Traditional Country
The traditional homelands of the Wik, Wik Way and Kugu people lie in and around the Aurukun Shire. The community is rich in traditional cultural practices. The predominant language is Wik Mungkan with remains of other dialects still spoken.
The local residents are the creators of stunning arts and crafts now held in high esteem and displayed in prominent museums and galleries around the country and across the World.
Aurukun has a Rare Culture
The traditional homelands of the Wik, Wik Way and Kugu people lie in and around the Aurukun Shire. The community is rich in traditional cultural practices. The predominant language is Wik Mungkan with remains of other dialects still spoken. English is taught in the school.
Based on the 2006 Census, 93.7% of the population is Indigenous (3.5% of the Queensland population is Indigenous). Furthermore Aurukun is deeply linked to its traditional culture – 86.7% of the population speaks a traditional Indigenous language at home. This is rare in the Queensland Aboriginal population – only 5.3% of the total Queensland Indigenous population speaks a traditional Indigenous language at home. Traditional culture in the Aurukun community was not deliberately undermined (for example by prohibition of speaking of the native tongues) as it was in most other communities.
Occupation of traditional lands (the outstation movement) has been inhibited by the lack of wet season transport options and by lack of institutional support in recent years. Now, however, traditional owners are receiving strong support from their corporation Aak Puul Nganttam which is placing a strong emphasis on outstation development and sustainability.

The local residents are the creators of stunning arts and crafts now held in high esteem and displayed in prominent museums and galleries around the country and across the World.
Traditional house opening ceremonies take place in Aurukun regularly – they are moving events to witness. Aurukun is one of the very few remaining places where visitors can immerse themselves in the Aboriginal heritage and learn about the culture from the people, firsthand.
Creativity within Tradition
The house opening ceremonies of Aurukun are drawn from ancient tradition, from when people camped in the bush on their traditional lands in temporary shelters. Traditionally, access to the camp area in which someone had died could be “closed” for up to two years. Eventually a ceremony would be held near that place shortly before the wet season to send the deceased person’s spirit back to his or her traditional lands and to set the place right for people to live in again. The immediate family and the in-laws of the deceased would hunt and gather food for a large feast and groups from other clans would be invited to participate. Those who came, all well dressed and decorated, would demonstrate their condolences to the close family in moving expressions of grief.
People live in different circumstances today. The people have the benefit of permanent modern homes. However, with a high level of overcrowding in community housing, homes in which people die may now be closed for only three months – that is a family decision. Families still play the same role in arranging and catering for the ceremonies but store-bought food is provided. Songmen and traditional instruments support traditional dances but recorded music is also played. Songs and dances directly address the spirit of the deceased, assuring it of continuing remembrance. Many different groups dance, each group in a distinctive and colourful costume. The ceremonies serve to remind the people of their traditional culture and heritage.
Census Data
Source : quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au
People |
Aurukun |
% |
Queensland |
% |
Australia |
% |
Aboriginal |
1,162 |
97.3 |
122,896 |
78.9 |
495,757 |
90.4 |
Torres Strait Islander |
8 |
0.7 |
20,094 |
12.9 |
31,407 |
5.7 |
Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander |
24 |
2.0 |
12,834 |
8.2 |
21,206 |
3.9 |
Total |
1,194 |
— |
155,824 |
— |
548,370 |
— |
Male |
590 |
49.5 |
76,744 |
49.3 |
270,331 |
49.3 |
Female |
603 |
50.5 |
79,081 |
50.7 |
278,037 |
50.7 |
For the 2011 Census in Aurukun (Indigenous Locations), there were 1,194 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Of these, 590 (or 49.5%) were male and 603 (or 50.5%) were female.
Age |
Aurukun |
% |
Queensland |
% |
Australia |
% |
0-4 years |
123 |
10.3 |
20,384 |
13.1 |
67,415 |
12.3 |
5-14 years |
255 |
21.4 |
38,085 |
24.4 |
129,670 |
23.6 |
15-24 years |
220 |
18.4 |
29,609 |
19.0 |
105,652 |
19.3 |
25-54 years |
490 |
41.1 |
53,777 |
34.5 |
192,627 |
35.1 |
55-64 years |
53 |
4.4 |
8,641 |
5.5 |
32,232 |
5.9 |
65 years and over |
52 |
4.4 |
5,331 |
3.4 |
20,772 |
3.8 |
Median age |
25 |
— |
20 |
— |
21 |
— |
In Aurukun (Indigenous Locations) the median age of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 25 years. Of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 31.7% were children aged 0 to 14 years and 4.4% were people aged 65 years and over.
Registered marital status |
Aurukun |
% |
Queensland |
% |
Australia |
% |
People aged 15 years and over | ||||||
Married |
49 |
6.0 |
20,924 |
21.5 |
85,741 |
24.4 |
Separated |
4 |
0.5 |
3,939 |
4.0 |
14,925 |
4.2 |
Divorced |
7 |
0.9 |
6,107 |
6.3 |
23,126 |
6.6 |
Widowed |
31 |
3.8 |
2,990 |
3.1 |
12,142 |
3.5 |
Never married |
722 |
88.8 |
63,395 |
65.1 |
215,347 |
61.3 |
In Aurukun (Indigenous Locations) 6.0% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were married and 1.1% were either divorced or separated.
