Bamaga
Being the largest community, it is the adminstrative centre of NPA.
As opposed to the neighbouring Injinoo and Umagico, it is not an Aboriginal, but a Torres Strait islander community.
Originally it was a community of Saibai islanders - right from the northernmost Torres Strait.
Like all the communities up here, there is not much especially for travellers. But I don't think there has to be.
Just stopping and spending some time in the mainland Australia's largest islander community is interesting enough if it's your first time experience.
There are
mostly the practical
reasons like the supermarket, the tavern
and the resort (now called the Cape York
Peninsula Lodge), there is also a nice bakery
- but at
a closer look there are also some things to see.
Particularly monuments - if you are a keen plaque reader, there is some interesting things to read, and it helps to know a bit of the local history.
Aboriginal
History
The whole area north of Jardine River used to be Aboriginal land
divided between five semi nomadic tribes that at one stage settled where
Injinoo is today. The whole area was the land of Injinoo people,
including what was called Ichuru
- the place where Bamaga is today.
Second
World War History
Then
came the Second World War. Australia was the next Japanese target after
PNG, and northern Australia obviously was the first front, with
northern Cape York peninsula being a busy war zone. Today
there
are many different relics and monuments.
Saibai
Islander History
But
Ichuru was still Injinoo land, even after the WWII. It was about five
years after the end of the war as Saibai islanders got flooding and
freshwater problems back home, and the Injinoo Aboriginal people kindly
let them move in. That started Bamaga and Seisia.
Bamaga Tavern
Across the street from the supermarket, Bamaga Tavern is the only
pub in the NPA, and it has had a nice facelift in the
recent years.
The public bar renovated and colourful, and the bistro, as before, serving big meals.
Bamaga Resort
Bamaga Resort is now called the Cape York Peninsula Lodge, there are
hotel rooms as well as cabins on the grounds next to Mosby Creek.
But the main thing for us locals, is the Lodge Restaurant, which has a buffet night a week, plus an a la carte menu with some healthiest and least fatty choices in the NPA.
You might like to enjoy a night of this on your travels :-)
Bamaga Bakery
But a great place for lunch - right in the main street - is the
Bamaga Bakery.
Over the years it's been called the Bamaga Bakehouse, See Hop, and
Bernie's Kai
Kai, and now that Bernie is back in town, so are her famous local
crayfish pies :-)
Aboriginal History
The whole NPA (Northern Peninsula Area) used to be Aboriginal land divided between five semi nomadic tribes - Atambaya, Anggamuthi, Yadaigana, Gudang and Wuthathi. The tribes fought a fair bit, but at one stage a group of people from different tribes came to peace and decided to settle where Injinoo is today.
The whole area was the land of Injinoo people before, during and after the WWII, including Ichuru - the place where Bamaga is today.
Second
World War
History
Then
came the Second World
War. The First World War didn't reach Australia,
Australians fought
over in Europe. But the WWII did come to Australia, which was the next
Japanese target after PNG. Northern Australia obviously was the first
front, particularly the Top End of Northern Territory and Cape York
peninsula.
Horn Island was the second most bombed base after Darwin, so the tip of Cape York peninsula was a busy battle field. Today there are many air plane wrecks around the town, along with fuel dumps and other remnants.
Just like Horn Island, Bamaga also got its air strip during the war, which today still is a working airport.
At the airport, there is also a monument for Jackey Jackey - the Aboriginal friend of Edmund Kennedy and the only survivor of the Kennedy expedition, after whom the airfield was named.
And there is another monument for a small passenger plane that in May 2005 left this airport for Cairns, but crashed above Lockhart.
Saibai
Islander
History
Only 8km
south of Papua New Guinea, Saibai
Island is an Australian island, just like all other Torres
Strait islands. It may look fairly big on the map but is largely
uninhabitable beacuse
of lots of swamplands and flooded areas. 
After the WWII some particularly bad floods coinsided with Saibai soldiers returning from the war, telling the locals that there may be a solution if they move to the tip of Australian mainland.
The Saibai leader, Bamaga Ginau, made the decision after a meeting to relocate to the mainland for the safety of their future generations. In 1946, two luggers were bought, to take the leader and a few families of first settlers to the tip of Cape York.
After asking permission from Injinoo people, they first settled at Mutee Head, while better places were found and built. In 1949, just after they found Bamaga, the leader Bamaga Ginau became sick and was taken to Thursday Island hospital, where he passed away.
I don't have to mention how the township got its name!
As the housing was gradually built most families moved slowly from Mutee Head to Bamaga. In 1954 most housing was completed and more people also arrived from Saibai Island.
Today, with a mixed population of about 800, it is the largest of all the communities in the NPA.
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