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This was the first mission on Cape York Peninsula, and became the oldest surviving mission in north Queensland. It was initiated by Lutheran staff from Cooper Creek (South Australia) who established Elim and it became a stable community with the assignment of two young Neuendettelsau missionaries, Schwarz and Poland who stayed for 55 and 20 years respectively and added the Hope Valley site. The whole community was evacuated during World War II, because of its German missionary and lugger connections with Japanese. After the war Hope Vale was established on a new site. Outspoken and indomitable Missionary Schwarz is still remembered at Hope Vale which has remained a cohesive community and is home of a number of active and high profile indigenous activists. Source: missionaries.griffith.edu.au/qld-mission/cape-bedford-mis...

Stealing a generation of Aboriginal children from their families might have been legal but it was also immoral. Some of the white Australians involved in the theft might have believed that they were acting in the best interests of the children — the “good intentions” defense — but the policy itself was not concerned with the interests of the children. It was concerned with “breeding out” a race, that is, eliminating it. Source: publicintegrity.org/accountability/longtime-australian-po...

While the Christian missions did help save many Aboriginal people from perishing at the hands of new settlers under the Act of 1897 they controlled curfews, employment, wages, marriages, alcohol, and movement outside the mission. Taken from their parents and housed in dormitories, the children attended school until Year 6 but plantation work took priority over education, and any wages were paid directly to their ‘Protectors’. Adults became laborers and domestics, with rations for wages. Between 1900 and 1905 the population at the Yarrabah Mission grew from 122 to 132 as many children were forcibly removed from their families in the camps along the Cairns Inlet. By 1908 the number had increased to almost 500 making it the largest mission in Queensland. There were 969 recorded removals to Yarrabah from the establishment of the mission until 1972. The people came from 57 districts and spoke 100 different dialects. There were also 243 recorded removals from Yarrabah to places such as Palm Island, Mona Mona, Woorabinda, Cherbourg, Fraser Island, and Hull River. When an Aboriginal person was removed to Yarrabah they were generally considered to be a permanent resident. Under the protection act, they could not leave a reserve, mission, or place of employment, without permission. Many did try to abscond. Source: www.yarrabah.qld.gov.au/our-history-and-future/

The Industrial School, at Yarrabah Mission Station, was operated by the Anglican Church. In 1900, the Yarrabah Mission was declared an industrial school, and it received 'neglected children' from around Queensland from this date. The closing date of the Industrial School is not known. The Queensland government assumed control of Yarrabah Mission in 1960. The Industrial School was licensed under the State Children Act 1911 on 2 April 1914. Source: www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/qld/biogs/QE00096b.htm