The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine
regions of Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is divided into regions according to a number of systems.
The most common system is the WA Government division of the state into regions for economic development purposes, which comprises nine defined regions; however, t ...
. It is bordered on the west by the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
, on the north by the
Timor Sea
The Timor Sea ( id, Laut Timor, pt, Mar de Timor, tet, Tasi Mane or ) is a relatively shallow sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, and to the south by Australia.
The sea contains a number of reefs ...
, on the south by the
Great Sandy and
Tanami deserts in the region of the
Pilbara
The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a g ...
, and on the east by the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
.
The region was named in 1879 by government surveyor
Alexander Forrest
Alexander Forrest CMG (22 September 1849 – 20 June 1901) was an explorer and surveyor of Western Australia, and later also a member of parliament.
As a government surveyor, Forrest explored many areas of remote Western Australia, particu ...
after
Secretary of State for the Colonies John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley.
History
The Kimberley was one of the earliest settled parts of Australia, with the first humans landing about 65,000 years ago. They created a complex culture that developed over thousands of years.
Yam (''
Dioscorea hastifolia
''Dioscorea hastifolia'', the Adjigo (ˈadʒɪɡəʊ) yam, also known as the Warram, is a yam with long, white, edible tubers that is native to South Western Australia. It is a climbing vine with hastate, spearheaded, leaves and bears green tria ...
'')
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
was developed, and rock art suggests that this was where some of the earliest
boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...
s were invented. The worship of
Wandjina deities was most common in this region, and a complex theology dealing with the transmigration of souls was part of the local people's religious philosophy.
In 1837, with expedition support from the
Royal Geographical Society of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
, Lieutenants
George Grey
Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...
and Franklin Lushington and 12 men sailed on the schooner ''Lynher'' from
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, South Africa. They reached Hanover Bay on 2 December 1837. The exploring party started inland on 19 January 1838. Leaders and men were totally inexperienced, their progress was delayed by flooded country, and they abandoned many stores along the way. The party was constantly split up although they had to contend with large numbers of hostile Aboriginals. On 11 February, Grey was speared and became critically ill but, after two weeks, continued the exploration. The party found and named the
Gairdner River, the
Glenelg River, the Stephen and Whately ranges and
Mount Lyell before returning to Hanover Bay in April. There they were picked up by and ''Lynher'' and taken to
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
to recuperate.
In 1879, Western Australian government surveyor
Alexander Forrest
Alexander Forrest CMG (22 September 1849 – 20 June 1901) was an explorer and surveyor of Western Australia, and later also a member of parliament.
As a government surveyor, Forrest explored many areas of remote Western Australia, particu ...
led a party of seven from the west coast at Beagle Bay to
Katherine, Northern Territory. Forrest explored and named the Kimberley district, the
Margaret and
Ord
Ord or ORD may refer to:
Places
* Ord of Caithness, landform in north-east Scotland
* Ord, Nebraska, USA
* Ord, Northumberland, England
* Muir of Ord, village in Highland, Scotland
* Ord, Skye, a place near Tarskavaig
* Ord River, Western Austral ...
rivers and the King Leopold Ranges (now the
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 ...
), and located well watered pastoral lands along the
Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to:
People As a given name
*Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name:
**FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855)
** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...
and Ord rivers.
[''The Australian Encyclopaedia,'' Vol. V, The Grolier Society, Sydney] He subsequently set himself up as a land agent specialising in the Kimberley during a period to 1883 when over of land were taken up as pastoral leaseholds in the region.
In 1881, Philip Saunders and Adam Johns, in the face of great difficulties and dangers, found gold in various parts of the Kimberley. Early in 1881, the first five graziers, who called themselves the Murray Squatting Company, took up behind Beagle Bay and named it
Yeeda Station.
In 1883 they were the first men to shear sheep in the southern Kimberley. Additional Anglo-European settlement occurred in 1885, when ranchers drove cattle across Australia from the eastern states in search of good
pasture
Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...
lands. After gold was discovered around
Halls Creek
Halls is a plural of the word hall.
Halls may also refer to:
People
* Walter Halls (1871–1953), British trade unionist and politician
* Ethel May Halls (1882–1967), American actress
* Julian Halls (born 1967), British field hockey player
* ...
, many other erstwhile Europeans miners arrived rapidly.
