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Injinoo Aboriginal Community QLD

Injinoo Aboriginal Community

Postcode: 4876

The settlement of Injinoo was established on Cape York by a community led by a Wuthathi man, Allelic Whitesand.

Although self-sufficient, through fishing and gardening, the Community made requests to the Anglican church to establish a mission and school. Government officials allowed the community to function through an elected Council.

After the Second World War, which saw a considerable military presence in the area, many Torres Strait Islanders began moving into Injinoo. Settlements were subsequently built at Bamaga, New Mapoon and Umagico to relocate evicted people from this and other areas of the Cape. In 1948 a reserve was created, with control of the area having been taken over by the Queensland Department of Native Affairs.

Around the turn of the century the remains of the semi-nomadic family tribes occupying the last two hundred kilometers of Cape York Peninsula came together and settled at the mouth of Cowal Creek or Small River now known as Injinoo. These tribes shared a common language with different dialects.

The settlement of Injinoo was established on Cape York by a community led by a Wuthathi man, Allelic Whitesand. The Chief Protector of Aborigines discovered this settlement in 1916. The community is the homeland of most of the traditional owners of all the land on which the five Northern Peninsula Area communities are situated.