Kowanyama, Queensland

Kowanyama is a town and coastal locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Kowanyama, Queensland, Australia.

It is the site of the former Mitchell River Mission, founded in 1916, after the nearby Trubanamen Mission (established not far away on Topsy Creek in 1905) was abandoned.

In the 2021 census, the locality of Kowanyama had a population of 1,079 people.

The locality is on the Cape York Peninsula. It is bounded to the west by the Gulf of Carpentaria and to the north by the Coleman River (15°04′12″S 141°38′54″E / 15.0700°S 141.6483°E / -15.0700; 141.6483 (Coleman River (mouth))).

The locality of Kowanyama (and the Aboriginal Shire of Kowanyama which has the same boundaries) has a land area of 2,524.9 km² (974.9 sq mi).

The Mitchell River enters the locality from the west (Maramie) and exits to the north-west into the Gulf of Carpentaria. As the river approaches the Gulf, it splits into two watercourses around Wallaby Island (15°12′01″S 141°39′01″E / 15.2002°S 141.6502°E / -15.2002; 141.6502 (Wallaby Island)) with the southern branch retaining the name Mitchell River (with mouth 15°11′55″S 141°35′29″E / 15.1986°S 141.5914°E / -15.1986; 141.5914 (Mitchell River (mouth))) and the northern branch called Mitchell River (North Arm) entering the gulf at 15°05′54″S 141°38′19″E / 15.0983°S 141.6386°E / -15.0983; 141.6386 (Mitchell River (North Arm) (mouth)).

The Aboriginal people who live in this community include people from the Kokominjena, Kokoberra and Kunjen groups of the Yir-Yoront people. In the Yir-Yoront language, Kowanyama means "The place of many waters".^{[citation needed]}

The community is situated on the banks of the Magnificent Creek, a tributary of the Mitchell River, 20 kilometres (12 mi) inland from the coastline of the Gulf of Carpentaria.^{[citation needed]}