Elim Aboriginal Mission, Queensland was an Aboriginal

Australian Aborigines

Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...

 mission in Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

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This mission was established in 1885 on the north shore at Cape Bedford near Cooktown

Cooktown, Queensland

Cooktown is a small town located at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repairs in 1770. At the 2006 census, Cooktown had a population of 1,336...

 in Queensland. While it initially flourished, Elim's future became grim and the people were relocated to Hope Vale. At the beginning of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 the people were relocated to Woorabinda Aboriginal Mission

Woorabinda, Queensland

Woorabinda is an Aboriginal community in central Queensland, Australia, inland of Rockhampton. At the 2006 census, Woorabinda had a population of 851.Woorabinda was first established in 1927 as a replacement for the Aboriginal camp at Taroom...

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Over the next 10 years approximately a quarter of the people relocated to Woorabinda from Hope Valley died. In 1949, the people returned home to a new site called Hope Vale. Hope Vale was the first community in Queensland to receive land under Deed Of Grant In Trust arrangements. The 1996 census population of Hope Vale was 671.

Further reading

• McIvor, Roy (2010). Cockatoo: My Life in Cape York. Stories and Art. Roy McIvor. Magabala Books. Broome, Western Australia. ISBN 978-1-921248-22-1.
• Pohlner, Peter. 1986. gangarru. Hopevale Mission Board, Milton, Queensland. ISBN 1-86252-311-8
• Poland, Wilhelm. Loose leaves; reminiscences of a pioneer North Queensland Missionary. originally published as three booklets by The Mission Institute of Neuendettelsau, Bavaria, 1905-1912. Reprint: Lutheran Publishing House, Adelaide. 1988. ISBN 0-85910-468-0
• Roth, W. E. 1897. The Queensland Aborigines. 3 Vols. Reprint: Facsimile Edition, Hesperian Press, Victoria Park, W.A., 1984. ISBN 0-85905-054-8.
• Sutton, Peter (ed). Languages of Cape York: Papers presented to a Symposium organised by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra. (1976). ISBN 0-85575-046-4.
• Wynter, Jo and Hill, John. 1991. Cape York Peninsula: Pathways to Community Economic Development. The Final Report of The Community Economic Development Projects Cook Shire. Cook Shire Council.