Kununurra is a town in far northern
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 ...
located at the eastern extremity of the
Kimberley approximately from the border with the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
. Kununurra was initiated to service the
Ord River Irrigation Scheme
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 ...
.
Kununurra is the largest town in Western Australia north of
Broome, with the closest town being
Wyndham, away. Kununurra is from
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
via 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 ...
.
The town is situated in among the scenic hills and ranges of the far north-east Kimberley region, having an abundance of fresh water, conserved by the Ord River Diversion dam and the main Ord River Dam.
The tropical agriculture crops grown in the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA) have changed over the years. Tourism and mining have also become important to the local economy.
Characteristics
Kununurra has a transient population; if itinerant residents, the outlying farm areas and communities were included in census population figures, it is estimated numbers would have exceeded 7,000 for 2006, as opposed to the actual figure of 5,619.
An influx in the dry season (from April to September) of tourists and itinerant farm workers can push up the population to around 10,000.
![Sandelholzplantagen Kununurra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Sandelholzplantagen_Kununurra.JPG)
Key farm activities include the growing of
melons
A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a " pepo". Th ...
,
mangoes
A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...
and until recently,
sugar cane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...
. Farmers are now turning to a more lucrative (though longer term) crop of
Indian sandalwood
''Santalum album'', or Indian sandalwood, is a small tropical tree, and the traditional source of sandalwood oil. It is native to southern India and Southeast Asia. It is considered sacred in some religions like Hinduism, and some cultures place ...
. Other crops that have been grown in the Ord are
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
,
safflower
Safflower (''Carthamus tinctorius'') is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual plant in the family Asteraceae. It is commercially cultivated for vegetable oil extracted from the seeds and was used by the early Spanish colonies along ...
and
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
, which is being trialled once again, having been the first crop planted on the Pilot Farm in 1960. The town has a melon picking season, which attracts migratory farm workers to the area. There is also a thriving tourism industry with most tourist operators capitalising on the scenery of 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 ...
,
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 ...
, Diversion Dam and other local locations, including the relatively nearby
Bungle Bungle Range.
History
![Ord River 1962 EW Digby-13](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Ord_River_1962_EW_Digby-13.jpg)
The history of the idea of agriculture on the Ord River dates from the 19th century. On the first pastoral lease map (held by WA State Records Office) for the area dated 1887, it shows the northern bank between Wyndham and Kununurra, near House Roof Hill was held as a "Concession for Sugar Cane Planting," although it was never taken up. The idea of tropical agriculture on the Ord was discussed much from the earliest dates, but the land remained under pastoral lease until 1960.
Kununurra was built on land resumed from
Ivanhoe Station
Ivanhoe or Ivanhoe Station is a pastoral lease and cattle station located just north of Kununurra in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Founded in 1893 by the Durack brothers, station is presently owned by the Consolidated Pastoral C ...
pastoral lease before 1961, as the town for the Ord River Irrigation Area which started as the Ord River Project or Ord Scheme, with survey work starting in 1959.
Lake Kununurra
Lake Kununurra is a freshwater man-made reservoir located in the Ord River valley. The lake was formed in 1963 by the construction of the Ord Diversion Dam in Kununurra, northern Western Australia, which was built to supply water to the Ord Ri ...
is the flooded section of 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 ...
valley that was formerly known as Carlton Reach, which was at times a waterhole held back by the natural rock barrier known as Bandicoot Bar. At this site in 1959 drilling and blasting marked the start of construction of the Ord River Diversion Dam, which is anchored down onto the Bandicoot Bar. This dam with twenty radial flood gates was almost completed when visited by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
and
Prince Philip
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...
in March 1963, then later completed and officially opened by then Prime Minister,
Robert Menzies
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
on 20 July 1963 when he said that Kununurra and the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA) is "... the most exciting place in Australia".
As well as the town site some ORIA farmers live on their farms; however the initial idea of the Ord Scheme was for "closer settlement" to allow farmers the convenience of living in the town and since the start of the first Pilot Farm in 1960 most farmers in the valley had lived in the town. However, many people now live on their irrigation farms. Other agricultural and residential localities exist within a radius of the town, including various Aboriginal Communities, Crossing Falls, the Riverfarm Road and Packsaddle farm areas, and the Frank Wise Institute of Tropical Agriculture, formerly known as the Kimberley Research Station (KRS). KRS started in 1945 from the original Carlton Reach Research Station, set up by Kimberley Michael Durack with help from his brother William Aiden Durack in 1941, and support from the
WA Department of Agriculture and the
WA Public Works Department
The Public Works Department (PWD) was the State Government Agency of Western Australia, which was charged with providing and maintaining public infrastructure such as dams, water supplies, schools, hospitals, harbours and other public building ...
