Doomadgee is a town and a locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Doomadgee,

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. It is a mostly Indigenous community, situated about from the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

border, and west of Burketown. The settlement began with the establishment of the Doomadgee Mission in 1933, which relocated from Bayley Point to Nicholson River in 1936. In the , the locality of Doomadgee had a population of 1,387 people.

History

Indigenous peoples

The Waanyi and Ganggalidda (Yukulta) people are the recognised

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

peoples who are the

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

for the region surrounding Doomadgee. Historically, Gadawa, Lardil, Mingginda and Garawa groups inhabited or traversed the area. The

Waanyi language Waanyi, also spelt Wanyi, Wanji or Waanji, is an endangered Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Waanyi people of the lower gulf area of Northern Queensland, Australia. Although earlier thought to be extinct, as of the 2016 Australi ...

(also known as ''Wanyi'', ''Wanyee'', ''Wanee'', ''Waangyee'', ''Wonyee'', ''Garawa'', and ''Wanji)'' 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 ...

of the Gulf Country. The language region includes the western parts of

Lawn Hill Creek Boodjamulla National Park, formerly known as Lawn Hill National Park, is a national park in the Shire of Burke, Queensland, Australia. The Riversleigh World Heritage Area is a World Heritage Site within the park. The park lies on the traditional ...

and Nicholson River, from about the boundary between the

and Queensland, westwards towards Alexandria station, Doomadgee, and Nicholson River. It includes the local government area of the Shire of Doomadgee. Yukulta (also known as Ganggalida) is also spoken in the Gulf Country, including the in Doomadgee and Mornington Shires.

European settlement

From the late 19th century, Europeans started settling in the area, making a huge impact on the lives of the Indigenous peoples. Conflict occurred, as it did elsewhere in the

Australian frontier wars The Australian frontier wars were the violent conflicts between Indigenous Australians (including both Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders) and mostly British settlers during the colonial period of Australia. The first conflic ...

Native Police Australian native police were specialised mounted military units consisting of detachments of Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal troopers under the command of European officers appointed by British colonial governments. The units existed in va ...

, known as ''yabayiri'' to the locals, were established at Turn Off Lagoon, which was on the Nicholson River about west of present-day Doomadgee site, in 1889. Before this, Native Police had been at a location on Carl Creek, to the south, since 1878. The Protector of Aboriginals was appointed on 30 Apr 1936, under the '' Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897'', whereby Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people became

wards of the state Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pri ...

. The Protector controlled the lives of Aboriginal people in Queensland until the '' Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders Affairs Act 1965'' came into force on 28 April 1966 and the Department of Aboriginal and Island Affairs was created, and every Clerk of the Court within the State became a District Officer. Text was copied from this source, which is available under
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
licence.

Doomadgee Mission (1933–1983)

Doomadgee Mission, originally known as Dumaji (a name deriving from a coastal

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

known as Dumaji by the Ganggalidda people), was established on Bayley Point () on the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria is a sea off the northern coast of Australia. It is enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea, which separates Australia and New Guinea. The northern boundary ...

in 1933, including the Doomadgee Mission School. There had been a mission home for Aboriginal children established at Burketown by Len and Dorothy Akehurst, members of the

Open Brethren The Open Brethren, sometimes called Christian Brethren, are a group of Evangelicalism, Evangelical Christianity, Christian churches that arose in the late 1820s as part of the Assembly Movement within the Plymouth Brethren tradition. They origi ...

, in 1930, and this was moved to the new site of Dumaji (subsequently known as "Old Doomadgee Mission" a couple of years later, at the request of the Aboriginal people. Most of the residents of Old Doomadgee came from Burketown and were Gangalidda and Garawa people. At first the girls lived in a house and the boys in tents, but

dormitories A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

were built over time. The boys and girls lived in separate dormitories. The Akehursts returned to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 1935. After the Protector was appointed (April 1936), the mission was classed as an "

Aboriginal reserve An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th ...

(Church-sponsored), managed by a Local Protector". In 1936, after the coastal site of the mission had been devastated by 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 ant ...

