Laura is a rural town and

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

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 ...

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. In the the locality of Laura had a population of 228 people. It is the centre for the largest collection of prehistoric rock art in the world, including Quinkan Country which is on the

Australian National Heritage List The Australian National Heritage List or National Heritage List (NHL) is a heritage register, a list of national heritage places deemed to be of outstanding heritage significance to Australia, established in 2003. The list includes natural and ...

Geography

The locality of Laura is on

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 ...

in Far North Queensland. The town of Laura is on the

Peninsula Developmental Road The Peninsula Developmental Road (PDR) runs from Lakeland to Weipa. It is the main road transport link within Cape York Peninsula and to the rest of the Australian mainland. The segment from Weipa Town to south of the town is within the Rio ...

, the only road that extends towards the north of the peninsula, terminating at

Weipa Weipa () is a coastal mining town in the local government area of Weipa Town in Queensland. It is the largest town on the Cape York Peninsula. It exists because of the enormous bauxite deposits along the coast. The Port of Weipa is mainly invol ...

. Laura is only a few kilometres from the southern entrance to Rinyirru National Park (in neighbouring Lakefield). Quinkan Reserve 1 (also known as East Quinkan Reserve) is a protected area for the rock art in the south of the locality (). Quinkan Reserve 2 (also known as West Quinkan Reserve) is a protected area for the rock art in the east of the locality (). Apart from the rock art reserves, the land use is predominantly

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

on native vegetation.

History

Aboriginal people have made their home in the Laura River valley for at least 50,000 years. In the wet season, they would camp under rock shelters on the high ground. This is where their rock art can be found. The area was on the borders of Kokowara and Kokojawa lands. Guugu Yimithirr (also known as Koko Yindjir, Gugu Yimidhirr, Guguyimidjir) is an Australian Aboriginal language of

Hope Vale Hope Vale (also known as Hopevale) is a town within the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and a coastal locality split between the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and the Shire of Cook, both in Queensland, Australia. It is an Aboriginal community. I ...

and the

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repai ...

area. The language region includes the local government area of the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and the

, particularly the localities of Cape Bedford, Battle Camp (in Laura) and sections of the

Normanby River The Normanby River, comprising the East Normanby River, the West Normanby River, the East Normanby River North Branch, the East Normanby River South Branch and the Granite Normanby River, is a river system located in Far North Queensland, Aust ...

and

Annan River The Annan River ( Kuku Nyungkal: ''Yuku Baja'') is a river located in the Wet Tropics of Far North Queensland, Australia. Course and features The river rises in the Yorkey Range below Mount Romeo near , north-northwest of . The river flows g ...

. Kuku-Thaypan (also known as Gugu Dhayban, Kuku Taipan, Thaypan) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken in Hann River, Laura and Musgrave River and on

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, ...

, within the local government boundaries of the

Cook Shire 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 ...

. Some of the earliest pastoral leases on

were taken up in the Laura district. However, the town of Laura did not develop until the discovery of gold on the

Palmer River The Palmer River is a river located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The area surrounding the river was the site of a gold rush in the late 19th century which started in 1873. Course and features The headwaters of the Palmer River rise in ...

. The town takes its name from the Laura River, which in turn was named in 1873 by explorer and surveyor Archibald Campbell Macmillan after his wife Laura Bower (née Poingdestre). In 1873 gold was discovered on the Palmer River. Travellers coming from

to the

Palmer Goldfields The Palmer River is a river located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The area surrounding the river was the site of a gold rush in the late 19th century which started in 1873. Course and features The headwaters of the Palmer River rise in ...

would cross the Laura River at Laura. This was a very violent period, as local aboriginal clans waged a war of resistance against encroachment on and usurpation of their lands. A

Native Mounted Police Australian native police units, consisting of Aboriginal troopers under the command (usually) of at least one white officer, existed in various forms in all Australian mainland colonies during the nineteenth and, in some cases, into the twentie ...

camp was established near the Lower Laura crossing to protect travellers. Maytown State School opened circa 1877 and closed in 1917. It reopened in 1924 and closed on 1925. During the gold boom a railway line was planned between Cooktown and the Palmer gold fields. By 1888 the Cooktown to Laura Railway had been built as far as Laura. Laura Post Office opened on 8 October 1888. Laura Provisional School opened on 19 March 1889 and closed in 1903. The railway was extended towards the Palmer gold fields with an impressive bridge over the Laura River opened, to great fanfare, in 1891. However, since the Palmer gold fields were in decline, a new Queensland Government decided to abandon the project. Only one train ever crossed the bridge - the train that ran on the day that it opened. In 1903 the Queenslad Government closed the railway line, but the Cook Shire Council leased it and operated it until 1904 when the Queensland Government decided to continue its operation of the line. Following the relocation of the Endeavour River No 1 Provisional School building to the town, it reopened on 28 February 1919 as Laura Provisional School, which operated on a part-time basis with Endeavour River No 2 Provisional School and Endeavour River No 3 Provisional School (meaning one teacher was being shared by three schools). However it did not attract any enrolments and so closed on 31 March 1919. The school building was moved again and reopened as Flaggy Provisional School in conjunction with Endeavour River No 2 and No 3 schools. The rail line contributed to the growth of Laura. It was used by miners and by peninsula cattle properties. The railway finally closed in 1961. It was during the 1960s that

Quinkan rock art Quinkan rock art refers to a large body of locally, nationally and internationally significant Aboriginal rock art in Australia of a style characterised by their unique representations of "Quinkans" (an Aboriginal mythological being, often spel ...

galleries were reported by Percy Trezise, an airline pilot who surveyed the area from the air for likely sites and later walked in to rediscover them. The current Laura State School opened on 31 January 1968. 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 ...

, Laura and the surrounding area had a population of 225. In the 2011 census, Laura had a population of 80 people. In the the locality of Laura had a population of 228 people.

Heritage listings

Laura has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Laura to Maytown: Laura to Maytown Coach Road *Peninsula Developmental Road: Quinkan Country

Education

Laura State School is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at Terminus Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 7 students with 2 teachers and 6 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). There is no secondary school in Laura. The nearest secondary school is Cooktown State School (to Year 12) in neighbouring

to the east. However, only some parts of the locality are sufficiently close to enable students to commute to school in Cooktown;

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 would be alternatives.

Attractions

Some of the world's most extensive and ancient rock painting galleries surround the town of Laura, some of which are available for public viewing. Laura has an Interpretive Centre from which information on the rock art and local Aboriginal culture is available and tours can be arranged. It also forms the northern apex of the "Scenic Triangle" between

, Lakeland, and Laura.

Events

The Ang-Gnarra Aboriginal Corporation is the trustee of the traditional land situated in and around the township of Laura on Cape York Peninsula, who host the Laura Quinkan Dance Festival. A biennial, three day event for communities gathering to celebrate traditional Indigenous music, dance, crafts and stories. This Laura Quinkan Dance Festival began in the early 1980s and is known as the one of the longest running Aboriginal cultural festival in Australia. In 2009 Tom George an elder of the Kuku Thaypan clan, presented his history and role in establishing the Laura Dance Festival, the traditional weaving exchange occurred at the Laura festival by the Erub Island and Hopevale communities and photographs.

References

External links

Quinkan and Regional Cultural Centre
{{authority control Populated places in Far North Queensland Towns in Queensland Rock art in Australia Shire of Cook Localities in Queensland