, being the first serious attempt at tropical agriculture on the banks of the Ord River. It was also in 1941 that
Russell Dumas
Sir Russell John Dumas KBE, CMG (17 January 1887 – 10 August 1975) was a public servant and engineer who led several large works projects in Western Australia.
Early life
Dumas was born in Mount Barker, South Australia second of five child ...
inspected the Ord gorges for dam sites on behalf of the Public Works Department.
The scheme involved damming the Ord River by building the Ord River
diversion dam
A diversion dam is a dam that diverts all or a portion of the flow of a river from its natural course. Diversion dams do not generally impound water in a reservoir; instead, the water is diverted into an artificial water course or canal, which ...
so that the waters could be conserved and directed to irrigate about of land. By 1966, there were 31 farms on the Ord River plains. In 1968 the second stage of the scheme was started with the building of the Ord River Dam (or Ord River Main Dam), known locally as "Top Dam," which holds back the waters of Lake Argyle.
Flooding of the Ord River continued until completion of the Main Ord River Dam situated upstream from Kununurra, which was started in 1968, and officially opened on 30 June 1972, with support from
WA Premier
The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive br ...
John Tonkin
John Trezise Tonkin AC (2 February 1902 – 20 October 1995), popularly known as "Honest John", was an Australian politician.
A member of the Labor Party, he served as a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for a record 44 ...
, by then Prime Minister
William McMahon
Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1971 to 1972 as leader of the Liberal Party. He was a government minister for over 21 years, t ...
, when he said "This marks the beginning of Ord Stage II (Two)." The Ord River Dam flooded the land of the Argyle Downs station, the home station of the pioneering
Durack family, to form what has become known as
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 ...
. Stone work from the original Argyle Downs homestead, was removed before Lake Argyle filled and was re-erected near the dam site to become the Argyle Downs Homestead Museum. The Museum had been run by
Tourism WA but was taken on by the Kununurra Visitor Centre during 2010.
The second stage of the Ord Project still has not been fully developed but new work is underway. In May 2010, with major funding from the Federal Government, the extension of the main channel construction got underway under the Moonamang Joint Venture.
Kununurra post office opened on 1 September 1960.
Population
According to the
2016 census of Population, there were 5,308 people in Kununurra.
* Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 22.9% of the population.
* 71.8% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 3.6% and New Zealand 2.1%.
* 76.4% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included
Miriwoong
The Miriwoong people, also written Miriwung and Miriuwung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia.
Language
Miriwoong language (AIATSIS "Miriwoong / Miriuwung") is one of the three surviving ...
2.2%.
* The most common responses for religion were No Religion 38.8% and Catholic 19.0%.
[ Material was copied from this source, which is available under ]
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Etymology
The name Kununurra is derived from the English pronunciation of the word (alternatively ) which in the
Miriwoong language
Miriwoong, also written Miriuwung and Miriwung, is an Aboriginal Australian language which today has fewer than 20 fluent speakers, most of whom live in or near Kununurra in Western Australia. All of the fluent speakers are elderly and the Mi ...
means 'river'. It is a widespread myth that it means '(Meeting of) Big Waters' or 'Big River'. One also finds accounts of the name of Kununurra which state that it was the Miriwoong name for this part of the Ord River, which makes sense in that the Ord River runs for hundreds of kilometres coming from the south near
Hall's Creek. It is stated to be likely that other parts of the Ord River were known by other Aboriginal language names, by the various tribal language group areas, over which the river traverses.
A 1943 soil classification had named the volcanic clay known locally as "blacksoil", being the predominant soil type of the irrigation area, as "Cununurra Clay" and "Cununurra" was put forward as a possible name, among others in 1960. The General Post Office (GPO) representative from WA on the Nomenclature Committee, objected saying that Cununurra was too close in name to the town of
Cunnamulla
Cunnamulla () is a town and a locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the , Cunnamulla had a population of 1,140 people.
Geography
Cunnamulla ...
and that could cause postal confusion. A compromise was reached and "K" was used with an argument having been put forward that this would bring it into line with other East Kimberley placenames, such as Kalumburu, and Karunjie. The name was only finally decided just days before the newest town of the Kimberley region, being gazetted on 10 February 1961.
Geography
The landscape surrounding Kununurra includes features such as Valentine Spring, Black Rock Creek and Middle Springs along with many other
waterfalls
A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf.
Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...
and swimming holes. Popular fishing spots include
Ivanhoe Crossing, The Diversion Dam, Buttons Crossing, and various locations along the Dunham 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.
The town is located close to the confluence 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 the
Dunham River
Dunham River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The river rises between the Durack Range and the O'Donnell Range then flows north-west parallel with the Great Northern Highway to the east and the Bedford Stock Route to t ...
.
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 ...
, Australia's largest artificial lake, over in size, is by road from the town, being held back by the main Ord River Dam.
The town lies within the
Ord Irrigation Area Important Bird Area (IBA), so identified by
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
because of its importance for wild birds, especially
estrildid finch
Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills. Despite the word "fi ...
es.
