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of people residing there during the cattle era, as the stocking rates did not justify it. Its
relative remoteness means that tourists and other travellers have not been present in large
numbers, although the numbers are increasing. Ownership and associated management of
the station has also been stable for long periods, with only the Hughes family and
Kowanyama people responsible for the station since its creation in the 1940s 6 . The
catchment area feeding into the Eight Mile Creek at Oriners has also been spared the worst
excesses of past mining activity, with visibly lower levels of mining disturbance than other
areas closer to the upper catchment of the main Mitchell channel (Figure 48; Figure 56).
Although part of the Mitchell catchment, the Oriners area is high up on the northern edge.
Water it supplies to the Mitchell through the Alice and Crosbie catchments only reaches the
main river far to the south of the station, and well down the course of the Mitchell itself. The
station is therefore not a major part of current water development plans along the Mitchell
watershed. The distance from the main river channel and associated catchment also means
that there has been less scientific scrutiny of the area, and far less is known about it than
about other parts of the Mitchell which have received more attention.
In summary, following points make a research focus on the „flooded forest country‟ of Oriners
valuable:
it has some unique geological, hydrological, and ecological features;
it has not been badly damaged by overstocking;
it has had stable ownership and associated management for long periods;
it has not supported large human populations;
it is not on major existing tourist routes;
it has not been heavily impacted by mining or water infrastructure developments in its
upstream catchment;
and it is scientifically under-investigated.
Oriners is an area of ecological and conservation significance not just locally, but regionally.
1.3 Forest People and the Oriners Mob
The term „Forest country‟ is associated with „Forest People‟. The original inhabitants of this
area of the Cape suffered badly during the period of the worst colonial and early cattle era
violence, and much of the history of that time is not properly recorded (Sharp 1974[1952];
Strang 1997). The remaining Olkol and Kunjen speakers and other inhabitants of the area
were forced out and/or encouraged to settle on stations and missions, including Kowanyama.
The Oriners area is the subject of an ongoing native title claim, and the term „Forest People‟
can be applied to the group involved in the claim who are descended from the original
inhabitants and/or who have recognised traditional and kinship connections to the Oriners
area. They are spread across a wide area and live variously at Kowanyama, in other regional
Cape communities, in nearby towns such as Laura, and in larger regional centres such as
Mareeba and Cairns.
At a local level, „Forest People‟ is sometimes used interchangeably with „Oriners Mob‟, but
the two terms do not generally refer to identical groups of people. „Oriners Mob‟ tends to be
used primarily as a local Kowanyama term to describe the people involved in the ongoing
work of managing the station. This includes some of the „Forest People‟ recognised in the
claim process, but also includes people who are interested in the area, and in some cases
have become strongly attached to it, but who would not immediately claim a traditional
connection to it. Many of the „Oriners Mob‟ are „Forest People‟, but not all. The group who
are not „Forest People‟ linked to the claim represent a continuation of the tradition of people
6 Nearby Sefton station was similarly stable, being operated by the Finch family from the
1967 until it was purchased by Kowanyama Council in 1996 (1.6.3). Much of the material in
this report applies to Sefton, and in some respects to the country north of the Alice River
more broadly.
Working Knowledge at Oriners Station, Cape York
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