small goods.

Accommodation

Kowanyama River House is a 17-room guest house overlooking Magnificent Creek in Kowanyama Township. The guest house is located 100 metres from the Cultural Centre and 200 metres from the Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council offices and Supermarket.

Alcohol restrictions

Kowanyama community is subject to strict alcohol restrictions enforced by police prohibiting individuals holding any alcohol, and prohibiting any vehicles carrying alcohol anywhere within the community. Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council originally held a liquor licence allowing light beer to be consumed on the premises of the Kowanyama Canteen at specified times, but this was suspended by Queensland's Liquor Licensing Commission and Queensland Treasurer, Andrew Fraser, in February 2008. The decision to suspend Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council's liquor licence is claimed to have resulted in the Council losing a business valued at $1.6 million, plus up to $120,000 in stock. As a consequence, on 30 October 2008, the Council went to Queensland's

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

to challenge the liquor licensing decisions as racially discriminatory.

Languages

''Yir Yiront'' (also known as ''Yiront'', ''Jirjoront'', ''Yir-yiron''t, and ''Kokomindjan'') is an

Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

. Its traditional language region is in Western Cape York within the local government areas of Aboriginal Shire of Kowanyama and Shire of Cook, in the catchments of the Coleman River and

. Following the removal of Aboriginal people from their traditional lands, it is also spoken in

and Kowanyama.

Climate

Kowanyama experiences a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Aw''). Daytime temperatures generally stay above all year round and reach up to in the pre-wet season period in October and November. The wet season runs from December to April and is characterized by frequent torrential downpours and high humidity. During the dry season, almost no rain falls and days are warm to hot but humidity is low and the nights can become quite mild. In February 2014, of rain fell in Kowanyama over a six-day span, including a 24-hour total of on 8 February. Residents were confined to their houses for almost two weeks; however no major damage was reported.

Travel

Kowanyama is serviced weekly in the dry season by road trains from Cairns. The service becomes more frequent as the wet season approaches. Early storms in October can make the dirt road to Chillagoe east of the community subject to flooding. By late December the storms of the monsoons have usually arrived, isolating the community by road. The monsoons are regarded as the arrival of ''nhawrr yirrpa'', the Rainbow Snake who brings the life giving water to the land. During the wet season, which may last until May, the community is serviced only by aircraft, as all other access is restricted. During the wet season, fresh foods and perishables are flown into the community each week on charter planes by stores in town. Airline passenger services to Cairns, away is maintained throughout the year through

Kowanyama Airport Kowanyama Airport is an airport located southeast of Kowanyama, Queensland, Australia. In 2005 the airport received $107,448 for security upgrades. Airlines and destinations See also * List of airports in Queensland This is a list o ...

().

References

External links

"I belong student clip - Kowanyama" brief video on growing up in Kowanyama
Accessed 25 January 2009 * Our World 2.0br>Our World 2 Video & Video Brief on Saltwater vs Freshwater Changes around Kowanyama
Accessed 21 January 2009
Peta Hill 'Aboriginal Station Life' on-line photo collection of people and places around Kowanyama.
Accessed 25 January 2009

Accessed 9 November 2008 * Our World 2.0br> United Nations University's 'Kowanyama Climate Change' video brief
Accessed 19 November 2008
World Wildlife Funds' News Archive 2001 Article on Kowanyama Cultural and Natural Resource Mapping Project
Accessed 6 November 2008 {{authority control Towns in Queensland Populated places in Far North Queensland Aboriginal communities in Queensland Coastline of Queensland Aboriginal Shire of Kowanyama Localities in Queensland