Seisia


Seisia is a small islander community in northern Cape York.

It is the smaller one of NPA's two Saibai islander communities -
the other one is Bamaga.


It is a beautiful place, north of Jardine River, in the Northern Peninsula Area.


There are other pretty places up here, but with its white-sand beaches and emerald blue waters, Seisia is one of the better ones.

It is a friendly community, which, in fact, by now is quite multicultural.

seisia beaches

Beautiful Beaches
There are beautiful beaches in the community, with white sands, and surrounded by bright blue waters, which make the place so colourful. 

Like all the other beaches here, they are not for swimming, but they make excellent photos, including those of sunsets.
 

seisia wharf

Busy Wharf
If there is a hub in the community, it is the wharf. There is somebody here almost all the time - whether fishing, looking for a crocodile to spot, strolling along the beach or the jetty, or coming in or going out on a boat. 
Local kids even jump in for a swim despite the crocs.


seisia fishing

Great Fishing
Like many other places in Cape York, Seisia is an excellent place to fish. And the wharf itself is one of the best and most popular places. 
But locals also fish from rocky headlands, and of course, from the boats. There are also a few tour operators that take you fishing (full detail in the Destination Guide).


seisia boat trips

Short Boat Trips
But if you have your own boat, you can get out fishing on your own, or you can go and discover the coastline or go and visit some of the close islands.

Red Island is just across from the end of the wharf, and Barn Island (aka Parau), is a little further out, but still a very easy distance.  


seisia camping

Great Camping Ground
Just next door to the wharf is a camping ground. It is a nice beachfront camping ground with powered and unpowered sites, some villas and a lodge. 

Powered camping sites are in so-called "huts" with bench-tops, sinks and water taps. There is also an on-site eatery.


seisia art

Unique Art Shop
Next to the camping ground is Freebirds Arts and Crafts, where you find hand made souvenirs crafted by a very talented lady. She uses rocks, seeds and shells collected from the beaches right here at the tip of Cape York, and she also makes wonderful coffee - people love to stop to sit in the shade and have a chat with the local :-)


seisia fishing club

Seisia Fishing Club
A bit away from the camping ground, near the supermarket, is the Seisia Fishing Club. It's mostly open on the weekends and is very popular with locals. There are theme nights, celebrations and big screen nights to watch sport events, but is open almost any Friday and Saturday night and is walking distance from the camping ground.


seisia history

Seisia History
The whole NPA area, including what is Seisia today, has forever been Injinoo country. 

By them it was called Red Island Point, which in the late 1940s became the second, smaller settlement (after Bamaga) of Saibai islanders. The name S-E-I-S-I-A is put together by the first letters of the first settlers' names.

Beautiful Beaches

Seisia has beautiful beaches,

seisia beach

... on each side of the wharf.

seisia beach views seisia beach views

They are also known for some great sunsets,

seisia sunset kids playing seisia sunset red island
seisia sunset boat ramp seisia sunset boat ramp

... and the one east of the wharf is the waterfont of the camping ground.

seisia sunsetsseisia sunset

Seisia Wharf

The wharf is in the middle of the two beaches,

seisia wharf seisia wharf barge
seisia wharf beach seisia wharf from beach
 
... and also makes great sunset pics.

seisia wharf sunset seisia sunset old jetty poles
seisia sunset wharf seisia sunset wharf

There is some great fish around the wharf, and every now and then you can see crocodiles.


seisia crocodile

Something that does not scare local kids away from swimming!

seisia wharf swimming

Seisia Fishing

But most popular the wharf is with fishing.

seisia wharf cape york seisia wharf fishing
 
There is cod, trevally, Spanish mackerel, queenfish and barramundi to fish, only to mention a few.

seisia bait fishingseisia wharf sea swift

Bait fishing is also good, and spear fishing is popular too, and there is some big fish caught by spearing.

spear fishing

Short Boat Trips

The boat ramp just next to the wharf, it's a great place to take your boat out.

boat trips seisia

Whether to just for a cruise around and a look at the coast, or to visit some of the nearby islands:

Red Island

Seisia used to be called Red Island Point, and the island right opposite from the wharf is called Red Island.

red island seisia

It is an easy island to ride around, and pull up on the beaches, just watch out for the resident crocodile!

Barn Island

A little further out is Barn aka Parau Island, but it is only a little longer trip.

barn island seisia

All worth for its beaches, views, and the photos you get of its very distinctive double - island shape.

Beachfront Camping Ground

Right next to the eastern beach and the wharf, is a great camping ground.

seisia camping ground entrance seisia camping ground reception
seisia camping ground beach front seisia camping ground hut

Right at the beachfront with great views, beach huts, and even an eatery.

seisia kiosk seisia kiosk
seisia kiosk restaurant seisia camping ground restaurant

Unique Art Shop

Just next to the camping ground is a lovely lady Simone and her very unique art gallery - Freebird Arts and Crafts.

tip of cape york art art seisia

But it's not only the friendly smile - her art is very clever and hand made of locally collected materials.

freebird seisia art simone sousa art

She also makes very nice coffee served with cookies and a friendly chat :-)

Seisia Fishing Club

And there is the locals' favourite - the Seisia Fishing Club!

seisia fishing club celebration seisia fishing club restaurant

Travellers are welcome, and there is food, a bar with alcoholic drinks,


seisia fishing club live music seisia fishing club big screen

... and special nights with live music and big screen so you don't miss out watching sporting events while on travels.

Seisia History

In front of the Seisia Camping Ground is the "Tropical Bure" - a Papua New Guinean canoe used for cargo, supplies, and sleeping. Seisia's history indeed comes from close to PNG, just as Bamaga's - namely, Saibai Island.

seisia saibai

After the Second World War, when Saibai soldiers returned home from the tip of Cape York peninsula, their already flood-suffering island had a couple of really bad floods. With fresh memories of mainland Australia, a move to the mainland was discussed and decided on.

seisia main street

The first arrivers made a temporary settlement at Mutee Head, while the search went on for better places.

seisia beachfront street

With help of the locals - Injinoo Aboriginal people, they found two places with freshwater sources - Red Island Point and
Ichuru (today's Bamaga). The first settlers of Red Island Point was the family of Mugai Elu, who arrived in 1948 and used WWII army huts as their home.b

mugai elu gravemugai elu monument

A few years later they invited some other families, and over the time more people followed as the word got around. The government supplied building materials and slowly the housing was built.

seisia cbd

In 1972, they got a new church
, St Francis of Assisi, that replaced their previous, temporary one.

seisia beachfront

In the 1980s, they were allowed to change the name of the community from Red Island Point to S-e-i-s-i-a, which was a name put together by the first letters of the names of the first settlers - Sagaukaz, Elu, Isua, Sunai, Ibuai and Aken.

seisia church

Today, there are about 200 people living in the community, and more than 60% are of Aboriginal or Torres Strait origin. YumplatokMeriam MirKalaw Lagaw Ya, Kalaw Kawaw Ya and English are some of the languages spoken at home.

seisia supermarket seisia council
seisia accommodation seisia windmill
seisia seaswift seisia butchery





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