Climate
Like other areas in the tropics 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 ...
, Kununurra experiences a
semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''BSh'') with distinct wet and dry seasons; it borders closely on the tropical savanna climate (Aw). The average annual rainfall is around .
The dry season from April to September is the most popular time to visit: heat and humidity are lower, and road and park accessibility at their best. In the town's 53 years of weather records, rainfall of over has never been recorded in August, with most Augusts being completely rainless.
The build-up season from October to December is characterised by high heat and humidity. The oppressive conditions of the build-up often give way to spectacular
electrical storms
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...
, along with dramatic
lightning
Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...
displays over the rugged Kimberley landscape. Such storms however bring little rain, and the lightning will often start
bushfires
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...
in the surrounding scrub.
The summer
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 oscil ...
period between January and March often causes accessibility issues, and the closure of many roads and national parks, due to heavy rain. Days are overcast and hot; heavy downpours are a frequent occurrence.
Popular culture
Kununurra has a Celebrity Tree Park with many trees planted by famous people including
Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian entertainer whose career has encompassed work as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, comedian, actor, painter and television personality. He often used unusual instruments in his performan ...
, and more recently
Baz Luhrmann
Mark Anthony Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962), known professionally as Baz Luhrmann, is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music and recording industries, he is re ...
, after the majority of the filming for his film ''
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
'' was conducted just outside Kununurra. The town has many local attractions, including waterfalls, gorges and ranges. It was voted the second best town to live in Australia for outdoor adventure by ''Outdoor Australia'' magazine in the March/April 2007 edition.
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...
feels that the area's water helped her get pregnant while filming in this town, stating "seven babies were conceived out of this film and only one was a boy. There is something up there in the Kununurra water because we all went swimming in the waterfalls, so we can call it the fertility waters now."
Media
Since 1980 Kununurra has been the base of the ''
Kimberley Echo'' founded by the late James O'Kenny and Brian Cole. Radio station 6WR broadcasts across the Kimberley area from Kununurra on 693 AM, 101.1 FM, 101.3 FM, 102.1 FM, and 104.3 FM. 6WR also streams live online, and is available via the 'VAST' service to remote and blackspot areas of Australia on the Optus C1 satellite. Reach Beyond Australia broadcasts via shortwave from Kununurra between 9.7 and 15.3 MHz with evening releases in English and many Asian languages.
Facilities
Legal
The new Kununurra Courthouse, which includes a magistrate and a jury courtroom, was opened on 26 October 2014. It was designed by TAG Architects and Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects. The paintings of the
Aboriginal artists from
Miriwoong
The Miriwoong people, also written Miriwung and Miriuwung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia.
Language
Miriwoong language (AIATSIS "Miriwoong / Miriuwung") is one of the three surviving ...
country were included in the design of the building.
Education
East Kimberley College has a student population of just over 900 ranging from kindergarten to year 12. St Joseph's Primary School and Ngalangangpum School are two Catholic schools. There is limited tertiary education available via a Western Australia North Regional
Technical and further education
Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational cours ...
(TAFE) campus.
Health
Kununurra District Hospital houses 32 beds and a 10-bed aged care facility. There are dental practices in the town.
Community
The Kununurra Leisure Centre is a multi-purpose, community recreation facility catering for a wide range of sports, recreation activities and social functions. It includes a pool.
Kununurra Neighbourhood House is a not-for-profit family support service providing emotional and practical support to individuals and families and preventing isolation through the development of support groups, networks, education, and information. Kununurra Neighbourhood House is open to the community between 8 am and 1 pm Monday to Friday.
Kununurra Youth Hub currently run by Save the Children provides youth services to the community between 8 am and 5 pm daily.
Transport
East Kimberley Regional Airport
The East Kimberley Regional Airport , locally known as the Kununurra Airport, is an airport in Kununurra, Western Australia. The airport is west of the town. Heavy wet seasons often result in this area being cut off from essential outside ser ...
, commonly referred to as Kununurra Airport, is located 3.7 km (2.3 mi) west of the town centre. Heavy wet seasons often result in this area being cut off from essential outside services and deliveries. The airport is a crucial piece of infrastructure which enables people and goods to enter or leave from the region and especially supports tourism and economic development.
See also
*
Argyle diamond mine
The Argyle Diamond Mine was a diamond mine located in the East Kimberley region in the remote north of Western Australia. Argyle was at times the largest diamond producer in the world by volume (14 million carats in 2018), although the propor ...
*
El Questro Wilderness Park
References
External links
Kununurra Visitor CentreABC Local Radio - KimberleyShire of Wyndham East KimberleyKununurra Historical Society Inc. Archive, Library, Museum & Researchfor a "Photographic Journey on the Ord."
{{Towns Kimberley WA
Ord River
Kununurra, Western Australia