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Cape York
Opening of Mapoon church adds final chapter to a storied history
Geoff Wharton. The opening of the church at Mapoon last Thursday is an event that links today’s Christian movement in the community with the earliest days of Mapoon Presbyterian Mission and the Moravian Church missionaries who came to evangelise among the Tjungundji People in 1891.
Unvaccinated teachers being sent to Cape York
Taxpayers will fund the costly relocation of unvaccinated teachers to Cape York over the school holidays, despite the fact they will be unable to work when students return in 2022 ... According to the Queensland Teachers’ Union, teachers and school staff, have until January 7 to provide the department with evidence that they have received at least the first dose.
AdBlue shortage not an issue for freight in Cape
A worldwide shortage of a diesel exhaust fluid will soon impact Cape York trucking companies, although freight is unlikely to be impacted ... Simon Tuxworth runs one of the biggest trucking companies in Far North Queensland and said the shortage of AdBlue was a concern for Tuxworth and Woods, but didn’t believe that services would be impacted.
Native Title victory gives land back to custodians
Dancing broke out at the Cairns Courthouse last week after the Federal Court recognised the Kuuku Ya’u and Uutaalnganu people’s Native Title rights to more than 210,000 hectares of land in Cape York. It was a major milestone for the Cape York Land Council’s United #1Claim, which covers more than half of all land on the Peninsula.
Interest in space centre skyrockets around Cape
More details have emerged about a proposed spaceport that would result in a billion-dollar industry in Cape York. Space Centre Australia visited Weipa and Napranum last week to meet with stakeholders and community members and discuss plans for the project, to be built near RAAF Base Scherger.
Portland Roads stalwart has his say on proposal
Greg Westcott. More than 40 years on from the demolition of the historic Portland Roads jetty, the community is divided by persistent lobbying by a minority of local property owners for the construction of a rock wall and boat ramp that, when completed, will extend out from “the point” about 190 metres into deep water.
Fire bug runs riot
More than 100,000 acres of pastoral land in Cape York has been lit up by a fire bug on the Peninsula Developmental Road ... “The cost is astronomical. Not only do the domestic herd of cattle now need to be fed, but we’ve lost carbon credits and been pulled away from our regular work looking after the environment. There's also a massive psychological cost when it comes to fighting fires": Sally Gray, Piccaninny Plains.
Telstra fails … again
Mobile phone services went down in Coen, Laura and Lakeland last week, prompting criticism of Telstra ahead of the wet season, when telecommunications struggle to cope with the heavy rainfall. Travellers were left with no mobile reception between Cooktown and Weipa as a result of the outage, which Telstra said lasted around 30 hours.
Bulldogs well prepared ahead of footy carnivals
The Napranum Bulldogs will dust off the cobwebs this weekend when they play their first competitive game for two years at the Gordonvale Indigenous Rugby League Carnival. With no organised competition in Cape York this year and COVID-19 killing off games in 2020, the Bulldogs have been training for a long time to prepare for a string of carnivals.
Fighting on our own
Deaths and high hospitalisation rates from COVID-19 will be the harsh reality for Cape residents if the state and federal governments do not act immediately to improve vaccination rates. The numbers in some communities are frighteningly low.
Yet the state and federal leaders have been absent ... The Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service has tried its best to service the vast region in a timely manner, however they are working in a flawed system. Some communities – Coen, for example – have only been able to access the vaccine on a handful of days this year.
