Hopevale, Queensland

Hopevale
Queensland

Hope Vale, Cape York, Australia

Hope Vale
Hopevale
Coordinates 15°20′S 145°10′E / 15.333°S 145.167°E / -15.333; 145.167Coordinates: 15°20′S 145°10′E / 15.333°S 145.167°E / -15.333; 145.167
Population 1,005 (2011 census)[1]
 • Density 0.8989/km2 (2.3282/sq mi)
Postcode(s) 4895
Area 1,118 km2 (431.7 sq mi)
LGA(s) Hope Vale Aboriginal Shire Council
State electorate(s) Cook
Federal Division(s) Leichhardt
Cape Bedford shelters, 1920s

Hopevale, (or Hope Vale), Queensland, Australia is an Aboriginal community on Cape York Peninsula about 46 kilometres (29 mi) northwest of Cooktown by road, and about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) off the Battlecamp Road that leads to Lakefield National Park and Laura. At the 2011 census, Hopevale had a population of 1,005 people.[1]

Early Mission Station

It was established as the Cape Bedford Mission by the Johann Flierl, a missionary of the Lutheran Church in 1886, with the settlement at Elim on the beach.

Due to worries that the Aboriginal people might cooperate with the advancing Japanese in World War II, the total population was evacuated south to various communities by the military. The German Lutheran missionaries were sent to internment camps. Most of the people were sent to Woorabinda, near Rockhampton, in Queensland. In just one month, 28 people lost their lives, with nearly a quarter of the people dying over the next 8 years.

Hope Vale was re-established as a Lutheran Mission in September 1949. Aboriginal people from the Hope Valley and Cape Bedford Missions settled there. A work crew was allowed to return in 1949 and the first families came home in 1950. Hopevale Post Office opened on 1 May 1965 and closed in 1990.[2]

Coloured silica sands near Hopevale

Hopevale is no longer run as a mission by the church, but by its own elected Community Council. In 1986 it received a "Deed of Grant in Trust" (or "DOGIT") which "granted title to 110 000 ha of land which was previously Aboriginal Reserve Land held by the Under Secretary as trustee, to the Community Council to act as trustees of the land for the benefit of the residents."[3] The Aboriginal Land Act 1991 (Qld) transferred into Indigenous ownership all previous reserve land under DOGIT (Deed of Grant in Trust) titles.[4]

"The Warra people of the Hopevale Community of Eastern Cape York Peninsula in Queensland received acknowledgement of their native title rights in December 1997. The determination recognised rights of exclusive possession, occupation use and enjoyment over 110,000 ha. (Native Title Determination, Warra Peoples, Hope Vale Community of Cape York (NNTT ref# QC96/15))"[5]

Hopevale is home to several clan groups who mostly speak Guugu Yimidhirr and other related languages, as well as English.

Due to a lack of reliable water supplies at Elim, the community was shifted about 20 kilometres (12 mi) inland to its present site.

Notable former residents of Hopevale are Queensland rugby league player Matt Bowen and lawyer and activist Noel Pearson. Pearson has criticised the level of violence in the community.[6]

On 21 July 2008 the Hope Vale community opened the Indigenous Knowledge and Technology Centre (IKTC), in the Jack Bambie building. This centre provides a library service, training venue and public Internet access.

The Hope Vale community has a strong choral singing tradition since its evacuation to Woorabinda. The ensemble has performed at the Queensland Music Festival on three separate occasions in 2005, 2007 and most recently on 1 August 2009. In April 2004 - 2005 the choir also toured for four days, visiting tourist resorts, churches, and correctional and rehabilitation facilities. The tour was made possible by the Queensland Arts Council Quick Response Grant and received coverage on ABC Radio Cairns on the Pat Morrish 'Morning Show'.

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Hope Vale (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  2. ↑ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  3. ↑ "The Deed of Grant in Trust and Hope Vale Aboriginal Community, North Queensland" Noel Pearson in the Aboriginal Law Bulletin 1989
  4. ↑ "Aboriginals & Torres Strait Islanders - Legislation - Queensland". WorldLII.
  5. ↑ Strelein, Lisa. "Mabo/Hopevale & Aboriginal Land, 1997". mabonativetitle.com.
  6. ↑ Noel Pearson: Vale hope in outback hellhole

References

Further reading, listening and viewing

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