Wujal Wujal
- Location:
- South eastern Cape York on the Bloomfield River, 172 km north of Cairns and 70 km south of Cooktown. Roads are cut frequently during the wet season due to flooding.
- Area:
- 11.2 square km includes six outstations most of which are permanently occupied.
- Population:
- 361 - mostly KuKu Yalanji people with approximately 30 traditional owner clan groups.
- Language:
- The main clan group languages are Kuku Yalanji, Kuku Nyungul and Jalunji. Approximately 500 speakers of contemporised Yalanji language remain. Kuku Yalanji is one of the only Aboriginal languages to be translated through the Lutheran Church.
History of settlement
The community at Wujal Wujal is thought to have existed on the site for thousands of years and is set around the highly sacred waterfalls of Wujal Wujal meaning many falls in the local language. Wujal Wujal is a DOGIT community, originally known as Bloomfield and then later as Bloomfield River Mission. It was founded in 1886, by Lutheran Missionaries who withdrew from the area because of the difficulties of isolation. The site was dismantled and residents moved to camps in the area. It re-opened in 1957 and was administered by the Hope Vale Mission Board, a branch of the Lutheran Church of Australia. In 1979, the community became known as Wujal Wujal and in the following year the Aboriginal Council was formed.
Wujal Wujal’s community services include a health clinic, a Home and Community Care centre, a kindergarten, life promotions office, sports and recreation officer, and an Indigenous Knowledge Centre. A women’s centre operates as a central point for meetings and activities for women in the community and for visitors. Local children attend the Bloomfield River State School, 5 kms away on the road to Ayton. Law and order is supported by two community police officers, two police officers on rotation from Cooktown, Mossman or Cairns and a community justice group. A two officer police station under construction is due for completion in early 2008. State government funding also supports child care services, vacation care and community history projects.
Wujal Wujal still manages a CDEP program with participants working in most of the service delivery areas as well as the community store, service station and workshop which tenders for work with both the Cook and Douglas Shires from project funding provided through the Department of Main Roads.
Last updated: 15 July 2008.