The town faces west to the Gulf of Carpentaria, and during the wet season, roads are extremely hard to drive on.

[6] The Aurukun Mission (known then as the Archer River Mission Station) was established on 4 August 1904 for the Presbyterian Church of Australia by the Reverend Arthur and Mrs Mary Richter, two Moravian missionaries and managed under the provisions of the Queensland Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897.

Aurukun was "ruled" for 40 years by Reverend William Mackenzie, as the missions Chief Protector for the Aboriginal Protection Board.

[citation needed] Aurukun and Mornington Shire remain the only Aboriginal communities in Queensland constituted as local authorities.[when?]

The focal area of the Wik lies between the Archer and Edward Rivers of Western Cape York Peninsula and inland to Coen.

In December 2007, nine Aurukun males received probation and other light sentences after being found guilty of raping a ten-year-old girl.

[22] On 1 January 2020, Aurukun was rocked by a stabbing death and a riot involving over 250 people, in which a number of houses were burned down.

It is believed that alcohol illegally brought into the alcohol-free community was a contributing factor in the violence.

Some staff members of the Aurukun Shire Council resigned their positions, unwilling to return to the community.

[26] The inaugural award, which went to Pormpuraaw women Myrtle Foote and May Ballie in October 2020, was presented by Woolla's daughter Keri Tamwoy, Mayor of Aurukun.

[28] In the 2021 census, the locality of Aurukun had a population of 1,101 people, of whom 997 (88.7%) identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people..[1] Aurukun has a primary school which is operated by Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy (CYAAA) in a unique partnership with Education Queensland.

The school provides an extended school day which involves artistic, musical and sports programs (in partnership with national bodies) which aims to give children increased confidence and socially prepare them for moving between homelands, work and study in the wider world.

[33] Following welfare reform trials introduced in July 2008, school attendance had risen from an average of 37% to 63% in September 2009.

[38] Aurukun Shire Council engages a qualified vet to visit every two to three months, and de-sexing of pets is free for indigenous residents.

[47] Aurukun artists are famous for their sculptures, which traditionally were carved from soft woods for use in ceremony.

[48] Aurukun is home to a community swimming pool,[49] and a new large basketball hall / recreational centre.

Aurukun participates in football carnivals and softball with other communities in the Cape region every couple of months.

Visitors are required to apply for a permit from the Aurukun Shire Council prior to entering the community.

Aurukun landing is 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) from town and provides access to Archer River (crocodiles present).

It coincided with the imposition of a local council to open up the land to mining hitherto opposed by the community.