The Aboriginal Shire of Kowanyama is a special

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 ...

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: Agrupación ...

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. 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

The area originally was set up as the Mitchell River Mission in 1916.

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. Language groups associated with countries in the Kowanyama region are

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 ...

, Yirrk Thangalkl, Koko Bera and Kunjen (Uw Oykangand and Olkola dialects). Kunjen (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 ...

. ''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 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 area ...

, in the catchments of the

Coleman River Coleman River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 26, 2011 stream that is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, mostly within Rabun County, Georgia. It is one of ...

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

Kowanyama 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 Tops ...

. 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 23 July 1987, under the ''Community Services (Aborigines) Act 1984'', a

was given to the Kowanyama community over the lands in the Mitchell River delta. 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.

Responsibilities

As the Shire operates under the Local Government Act 2009, the Shire Council's responsibilities are the generally the same as other local government in remote Queensland including for fisheries, the alcohol management and even operation of some commercial enterprises.

Community Justice Group

A Community Justice Group operates within Kowanyama. This group is made up of respected members in the community. They meet to discuss issues within the town and make recommendations to Council. The community also has a Council of Elders, who are consulted by the Kowanyama Council when making community decisions. The elders operate in conjunction with the Lands Office.

The Lands Office

The Kowanyama Aboriginal Land and Natural Resources Management Office (KALNRMO) works to promote and facilitate aboriginal management of the natural and cultural resources of Kowanyama country by the people of Kowanyama. Through community consultation and direction, KALNRMO has developed a community development agenda for the Kowanyama region, including: * Homelands development * Land and Fisheries Management * 'Tourism and Visitor management * Kowanyama Ranger Service * Native Title Claims * Cultural Resource documentation Through the initiatives of KALNRMO, the Kowanyama community is widely regarded as a leader in indigenous land management issues. Since 1987, Kowanyama has effected substantial local control over fishing in the Mitchell River Delta, including the closure of some waters to non-Aboriginal fishing under state fisheries legislation. This action, funded through the enterprise income of the Kowanyama Aboriginal Council, has provided Aboriginal people access to the River's fish stocks for their cultural and economic needs. In this way, Aboriginal people can fish and hunt as they have done for many thousands of years. KALNRMO employs Indigenous rangers as part of a cultural and economic development programme. The Kowanyama Rangers implement land management strategies in many areas of the DOGIT, and, in addition to tourism and visitor management, patrol closed and open waters. The Rangers also observe fisheries regulations, especially for illegal commercial or recreational fishing in closed waters. Beginning in 2007, the Rangers monitor threatened turtle populations and participate in the Carpentaria Ghost Nets Programme to remove debris (primarily fishing nets) discarded into the Gulf of Carpentaria by commercial fishermen from Australia and Indonesia.

Mayors

* 2008–2012: Thomas Farlane Hudson * 2012–2016: Robert Holness * 2016–2020 : Michael Yam *2020–present: Robert Michael Sands

References

External links

University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council

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