Marital Status Charts
Median age by registered marital status |
Aurukun |
% |
Queensland |
% |
Australia |
% |
People aged 15 years and over | ||||||
Married |
43 |
— |
45 |
— |
44 |
— |
Separated |
30 |
— |
46 |
— |
46 |
— |
Divorced |
39 |
— |
51 |
— |
51 |
— |
Widowed |
67 |
— |
66 |
— |
65 |
— |
Never married |
32 |
— |
26 |
— |
26 |
— |
In Aurukun (Indigenous Locations) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the median age of married people was 43 years and the median age of people never married was 32 years.
Social marital status |
Aurukun |
% |
Queensland |
% |
Australia |
% |
People aged 15 years and over | ||||||
Registered marriage |
47 |
5.9 |
18,335 |
21.4 |
71,575 |
23.3 |
De facto marriage |
275 |
34.5 |
16,111 |
18.8 |
48,600 |
15.8 |
Not married |
475 |
59.6 |
51,114 |
59.7 |
187,097 |
60.9 |
In Aurukun (Indigenous Locations) 5.9% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were in a registered marriage and 34.5% were in a de facto marriage.
Median age by social marital status |
Aurukun |
% |
Queensland |
% |
Australia |
% |
People aged 15 years and over | ||||||
Registered marriage |
44 |
— |
45 |
— |
45 |
— |
De facto marriage |
39 |
— |
33 |
— |
34 |
— |
Not married |
30 |
— |
28 |
— |
28 |
— |
In Aurukun (Indigenous Locations) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the median age in a registered marriage was 44 years and in a de facto marriage was 39 years.
Education |
Aurukun |
% |
Queensland |
% |
Australia |
% |
Pre-school |
40 |
12.0 |
2,960 |
4.9 |
13,977 |
6.2 |
Primary |
185 |
55.4 |
24,202 |
39.9 |
81,554 |
36.4 |
Secondary |
54 |
16.2 |
14,331 |
23.6 |
50,986 |
22.8 |
Technical or further education institution |
0 |
0.0 |
2,746 |
4.5 |
13,211 |
5.9 |
University or tertiary institution |
4 |
1.2 |
2,862 |
4.7 |
10,125 |
4.5 |
Other |
7 |
2.1 |
997 |
1.6 |
3,662 |
1.6 |
Not stated |
44 |
13.2 |
12,571 |
20.7 |
50,410 |
22.5 |
Total |
334 |
— |
60,669 |
— |
223,925 |
— |
Of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Aurukun (Indigenous Locations), 28.1% were attending an educational institution. Of these, 55.4% were attending a primary school, 16.2% were attending a secondary school and 1.5% were attending a tertiary or technical institution.
Education Charts
People — language diversity
demographics & education | language diversity | employment
Australian Indigenous Language, top responses |
Aurukun |
% |
Queensland |
% |
Australia |
% |
Wik Mungkan |
1,086 |
91.0 |
1,350 |
0.9 |
1,355 |
0.2 |
Cape York Peninsula Languages, nec |
51 |
4.3 |
234 |
0.2 |
244 |
0.0 |
Yumplatok (Torres Strait Creole) |
8 |
0.7 |
4,917 |
3.2 |
5,150 |
0.9 |
Wik Ngathan |
3 |
0.3 |
4 |
0.0 |
4 |
0.0 |
Other Australian Indigenous Languages, nec |
3 |
0.3 |
102 |
0.1 |
562 |
0.1 |
English only spoken at home |
15 |
1.3 |
133,395 |
85.6 |
453,895 |
82.8 |
People — employment
demographics & education | language diversity | employment
Employment |
Aurukun |
% |
Queensland |
% |
Australia |
% |
People who reported being in the labour force, aged 15 years and over | ||||||
Worked full-time |
102 |
45.7 |
26,187 |
49.1 |
86,714 |
48.7 |
Worked part-time |
31 |
13.9 |
13,684 |
25.6 |
47,035 |
26.4 |
Away from work |
26 |
11.7 |
3,885 |
7.3 |
13,959 |
7.8 |
Unemployed |
64 |
28.7 |
9,603 |
18.0 |
30,462 |
17.1 |
Total in labour force |
223 |
— |
53,359 |
— |
178,170 |
— |
View the labour force fact sheet |
There were 223 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night in Aurukun (Indigenous Locations). Of these 45.7% were employed full time, 13.9% were employed part-time and 28.7% were unemployed.
Median age by employment status |
Aurukun |
% |
Queensland |
% |
Australia |
% |
Labour force, people aged 15 years and over | ||||||
Employed full-time |
40 |
— |
37 |
— |
37 |
— |
Employed part-time |
38 |
— |
33 |
— |
34 |
— |
The median age of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Aurukun (Indigenous Locations) who were employed full time was 40 years and those employed part time was 38 years.
Median weekly incomes |
Aurukun |
% |
Queensland |
% |
Australia |
% |
People aged 15 years and over | ||||||
Personal |
249 |
— |
384 |
— |
362 |
— |
Household |
1,087 |
— |
1,066 |
— |
991 |
— |