| Cape Upstart National Park Queensland | |
|---|---|
 Cape Upstart, 2010 | |
  Cape Upstart National Park | |
| Nearest town or city | Gumlu |
| Coordinates | 19°42′48″S147°45′39″E / 19.71333°S 147.76083°E /-19.71333; 147.76083 |
| Established | 1969 |
| Area | 84.80 km2 (32.74 sq mi) |
| Managing authorities | Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service |
| See also | Protected areas of Queensland |
Cape Upstart is a national park in the locality ofGuthalungra in theWhitsunday Region local government area ofNorth Queensland, Australia,[1] 1,016 km northwest ofBrisbane.[2]
TheJuru Clan of theBirri-Gubba Tribal Group lived on Cape Upstart for thousands of years.[citation needed]
There are numerous middens in the sand dunes of Cape Upstart to demonstrate the connection of theJuru People to Cape Upstart.[3] There are also several sacred sites, like the women's area at Worrungu Bay,[4] and the stone arrangements near Mine Island,[5] which the senior elder always stated were never 'fish traps' but an important ceremonial ground used for initiation.[6][better source needed] The ceremonial ground laid out the paths taken byGubulla Munda (the Carpet Snake) when creating the land and islands inhabited by the Juru people and the paths followed byGubulla Munda (the totem of theJuru Clan) in theGubulla Munda Dreaming (the creation story of theJuru andBirri-Gubba People).[7][better source needed]
Cape Upstart was named by LieutenantJames Cook on 5 June 1770 during his voyage along the eastern coast of Australia inHM Bark Endeavour.[8]
Europeans, mostly from the nearby Burdekin farming community, began - in the early twentieth century - building semi-permanent huts on the Cape's western foreshores. By the start of the twenty-first century these had mostly been replaced by permanent structures used mostly for recreational purposes, a small permanent population having also taken up residency by then.
In 2011Justice Rares of theFederal Court of Australia recognised that theJuru People retained Native Title over Cape Upstart National Park.[9] This decision was the culmination of a twenty-year struggle by theJuru People to get their Native Title recognised over Cape Upstart National Park. The Process was originally started byPeter Prior (Gulumba) in 1992 and was completed by his daughter, Renarta Prior (Gootha) in 2012.[9]