In the 1890s, the area was the site of an armed insurrection of indigenous people led by
Jandamarra, a
Bunuba warrior.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, when Australia was among the nations at war with the Axis powers, the Japanese invaded the nation with only a small reconnaissance party in the Kimberley on 19 January 1944; they were investigating reports that the Allies were building large bases in the region. Four Japanese officers were on board a small fishing boat. They investigated the
York Sound region for a day and a night before returning to
Kupang
Kupang ( id, Kota Kupang, ), formerly known as Koepang, is the capital of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. At the 2020 C ensus, it had a population of 442,758; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 455,850. It is the largest ci ...
in
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, also ...
on 20 January. After returning to Japan in February, the junior officer, who had commanded the party, suggested using 200 Japanese prison inmates to launch a
guerrilla campaign in Australia. No superior adopted his suggestion, and the officer was posted to other duties.
Demographics
The 2011 estimated permanent population of the Kimberley was 34,794 but it rises dramatically during winter when it attracts a seasonal population. On Census night in 2011 (9 August), it was 50,113. The population is fairly evenly distributed, with only three towns having populations in excess of 2,000:
Broome (12,766),
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 g ...
(3,261), and
Kununurra (4,573). Approximately 40% of the region's population is of
Aboriginal descent.
Urban centres and localities
Indigenous languages
The Kimberley has been noted as a region of great linguistic diversity, rivalled in Australia only by the
Top End
The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ra ...
. Depending on the geographical boundaries of the Kimberley, and the definition of what constitutes a "
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
" (as opposed to a "
dialect
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
"), about 50-60
Aboriginal languages were once spoken in this region. The vast majority of these do not belong to the family of
Pama-Nyungan languages. Four endemic, primary
language families
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in hi ...
are recognized within the core Kimberley region:
*
Nyulnyulan languages
The Nyulnyulan languages are a small family of closely related Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Western Australia. Most languages in this family are extinct, with only three extant languages, all of which are almost extinct.
...
, including languages spoken on the
Dampier Peninsula and along the Fitzroy River
*
Bunuban languages, including languages spoken in the Fitzroy River Basin
*
Worrorran languages
The Worrorran (Wororan) languages are a small family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Western Australia.
The Worrorran languages fall into three dialect clusters:
*the Northern Worrorran group, known as Wunambal and rela ...
, including languages spoken in the northern Kimberley, north of
King Sound
King Sound is a large gulf in northern Western Australia. It expands from the mouth of the Fitzroy River, one of Australia's largest watercourses, and opens to the Indian Ocean. It is about long, and averages about in width. The port town ...
, up to
Wyndham
*
Jarrakan languages
The Jarrakan (formerly Djeragan) languages are a small family of Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in northern Australia. The name is derived from the word , which means "language" in Kija.
The three main Jarrakan languages are:
* Kija (ab ...
, including languages spoken along the Ord River, from
Halls Creek
Halls is a plural of the word hall.
Halls may also refer to:
People
* Walter Halls (1871–1953), British trade unionist and politician
* Ethel May Halls (1882–1967), American actress
* Julian Halls (born 1967), British field hockey player
* ...
up to Wyndham and
Kununurra.
Pama-Nyungan languages spoken in and around the Kimberley region include the
Marrngu languages (such as
Karajarri
The Karajarri are an Aboriginal Australian people, who once lived south-west of the Kimberleys in the northern Pilbara region, predominantly between the coastal area and the Great Sandy Desert. They now mostly reside at Bidyadanga, south of B ...
and
Nyangumarta, the
Ngumpin languages (such as
Walmajarri
The Walmadjari (Walmajarri) people, also known as Tjiwaling and Wanaseka, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Name
The two names reflect different Walmadjari preferences. Their western bands accept ...
and
Jaru), the
Yapa languages (such as
Warlpiri) and the
Western Desert languages (including
Wangkajunga and
Kukatja). Non-Pama-Nyungan languages spoken around the Kimberleys (but speakers of which today live within the Kimberley) include the
Daly language Murrinh-Patha and
Western Mirndi language Jaminjung.
Presently, many indigenous languages are no longer spoken on a daily basis. In addition to
Australian English, post-contact languages spoken in the Kimberley include
Aboriginal English,
Kriol,
Pidgin English
Pidgin English is a non-specific name used to refer to any of the many pidgin languages derived from English. Pidgins that are spoken as first languages become creoles.
