Luthigh (also known as
Lotiga,
Tepiti and
Uradhi, see also
Uradhi related languages) is an
Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Luthigh people. The traditional language area for Luthigh includes landscape within the local government boundaries of the
Cook Shire: Eastern
Cape York,
Ducie River,
Northern Peninsula, New Mapoon,
Injinoo, and
Cowal Creek.
Uradhi (also known as
Anggamudi,
Ankamuti,
Atampaya,
Bawtjathi, and
Lotiga) is an Australian Aboriginal language of the
Western Cape York Peninsula. The traditional language region includes north of
Mapoon and
Duyfken Point and east of the coast strip to the north of Port Musgrave (Angkamuthi country) incorporating the mouth of the
Ducie River, the lower reaches of the Dulhunty River and the upper reaches of the Skardon River in the north. Following the displacement of Indigenous people by British settlement, it was also spoken in the
Northern Peninsula Area Region including the communities of New Mapoon,
Injinoo and
Cowal Creek.
European contact New Mapoon is located near
Bamaga, and was initially called Hidden Valley. The site was also locally known as Charcoal Burner or Mandingu. The government established New Mapoon to accommodate residents from Mapoon Mission, some of whom accepted an offer to relocate there following the closure of
Mapoon Mission (Old Mapoon) in July 1963. Residents of Mapoon were not consulted about the closure of Mapoon and most protested strongly against the initial plan to relocate residents to other Presbyterian missions or to "assimilate those ready for exemption [from the Protection Acts] into the Australian way of life elsewhere". The church administration did not commit to the government's closure policy until 1960, after experiencing persistent pressure caused by under-funding and uncertainty after the discovery of
bauxite deposits in the Mapoon-
Weipa area in 1955. However, the official records indicate that this was not the case. On 14 November 1963, the Director of Native Affairs, Patrick Killoran, instructed the
Thursday Island police to remove 23 people from
Mapoon to
Bamaga and "commence demolition of the vacated shanties on the reserve". The next night, two Queensland police officers arrived at Mapoon on the
MV Gelam, together with several
Saibai Island Community Police officers. A police report of the event has never been located; however oral accounts and removal records confirm that all residents were removed and that some of the buildings and houses were burned at Mapoon at this time. Presbyterian Church records indicate that the remaining 70 residents at
Mapoon were transported to
Weipa and New Mapoon aboard the
MV Gelam between January and May 1964 On 1 January 2005, the New Mapoon Aboriginal Council became the New Mapoon Aboriginal Shire Council. In 2007, the
Local Government Reform Commission recommended that the 3 NPA Aboriginal councils and the 2 NPA Torres Strait Islander councils be abolished and a
Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council be established in their place. The first Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council (NPARC) was elected on 15 March 2008 in elections conducted under the
Local Government Act 1993. == Demographics ==