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Laura Language group: Kuku Thaypan Laura is located 290 kilometres north-west of Cairns. European explorers travelled through the area in 1848 and were soon followed by gold seekers and cattle graziers. The Palmer River gold rush of 1873 brought a substantial invasion of Europeans that led to dramatic changes for the Indigenous people. Some of the people became fringe dwellers around mining camps and towns while others were forced on to missions and government reserves. The present-day township of Laura was founded in 1888 when the railway line was extended to the site from Cooktown. The country around Laura is one of Australia’s major sites for rock art, and is perhaps most famous for its rock galleries of images depicting the giant Quinkan spirit figures. In 1991 the Aboriginal Land Act 1991 (Qld) was passed and the Kuku Thaypan people obtained freehold title over the Quinkan Reserves and over the grounds where the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival is held every two years on the banks of the Laura River.
Online references . . . Visit the Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival website. |
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