49-558: 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, at 1,018 km (393 sq mi), the largest of 22 islands that form the Wellesley Islands group. The largest town, Gununa , is in the south-western part of the island. The Lardil people are the traditional owners of
98-602: A Protector of Aborigines appointed by the Queensland Government, Protector Howard. Bleakley was the next Protector, from 1913, but did not visit the island until 1916, by which time the first missionary (Hall) had arrived (see below for mission history). Gununa Post Office opened by 1982. The Mornington Island Airport was a temporary airfield used by the RAAF and allied air forces during World War II . The Mornington Island State School opened on 28 January 1975. In 1978,
147-406: A special education program. The school works with the art centre and Kaiadilt elders to help revive their language and culture. There are no schools offering education to Year 12 on the island; nor are there any nearby. Distance education or boarding school would be the only options. Writer Ernestine Hill travelled to Mornington Island and a 1933 photograph she took of the island is held by
196-527: A tropical savanna climate ( Köppen: Aw), with a sweltering wet season from December to April, and a long dry season from May to November with cooler nights and lower humidity. Average daily maxima remain warm to hot year-round: from 25.8 °C (78.4 °F) in June and July to 33.3 °C (91.9 °F) in November. Average annual rainfall is 1,198.7 mm (47.19 in), and the highest daily rainfall recorded
245-606: A group of Indigenous Mornington Island people has been communicating with wild Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins for millennia. It is said that they have "a medicine man who calls the dolphins and 'speaks' to them telepathically . By these communications he assures that the tribes' [ sic ] fortunes and happiness are maintained". In November 2003 the Government of Queensland implemented an Alcohol Management Plan to 19 Indigenous communities in Queensland where alcohol abuse
294-471: Is a new accommodation complex which includes another 34 rooms, and another 10 cabins added to the existing motel. The expansion will provide accommodation for tourists and enable medical staff and tradespeople to stay for longer periods of time on the island, with the added benefit of bringing in more revenue to the council. More social housing is also being built, along with a youth centre, an administration centre, and an Indigenous Knowledge Centre and library in
343-880: Is also a significant history of performance on the island, and the Mornington Island Dancers was one of the earliest established Aboriginal performing arts groups in Australia. They performed publicly in Cairns in August 1964, and again in 1973 at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Opera House . Since 2009 and as of 2022 the dancers operate as a business unit of MGAC called MIDance. The dancers celebrate Lardil culture through traditional dance and song. They have toured overseas many times, including in Italy, France, Germany, Luxembourg ,
392-724: Is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken on Mornington Island and the Northern Wellesley Islands , within the local government boundaries of the Mornington Shire . 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, within the local government boundaries of the Cook Shire . Lardil , who prefer to be known as Kunhanaamendaa (meaning people of Kunhanhaa),
441-516: Is an Australian Aboriginal language . The Yulluna language region includes the local government boundaries of the Shire of Cloncurry . Kayardild (also known as Kaiadilt and Gayadilta) is a language of the Gulf of Carpentaria. The Kayardild language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Mornington Shire Council . The first European explorer to visit
490-502: Is between two and three metres (6.5 and 10 ft). The Gulf and adjacent Sahul Shelf were dry land at the peak of the last ice age 18,000 years ago when global sea level was around 120 m (390 ft) below its present position. At that time a large, shallow lake occupied the centre of what is now the Gulf. The Gulf hosts a submerged coral reef province that was only recognised in 2004. Yulluna (also known as Yalarnga, Yalarrnga, Jalanga, Jalannga, Wonganja, Gunggalida, Jokula)
539-461: 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 is generally defined as a line from Slade Point, Queensland (the northwestern corner of Cape York Peninsula ) in the northeast, to Cape Arnhem on the Gove Peninsula , Northern Territory (the easternmost point of Arnhem Land ) in
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#1732851884333588-586: Is gradual. In September and October the Morning Glory cloud appears in the Southern Gulf. The best vantage point to see this phenomenon is in the Burketown area shortly after dawn. It has been hypothesized that the Gulf experienced a major asteroid impact event in 536 AD. The Gulf of Carpentaria is known to contain fringing reefs and isolated coral colonies, but no near-surface patch or barrier reefs exist in
637-493: Is part of the larger East Australian Basins physiographic division. 14°S 139°E / 14°S 139°E / -14; 139 Mornington Island Airport Mornington Island Airport ( IATA : ONG , ICAO : YMTI ) is an airport on Mornington Island , Queensland , Australia . It is to the immediate north-west of the town of Gununa . In 2006, the airport received A$ 253,402 for security upgrades. This Queensland airport-related article
