Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve is a
protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
in 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 ...
of
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 ...
located in the locality of
Warumungu
The Warumungu (or Warramunga) are a group of Aboriginal Australians of the Northern Territory. Today, Warumungu are mainly concentrated in the region of Tennant Creek and Alice Springs.
Language
Their language is Warumungu, belonging to th ...
about south of
Tennant Creek
Tennant Creek ( wrm, Jurnkkurakurr) is town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the seventh largest town in the Northern Territory, and is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with the western termin ...
, and north of
Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
. The nearest settlement is the small town of Wauchope located to the south.
The Devils Marbles are of great cultural and spiritual significance to the
Aboriginal traditional owner
Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...
s of the land, and the reserve protects one of the oldest religious sites in the world as well as the natural rock formations found there. ''Karlu Karlu'' is the local Aboriginal term for both the rock features and the surrounding area. The Aboriginal term translates as "round boulders" and refers to the large boulders found mainly in the western side of the reserve.
The English name for the boulders derives from a quote by
John Ross during the 1870
Australian Overland Telegraph Line expedition, where he said "This is the Devil’s country; he’s even emptied his bag of marbles around the place!"
The area was originally named Devils Marbles Reserve in October 1961. The name was changed to ''Devil's Marbles Conservation Reserve'' on 21 September 1979 under the ''Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act''.
In 1980, the conservation reserve was listed on the now-defunct
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...
.
In 1982, almost the entire reserve was registered as a sacred site by the
Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority
The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (AAPA) is an independent statutory authority established under the ''Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act 1989''. Its function is to protect Aboriginal sacred sites within the Northern Territory ...
.
Ownership of Karlu Karlu/Devils Marbles was officially passed from the Parks and Wildlife Service of the Northern Territory back to the traditional owners at a ceremony held on the reserve in October 2008. The reserve is now leased back to the Parks Service under a 99-year lease and the site is jointly managed by rangers and traditional owners. Visitor access has not been affected,
making it an
Indigenous Protected Area
An Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is a class of protected area used in Australia; each is formed by voluntary agreement with Indigenous Australians, and declared by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander representative organisations ...
. On 6 July 2011, the name ''Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve'' was assigned, corresponding with the joint management structure.
Features
The ''Devils Marbles'' are large
granitic
A granitoid is a generic term for a diverse category of coarse-grained igneous rocks that consist predominantly of quartz, plagioclase, and alkali feldspar. Granitoids range from plagioclase-rich tonalites to alkali-rich syenites and from quart ...
boulders that form the exposed top layer of an extensive and mostly underground granite formation. The natural processes of
weathering
Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs ''in situ'' (on site, with little or no movement), ...
and
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
have created the various shapes of the boulders. Some of the boulders are naturally but precariously
balanced
In telecommunications and professional audio, a balanced line or balanced signal pair is a circuit consisting of two conductors of the same type, both of which have equal impedances along their lengths and equal impedances to ground and to other ci ...
atop one another or on larger rock formations, while others have been split cleanly down the middle by natural forces. The boulders are situated in a wide and shallow desert valley, and are found in scattered groups mainly in the western side of the reserve. A short access road leads directly into the boulder fields from the
Stuart Highway
Stuart Highway is a major Australia, Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; a distance of . Its northern and sou ...
.
Being one of the most widely recognised symbols of Australia’s outback, the Devils Marbles are also one of the most visited reserves/places in the Northern Territory.
The Parks and Wildlife Service recorded 96,172 visitors in 2007.
The visitation count increased to 137,500 by 2012.
The peak season is in the cooler months from May to August.
The reserve is one of the main tourist attractions in the
Barkly region
The Barkly Region, formerly Barkly Shire, is a local government area of the Northern Territory of Australia, administered by the Barkly Regional Council. The region's main town is Tennant Creek. The region covers an area of and had a populati ...
since it is easily seen and accessed just off the Stuart Highway, the major north/south road connecting
Darwin and Alice Springs, and points further south.
The Devils Marbles are accessible all year round with a network of pathways, information boards and a basic camping area. Rangers offer a program of live events at the site as part of their ''Territory Parks Alive'' program between May and September each year.
Aboriginal significance
Karlu Karlu are culturally and spiritually significant objects of the local Aboriginal people. Most of the conservation reserve is a Registered Sacred Site, protected under the ''
Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act 1989
The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority (AAPA) is an independent statutory authority established under the ''Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act 1989''. Its function is to protect Aboriginal sacred sites within the Northern Territory ...
''. Although Karlu Karlu is within country originally belonging to the
Alyawarre people, all of the other local Aboriginal groups, which include the
Kaytetye,
Warumungu
The Warumungu (or Warramunga) are a group of Aboriginal Australians of the Northern Territory. Today, Warumungu are mainly concentrated in the region of Tennant Creek and Alice Springs.
Language
Their language is Warumungu, belonging to th ...
and
Warlpiri people, also have spiritual connections and responsibilities for the area.
Accounts of local Aboriginal people believing the boulders to be eggs of the mythical Rainbow Serpent are incorrect.
In reality, a number of traditional
Dreaming stories (none of which are about serpents) have Karlu Karlu as their setting, hence its great importance as a sacred site. These stories are alive and well and are passed on from generation to generation of
traditional owners
Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...
. Only a handful of stories are considered suitable to tell to uninitiated visitors.