English-based pidgins that became stable contact languages, and which have ...
and the Malay-based
Broome Pearling Lugger Pidgin (not spoken on a daily basis any more).
Politics
At the federal level, the Kimberley is represented by the member for
Durack. At state level, the
Kimberley electorate takes in all of the region and its towns.
The Kimberley region consists of the
local government areas
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory.
The phrase i ...
of
Broome,
Derby-West Kimberley,
Halls Creek
Halls is a plural of the word hall.
Halls may also refer to:
People
* Walter Halls (1871–1953), British trade unionist and politician
* Ethel May Halls (1882–1967), American actress
* Julian Halls (born 1967), British field hockey player
* ...
and
Wyndham-East Kimberley.
Art
Rock art in the Kimberley is some of the oldest in Australia and could date back 40,000 years. The best known examples of rock art from the Kimberley are
Wandjina and
Gwion Gwion
The Gwion Gwion rock paintings, Gwion figures, Kiro Kiro or Kujon (previously known as the Bradshaw rock paintings, Bradshaw rock art, Bradshaw figures and the Bradshaws) are one of the two major regional traditions of rock art found in the nort ...
. The earliest form of Kimberley rock art was hand stencils, and rock art continued up to the 1960s when Wandjina were still being repainted.
Some of Australia's best known indigenous artists came from the Kimberley. These artists painted in a style unique to this area, a style initially associated with the Krill Krill ceremony but later known as the Kimberley Art Movement. These artists include
Rover Thomas
Rover Thomas Joolama (1926 – 11 April 1998), known as Rover Thomas, was a Wangkajunga and Kukatja Aboriginal Australian artist.
Early life
Rover Thomas was born in 1926 near Gunawaggii, at Well 33 on the Canning Stock Route, in the Grea ...
, Jaminji
Paddy Bedford
Paddy Bedford (circa 1922 – 14 July 2007), aka "Goowoomji", was a contemporary Indigenous Australian artist from Warmun in the Kimberley, and one of eight Australian artists selected for an architectural commission for the Musée du quai Bra ...
and
Queenie McKenzie
Queenie McKenzie (Nakarra) (formerly Oakes, or Mingmarriya) (c. 1915 – 16 November 1998) was an Aboriginal Australian artist. She was born on Old Texas Station, on the western bank of the Ord River in the East Kimberley.
Early life
M ...
.
Art and culture still flourishes today, with many contemporary artists being supported by the
Mowanjum Aboriginal Arts and Cultural centre.
Geography
![Bungle Bungles Echidna Chasm 190503 - panoramio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Bungle_Bungles_Echidna_Chasm_190503_-_panoramio.jpg)
The Kimberley is an area of , which is about three times the size of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, twice the size of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, or just slightly smaller than
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
The Kimberley consists of the ancient, steep-sided mountain ranges of northwestern Australia cut through with sandstone and limestone gorges and steep ridges, from which the extreme monsoonal climate has removed much of the soil. The southern end of the Kimberley beyond the
Dampier Peninsula is flatter with dry tropical grassland and is used for cattle ranching. In parts of the Kimberley, such as the valleys of the
Ord
Ord or ORD may refer to:
Places
* Ord of Caithness, landform in north-east Scotland
* Ord, Nebraska, USA
* Ord, Northumberland, England
* Muir of Ord, village in Highland, Scotland
* Ord, Skye, a place near Tarskavaig
* Ord River, Western Austral ...
and
Fitzroy Rivers in the south, the soils are relatively usable
cracking clays, whilst elsewhere they are
lateritic Orthents. Although none of the mountains reach even , there is so much steep land as to make much of the region difficult to traverse, especially during the wet season, when even sealed roads are often flooded. The coast is typically steep cliffs in the north but flatter in the south, all subject to high tides.
Climate
The Kimberley has a tropical
monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...
climate. The region receives about 90% of its rainfall during the short wet season, from November to April, when
cyclones are common (especially around Broome) and the rivers flood. The annual rainfall is highest in the northwest, where
Kalumburu and
the Mitchell Plateau average per year, and lowest in the southeast where it is around . In the dry season, from May to October, south easterly breezes bring sunny days and cool nights.
Climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
since 1967 has led to large increases of as much as per year in annual rainfall over the whole region. A recent study suggests Asian
pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...
may be a key contributory factor to this increased rainfall. In 1997 and 2000, the region received especially heavy rains, leading to record flooding of the Fitzroy and other rivers.
