| Napranum Aboriginal Shire Council was formally known as the Napranum Aboriginal Community Council. Prior to that, Napranum was known as Weipa, and was established in 1898 by the Moravian missionaries on behalf of the Presbyterian church.
Bauxite was found on the reserve in the 1950s with the Comalco Act of 1958 revoking the reserve status and allowing mining to commence in 1960. The mission became a government settlement in 1966 with continued attempts by Comalco to relocate the whole community elsewhere. The company then built a new town for its workers on the other side of the bay.
Napranum eventually received DOGIT status and had its own community council. Due to the changes in the local government structure in the Northern Territory, Napranum Aboriginal Community Council became the Napranum Aboriginal Shire Council in 2008 (Council website). There are currently approximately 800 residents in Napranum community. |
