Aurukun /ærəˈkuːn/ is a town and locality in the Shire of Aurukun in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is situated approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Weipa. The town faces west to the Gulf of Carpentaria, and during the wet season, roads are impassable. It is an Indigenous community. In March 2008, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that standards of justice, education and child safety had collapsed in Aurukun, and that the local community justice group had called for children to be removed from the town for their own safety and wellbeing. The area is rich in bauxite.