The Kimberley is one of the hottest parts of Australia, with the average annual mean temperature around , and with mean maximum temperatures almost always above , even in July. The hottest part of the year is November before the rains break, when temperatures frequently reach above on the coast and well over inland. Mean minimum temperatures in July range from around in the south to along the coast, whilst in November and December they are generally around . Record high temperatures range from around , while record lows are around , although some parts of the central Kimberly plateau can drop below during the dry season.
The Aboriginal people of the Kimberley recognise
six traditional seasons based on meteorological events, as well as on observations of flora and fauna.
Geology
![A196, Halls Creek, Western Australia, China Wall, 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/A196%2C_Halls_Creek%2C_Western_Australia%2C_China_Wall%2C_2007.JPG)
During the
Devonian period, a barrier reef system formed before a subsequent drop in sea levels over the Kimberley. This reef system was similar to the
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...
and is still visible today in the form of the
Napier Range and the
Ningbing Range. Some of the features are
Tunnel Creek,
Windjana Gorge and
Geikie Gorge
Geikie Gorge (known locally as Darngku) is a feature of the Napier Range and is located within the grounds of Danggu Gorge National Park (formerly, Geikie Gorge National Park), from Fitzroy Crossing, northeast of Perth and east of Broome ...
.
This area is also known as the Kimberley Block physiographic province, of which it is part of the larger
West Australian Shield division. This province contains the
Wunaamin-Miliwundi Range,
Durack Range
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 park (Australia), conservation parks within the range ...
,
Leveque Rise Leveque (Lévêque, Levêque) is a surname, and may refer to:
* André Lévêque, French engineer
* Auguste Levêque, Belgian painter
* Christophe Lévêque, French BMX racer
* Dorian Lévêque, French footballer
* Guy Leveque, Canadian ice hockey ...
,
Browse Depression
Browsing is a kind of orienting strategy. It is supposed to identify something of relevance for the browsing organism. When used about human beings it is a metaphor taken from the animal kingdom. It is used, for example, about people browsing o ...
, and
Londonderry Rise physiographic sections.
Coastline
![Cape Leveque](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Cape_Leveque.png)
In
Bureau of Meteorology
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together ...
weather reports the "North Kimberley Coast" is the WA border to Kuri Bay section of the coast, while the "West Kimberley Coast" is from Kuri Bay to Wallal Downs. Significant sections of the coastline between Broome and Wyndham have no means of road access, and boat or helicopter are the only means. Due to the isolation, a number of tourist operations on the coastline have been called "wilderness" locations.
Ecology
The rugged and varied sandstone landscape is home to a distinctive mixture of wildlife, which has been thoroughly mapped and described by the
Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management. There are habitats similar to the Kimberley across the border in the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...
, including the valleys of the
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
and
Daly Rivers but these have been less carefully studied.
Flora
![Boab tree near Kununurra WA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Boab_tree_near_Kununurra_WA.jpg)
Much of the Kimberley is chiefly covered in open
savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
woodland dominated by low
bloodwood and
boab trees (''
Adansonia gregorii
''Adansonia gregorii'', commonly known as the boab and also known by a number of other names, is a tree in the family Malvaceae, endemic to the northern regions of Western Australia and the Northern Territory of Australia.
Names
The specific ...
'') with
Darwin stringybark and
Darwin woollybutt eucalyptus in the wetter areas. The red sandy soil of the
Dampier Peninsula in the south is known for its characteristic
pindan wooded grassland, while in the more fertile areas like the
Ord Valley, the trees are found in grasslands of ''
Chrysopogon'', ''
Aristida
''Aristida'' is a very nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. ''Aristida'' is distinguished by having three awns (bristles) on each lemma of each floret. The genus includes about 300 species found worldwide, often in arid warm ...
'', ''
Dichanthium'' and ''
Xerochloa'' (rice grass) in the wetter valleys. The banks of the
Ord
Ord or ORD may refer to:
Places
* Ord of Caithness, landform in north-east Scotland
* Ord, Nebraska, USA
* Ord, Northumberland, England
* Muir of Ord, village in Highland, Scotland
* Ord, Skye, a place near Tarskavaig
* Ord River, Western Austral ...
