Napranum is a compound word made from two languages of the local area. "Nap" pronounced "naap", meaning "meeting place" and "pranum" meaning "meeting of people". In combination, Napranum means "meeting place of the people".
Formerly known as Weipa South, Napranum was established in 1898 by Moravian missionaries on behalf of the Presbyterian church. The Protector of Aborigines at the time, Archibald Meston, protested against the establishment of the mission on the grounds that the people were healthy and could adequately sustain themselves. Despite this, the mission went ahead inland near York Downs station to avoid contact with luggers who were notorious for kidnapping Aboriginal people to exploit in their diving operation. A school was established in 1900 at the mission. Very restrictive legislation was enacted by the state of Queensland in 1911, giving the Protector exceptional powers. It stated in sections 10 and 17:
"The Chief Protector shall be the legal guardian of every Aborigine and half-caste child, notwithstanding that any such child has a parent or other relative living, until such child attains the age of 21 years." And, "The Chief Protector may cause any aborigine or half-caste to be kept within the boundaries of any reserve or Aboriginal institution, or be removed from one reserve or institution and kept herein."
Jan Roberts notes that the only other people treated like this were criminals and the insane. The Protector was also given the right to confine any such person within any reserve or Aboriginal institution, and the right to imprison any Aborigine or half-caste for 14 days if, in the Protector's judgement, they were guilty of neglect of duty, gross insubordination or wilful preaching of disobedience. It also gave powers to the police to confine Aborigines to reserves to "protect them from corruption". This latter power was used by Comalco in 1957 to justify the removal of Weipa Aborigines. In 1932 the community had to relocate to its present site, at Jessica Point, because of malaria. At this time most of the people were Awngthim but soon different tribes and clans were brought from Old Mapoon, and other communities. In 1955 a geologist, Henry Evans, discovered that the red cliffs on the Aboriginal reserve, previously remarked on by the early Dutch explorers and Matthew Flinders, were actually enormous deposits of bauxite and to a lesser extent, tungsten. The Comalco Act of 1957 revoked the reserve status, giving the company 5,760 square km of Aboriginal reserve land on the west coast of the Peninsula and 5,135 square km on the east coast of Aboriginal-owned land. Mining commenced in 1960. The mission became a government settlement in 1966 with continued attempts by Comalco to relocate the whole community elsewhere. The company then built a new town for its workers on the other side of the bay. The Queensland Government took control of the mission in 1966. Weipa South Post Office opened on 1 December 1967 and closed in 1982. Napranum eventually received DOGIT status, and has its own community council separate from the Shire of Cook. At the 2006 census, Napranum had a population of 830. In mid-July 2020 allegations emerged of a gang rape on 1 July at Napranum, of a five year old boy by three boys aged between 10 and 13. The five year old was flown to Cairns for emergency medical treatment. The Australian was told that it was "not the first time something like this has happened."
Facilities
In 1964 the Queensland Education Department provided the teacher for the school instead of the Mission Board. Around this time, it was named Weipa Provisional School. In 1966 it was renamed Weipa South State School, then in 1976 it was renamed Jessica Point State School. On 1 January 2002 it become the Napranum Campus of the Western Cape College. The campus closed in 2005 with the students transferred to the Weipa Campus of the college. A police citizens youth club was opened in 2019 on Napranum Road. Napranum has the Mary Ann Coconut Library at 320 Wa-Tyne Street, Weipa. It is operated by the Napranum Aboriginal Shire Council.
