The TKRP was initiated in 2001, by the aspirations of the Kuku Thaypan Elders who wanted their knowledge, beliefs and practices recorded and preserved for present and future use by their families and youth.
Dr Tommy George and Dr George Musgrave were bought up on their traditional country, and had the opportunity to learn from the old people who where still living on the land. The approached Victor Steffensen, a member of the Kuku-Thaypan community on the Cape York Peninsula who was trained in videoing.

The Awu-Laya or Kuku-Thaypan country is situated in the Lakefield National Park region of Cape York, North Queensland, Australia. The nearest township of the community is Laura, which only has just over 100 people living there.

The project has collected videos describing the river system in the area, which was presented tot he public through the film ‘Water We Know’ with the support of Aurukun Wiki Media, in 2006.

The TKRP now runs various knowledge collection projects, mentoring and training. The Fire Research Project developed to include GIS location of each burning activity that the elders undertook. This data was used to plot the subsequent wildfires in the region against the prior burning, or not, of that area.

Examination of satellite data on fire scar mapping for Kuku Thaypan country for the last ten years confirms Elders concerns about the regularity and extent of late season wildfire in their country. This data was acknowledged by the scientific community as proof of the benefits of burn offs in the region and for the first time in ten years that country is burnt in April within the Kuku Thaypan Clan Estate as a result of the TKRP Kuku-Thaypan Fire Management Research Project.