,
Fitzroy River and other rivers are home to a greater variety of vegetation, while in sheltered gorges of the high rainfall north there are patches of
tropical dry broadleaf forest, called
monsoon forest
Seasonal tropical forest, also known as moist deciduous, semi-evergreen seasonal, tropical mixed or monsoon forests, typically contain a range of tree species: only some of which drop some or all of their leaves during the dry season. This tropic ...
s, deciduous vine forest or vine thicket in Australia (often mistakenly called "dry rainforest"), which were unknown to science until 1965, and are one of the most floristically rich parts of Australia outside the Wet Tropics and southwestern WA. There are also areas of
mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...
in river estuaries where the coast is flatter.
Flora regions
In 1979, Beard identified four phytogeographic districts within the Northern Botanical Province:
* Gardner District (Ga) in the north (and further divided into the West Gardner (WGa), Central Gardner (CGa) and East Gardner (EGa))
* Fitzgerald District (Fi) in the centre
* Dampier (Da) and Hall (Ha) Districts in the south
Fauna
![Pseudomys desertor TPartridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Pseudomys_desertor_TPartridge.JPG)
Animals found here include the huge
saltwater crocodile
The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been list ...
and a rich variety of
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
s such as the
channel-billed cuckoo,
Pacific koel
The Pacific koel (''Eudynamys orientalis''), also known as the eastern koel or formerly Common Koel, is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. In Australia, it is colloquially known as the ''rainbird'' or ''stormbird'', as its call is usual ...
,
purple-crowned fairywren
The purple-crowned fairywren (''Malurus coronatus'') is a species of bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is the largest of the eleven species in the genus '' Malurus'' and is endemic to northern Australia. The species name is de ...
and the
bowerbird. The sandstone gorges of north Kimberley are an important refuge for a particularly rich collection of endemic species including some that have disappeared from the flatter areas, including the purple-crowned fairywren, the endangered
Gouldian finch and a large number of
amphibians:
flat-headed frog
:''The unrelated corrugated frog (''Limnonectes laticeps'') of Southeast Asia is occasionally also called "flat-headed frog".''
The flat-headed frog (''Limnodynastes depressus'') is a species of frog in the family Limnodynastidae.
It is endemic t ...
,
cave-dwelling frog,
magnificent tree frog,
Derby toadlet
The Derby toadlet (''Uperoleia aspera'') is a species of frog in the family Myobatrachidae.
It is endemic to the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region near Derby and Broome, Western Australia, Broome in Western Australia.
Its natural ...
,
small toadlet,
fat toadlet
The fat toadlet (''Uperoleia crassa'') is a species of frog in the family Myobatrachidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland and intermittent freshwater marsh
A marsh is a ...
, the unconfirmed
marbled toadlet,
Mjoberg's toadlet,
mole toadlet
The mole toadlet (''Uperoleia talpa'') is a species of frog in the family Myobatrachidae.
It is endemic to Western Australia.
Its natural habitats are dry savanna and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland
A grassland is an area whe ...
and
stonemason's toadlet. Mammals that have declined especially in the flatlands include the
bilby,
northern quoll
The northern quoll (''Dasyurus hallucatus''), also known as the northern native cat, the North Australian native cat or the satanellus is a carnivorous marsupial native to Australia.
Taxonomy
The northern quoll is a member of the family Das ...
,
pale field rat
The pale field rat (''Rattus tunneyi'') is a small rat endemic to Australia. It is a nocturnal and herbivorous rodent that resides throughout the day in shallow burrows made in loose sand. Once widespread, the range has become greatly reduced an ...
,
golden-backed tree-rat
The golden-backed tree rat (''Mesembriomys macrurus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae, found only in Australia.
It is present in the Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife Sanctuary
Charnley River–Artesian Range Wildlife ...
, and
golden bandicoot
The golden bandicoot (''Isoodon auratus''; Yolngu: ''Wan'kurra'') is a short-nosed bandicoot found in northern Australia. It is the smallest of its genus.
The golden bandicoot is now a threatened species. It was once found throughout much o ...
.
Megabat
Megabats constitute the family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera ( bats). They are also called fruit bats, Old World fruit bats, or—especially the genera ''Acerodon'' and '' Pteropus''— flying foxes. They are the only member of the s ...
s such as the
black flying foxes and
little red flying fox
The little red flying-fox (''Pteropus scapulatus'') is a megachiropteran bat native to northern and eastern Australia. The species weighs about half a kilogram, one US pound, and is the smallest species of ''Pteropus'' in mainland Australia. '' ...
es are common and perform important
pollination
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...
and
seed dispersal
In Spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant.
Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors ...
work for many species of native trees and shrubs.
A species of endemic
gecko, ''
Gehyra kimberleyi
''Gehyra kimberleyi'', also known commonly as the Kimberley dtella or the robust termitaria gecko, is a species of gecko, a lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to western Australia.
Etymology
The specific name, ''kimberley ...
'', is named after the Kimberley region.
The gorges of central Kimberley are known for their
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
s and for their large colonies of bats, including
Windjana,
Tunnel Creek, and
Geikie Gorge
Geikie Gorge (known locally as Darngku) is a feature of the Napier Range and is located within the grounds of Danggu Gorge National Park (formerly, Geikie Gorge National Park), from Fitzroy Crossing, northeast of Perth and east of Broome ...
s.
Lake Argyle
Lake Argyle is Western Australia's largest and Australia's second largest freshwater man-made reservoir by volume. The reservoir is part of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme and is located near the East Kimberley town of Kununurra. The lake ...
and other wetlands of the Ord and the Kimberley are important habitats while there are important populations of
shorebird
245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots
Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...
s in the Ord estuary,
Eighty-mile Beach
Eighty Mile Beach, also spelled Eighty-mile Beach or 80-mile Beach, lies along the north-west coast of Western Australia about half-way between the towns of Broome and Port Hedland. It is a beach some in length, forming the coastline where t ...
and
Roebuck Bay
Roebuck Bay is a bay on the coast of the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Its entrance is bounded in the north by the town of Broome, and in the south by Bush Point and Sandy Point. It is named after , the ship captained by Willia ...
, which has been described as "one of the most important stop-over areas for shorebirds in Australia and globally". Finally there are a number of rocky islands off the north coast that are home to
seabird
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...
s and
turtle
Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...
s.
Threats and preservation
![A202, Purnululu National Park, Western Australia, Bungle Bungles, from plane, 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/A202%2C_Purnululu_National_Park%2C_Western_Australia%2C_Bungle_Bungles%2C_from_plane%2C_2007.JPG)
Little of the Kimberley has been subject to wholesale clearance other than particularly fertile parts of the Ord Valley (and areas of Kimberley-type habitat across in the Daly River basin in the Northern Territory) but the pastureland in the southern areas has been affected by 100 years of livestock grazing and other threats including introduced weeds (such as
cocklebur,
parkinsonia
''Parkinsonia'' , also ''Cercidium'' , is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains about 12 species that are native to semi-desert regions of Africa and the Americas. The name of the genus honors English apothecary ...
,
bellyache bush and
castor oil plant
''Ricinus communis'', the castor bean or castor oil plant, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It is the sole species in the monotypic genus, ''Ricinus'', and subtribe, Ricininae. The evolution of cas ...
), feral cats and changes to traditional Aboriginal
fire regime
A fire regime is the pattern, frequency, and intensity of the bushfires and wildfires that prevail in an area over long periods of time. It is an integral part of fire ecology, and renewal for certain types of ecosystems. A fire regime describes th ...
s (the way grassland is burnt and allowed to renew). However, the remote sandstone areas to the north have valuable original habitats in good condition providing shelter for much wildlife.
The largest protected areas are the
Prince Regent National Park
Prince Regent National Park, formerly the Prince Regent Nature Reserve, is a protected area in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. In 1978 the area was nominated as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.
Land
The national park covers a to ...
and the
Drysdale River National Park
Drysdale River National Park is a national park in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, northeast of Perth.
The park lies about south of Kalumburu and west of Wyndham.
The park is the largest and least accessible in the Kimberley, w ...
along with
Gregory National Park and
Keep River National Park
Keep River National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 418 km southwest of Darwin and 468 km west of Katherine. The nearest town is Kununurra in Western Australia.
Environment
The park has a number of striking sandstone ...
across in the Northern Territory, which preserves similar habitats. (Keep River's nearest town is
Kununurra in the Kimberley.)
The Kimberley is a popular tourist destination, with areas such as the
Bungle Bungle Range, the
Gibb River Road
The Gibb River Road is a road in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Description
The road is a former cattle route that stretches in an east-west direction almost through the Kimberley between the towns of Derby and the Kununurra an ...
