The traditional language area of Kuka-Dyangan (also known as Djangun, Gugu Djangun and Kuka Djangun) includes landscape within the local government boundaries of the
Douglas Shire and
Cook Shire.
Kuku Yalanji (also known as
Gugu Yalanji,
Kuku Yalaja, and
Kuku Yelandji) is an
Australian Aboriginal language of the Mossman and
Daintree areas of
North Queensland. The language region includes areas within the local government area of
Shire of Douglas and
Shire of Cook, particularly the localities of Mossman, Daintree,
Bloomfield River, China Camp,
Maytown,
Palmer,
Cape Tribulation and
Wujal Wujal.
Yalanji (also known as
Kuku Yalanji,
Kuku Yalaja,
Kuku Yelandji, and
Gugu Yalanji) is an Australian Aboriginal language of
Far North Queensland. The traditional language region is
Mossman River in the south to the
Annan River in the north, bordered by the
Pacific Ocean in the east and extending inland to west of
Mount Mulgrave. This includes the local government boundaries of the
Shire of Douglas, the
Shire of Cook and the
Aboriginal Shire of Wujal Wujal and the towns and localities of
Cooktown, Mossman,
Daintree,
Cape Tribulation and
Wujal Wujal. It includes the head of the
Palmer River, the
Bloomfield River,
China Camp,
Maytown, and
Palmerville. The district was originally known as Mossman River after the river which flows through it. The
Mossman River, in turn, was named by the explorer
George Dalrymple on 6 December 1873 after
Hugh Mosman who discovered gold in
Charters Towers. Dalrymple wrote
"I named this river the Mossman River, after Mossman, an explorer and mining man, member of a very prominent mining family". The town was also known for a brief time as Hartsville after Daniel Hart, an early settler. Later the name was changed to
Mossman. Mossman Central Sugar Mill commenced crushing on 23 August 1897. The establishment and subsequent growth of Cairns and the completion of the
Cairns Railway up through the
Barron Gorge in 1891 gave a more direct gateway to the hinterland but, at this period, it was found that the Mossman district contained suitable land for sugar-growing. The establishment of the sugar mill at Mossman formed the nucleus of the town, which grew at the expense of Port Douglas. The district was served by two separate 2-foot (610 mm) gauge tramway systems. Both at one time handled passengers and general goods, as well as sugar cane. Mossman district owes its present prosperity to these tramways which pioneered the first reasonable transport in the neighbourhood, for trafficable roads followed later. On Sunday 21 January 1906, St Augustine's Catholic church was consecrated by
Bishop James Murray in the presence of several hundred spectators. On Thursday 16 March 1911, a cyclone hit Mossman and Port Douglas doing considerable damage. In Mossman, over 80 people were homeless and the Catholic and Anglican churches were destroyed. On Sunday 11 February 1912, a new St Augustine's Catholic Church was opened by Bishop Murray. It was in Junction Road (approx ), opposite the Mossman Butchery Company (established in 1927 at 3 Junction Road, ). As the population of Mossman grew, there was a desire to build a Catholic school, but the Junction Road site did not have the space, so a new site was purchased in Grogan Street. On Sunday 29 April 1934,
Bishop John Heavey officially opened the new St Augustine's complex at Grogan Street, consisting of a presbytery, a combined church and school building, and a convent. The architect was
Vibert McKirdy Brown. St Augustine's Catholic School opened with 70 students, with the initial teachers being Sisters Mary Agnes, Gabriel, Cecelia and Pius of the
Sisters of Mercy. On 30 January 1977, a new hexagonal-shaped St Augustine's church opened on the Grogan Street site with the former church being converted into school classrooms. Mossman State High School opened on 30 January 1973. Mossman Library opened in 1977. Prior to 2008, Mossman was the seat of the
Shire of Douglas. In 2008, the Shire of Douglas was amalgamated into the
Cairns Region, which was administered from both Cairns and Mossman. In 2014, the Shire of Douglas was de-amalgamated from Cairns Region and reinstated as Shire of Douglas. == Demographics ==