The shire covers part of western Cape York Peninsula, the most northerly section of the Australian mainland.

[1] According to the earliest records, Cape Keerweer, located on the Gulf of Carpentaria coast, was the first site where Europeans wished to settle in Australia.

Captain Janszoon wanted to build a city at the site but the exploitative action of his crew led to a fight between the local Aboriginal people and the sailors.

The State's media at the time generally was of the opinion that bauxite revenues were a major factor in the Government's decision making on the issue.

Perry Yunkaporta has been working on the Biocultural Project at the Wik Mungkan IKC in Aurukun for several years, contributing his rich linguistic expertise and cultural knowledge in leading learning on country activities with students from the local school.

Reasons for this include cultural and language barriers, transport and geographical spread of the population, who are mostly located in isolated communities.