For over ten thousand years, before the first settlers arrived here in the mid 1800's, Port Douglas was a place of supreme importance and reverence for the indigenous peoples of the area. They called it Jabukanji. It was here they met for matters of law, diplomacy, religion and burial. All the nations from the area would gather and camp while the business at hand was settled and then they would return to their own lands and continue their hunter-gatherer lifestyle, moving around from place to place as the changing seasons dictated.
All that came to an end when gold was discovered in the Hodgkinson River. This discovery brought settlers, who then discovered minerals and tin in the area. By the mid 1890's , a mere 20 odd years after the beginning of settlement, the original population of the area was decimated, and those who remained were rounded up, supposedly for their protection.
The European settlers built up a town which, at its peak, boasted 27 hotels, but increased communication meant that the population diminished, and a cyclone in 1911 pretty much destroyed the town. Tourism was the towns saviour, and resulted in its growth from a population of around 100 in 1960, to a place that now ranks high amongst the best towns in Austalia.
Mossman Gorge from an inlet at Port Douglas
Tomorrow we go to Mossman Gorge, where the indigenous peoples were settled in the 1930's. The website (www.yalanji.com.aus) says: "Bamanga Bubu Ngadimunku Inc. is the association that advocates and represents for the Mossman Gorge Community and seeks to gain a sustainable future for the community"
There is no putting right the wrongs of the past. I hope that the future holds more understanding and tolerance.
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