Ngaro people

The Ngaro (also known as Ngalangi or Googaburra) are an Australian Aboriginal people whose traditional lands encompass the Whitsunday Islands and adjacent coastal areas of central Queensland, Australia. Archaeological evidence demonstrates continuous Ngaro occupation of the region for at least 9,000 years, with their territory extending from St. Bees Island to Hayman Island—a distance of over 100 kilometers—and to the mainland at Cape Conway and mountains east of Proserpine.

The Ngaro developed a distinctive maritime culture and established hundreds of archaeological sites across the islands, including one of the largest pre-European stone quarries in Australia on South Molle Island, where they sourced stone for making specialized cutting tools.

European colonization from the 1860s brought devastating consequences to Ngaro society. Frontier violence, combined with introduced diseases such as smallpox and measles, caused catastrophic population decline. In 1870, surviving Ngaro people were forcibly relocated to penal colonies as forced laborers. In 1871 a temporary reserve was gazetted to support the remaining Aboriginal population in the region.

Ngaro descendants survive today and maintain connections to their ancestral lands. In 2024, the Gia and Ngaro Peoples registered a native title claim with the National Native Title Tribunal.