Weipa is a small mining town with a population of 3,000, located on the west coast of far North Queensland. The mining of bauxite and kaolin by Comalco Mineral Products provide the reason for Weipa’s existence.

Frequently described as a ‘closed town’, Weipa has no local government authority. All housing is supplied by Comalco and most of the working population is employed by the company. Those not employed by Comalco are mostly government employees or service personnel. Now twenty-six years old, Weipa is facing a possible change from company control to local government management, a move referred to as ‘normalisation’, and one which has evoked mixed feelings.