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Mornington Island facts for kids

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Mornington
Native name:
Kunhanhaa
Mornington island.jpg
Mornington Island from space, September 1991
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Geography
Location Gulf of Carpentaria
Archipelago Wellesley Islands
Total islands 22
Area 1,002 km2 (387 sq mi)
Highest elevation 150 m (490 ft)
Highest point unnamed
Administration
Australia
State Queensland
Local Government Area Shire of Mornington
Largest settlement Gununa
Demographics
Population 1007 (2001)
Pop. density 1 /km2 (3 /sq mi)
Ethnic groups Aboriginal Australians

Mornington Island, also known as Kunhanhaa, is an island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Shire of Mornington, Queensland, Australia. It is the northernmost and largest of 22 islands that form the Wellesley Islands group. The largest town, Gununa, is in the south-western part of the island.

The Lardil people are the traditional owners of the island, but there are also Kaiadilt people, who were relocated from nearby Bentinck Island, as well as people of other nations on the island. The Mornington Island Mission operated from 1914 until 1978, when it was taken over by the Queensland Government, which had proclaimed the islands an Aboriginal reserve in 1905. The Mirndiyan Gununa Aboriginal Corporation owns and manages an art centre, MIArt, and dance troupe, the Mornington Island Dancers.

Description

The general topography of the island is flat with the maximum elevation of 500 feet (150 metres). The island is fringed by mangrove forests and contains 10 estuaries, all in near pristine condition.

The population was estimated to be 1,007 in 2001 and the majority of the citizens live in the township of Gununa. Mornington Island is included in the Shire of Mornington local government area. The majority of the islanders are Aboriginal.

Lardil are the predominant clan group on Mornington Island and are the traditional owners of the land and surrounding seas. The Kiadilt clan arrived more recently (1947) from nearby Bentinck Island, when that island's water supply was contaminated by salt after a cyclone. Recent re-building work on aboriginal housing has been undertaken by the James Fraser Foundation, a non-profit organisation in Queensland.

History

Mornington Island Parachute Mail
A vignette for affixing to mail for the 1943 Christmas parachute drop to Mornington Island Mission

Macassan trepangers once travelled thousands of kilometres from Sulawesi to Mornington Island and other Australian mainland destinations in search of sea cucumbers. The eastern cape of the island was named Cape Van Diemen after Anthony van Diemen. Commander Matthew Flinders named the island after Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley who was known as The Earl of Mornington.

Gununa Post Office opened by 1892.

The Mornington Island Airport was a temporary airfield used by the RAAF and allied air forces during World War II.

In 1978, the Queensland government decided to take over control of both the Aurukun and Mornington Island Aboriginal reserves.

Cyclones routinely hit the island. In 2000 Cyclone Steve passed directly over the island. Tropical Cyclone May passed in February 1988 and Tropical Cyclone Bernie passed to the west in early 2002. Tropical Cyclone Fritz passed directly over the island on 12 February 2003. Severe Tropical Cyclone Harvey caused damage on the island in February, 2005.