, the community and the dormitories were relocated to Nicholson River, known as "New Doomadgee". There were around 50 children and 20 adults at this time, but the population soon grew through the 1930s and 1940s, when the Queensland Government removed many Aboriginal families from surrounding pastoral stations, including Westmoreland, Lawn Hills and Gregory Downs. Official records show more than 80 removals between 1935 and 1957 (and prior to the establishment of Doomadgee Mission, many Aboriginal children in the region were removed to the Mornington Island Mission and other missions and

s further south). A photograph held by

Queensland State Archives The Queensland State Archives is the lead agency for public recordkeeping in Queensland, Australia. It is the custodian of the largest and most significant documentary heritage collection about Queensland. Established in 1959, Queensland Stat ...

taken around 1940 shows about 80 children at the mission, and official records report about 100 children in 1949. The mission settlement included a

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

, a school, a cattle run which included horses, and a garden. However, government reports dated 1949 and 1950 report that there was no school building and lessons took place in the dormitories. Here the inhabitants were subjected to close supervision and strict adherence to a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

way of life, with the girls allowed only to sing hymns as amusement. Conditions were difficult, and the mission's practices were criticised in a 1950 government report. All children over six years old lived in dormitories; boys left the dormitory around the age of 14 to take up station work, while girls were trained in domestic duties and often remained in the dormitories until they married. By the late 1950s, many residents left, moving to the Mornington Island mission, where by this time families were allowed to stay together. A 1958 Open Brethren report showed that about 115 children aged 6–20 years were in their care. During the 1960s, older unmarried girls started returning to their parents. The girls' dormitory was renovated in 1964, in 1965 there were still 35 boys and 23 girls living at the mission, and in 1968 there were at least five children still living in a dormitory. From 28 April 1966, the Department of Aboriginal and Island Affairs became responsible for the mission. In 1969, the Queensland Government was appointed trustee of the reserve on which the mission was located, and after continuing criticism of the conditions at the mission, it took administrative control from the Brethren in August 1983. It is not clear exactly when the last children left the dormitories. However, the contents list of a book by the Akehurst's son, Vic, shows devotes Part 5 to the 1970s and Part is titled "The Last Four years as a Mission - 1980 to 1983". The

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

has a

sound recording Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, Mechanical system, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of ...

of an interview by Gwenda Davey with Vic Akehurst about his parents, made in 2003 and available online, including a full transcript. The Doomadgee Mission School, established in 1933, became Doomadgee Community School in 1970. In 1975, it came under the control of the Queensland Government's Education Department, becoming Doomadgee State School. Two dormitory buildings still remain: the girls' dormitory and over the road from it the boys dormitory. One dormitory was destroyed by fire in 2003.

Later 20th century – 21st century

Doomadgee Post Office opened on 2 January 1969. From January 2007, the Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire Council in the area was given full shire status.

Demographics

Doomadgee is a mostly Indigenous community. In the , the town of Doomadgee had a population of 1,258 people. In the , the locality of Doomadgee had a population of 1,405 people. In the , the locality of Doomadgee had a population of 1,387 people.

Governance

On 21 May 1987, the

was transferred from the Queensland Government to the trusteeship of the Doomadgee Aboriginal Council, under a Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT). On 1 January 2005, the Doomadgee Aboriginal Council became the Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire Council. Doomadgee is located within the Aboriginal Shire of Doomadgee, situated about from the Northern Territory border, and west of Burketown. Text was copied from this source, which is available under
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
licence.

Education

Doomadgee State School is a government primary and secondary (Early Childhood-10) school for boys and girls at Goodeedawa Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 325 students with 35 teachers and 10 non-teaching staff (7 full-time equivalent). It includes a (Prep-10) special education program.

Health facilities

There is a hospital, known as Yella Gundgimara/ Doomadgee Hospital, which is in the process of having six dialysis chairs installed, but the

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

is not yet good enough for their operation. Special plumbing and filtration is necessary to provide water of a specific quality to be used in the process of haemodialysis, which treats people with

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

problems. Until the unit is complete, patients have to travel or move to

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive mines in world history, based on co ...

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

to receive treatment. In 2022,

Four Corners Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. Most of the Four Corners regio ...

led an investigation into the poor health outcomes in the community, including a much higher rate of

rheumatic heart disease Valvular heart disease is any cardiovascular disease process involving one or more of the four valves of the heart (the aortic and mitral valves on the left side of heart and the pulmonic and tricuspid valves on the right side of heart). The ...

than the wider Australian community.

References

External links

*
Hamish Cairns Doomadgee photographs 2008-2014
State Library of Queensland
Doomadgee Rodeo 50th Anniversary photographs
State Library of Queensland {{authority control Towns in Queensland Australian Aboriginal missions North West Queensland Aboriginal communities in Queensland Aboriginal Shire of Doomadgee Localities in Queensland