686-488: Is the predominant nation on Mornington Island and they are the traditional owners of the land and surrounding seas. Kaiadilt people arrived more recently (1947–8) after being relocated from nearby Bentinck Island , and more people of other nations arrived from Doomadgee Mission in 1958. Macassan trepangers once travelled thousands of kilometres from Sulawesi to Mornington Island and other Australian mainland destinations in search of sea cucumbers . The eastern cape of
735-460: The Carpentaria tropical savanna . The woodlands also extend up the west and east coast of the Gulf. They are dominated by Eucalyptus and Melaleuca species from the family Myrtaceae. The climate is hot and humid with two seasons per year. The dry season lasts from about April until November and is characterized by very dry southeast to east winds, generated by migratory winter high pressure systems to
784-526: The Doomadgee Mission , and by the late 1950s the practice of separating children from parents in dormitories had been abandoned, so many residents of Doomadgee moved to Mornington Island at this time. In 1978 the Queensland Government took over the administration of both Aurukun and Mornington Island mission stations . In the 2016 census , the population was 1,143 people. The majority of
833-590: The Queensland government decided to take over control of both the Aurukun and Mornington Island missions. Cyclones routinely hit the island. In 2000 Cyclone Steve passed directly over the island. Tropical Cyclone May passed in February 1988 and Tropical Cyclone Bernie passed to the west in early 2002. Tropical Cyclone Fritz passed directly over the island on 12 February 2003. Severe Tropical Cyclone Harvey caused damage on
882-623: The University of Queensland 's library in their Ernestine Hill collection. Mornington Island was the site of research over several decades by British anthropologist David McKnight and described in a series of books, People, Countries, and the Rainbow Serpent: Systems of classification among the Lardil of Mornington Island (1999), From Hunting to Drinking: The devastating effects of alcohol on an Australian Aboriginal community (2002), Going
931-465: The 1950s, later using acrylic paint on bark, and started selling their work in the 1970s. In the mid-1980s Mornington Island Art and Craft(s) (MIAAC) was established by Brett Evans, with a new building and a dedicated coordinator. Some of the women from the Kaiadilt "old ladies' camp" established on Bentinck Island in the 1980s and 1990s, after moving to Mornington Island again in the 21st century, formed
980-573: The English navigator Matthew Flinders in 1802 and 1803. The first overland expedition to reach the Gulf was the Burke and Wills expedition , led by Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills which left Melbourne , Victoria in August 1860 and reached the mouth of the Bynoe River in February 1861. However, both men died on the return journey. The land bordering the Gulf is generally flat and low-lying. To
1029-808: The Gulf at the present time. However, this has not always been the case. Expeditions carried out by Geoscience Australia in 2003 and in 2005 aboard the RV ; Southern Surveyor revealed the presence of a submerged coral reef province covering at least 300 km (120 sq mi) in the southern Gulf. The patch reefs have their upper surfaces at a mean water depth of 28.6 ± 0.5 m (94 ± 1.5 ft), were undetected by satellites or aerial photographs, and were only recognised using multibeam swath sonar surveys supplemented with seabed sampling and video. Their existence points to an earlier, late Quaternary phase of framework reef growth under cooler-climate and lower sea level conditions than today. In
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#17328518843331078-506: The Gulf. Zinc, lead and silver is mined from the McArthur River zinc mine and exported via the Gulf. Another zinc mine, Century Zinc is in the gulf on the Queensland side of the border. It exports its product through the port facility at Karumba . The cattle industry is also a very important part of the regional economy in the gulf. According to the then Chairman of the Gulf of Carpentaria's Commercial Fisherman's Organisation, Gary Ward,
1127-641: The Kaiadilt art movement, led by Sally Gabori ( c. 1924–2015). Evans established MIAAC to produce and market traditional crafts, including Gabori's fine weaving. The Kaiadilt community had no two-dimensional art traditions before 2005. In 2002, Mornington Island Art and Craft became part of Woomera Aboriginal Corporation. The art centre incorporates the MIArt studio and a gallery. The artists, both men and women, work in many different mediums and represent their Lardil and Kaiadilt cultures in their artwork, and exhibitions by
1176-406: The Mornington Island Dancers. The general topography of the island, which lies on the eastern (Queensland) side of the Gulf of Carpentaria, is flat with the maximum elevation of 150 metres (490 ft). The island is fringed by mangrove forests and contains 10 estuaries , all in near pristine condition. The Manowar and Rocky Islands Important Bird Area lies about 40 kilometres (25 mi) to
