The Shire of Mornington is a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

in northwestern

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. The shire covers the

Wellesley Islands The Wellesley Islands, also known as the North Wellesley Islands, is a group of islands off the coast of Far North Queensland, Australia, in the Gulf of Carpentaria. It is a locality within the Shire of Mornington local government area. The t ...

, which includes

Mornington Island Mornington Island, also known as Kunhanhaa, is an island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Shire of Mornington, Queensland, Australia. It is the northernmost and largest of 22 islands that form the Wellesley Islands group. The largest town, ...

; the

South Wellesley Islands The South Wellesley Islands is an island group and locality in the Gulf of Carpentaria within the Shire of Mornington, Queensland, Australia. The group is separate from the Wellesley Islands. Bentinck Island is the only one known to have ...

; Bountiful Islands; and West Wellesley / Forsyth Islands groups in 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 ...

History

The shire includes the traditional lands of a number of

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

peoples. The shire was formed in 1978 when the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...

decided to take control of the islands over from the

Uniting Church of Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Unio ...

. The local community objected, and asked the

Australian federal government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

to help overturn this decision. After negotiations, it was agreed that the community would become self-governing under a so-called "

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

" model. In 2001, the shire had a population of 934, of whom 88.2% were

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

(

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often groupe ...

Geography

The Shire Council covers 26 islands, which make up the

, Bountiful Islands and

Forsyth Islands The West Wellesley Islands, also referred to as the Forsyth Islands, is an island group and locality in the Gulf of Carpentaria within the Shire of Mornington, Queensland, Australia. The group lies to the south-west of the Wellesley Islands ...

(also known as West Wellesley) groups. The area has abundant flora and fauna, including tea trees,

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

s and sea oaks. The beaches are filled with a variety of marine life, including turtles and the endangered

dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest m ...

. It is a fishing and diving locale with beaches and an emphasis on

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...

Demography

The islands of the shire are inhabited by the Lardil, Yangkaal,

Kaiadilt The Kaiadilt are an Aboriginal Australian people of the South Wellesley group in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland, Australia. They are native to Bentinck Island, but also made nomadic fishing and hunting forays to both Sweers and Allen Is ...

and

Gangalidda The Yukulta people, also spelt Jokula, Jukula, and other variants, and also known as Ganggalidda or Gangalidda, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Queensland. They may be the same as the Yanga group. Country Norman Tindale ( ...

peoples. 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 ...

, Lardil (also known as Gununa, Ladil), is spoken on

and on the Northern Wellesley Islands, all within the Mornington Shire. Another

Yukulta The Yukulta people, also spelt Jokula, Jukula, and other variants, and also known as Ganggalidda or Gangalidda, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Queensland. They may be the same as the Yanga group. Country Norman Tindale ( ...

(also known as Ganggalida), is spoken in the Gulf Country, which includes the local government areas of the

Aboriginal Shire of Doomadgee The Aboriginal Shire of Doomadgee is a special local government area in North West Queensland, Queensland, Australia. It is managed under a Deed of Grant in Trust under the ''Local Government (Community Government Areas) Act 2004''. Geography ...

and Shire of Mornington. The administrative centre of the shire is the township of Gununa on Mornington Island. At the , the population of the shire had risen to 1,143, with 86.1% of residents being either Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

Amenities

The Mornington Shire Council does not operate any public libraries.

Mayors

* 2008 - 2012: Cecil Goodman * 2012 - 2020: Bradley Wilson *2020 - present: Kyle Hector Yanner

References

Local government areas of Queensland North West Queensland 1978 establishments in Australia {{coord, 20, 43, 29, S, 139, 29, 37, E, type:adm2nd_region:AU-QLD, display=title