Yarrabah community lies to the east of Cairns. By road, it is placed about 60kilometres from Cairns. It takes about 45 minutes to travel by car from Yarrabah to the Cairns CBD.
At the time of the last (2016) ABS census, Yarrabah was reported to have a population of 2,559 with over 97% of respondents identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. The median age was 22. Yarrabah is Queensland’s largest discreet indigenous community.
Yarrabah was established on the traditional lands of the Gunggandji people at Mission Bay on the Cape Grafton Peninsula in 1892.
The township has a complex history, stemming from the early state administrations which forcibly relocated Aboriginal and some South Sea Islanders from many different groups to Yarrabah.
In 1960, the Queensland Government officially took over control of the mission from the Anglican Church.
In 2005, the Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Council came into being under the Local Government (Community Government Areas) Act 2004.