1225-538: The Sweers Island Resort. After the tavern was shut down, locals took to home brewing, and in 2017 Mornington Shire Council called for the ban to be lifted so that alcohol could be better regulated from a single legal outlet. Alcohol continued to be a major social and health problem as of 2019, and in 2021 the tavern was reopened, which had started to improve the community's relationship with alcohol. On 16 April 2022, after much consultation with community elders ,
1274-799: The Top End, the Roper River , Walker River and Wilton River flow into the Gulf. The Cox River , Calvert River , Leichhardt River , McArthur River , Flinders River , Norman River and the Gilbert River drain the Gulf Country. A number of rivers flow from the Cape York Peninsula into the Gulf, including Smithburne River , Mitchell River , Alice River , Staaten River , Mission River, Wenlock River , and Archer River . Extensive areas of seagrass beds have allowed commercial shrimp operations in
1323-540: The United States, United Kingdom, India and Sweden. Mornington Island State School is a government primary and secondary (Early Childhood-10) school for boys and girls at Lardil Street ( 16°39′59″S 139°10′57″E / 16.6663°S 139.1825°E / -16.6663; 139.1825 ( Mornington Island State School ) ). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 263 students with 25 teachers and 14 non-teaching staff (11 full-time equivalent). It includes
1372-610: The Whiteman’s Way: Kinship and marriage among Australian Aborigines (2004) and Of Marriage, Violence and Sorcery: The quest for power in northern Queensland (2005). Indigenous art of Mornington Island is described in The Heart of Everything: The art and artists of Mornington & Bentinck Islands , ed. Nicholas Evans , Louise Martin-Chew and Paul Memmott (2008). According to the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (2008),
1421-480: The artists have been mounted in Brisbane and Darwin . Two of the most well-known artists to have worked in the art centre are Sally Gabori and Dick Roughsey , and members of their families continue to work at the centre. The manager of the art centre as of 2022 is John Armstrong, while the gallery manager is Bereline Loogatha. The art centre works with Kaiadilt elders to help revive their language and culture. There
1470-421: The entire east and south-east coast, is responsible for the typical pattern of a well-watered coastal strip, a fairly narrow band of mountains, and then a vast, inward-draining plain that receives little rainfall. In the Gulf Country, however, there are no mountains to restrict rainfall to the coastal band and the transition from the profuse tropical growth of the seaside areas to the arid scrubs of central Australia
1519-572: The island in February, 2005. The Mornington Island Mission was established in 1914 by Robert Hall, the Presbyterian assistant superintendent from Weipa Mission, who ran it until his murder in October 1917. There were also Moravian missionaries there. Rev. Wilson took over, serving as superintendent until about 1941; mission staff were evacuated during the Second World War . James (Bert) McCarthy
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1568-440: The island introduced limited, regulated access to liquor. Residents and visitors are now permitted to have up to 4.5 L (0.99 imp gal; 1.2 US gal), or 12 cans, of low or mid-strength beer or pre-mixed spirits for consumption in the home. The strategy has been adopted in order to address the problem of harms from people creating potent strength homebrews, as well as sly grogging . Mornington Island experiences
1617-569: The island was named Cape Van Diemen after Anthony van Diemen . Commander Matthew Flinders named the island after Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley who was known when younger as the Earl of Mornington . Wellesley had tried to have Flinders released from detention in Mauritius. On 22 April 1905 all of the Wellesley islands apart from Sweers Island were proclaimed as an Aboriginal reserve , under
1666-432: The island, but there are also Kaiadilt people, who were relocated from nearby Bentinck Island , as well as people of other nations on the island. The Mornington Island Mission operated from 1914 until 1978, when it was taken over by the Queensland Government , which had proclaimed the islands an Aboriginal reserve in 1905. The Mirndiyan Gununa Aboriginal Corporation owns and manages an art centre, MIArt, and dance troupe,
1715-431: The islanders are Aboriginal . The majority of the people live in the township of Gununa . In the 2021 census , the population was 1,025 people, the majority of whom (at least 80.2%) are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people. There has been a lack of infrastructure on the island. Before December 2023 there were around 30 rooms for visitors to the island. With a scheduled completion date of Christmas 2023, there
1764-454: The mission. It was ten years after the relocation, completed in 1948, before one of the removed Kaiadilt woman gave birth to a child who survived. The final relocation of the people was spurred by the pollution of the islanders' water supply by seawater after it was badly damaged by a cyclone , with the relocation assisted by the Queensland Government . It was reported that some of the people had to be "induced" to move. One of those relocated by
1813-540: The missionaries was artist Sally Gabori ( c. 1924–2015), who later mapped her traditional lands in her artwork at the Mornington Island Art Centre. Douglas Belcher arrived when Taylor was superintendent, taking over as superintendent in May 1953. Belcher ran a more humane administration than his predecessors, and respected the Lardil culture. Mission conditions were not as severe and restrictive as they were at
