Ravenshoe

Main language group: Jirrbal

Located approximately 147 kilometres south-west of Cairns, Ravenshoe is home to some 900 people. Around ten per cent of the population is Indigenous, descended from the Jirrbal people of the rainforest.

The area around Ravenshoe was settled by Europeans around 1909 when settlers travelled north due to the decline of gold deposits in the once-rich mining town of Charters Towers. Six hectares of land was gazetted as an Aboriginal reserve in the Parish of Ravenshoe in 1951. Several (unsuccessful) moves were imposed on the Indigenous community of Ravenshoe over the next 20 years, and while the site of the original reserve is now a cemetery, members of the Indigenous community presently live in the township itself.

The Jirrbal people, who also live at other communities and towns including Jumbun community, Murray Upper, are renowned for their uniquely crafted swords, shields and basketry, and for their knowledge of the network of walking trails though the rainforest. In 2002 the Nganyaji Interpretive Centre, Ravenshoe, showcasing the culture of the Jirrbal people, opened as part of the Queensland Heritage Trails Network.

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See also . . .

Learn about Rainforest shield (scorpion design) and sword.
Learn about the artist Michael Boiyool Anning.