Injinoo (formerly Cowal Creek) is a coastal town in the

Northern Peninsula Area Region The Northern Peninsula Area Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia, covering areas on the northwestern coast of Cape York Peninsula. It was created in March 2008 out of three Aboriginal Shires and two autonomous Is ...

and a

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

split between Northern Peninsula Area Region and the

Shire of Torres The Shire of Torres is a local government area located in Far North Queensland, Australia, covering large sections of the Torres Strait Islands and the northern tip of Cape York Peninsula north of 11°S latitude. It holds two distinctions—it ...

Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stret ...

, Australia. It is on the north-western coast of

Cape York Peninsula The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...

. In the , the locality of Injinoo had a population of 498 people.

History

'' Luthigh'' (also known as ''Lotiga'', ''Tepiti'' and ''Uradhi'', see also '' Uradhi'' related languages) 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 ...

spoken by the Luthigh people. The traditional language area for Luthigh includes landscape 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 ...

: Eastern Cape York,

Ducie River The Ducie River is a river located on the Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia. Formed by the confluence of the Palm Creek and South Palm Creek, the headwaters of the Ducie River drain the Richardson Range, part of the Great D ...

, Northern Peninsula, New Mapoon, Injinoo, and

Cowal Creek Injinoo (formerly Cowal Creek) is a coastal town in the Northern Peninsula Area Region and a locality split between Northern Peninsula Area Region and the Shire of Torres in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is on the north-western coast of C ...

. '' Uradhi'' (also known as ''Anggamudi'', ''Ankamuti'', ''Atampaya'', ''Bawtjathi'', and ''Lotiga)'' is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Western Cape York Peninsula. The traditional language region includes north of Mapoon and

Duyfken Point Duyfken Point is a point in the locality of Mission River, Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia (). Geography Duyfken Point is on the western coast of Cape York Peninsula on the Gulf of Carpentaria. History Duyfken Point was named by Mat ...

and east of the coast strip to the north of Port Musgrave (Angkamuthi country) incorporating the mouth of the

, the lower reaches of the Dulhunty River and the upper reaches of the Skardon River in the north. Following the displacement of Indigenous people by British settlement, it was also spoken in the

including the communities of New Mapoon, Injinoo and

. Injinoo Aboriginal Community was an Aboriginal settlement and later Anglican

mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

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 then

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

to establish a mission and

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

Queensland government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

officials allowed the community to function through an elected Council. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, which saw a considerable military presence in the area, many

Torres Strait Islanders Torres Strait Islanders ( ) are the Indigenous Melanesians, Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal peoples of the res ...

began moving into Injinoo. Settlements were subsequently built at

Bamaga Bamaga ( , ) is an Indigneous town and locality about from the northern tip of Cape York in the north of Queensland, Australia. It is within the Northern Peninsula Area Region. It is one of the northernmost settlements in continental Australi ...

, New Mapoon and

Umagico Umagico is a town and coastal locality in the Northern Peninsula Area Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Umagico had a population of 394 people. Umagico is one of the five communities which collectively form the Northern P ...

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. The official name of the community was changed from Cowal Creek to Injinoo on 2 September 1989.

Demographics

In the , the town of Injinoo had a population of 416 people. In the , the locality of Injinoo had a population of 561 people. In the , the locality of Injinoo had a population of 498 people.

Education

The Injinoo Junior campus of the Northern Peninsula Area College is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) campus of Northern Peninsula Area State College at Bowie Street (). There are no secondary schools in Injinoo. The nearest government secondary school is the Senior Campus of the Northern Peninsula Area College in

to the north-east.

Facilities

In 2012, the Indigenous Knowledge Centre was opened at Injinoo, operated by the

Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council The Northern Peninsula Area Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia, covering areas on the northwestern coast of Cape York Peninsula. It was created in March 2008 out of three Aboriginal Shires and two autonomous Isl ...

. It has produced a video detailing traditional bush foods as part of a children's language workshop.

References

External links

Injinoo Indigenous Knowledge Centre re-opening

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

{{authority control Towns in Queensland Australian Aboriginal missions Indigenous Australian reserves Aboriginal communities in Queensland Shire of Torres Northern Peninsula Area Region Coastline of Queensland Localities in Queensland