Woorabinda | |||||||||||||
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  Woorabinda | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates:24°07′44″S149°27′29″E / 24.1288°S 149.4580°E /-24.1288; 149.4580 (Woorabinda (town centre)) | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | Queensland | ||||||||||||
| Region | Central Queensland | ||||||||||||
| LGA | |||||||||||||
| Location |
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| Established | 1927 | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 220.1 km2 (85.0 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 1,019 (2021 census)[3] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 4.630/km2 (11.991/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Time zone | UTC+10:00 (AEST) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode | 4713 | ||||||||||||
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Woorabinda/ˈwʊrəbɪndə/ is a rural town andlocality in theAboriginal Shire of Woorabinda,Queensland, Australia.[4][5] It is anAboriginal community. In the2021 census, the locality of Woorabinda had a population of 1,019 people with 91.6% identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.[3]
Woorabinda is inCentral Queensland, inland about two hours' drive west ofRockhampton.[6]
The seasonal Mimosa Creek is nearby and is a source of local water. During rainy season, the town can be isolated due to road flooding.[citation needed]
Access is via theFitzroy Developmental Road, which is sealed north towardsDuaringa and where it meets theCapricorn Highway to Rockhampton. To the south, it is gravel road toBauhinia, where it meets theDawson Highway and access toGladstone.[7]
East is the sealed Baralaba-Woorabinda Road, seasonally cut off by flooding. West has a number of cattle properties until the base of theBlackdown Tablelands, serviced by gravel roads.[citation needed]
There is also a sealed airstrip along the north road into town (24°06′51″S149°28′35″E / 24.1141°S 149.4765°E /-24.1141; 149.4765 (airstrip)).[8] It is used by chartered flights and aeromedical retrieval services. No commercial flights operate to the airstrip.[citation needed]
Wadja (also known asWadjigu,Wadya,Wadjainngo,Mandalgu, andWadjigun) is anAustralian Aboriginal language inCentral Queensland. The language region includes the local government areas of theAboriginal Shire of Woorabinda and Central Highlands Region, including theBlackdown Tablelands. theComet River, and theExpedition Range, and the towns of Woorabinda,Springsure andRolleston.[9]
The town's name was chosen by Herbert Cecil Colledge, the superintendent of the settlement in 1927 using Aboriginal words,woora meaningkangaroo andbinda meaningcamp.[4]
In 1926, the Queensland Government order hundreds of Aboriginal families to relocate to Woorabinda. The movement of approximately 300 Taroom residents to Woorabinda occurred most via foot over a distance of over 200 kilometres (120 mi).[10] This walk from Taroom to Woorabinda was commemorated by the community with a supported re-enactment in 2014.[11]
Woorabinda State School opened in 1928, closed in 1970 and subsequently reopened.[12]
The Woorabinda community is the onlyDOGIT Aboriginal community within the Central Queensland region. DOGIT communities have a special type of land tenure which applies only to formerAboriginal reserves. The land title is a system of community level land trusts, owned and administered by the local council.[13]
Wadja Wadja High School opened on 24 January 1984.[14]
In the2006 census, the town of Woorabinda had a population of 851 people with 94.6% identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.[15]
In the2016 census, the locality of Woorabinda had a population of 962 people with 94.7% identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.[16]
In the2021 census, the locality of Woorabinda had a population of 1,019 people with 91.6% identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.[3]
In 2013, unemployment in Woorabinda was at 70%; whereas the nearby mining town of Taroom had unemployment rate of 0.7%.[17] In 2014, Woorabinda was identified as amongst Queensland's most disadvantaged suburbs, the other five disadvantaged suburbs were also Indigenous townships.[18]
Government service providers are the main source of employment, with local industry in the form of the takeaway cafe and Woorabinda Pastoral Company, owned by the council. The satellite Foleyvale Station is just north of Duaringa, and is included in the Woorabinda lands used pastorally.[19]
In 2008, the community and council voted for the total ban of alcohol consumption within the town limits to become a "dry" community. The town has had a significant decrease in alcohol-fuelled violence since the Alcohol Management Plan was introduced.[20]
As of 2013, there has been ongoing movement within the community for a reintroduction of alcohol,[21] with a community-led vote majority for its reintroduction. This has been as part of a larger movement within Aboriginal communities of Queensland for Alcohol Management Plan reviews.[citation needed]
The town also hosts the Mimosa Creek Healing Centre, which is a detoxification and rehabilitation centre for men recovering from alcohol abuse.[22]
Woorabinda State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Carbine Street (24°08′11″S149°27′22″E / 24.1365°S 149.4561°E /-24.1365; 149.4561 (Woorabinda State School)).[23][24][25] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 144 students with 16 teachers and 19 non-teaching staff (13 full-time equivalent).[26] It includes aspecial education program.[23] The school motto is 'Proud and Deadly'. There is a school tuck shop which runs a paid canteen from which meals can be purchased by the community. Part of the school includes the CommunityIndigenous Knowledge Centre,[27] an initiative of the State Library of Queensland, which is for access by the community.
Wadja Wadja High School is a private secondary (7–12) school for boys and girls at 116 Munns Drive (24°08′00″S149°27′22″E / 24.1332°S 149.4560°E /-24.1332; 149.4560 (Wadja Wadja High School)).[23][28][29] It is operated by the Wadja Wadja Aboriginal Corporation of Education.[30] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 77 students with 4 teachers and 12 non-teaching staff (9 full-time equivalent).[26] In 2020, there were 76 students attending the school, all of whom were Indigenous.[31]
There is no government secondary school in Woorabinda. The nearest government secondary school isBaralaba State School (to Year 10) inBaralaba to the east;[7] there is a school bus service. There are no nearby secondary schools offering schooling to Year 12; alternatives aredistance education or boarding school.[32]
Woorabinda has anIndigenous Knowledge Centre (library) operated by the Woorabinda Aboriginal Shire Council.[33]
One Mob Fellowship is on Munns Drive (approx24°08′01″S149°27′20″E / 24.1335°S 149.4555°E /-24.1335; 149.4555 (One Mob Fellowship)).[34] It is part of theWesleyan Methodist Church.[35]
The two main groups of people in Woorabinda are the Gangulu Nation and the Wadja Nation, both of whom havenative title claims to the land.[36][37] The area claimed for theWadja people is limited to the Woorabinda current land geography; the Gangulu nation expands as far south asTheodore, west pastBlackwater, and east toMount Morgan.[citation needed]
In 2008, there was a much higher proportion of people under the age of 18 in Woorabinda than in the wider non-indigenous community.[38] Half of the population is under the age of 25,[39] which is significantly higher than the Australian 0–24 years age group, which is one third of the population.[40]
In the2016 census, the locality of Woorabinda had a population of 962 people.[16]
In the2021 census, the locality of Woorabinda had a population of 1,019 people.[3]
In 2017, the Kulgoodah dancers from Woorabinda won the Dance Rites competition, which had been founded byRhoda Roberts. Roberts credits dance and music with having turned around the youth in the community, helping to give especially the young men "visibility and a sense of purpose". The singer-songwriterMiiesha emerged from this dance group, and in 2020 won the Best New Talent at theNational Indigenous Music Awards.[41]
This Wikipedia article incorporatesCC BY 4.0licensed text from:"Wadja".Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map.State Library of Queensland. Retrieved5 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)