This story includes extracts from the Cape York Partnership’s 30th Anniversary Book “For the Love of Our People”. Download the book here.
You can download the Gargun Report: “20 Years of Educational Impact and Leadership Development” here.
Find speeches, reports, and more about the work of the Cape York Partnership at https://capeyorkpartnership.org.au/
In the northern tip of Australia, one mother’s quest for a better education for her daughter ignited a bigger dream of opportunity for Cape York’s children.
A young lawyer named Noel Pearson heard about a woman in Kowanyama, on the western Gulf coast of Cape York Peninsula, who was holding bake sales to raise money for her daughter to attend boarding school in Brisbane.
Priscilla Major’s determination to seek better opportunities for her daughter struck a chord with Noel, prompting him to help support young Tania’s education.
“I give credit to Priscilla for inspiring me and showing me the way,” Noel said. “She was able to give her daughter everything, except money to cover the college fees. That part was my contribution, and it was a small part of the success. The big part was the love of the mother for her daughter.”
For families and communities who want to see their children thrive, education often stands out as a high priority – the key to a brighter future. The success of Tania Major at Clayfield College, and the success of those who followed her, led to the birth of the Cape York Leaders Program which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
The program has become a beacon of success, working exclusively with students from very remote Cape York communities where education, housing, and health services have been inadequate for generations. The program “orbits” Cape York secondary students, supporting them to go to partner schools in Queensland’s regional and urban cities.
Since its inception, the program has supported more than 600 secondary and tertiary students, producing over 250 Year 12 graduates and tertiary scholars. It boasts a student retention rate from Year 7 through to Year 12 graduation of 85% and a Year 12 completion rate of 95% – more than double the national average for remote Indigenous students and on par with Australia’s largest and best-performing scholarship programs.
Cape York Partnership Group CEO Fiona Jose describes how the program delivers lasting economic impact, with Year 12 graduation acting as the “powerhouse” driver for employment, better health, reduced rates of incarceration, and longer life.
“Every student who finishes school doesn’t just change their own future, they shift the possibilities for the generation that follows,” she says.
“The Cape York Leaders Program works because it sets a high bar and then walks with students all the way. Our program is led and staffed 100% by Indigenous people who mentor, coach, and support both students and parents. That cultural authority, lived experience, and accountability is the foundation of our success.”
The program is integrated within a broader regional strategy under the Cape York Reform Agenda. By connecting students to high-quality education and linking them with programs focused on leadership, economic participation, and development, the program ensures its influence extends well beyond the classroom and remains grounded in culture, responsibility, and leadership.
“It’s a long road, often uphill,” Ms Jose says. “Most of our students begin school years behind in literacy and numeracy and are stepping into unfamiliar systems far from home, often with as English as their second language. Yet 85% of students stay the course from entry to Year 12 graduation — defying the odds. Each graduation is not just an academic milestone, but the fulfilment of a courageous decision made years earlier by a family determined to open that door.”
Tania went on to study at Griffith University before completing a Master of Public Policy. At just 23, she became the youngest person ever elected as an ATSIC Commissioner and in 2008, and while still a tertiary student, she was named 2007 Young Australian of the Year.
With supporters from business, philanthropy – including PRF – and government, Cape York Partnership – which marks its own 30th anniversary this year – is celebrating the Cape York Leaders Program’s historic milestone and looking ahead to the next chapter.
“This is what happens when Indigenous families are backed – when we refuse to settle for business-as-usual and instead build scaffolding of opportunity,” Ms Jose says. “But we can only do so much, offering spaces for 20 new scholars each year. We are forced to turn away children who are ready, children who we know can succeed, because the system still refuses to scale what works.
“Our families and children have shown us they can do it — they have closed the gap. The responsibility belongs to all of us to ensure this opportunity is not rationed, but realised, for every child in Cape York and beyond.”
The Cape York Leaders Program shows that no ambition is out of reach, with education providing the critical stepping stone. In the words of Noel Pearson: “In Cape York our vision is that we should have a strong home base, but we should go out into the world in orbits and come back home. We say Cape York to New York!”
PRF has proudly supported the Cape York Partnership since 2022.
