New Mapoon
Located south of Seisia, west of Bamaga, 36 kilometres south-southeast of Thursday Island and 764 kilometres north-northwest of Cairns on Anggamudi and Gudang country, New Mapoon is one of the five communities — with Injinoo, Umagico, Seisia and Bamaga — that make up the Northern Peninsula Area Region towards Cape York Peninsula's northern tip.
Formerly known as Hidden Valley, Charcoal Burner or Mandingu, New Mapoon takes its name from the relocation of the Luthigh/Lotiga and other residents of Mapoon Mission (Old Mapoon) in the early 1960s to accommodate the expansion of bauxite mining on their traditional country. Some of the former residents accepted an invitation to relocate in July 1963; the remainder were forcibly removed in November. A decade later several families moved back to Old Mapoon, subsequently establishing the Marpuna Aboriginal Corporation to build up community facilities there.
In the meantime, the New Mapoon Aboriginal Council assumed some local government powers and responsibilities at the end of March 1985. The council area — previously an Aboriginal reserve held by the Queensland Government — was transferred to the trusteeship of the Council under a Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT) lease on 27 October 1986. New Mapoon Aboriginal Council became the New Mapoon Aboriginal Shire Council at the start of 2006, then merged with area's other three Aboriginal Councils and two Torres Strait Islander councils to form the new Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council in March 2008.
