Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service Ltd
Mackay Region
Mackay is the main population centre within a large geographically dispersed region which includes the surrounding districts of Isaac, Sarina, Pioneer, Mirani, and Whitsunday. The region also includes the mining towns of Moranbah, Dysart, Nebo and Middlemount.
Overall, Mackay Statistical Area has a total population of 166,811.
The mining industry is the largest employment sector and the largest occupation sector is the technicians and trade workers group. There is however disadvantaged groups in the Mackay region and these include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander labour market outcomes.
The population of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Mackay statistical area as per the 2011 census has 6,848 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in this area.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community has a different and younger age structure than the non-Indigenous community with 40.5% of the population aged 14 years or younger compared with 3.2% aged 65 years or over. What this means is that ATSICHS Mackay structures the delivery of primary health care services differently to non-Indigenous health care providers to ensure that our services are responsive to and reflect our community.
Yuwi Country
The boundaries of the Yuwi country lay between the O'Connell River to the north of Mackay, to Cape Palmerston in the South, west to the base of the Connor and Clark Ranges and the east encompassing the waters off the mainland between the north and south boundaries.
The land within these boundaries are referred to by the traditional families as Yuwi Country. Bara is a suffix within the traditional language that refers to people of the area. Within the community it is not uncommon for some traditional family members to identify themselves as connected to a particular tribe within the Yuwi country for example, Toolginburra, Googaburra, Kungalburra or Yuibera.
For the broader community it is a both respectful an appropriate when acknowledging tradition families to do so by acknowledging them as Yuwibara people (meaning-people of Yuwi country), this shows acknowledgement and respect to all Yuwi traditional family members regardless of which particular tribe they belong to.