Cross-bows and enemy lines: One elders says shocking interclan violence is causing kids to miss school

A Far North Queensland elder has revealed parents have stopped sending their children to school because they are scared they will be attacked.

An Aurukun elder has revealed parents have stopped sending their children to school because they are scared they will be attacked.

He said young people have been caught between long-standing family feuds and are often awake until early hours of the morning.

“People nearly get killed,” Wik Ampon Traditional Owner Stanford Ngakyunkwokka said.

Alan Pambyan is cared for by his grandfather Wik Ampon traditional owner Stanford Ngakyunkwokka in Aurukun. Picture: Brendan Radke

“They use crossbows and archery. Heaps of people get into these fights at once.

“They say if we see your children at school tomorrow, we will get them.

“So the parents are scared to send their children.”

Several elders who spoke to News Corp blamed escalating inter-family community violence involving cross-brows, threats of harming children and the marking of territorial “enemy lines”.

New staff accommodation for Aurukun school teachers have been built near the police station and heavily fortified, with 7 foot steel fencing surrounding the compound and security guards patrolling the grounds 24 hours a day. Picture: Brendan Radke

Aurukun, 800km northwest of Cairns, has a population of 1200 people. Aurukun State School has 219 students from prep to Year 12.

But only 29 per cent of enrolled students attend, with just one per cent attending 90 per cent or more of the time, according to data from the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority.

A young boy arms himself with a rock and a length of wood in the Gulf of Carpentaria community. Picture: Brendan Radke

Text messages from the Queensland Teacher’s Union shown to New Corp reveal the union recently discussed temporarily closing down the school because of ongoing safety risks.

Teachers who spoke anonymously said they were leaving the school because students were threatening teachers with sexual violence and pupils as young as five were coming to school armed with large knives.

Mr Ngakyunkwokka said several clans have “enemy lines” drawn around the town.

He said fighting had escalated in the past two weeks with several doors broken down, and one house nearly set alight.

A family walks down the main street of Aurukun at night. Picture: Brendan Radke

Arrows have passed through the night sky in his neighbourhood nearly every night, he said.

“If you go past those enemy lines at night, then look out,” he said.

Sitting with his grandson Alan Pambyan on his knee, Mr Ngakyunkwokka fears for his future.

“Go out at night and you’ll see it all for yourself,” he said.

In response to questions put to Linda Burney Minister for Indigenous Australians about Aurukun she said “Violence is unacceptable...We want to see children in places like Aurukun going to school, learning in the classroom and getting the same opportunities as every other child in the country.”

Families in the Gulf of Carpentaria town of Aurukun are afraid to send their children to school. Pictures: Brendan Radke

Originally published as Cross-bows and enemy lines: One elders says shocking interclan violence is causing kids to miss school