Climate

Mornington Island has a tropical weather pattern and experiences a pronounced summer rainfall, with falls of up 20mm of rain most days in the hot months.  Tropical cyclones are a feature of the area around Mornington Island and are often associated with intense storm surges.  In the summer months Mornington Island has an average temperature range of around 32°C maximum to 25°C minimum, and in the winter months that range is 25°C to 18°C.  

History  

The Wellesley Islands are home to three main tribal groups - Lardil, Yangkal and Kaiadilt.  Mornington Island itself, as well as Sydney and Wallaby Islands, are the traditional homelands of the Lardil people. Before the 1900's the Lardil people had limited contact with the outside world due to isolation.   

Tradition  

The Lardil people are the Traditional Owners or Custodians of Mornington Island. The Lardil people lived in family groups (clans) of up to 15-20 people. They moved according to seasons and the boundaries for their clan group. Each clan owned a portion of the water and land. The Lardil people, like other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples throughout Australia, understood how the land, sea and all within it was created by their Spirit Ancestors.  This information was passed on through stories, songs and dances. These stories also told people who they are (what clan they belonged to), the area of land and sea they belonged to, and how they must look after it, as well as their totems. Totems are the physical representation of a person, or clan's Spirit Ancestor. They are passed down from generation to generation with strict rules about how they are to be respected. Thuwathu, the Rainbow Serpent, is an example of a Spirit Ancestor,who the Lardil people believe created all the landmarks, food and water.

In 1914 Aboriginal people from across mainland Queensland were forcibly removed to Mornington Island. The Kaiadilt and the Yangkaal people from neighbouring islands were also moved to Mornington Island and onto missions. Their removal was part of a government policy called ‘Protection'. Various Australian state and territory governments put in place protection policies at different times, but with the same outcomes:  Aboriginal people from different groups and country had to live together in government and Church run missions and reserves.  Below is anextract from The Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1879:  

"It shall belawful for the Minister to cause every Aboriginal within any District, not being an Aboriginal excepted from the provisions of this section, to be removed to, and kept within the limits of, any reserve situated within such District, in such manner, and subject to such conditions, as may be prescribed. The Minister may, subject to the said conditions, cause any Aboriginal to be removed from one reserve to another." 

(Excerpt from: The Queensland Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897.)  

In Queensland, pastoralists were taking huge areas of land to clear and use for their cattle.  Aboriginal people were being denied access to their traditional food, water sources and their sacred sites as the land was opened up and ‘settled'. Many people were hurt and killed as Aboriginal people resisted what they saw as an invasion and destruction of their country and sacred sites. The Government's response was to segregate many Aboriginal people on to reserves and missions where they worked for the Government, Church and Pastoralists. Indigenous people not in missions became part of a Government controlled labour force servicing pastoralists and industry at a much lower cost than non-Indigenous labour. This is now known as the ‘stolen wages' era. (Source:http://www.documentaryaustralia.com.au)  

For more detailed information about the ‘stolen wages' download the Queensland specific PDF related to the history of stolen wages or visit the Aiatsis site.

From the time of the establishment of the mission on Mornington Island until 1978, the community was governed and managed under the Queensland Aborigines Act via the Uniting Church. When, in 1978, the State government of Queensland made the decision to take control of the community, the people of Mornington Island objected and appealed to the Commonwealth Government to support their goal of self-government.  Following negotiations between the State and Federal governments, in late 1978 the Mornington Shire Council was established under the Local Government (Aboriginal Lands) Act 1978 (QLD) which continues to this day.