One of the main
Dreaming stories for the area which can be told to the public relates to how Karlu Karlu was created. This tradition tells of ''
Arrange
Arrange is a mythological figure from the Australian aboriginal creation myth of the Alyawarre people for Karlu Karlu. In the myth, the figure Arrange, who is also referred to as the devil man, comes from Ayleparrarntenhe. Arrange was making a ...
'', the Devil Man, who came from a hill nearby and travelled through the area. Whilst walking along, Arrange made a hair-string belt which is a kind of traditional adornment worn only by initiated men. As he was twirling the hair to make strings, he dropped clusters of hair on the ground.
The clusters turned into the big red boulders at Karlu Karlu that have become so famous today. On his way back to his hill, Arrange spat on the ground. His spit turned into the granite boulders in the central part of the reserve. Arrange finally returned to his place of origin, a hill called ''
Ayleparrarntenhe
Ayleparrarntenhe is a twin-peaked hill east of the Devil's Marbles Conservation Reserve in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the mythological home of Arrange
Arrange is a mythological figure from the Australian aboriginal creation myt ...
'' where he remains today.
Formation
![Karlu Karlu 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Karlu_Karlu_2.jpg)
The Devils Marbles constitute a
degraded nubbin.
The formation is made of
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
and are part of the top layer of a formation which penetrates the ground from below, like little geological islands in the
desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
, surrounded by large amounts of
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
. The granite was formed millions of years ago as a result of the hardening of
magma
Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...
within the Earth's crust. Thick layers of sandstone on top of the granite exerted extreme downward pressure on the granite. After some time,
tectonic
Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents ...
forces caused folding of the Earth's crust in the area, which lifted the granite and fractured the sandstone, allowing the granite to come closer to the surface. As the pressure diminished, the granite expanded causing cracks to form, and then the larger formations began to separate into big, square blocks.
The next phase of the formation of the Marbles started when the blocks were exposed to
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
.
The surface of the blocks began to decay under the influence of the water and a layer of loose material surrounded the individual blocks. When the blocks came to the surface completely, the loose material was
eroded
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is disti ...
away by water and wind.
The rounding of the granite blocks is a result of
chemical
A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wi ...
and
physical (also called mechanical) weathering.
Chemical processes cause the surface of the blocks to expand and contract, resulting in thin layers of rock coming off the boulder in a process called
exfoliation. This process rounds the granite block because the chemical processes have more effect on areas with edges. The rock begins to look like it is made of layers like an
onion
An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...
. Only the outer few centimetres are affected by chemical weathering in a process called
spheroidal weathering
Spheroidal weathering is a form of chemical weathering that affects jointed bedrock and results in the formation of concentric or spherical layers of highly decayed rock within weathered bedrock that is known as '' saprolite.'' When saprolit ...
.
The boulders are affected more deeply by the extreme temperature differences between day and night in the arid desert region where the reserve is located. During daylight hours the rocks expand slightly and after nightfall they contract slightly, repeating the process every 24 hours. These repeated cycles of expansion and contraction, called
thermal stress weathering, create cracks which sometimes go so deep that the boulder is completely split in half.
Controversy
One of the boulders was removed from the reserve in 1952 and taken to
Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
to form a memorial to
John Flynn, the founder of the
Royal Flying Doctor Service
The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an air medical service in Australia. It is a non-profit organisation that provides emergency and primary health care services for those living in rural, remote an ...
. The boulder was chosen as a symbol of his link to the
outback
The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...
, but it became the source of a lengthy controversy. The boulder had unwittingly been removed from a sacred site of the Aboriginal women of the area. Eventually, after more than 45 years of negotiations, a boulder swap was arranged and the sacred boulder was removed from the grave and returned to its original place on 4 September 1999. The grave is now marked with a similar but non-sacred boulder donated by the
Arrernte
Arrernte (also spelt Aranda, etc.) is a descriptor related to a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples from Central Australia.
It may refer to:
* Arrernte (area), land controlled by the Arrernte Council (?)
* Arrernte people, Aboriginal Australi ...
people.
See also
*
Chambers Pillar
Chambers Pillar (Aboriginal name ''Idracowra'' or ''Etikaura'') is a sandstone formation some south of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Formation
Erosion by wind and rain has left an isolated pillar of 350-million-yea ...
*
Ewaninga Rock Carvings Conservation Reserve
*
Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve
*
Rainbow Valley Conservation Reserve
Rainbow Valley Conservation Reserve is a protected area located south of Alice Springs, Northern Territory in Australia. The reserve was established in 1990 to protect the unique sandstone formations and the Aboriginal art, artifacts and sac ...
*
Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park
Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia. The park is home to both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. It is located south of Darwin by road and south-west of Alice Springs along the Stuart and Lassete ...
*
Watarrka National Park
Watarrka National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia located about 1,316 kilometres (817 miles) south of the territory capital of Darwin and southwest of Alice Springs.
It contains the much visited Kings Canyon a ...
*
West MacDonnell National Park
Tjoritja / West MacDonnell is a national park in the Northern Territory (Australia) due west of Alice Springs and 1234 km south of Darwin. It extends along the MacDonnell Ranges west of Alice Springs.
The popular extended walk, the Larapi ...
References
External links
Official site*
*
{{Protected areas of the Northern Territory, state=collapsed
Conservation reserves in the Northern Territory
Rock formations of Australia
Sacred rocks
Northern Territory places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate
Tennant Creek