Kimberleys, Western Australia map, labelled

The Gibb River Road is a road in the Kimberley region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Description

The road is a former cattle route that stretches in an east-west direction almost through the Kimberley between the towns of

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

and the Kununurra and Wyndham junction of the

Great Northern Highway Great Northern Highway is an Australian highway that links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its northernmost port, Wyndham. With a length of almost , it is the longest highway in Australia, with the majority included as part of the ...

. Like its

namesake A namesake is a person, geographic location, or other entity bearing the name of another. History The word is first attested around 1635, and probably comes from the phrase "for one's name's sake", which originates in English Bible translations ...

, which does not actually cross the road but runs nearby at , it is named after geologist and explorer

Andrew Gibb Maitland Andrew Gibb Maitland (30 November 1864 – 27 January 1951) was an English-born Australian geologist. Maitland was born in Birkby, Yorkshire, England and studied civil engineering at Yorkshire College of Science, Leeds where he was influenced ...

. The Gibb River Road is one of the two major roads which dissect the Kimberley region—the other being the extreme northern section of

which runs further to the south. The road is often closed due to

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

during the

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...

, which is typically November through March, although delayed openings have been known to happen, frustrating the

tourism industry Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

as well as locals who rely on the road. Since the mid-2000s, the road has been upgraded to a formed gravel two-lane road including a few short

bitumen Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

ised sections, but 4WD vehicles are still recommended due to the water crossings and numerous heavily corrugated sections. Gibb River Rd-2

The Gibb River Road has scenic views of geological formations and natural scenery, Aboriginal and pastoral history, as well as rare and unique fauna and flora. Attractions along the road include

Windjana Gorge National Park Windjana Gorge National Park is a national park in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, 1855 km northeast of Perth and 355 km east of Broome. It is open during the dry season only, usually April to November (dates vary according ...

Tunnel Creek National Park Tunnel Creek National Park is a national park in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, northeast of Perth and east of Broome. The natural cave through which Tunnel Creek flows is a major attraction of the park. Many Aboriginal rock pai ...

, Adcock Gorge, Manning Gorge, Galvans Gorge, Lennard Gorge, Bell Gorge, and

Wunaamin Miliwundi Ranges The Wunaamin Miliwundi Ranges (formerly between 1879 and 2020, the King Leopold Ranges) are a range of hills in the western Kimberley region of Western Australia. There are two conservation parks within the ranges, the Wunaamin Conservation P ...

. Accommodation is offered by several cattle stations in the area including Mount Hart Wilderness Lodge,

Mount Barnett Station Mount Barnett Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in Western Australia. It is situated approximately north of Fitzroy Crossing and east of Derby in the Kimberley region. Manning Creek runs through the property an ...

, Mount Elizabeth Station, Drysdale River Station, the

El Questro Station El Questro Wilderness Park is a wilderness park on El Questro Station, a cattle station that diversified its pastoral operation to include tourism, located in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It remains a working cattle station with a ...

Ellenbrae Ellenbrae, also commonly referred to as Ellenbrae Station, is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in Western Australia. It is situated about south of Wyndham and north of Halls Creek not far off the Gibb River Road. The Dur ...

and Charnley River Station.

History

From 1948, an

Air Beef Scheme After World War II, pastoralists from the Western Australian Kimberley region sought to develop the local beef export industry by encouraging infrastructure development there. Three brothers, Gordon, Douglas and Keith Blythe who owned and operate ...

operated between

Glenroy Station Glenroy Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in Western Australia. It is situated approximately north of Fitzroy Crossing and east of Derby in the Kimberley region. History The property was established in the earl ...

and Wyndham. An

abattoir A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

freezing works A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

, and

airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

were built on the station and the meat airfreighted twice a day to the coast before being shipped to the southern cities. To develop the beef industry further, a

Commonwealth Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

grant to build a road was given in 1949 and the following year construction of a road to Derby commenced, one of a number of roads built as part of the so-called "Beef Roads Scheme". This southern section, which is sometimes referred to as the Derby-Gibb River Road, was completed in 1956 at a cost of £713,677 and was used for trucking live cattle. The northern section of the road was under the control of the

Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the begin ...

until 1996 when

Main Roads Western Australia Main Roads Western Australia (formerly the Main Roads Department) is a statutory authority of the Government of Western Australia that is responsible for implementing the state's policies on road access and main roads. It operates under the ''M ...

took over control and upgraded the full length of the highway.

Native title

A joint native title claim, known as the

Dambimangari The Worrorra, also written Worora, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley area of north-western Australia. The term is sometimes used to describe speakers of the (Western) Worrorra language, and sometimes groups whose traditional ...

claim and covering a large area of the Kimberley, was lodged in 1998 by the Wanjina-Wunggurr (Native Title) Aboriginal Corporation

RNTBC A Registered Native Title Body Corporate (RNTBC) is a corporation nominated by a group of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people for the purposes of native title in Australia, to represent their native title rights and interests, once tha ...

on behalf of three peoples, the

Worrorra The Worrorra, also written Worora, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley area of north-western Australia. The term is sometimes used to describe speakers of the (Western) Worrorra language, and sometimes groups whose traditiona ...

of Dambimangari, the

Wunambal Gaambera The Wunambal (Unambal), also known as Wunambal Gaambera, Uunguu (referring to their lands), and other names, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the northern Kimberley region of Western Australia. People The Wunambal were, according to Norma ...

of Uunguu, and the

Ngarinyin The Ngarinyin or Ngarinjin are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Their language, Ngarinyin, is also known as Ungarinyin. When referring to their traditional lands, they refer to themselves as Wilinggin ...

of Wilinggin. The Wilinggin portion of the claim, covering an area of more than along the Gibb River Road, was the first of the three to be determined for the Ngarinyin people, by

litigation - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

on 27 August 2004.

Footnotes

References

External links

* * Includes links to many other sites, including warnings alerts and road conditions, accommodation, etc. * {{Road infrastructure in Western Australia Australian outback tracks Kimberley (Western Australia) Roads in Western Australia