Kowanyama River House owner and founder, Thomas Hudson, is expanding his Indigenous tourism business on the Cape York Peninsula of Far North Queensland.

Kowanyama River House in Far North Queensland is expanding its facilities thanks to funding under the Australian Government’s Indigenous Advancement Strategy. 

The expansion will double its current nine room capacity to enable it to meet increased consumer demand. It is likely that this will also spur an increase in the staff numbers needed to operate the facility.

Owner and founder, Thomas Hudson, says he came up with the idea when he saw a problem of Aboriginal communities lacking accommodation to house itinerant contractors.

 “They have a fly-in-and-fly-out service that doesn’t work for the community as it doesn’t contribute to the economy or engage with the community in terms of employment,” Thomas says.

Thomas, who spent years as a councillor and served a term as Mayor of Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council, is very passionate about supporting Kowanyama and his local community.

“I wanted to be a role model to my fellow people and send a message to everyone: ‘never give up’,” he says.

“It wasn’t an easy track and I’m the type of person who had a dream in my head and the commitment to never give up. Commitment comes with it and that’s where the hard work is. You need to work with the business and community.”

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