Great Palm Island

Palm Island, also known as Great Palm Island or by the Aboriginal name Bukaman,Bindloss, Joseph (2002) page 330 is an island in Australia with about 2,000 people living on it.

 Names 
The small town on the island has many names such as Palm Island, the Mission, Palm Island Settlement and Palm Community.

 Location 
The island is  north-west of Townsville, on the east coast of Queensland, Australia. It is the largest  of the Greater Palm group of islands.  It has small bays, sandy beaches and steep forested mountains rising to  high.Palm Island - The Place, Reconciliation and Social Justice Library (1996) Auslii website.  accessed 23 January 2007. Other nearby islands outside the Palm group include Rattlesnake Island and Magnetic Island.

 History 
Palm Island is often called a "tropical paradise" because of its natural beauty, but it has had a sad past since Europeans arrived in Australia.  For much of the 20th century, it was used by the Queensland Government as a town for Aboriginals who were thought to be guilty of such crimes as being "disruptive", being pregnant to a white man or being born with "mixed blood".

The community that has been created by that history has many problems and is often debated about by political and social writers. Major concern are the lack of jobs and housing. Since it became a Aboriginal reserve, Palm Island has been a symbol of aboriginal hardship and violence.  Meanwhile, it has been at the centre of political campaigning to improve the lives and the treatment of Australia's Indigenous peoples and to sewk people to recognise the bad history that has led today's the Palm Island.

References
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Footnotes

Other websites
Bwgcolmacom Community School website 
Local Council information 
Palm Island PCYC webpage 
Database of Agreements to which the Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council are parties 
Joyce Palmer Health Service webpage
Dunn, Peter "WW2 Palm Island naval base" Australia @ War, 22 May 2004 (and updated since)
Queensland Government information webpage on Palm Island and alcohol management 
Queensland Government information webpage on Community Renewal on Palm Island 
Queensland Government map of alcohol restriction zone 
Australian Government Shared Responsibility Agreement - Palm Island our horses, our responsibility 

Articles produced by The Brisbane Institute think tank

Professor Steffen Lehmann Lessons from Palm Island  The Brisbane Institute, 17 November 2005
Boe, Andrew Palm Island: something is very wrong  The Brisbane Institute, 21 April 2005
Boe, Andrew Palm Island Inquest findings – the unacceptable political inertia  The Brisbane Institute, 06 October 2006

Category:Islands of Australia
Category:Indigenous Australian communities
Category:Geography of Queensland