1862-549: The northwest of Mornington. The town of Gununa is located on the south-western end of the island overlooking the Appel Channel ( 16°40′55″S 139°11′31″E / 16.682°S 139.192°E / -16.682; 139.192 ( Appel Channel ) ) which separates it from Denham Island ( 16°42′52″S 139°09′35″E / 16.7144°S 139.1597°E / -16.7144; 139.1597 ( Denham Island ) ). Lardil (also known as Gununa, Ladil)
1911-524: The number of sightings of Indonesian vessels fishing illegally in the gulf's waters increased in early 2005. By 2011, the numbers of illegal fishing boat interceptions had declined significantly with the cause attributed to enforcement efforts and education programs in Indonesia. In 2012, a major new port located to the west of Karumba and rail connection to the North West Minerals Province
1960-590: The region (and Australia) was the Dutch Willem Janszoon (whose name is also written as Jansz) in his 1605–06 voyage . His fellow countryman, Jan Carstenszoon (or Carstensz ), visited in 1623 and named the gulf in honour of Pieter de Carpentier , at that time the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies . Abel Tasman also explored the coast in 1644. The region was later explored and charted by
2009-537: The same time establishing three discrete business units : MIDance, MIArt and MI Festival. The buildings were upgraded in 2010–11, including the addition of a dedicated studio for the artists. Mornington Island Art (MIArt), owned and run by the Mirndiyan Gununa Aboriginal Corporation, is one of the oldest Indigenous Australian art centres in Australia. People of the islands started making artefacts and bark paintings using natural ochres in
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2058-561: The south. The wet season lasts from December to March. Most of the year's rainfall is compressed into these months, and during this period, many low-lying areas are flooded. The Gulf is prone to tropical cyclones during the period between November and April. The gulf experiences an average of three cyclones each year that are thought to transport sediments in a clockwise direction along the Gulf's coast. In many other parts of Australia, there are dramatic climatic transitions over fairly short distances. The Great Dividing Range , which parallels
2107-502: The town of Gununa. The council is funding most of the new construction, with some funding from the federal government's Growing Regions program and the state housing department, specifically for the visitor accommodation centre and duplexes. The Mirndiyan Gununa Aboriginal Corporation (MGAC) was founded as the Woomera Aboriginal Corporation in 1973, which was incorporated in 1983. It adopted its present name in 2009, at
2156-785: The west is Arnhem Land and Groote Eylandt , the largest island in the Gulf. To the east is the Top End of the Northern Territory, including the Cape York Peninsula , and the Torres Strait which joins the Gulf to the Coral Sea . The area to the south (like the Cape York Peninsula, part of Queensland) is known as the Gulf Country . The Gulf Country supports the world's largest intact savanna woodlands as well as native grasslands, known as
2205-413: The west. At its mouth, the Gulf is 590 km (370 mi) wide, and further south, 675 km (420 mi). The north-south length exceeds 700 km (430 mi). It covers a water area of about 300,000 km (120,000 sq mi). The general depth is between 55 and 66 metres (30 and 36 fathoms ) with a maximum depth of 69 metres (38 fathoms). The tidal range in the Gulf of Carpentaria
2254-408: Was 477.2 millimetres (18.79 in) on 1 March 2011. The island averages 110.6 clear days and 77.0 cloudy days annually. Extreme temperatures have ranged from 5.1 °C (41.2 °F) on 9 July 1974 to 39.8 °C (103.6 °F) on 6 December 2012. Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria ( / k ɑːr p ən ˈ t ɛər i ə / ) is a sea off the northern coast of Australia . It
2303-537: Was Superintendent from 1944 to 1948, and he imposed a strict regime of adhering to Christian customs and eroded the authority of the elders . It was during this time that all of the Kaiadilt people living on nearby Bentinck Island were moved by the missionaries onto the Mornington Island Mission. The missionaries separated the children from their parents and placed them into separate dormitories for boys and girls, while their parents built humpies around
2352-578: Was proposed by Carpentaria Rail. The advantages of a port at Karumba compared to Townsville was that it was three or four days closer to Asia via shipping routes. Additionally, expansion is taking place of the Bing Bong Port which services the McArthur River zinc mine , awarded the Northern Territory Earth award. The Gulf is one of the distinct physiographic sections of the larger (and surrounding) Carpentaria Basin province, which in turn
2401-497: Was rampant, including Mornington Island. The plan restricted tavern opening hours, limits sales to only light and mid-strength beers, bans takeaway alcohol sales and home brewing . Riots broke out when the tough new alcohol laws were introduced. A total ban on alcohol was in place across all foreshores and the 23 islands in the Wellesley , South Wellesley Islands , Forsyth and Bountiful Islands groups and Sweers Island , apart from
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