AFTER more than 33 years of operation, the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park in Cairns closed its doors after buckling under the pressure of the international travel shutdown.
The once popular attraction provided tourists with an invaluable insight into Australia’s first people and their way of life, however, with many of its core visitors coming from international markets, was forced to close permanently.
Tjapukai employed about 65 staff members, most being Indigenous, and was a particularly cruel blow for tourism in North Queensland which had already lost millions in revenue from the closed borders.
