TheBwgcolman (pronounced "Bwookamun")^[1] is the self-assigned name for theAboriginal Australians who were deported from many areas of theQueensland mainland,^[2] and confined in resettlement onGreat Palm Island after the establishment of anAboriginal reserve there in 1918, thePalm Island Aboriginal Settlement, and their descendants today. The name has also sometimes been applied to the island itself.^[3]

Bwgcolman means "many tribes – one people",^[4] or "one people from many groups". The word originates from one of the languages of the many among the relocated people, who decided to unite under this name.^[5] Created to give a collective identity to the 46 groups who found themselves frequently in conflict because of their disparate linguistic and cultural backgrounds, one source says that the term was devised by the Manbarraelder Dick Palm Island.^[6] It is a collective name adopted for the many Palm Islander peoples who, as distinct from theManbarra (who were there before the reserve was established, but had been moved onto the mainland by the Queensland Government in the 1890s^[7]), were subject to coercive displacement from a wide-ranging number of Aboriginal communities on the mainland.^[8]

Bwgcolman is also used as a descriptive term in recent claims fornative title, where the Bwcgolman are described as the "historical people", while theManbarra are (arguably) thetraditional owners (although this has not been determined by law, and the Bwcgolman "historical people" have anIndigenous land use agreement with the government).^[8]

The name has also sometimes been applied to the Island itself.^[3]

The original inhabitants of Palm Island are the Manbarra people.Indigenous Australians from throughout Queensland (Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander people) were resettled on Palm Island by the Queensland ChiefProtector of Aborigines under provisions of theAboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897 (Queensland). The traditional background of these people is often not known, although individuals trace descent from some 43 different tribal groups.^[9]

The people were deported from many areas of the Queensland mainland,^[2] as well as theTorres Strait Islands,^[10] and confined in to the Aboriginal reserve on Great Palm Island in 1918, known as the Palm Island Aboriginal Settlement.^[3]

In 2018, a series of official public events were held to mark the Palm Island Centenary, being 100 years since the first Aboriginal people were moved to the reserve, creating the Bwcolman people. The occasion was a time of mourning for many descendants of theStolen Generations created by the forced removals.^[5]

• Aboriginal peoples of Queensland
• North Queensland

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from February 2017
• Use Australian English from February 2020
• All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English