,
Lake Argyle
Lake Argyle is Western Australia's largest and Australia's second largest freshwater man-made reservoir by volume. The reservoir is part of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme and is located near the East Kimberley town of Kununurra. The lake ...
,
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 ...
,
Mornington Sanctuary
Mornington Sanctuary, formerly Mornington Station, is a nature reserve in the Kimberley region of north-west Western Australia. It contains the Mornington Wilderness Camp and is owned and managed by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC) ...
,
Horizontal Falls
The Horizontal Falls, or Horizontal Waterfalls, nicknamed the "Horries" and known as Garaanngaddim by the local Indigenous people, are an unusual natural phenomenon on the coast of the Kimberley region in Western Australia, where tidal flows ...
and
Cape Leveque
Cape Leveque is at the northernmost tip of the Dampier Peninsula in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Cape Leveque is (via the Cape Leveque Road) north of Broome, and is remote with few facilities. Nevertheless, the Cape's sandy be ...
. The Gibb River Road and the road into the Bungle Bungles can at times be accessed in a
two-wheel drive
Two-wheel-drive (2WD) denotes vehicles with a drivetrain that allows two wheels to be driven, and receive power and torque from the engine, simultaneously.
Four-wheeled vehicles
For four-wheeled vehicles (and by extension, vehicles with six, e ...
car, although one can access many additional areas in a
four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer cas ...
vehicle.
Other parks in the region include
Geikie Gorge National Park
Danggu (Geikie) Gorge National Park is a national park in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, (great-circle distance) northeast of Perth and approximately east of Broome by road.
The gorge was originally named in honour of Sir Archibald ...
,
Mirima National Park
Mirima National Park also commonly known as Hidden Valley National Park is a National Park in far northern Western Australia located at the eastern side of the Kimberley region. It is located approximately from Perth just outside the township of ...
,
Mitchell River National Park,
Point Coulomb National Park
Point or points may refer to:
Places
* Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland
* Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States
* Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland
* Points ...
,
Purnululu National Park
The Purnululu National Park is a World Heritage Site in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia. The national park is located approximately south of Kununurra, with Halls Creek located to the south. Declared a World Heritage Site in 2 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater National Park
Wolfe Creek Crater National Park is a national park in Western Australia, northeast of Perth. It contains Wolfe Creek Crater.
The park lies about South from Halls Creek and can be accessed via the Tanami Road. The park is located on the edge ...
. In 2012 the Western Australian government announced the creation of the 7,062 square kilometre Camden Sound Marine Park with a further three to come.
Visitors to the area should be aware that the area can be subject to controlled burns at any time of year. In September 2011, a fire burned five people, two severely, who had been competing in the Kimberley Ultramarathon, an endurance
cross country footrace.
Save the Kimberley campaign
The Wilderness Society has led a campaign to protest a proposal to industrialize the
James Price Point
James Price Point is a headland in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It is north of Broome.
James Price Point was the proposed location of the Browse LNG gas terminal. The controversial proposal by Woodside Petroleum and its joint ...
area of Broome. The
Woodside corporation, with the additional involvement of
BHP Billiton
BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
and the Australian government, has sought to build a gas industrial complex, and those in opposition believe that such a development threatens the region. The campaign has received support from public figures such as
John Butler John Butler may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*John "Picayune" Butler (died 1864), American performer
* John Butler (artist) (1890–1976), American artist
*John Butler (author) (born 1937), British author and YouTuber
*John Butler (born 1954), ...
, Clare Bowditch,
Missy Higgins and former leader of the Australian Greens,
Bob Brown
Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasma ...
.
On 5 October 2012, a concert was held at
Federation Square
Federation Square (colloquially Fed Square) is a venue for arts, culture and public events on the edge of the Melbourne central business district. It covers an area of at the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets built above busy ra ...
in Melbourne, Australia, to raise awareness of the campaign; the protest event attracted approximately 6,000 people.
On 24 February 2013, an estimated 20,000 people gathered for a charity concert
in
Fremantle, Western Australia to raise awareness and funds to help protect the Kimberley, with performances from
Ball Park Music
Ball Park Music are an Australian five-piece indie rock band from Brisbane, who formed in 2008. The band consists of Sam Cromack, Jennifer Boyce, Paul Furness, Dean Hanson and Daniel Hanson. Their debut studio album '' Happiness and Surroundin ...