Climate

Climate data for Mornington Island (1914-present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 38.3
(100.9)
37.6
(99.7)
37.7
(99.9)
37.3
(99.1)
34.9
(94.8)
33.6
(92.5)
32.2
(90.0)
34.5
(94.1)
38.0
(100.4)
38.7
(101.7)
39.0
(102.2)
39.8
(103.6)
39.8
(103.6)
Average high °C (°F) 32.2
(90.0)
31.9
(89.4)
31.9
(89.4)
31.4
(88.5)
28.8
(83.8)
25.8
(78.4)
25.7
(78.3)
27.7
(81.9)
30.3
(86.5)
32.3
(90.1)
33.3
(91.9)
33.2
(91.8)
30.4
(86.7)
Average low °C (°F) 25.5
(77.9)
25.4
(77.7)
24.6
(76.3)
23.2
(73.8)
20.2
(68.4)
17.1
(62.8)
16.2
(61.2)
17.2
(63.0)
20.6
(69.1)
23.7
(74.7)
25.7
(78.3)
26.2
(79.2)
22.1
(71.8)
Record low °C (°F) 19.5
(67.1)
20.0
(68.0)
19.0
(66.2)
12.8
(55.0)
5.5
(41.9)
7.0
(44.6)
5.1
(41.2)
7.2
(45.0)
11.7
(53.1)
12.6
(54.7)
18.5
(65.3)
20.0
(68.0)
5.1
(41.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 326.8
(12.87)
307.0
(12.09)
260.2
(10.24)
54.0
(2.13)
9.0
(0.35)
6.5
(0.26)
2.3
(0.09)
0.8
(0.03)
1.3
(0.05)
12.7
(0.50)
55.8
(2.20)
157.7
(6.21)
1,198.7
(47.19)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) 15.2 14.2 12.2 4.3 1.4 0.9 0.5 0.7 0.8 1.5 4.6 9.6 65.9
Source: Bureau of Meteorology

In literature

Mornington Island was the site of research over several decades by British anthropologist David McKnight, described in a series of books, People, Countries, and the Rainbow Serpent: Systems of classification among the Lardil of Mornington Island (1999), From Hunting to Drinking: The devastating effects of alcohol on an Australian Aboriginal community (2002), Going the Whiteman’s Way: Kinship and marriage among Australian Aborigines (2004) and Of Marriage, Violence and Sorcery: The quest for power in northern Queensland (2005). McKnight lamented the increasing levels of violence since the 1970s.

Indigenous art of Mornington Island is described in The Heart of Everything: The art and artists of Mornington & Bentinck Islands, ed. N. Evans, L. Martin-Chew and P. Memmott (2008).

A tribe of indigenous people on the island have been communicating with wild Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins for millennium. It is said that they have"a medicine man who calls the dolphins and “speaks” to them telepathically. By these communications he assures that the tribes’ fortunes and happiness are maintained."

Location within the Wellesley Islands

Geography and demography

Locator map of Mornington Island
Mornington Island within the Wellesley Islands
Wellesley Islands locator map
Location of Wellesley Islands in Australia

The general topography of the island, which lies on the eastern (Queensland) side of the Gulf of Carpentaria, is flat with the maximum elevation of 150 metres (490 ft). The island is fringed by mangrove forests and contains 10 estuaries, all in near pristine condition.

The Manowar and Rocky Islands Important Bird Area lies about 40 kilometres (25 mi) to the northwest of Mornington.

The town of Gununa is located on the south-western end of the island overlooking the Appel Channel (16°40′55″S 139°11′31″E / 16.682°S 139.192°E / -16.682; 139.192 (Appel Channel)) which separates it from Denham Island (16°42′52″S 139°09′35″E / 16.7144°S 139.1597°E / -16.7144; 139.1597 (Denham Island)).

The population was estimated to be 1,143 in 2016 and the majority of the citizens live in the township of Gununa. Mornington Island is included in the Shire of Mornington local government area. The majority of the islanders are Aboriginal.

Lardil, who prefer to be known as Kunhanaamendaa (meaning people of Kunhanhaa), is the predominant nation on Mornington Island and they are the traditional owners of the land and surrounding seas. Kaiadilt people arrived more recently (1947–8) after being relocated from nearby Bentinck Island, and more people of other nations arrived from Doomadgee Mission in 1958.

Education

Mornington Island State School is a government primary and secondary (Early Childhood-10) school for boys and girls at Lardil Street (16°39′59″S 139°10′57″E / 16.6663°S 139.1825°E / -16.6663; 139.1825 (Mornington Island State School)). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 263 students with 25 teachers and 14 non-teaching staff (11 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program. The school works with the art centre and Kaiadilt elders to help revive their language and culture.

There are no schools offering education to Year 12 on the island; nor are there any nearby. Distance education or boarding school would be the only options.

Notable people

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Isla Mornington (Australia) para niños

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