, Missy Higgins, and John Butler.
Economy
![A195, Argyle Diamond Mine, Western Australia, from plane, 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/A195%2C_Argyle_Diamond_Mine%2C_Western_Australia%2C_from_plane%2C_2007.JPG)
The Kimberley region has a diverse regional economy. Mining, construction, tourism, retail, agriculture, and pearling are major contributors to the region's economic output.
The town of
Broome has a flourishing
pearling industry, which operates around the Kimberley coast. Some of the major farmers are Paspaley Pearls, Clipper Pearls, Broome Pearls and the Willie Creek Pearl Farm.
One third of the world's annual production of
diamonds
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, bu ...
is mined at the
Argyle and the
Ellendale diamond mines.
Oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
is extracted from the
Blina oil field and
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
is expected to be taken from offshore sources soon.
Zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
and
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
were mined at the Pillara and Cadjebut mines near Fitzroy Crossing, with nickel still being mined at Sallay Mallay near Halls Creek.
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 g ...
is the nearest export base for shipping these metals.
Traditionally, the economy depended on
pastoral leases, with most of the region covered by the leases.
More recently agriculture has been focused on the
Ord River
The Ord River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river's catchment covers .
The lower Ord River and the conjunction with Cambridge Gulf create the most northern estuarine environment in Western Australia.
The Ord ...
Irrigation Area near
Kununurra. Irrigation was also trialled in the West Kimberley by way of the now defunct
Camballin Irrigation Scheme
The Camballin Irrigation Scheme consisted of the Fitzroy River Barrage, the Seventeen Mile Dam
The Seventeen Mile Dam was constructed as part of the Camballin Irrigation Scheme by the Public Works Department of Western Australia
Western A ...
. There are also fruit growers in Broome and in other areas in the West Kimberley. Beef cattle are grown in the Kimberley and exported live. Wyndham features the last remaining meatworks in the Kimberley - there were formerly works at Broome and Derby but financial constraints have caused these to be closed.
Barramundi
The barramundi (''Lates calcarifer'') or Asian sea bass, is a species of catadromous fish in the family Latidae of the order Perciformes. The species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, spanning the waters of the Middle East, Sout ...
are bred in
Lake Argyle
Lake Argyle is Western Australia's largest and Australia's second largest freshwater man-made reservoir by volume. The reservoir is part of the Ord River Irrigation Scheme and is located near the East Kimberley town of Kununurra. The lake ...
, and Broome features a fully equipped Aquaculture Park near the port; tenants include Paspaley Pearls and Broome
TAFE. The Kimberley also has a thriving fishing industry.
Some of Australia's most prominent indigenous artists and art centres are in or adjacent to the Kimberley region. Artists such as
Paddy Bedford
Paddy Bedford (circa 1922 – 14 July 2007), aka "Goowoomji", was a contemporary Indigenous Australian artist from Warmun in the Kimberley, and one of eight Australian artists selected for an architectural commission for the Musée du quai Bra ...
and
Freddie Timms have an international profile, and there are a number of Aboriginal-owned and controlled art centres and companies that assist artists, arrange exhibitions and sell works. The art centres in the region are also organized through the Association of Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists. Issues have been raised regarding the exploitation of indigenous artists by businesses and individuals, including in the Kimberley, which were canvassed in an
Australian Senate parliamentary committee report.
Tourism is expected to remain one of the Kimberley region's major growth industries. Averaged across 2010, 2011, and 2012, there were 292,600 domestic and international visitors to the Kimberley annually.
[
]
See also
* List of pastoral leases in Western Australia
Pastoral leases in Western Australia are increasingly known as "stations", and more particular – as either sheep stations or cattle stations. They are usually found in country that is designated as rangeland. In 2013 there were a total of 527 ...
* Kimberley-Perth Canal
* Kimberley Plan
The Kimberley Plan, was a failed plan by the Freeland League to resettle Jewish refugees from Europe in northern Australia before and during the Holocaust.
With rampant anti-Semitism in Europe, the Freeland League for Jewish Territorial Coloni ...
References
;General
*
External links
*
Kimberley Development Commission
Kununurra Historical Society Inc. Archive, Library, Museum & Research for links to history images of the Kimberley
{{coord, -16, 126, display=title
Regions of Western Australia
Physiographic provinces
Drainage basins of Australia