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Borroloola () is a town in the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
of Australia. It is located on the
McArthur River The McArthur River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia which flows into the Gulf of Carpentaria at Port McArthur, opposite the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands. The river was named by Ludwig Leichhardt while he explored the a ...
, about upstream from the
Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria is a sea off the northern coast of Australia. It is enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea, which separates Australia and New Guinea. The northern boundary ...
.


Location

Borroloola lies on the traditional country of the
Yanyuwa people The Yanyuwa people, also spelt Yanuwa, Yanyula and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory who live in the coastal region inclusive of and opposite to the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands in the southern ...
, on the coastal plain between the
Barkly Tableland The Barkly Tableland is a region in the Central East of the Northern Territory, extending into Western Queensland. The region was named after Sir Henry Barkly. The epithet "Tableland" is inaccurate, since the region is neither elevated relative ...
s and the
Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria is a sea off the northern coast of Australia. It is enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea, which separates Australia and New Guinea. The northern boundary ...
. Rivers that run from the Tablelands
escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. Due to the similarity, the term '' scarp'' may mistakenly be incorrectly used inte ...
to the Gulf regularly flood in the
wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...
, making travel on the unsealed section of Highway One along the coastal plain to
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
impossible. The rivers of this region have carved spectacular gorges through sandstone deposits in their upper reaches. The rivers and coastal areas are host to barramundi, earning Borroloola a reputation among sports fisherman, and also to the deadly
saltwater crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats, brackish wetlands and freshwater rivers from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaland to northern Australia and Micronesia. It ha ...
. The region has little rain from May to September and is characterised by lightly treed
Savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
grasslands.


History

Garrwa (also known as Garawa) is a language of the Gulf region, taking in the localities of Borroloola and Westmoreland. The Garrwa language region takes in the landscape of the Roper Gulf Regional Council and the Doomadgee Shire Council. The Garrwa name for the town is ''Burrulula''. The 'Coast Track' follows the path of cattle drovers of the late 19th century as they moved herds from north-west Queensland to stock the new stations of the Northern Territory and the Kimberley. The drovers, in turn, followed a well-worn Aboriginal path. Tony Roberts writes how the local tribes went from almost total isolation from European Australians in 1870, to a decimated collection of displaced and defeated groups, over a single decade. Entire tribes such as the Wilangarra, including women, children and babies were massacred, and most adult males were killed, by police and quasi-police groups, and by drovers and station workers involved in the cattle droves of that era. Borroloola was declared a town on 10 September 1885. In the local Indigenous languages of Yanyuwa, Garrwa, Marra, Gudanji and Binbingka, Borroloola would be written as Burrulula. The name belongs to a small lagoon just to the east of the present day caravan park. The name originally Borrolooloo, translates borrow women, name of the lagoon and associated with the Hill Kangaroo. It was at this site that the Hill Kangaroo Ancestral Being (Nangurrbuwala) danced his ceremonies. The white-barked gum trees in the area are said to be his body decorations as they flew from his body as he danced. Other Indigenous names in the area of Borroloola are Wurrarawala (Trig Hill) this hill is associated with the backbone of the Hill Kangaroo Ancestor. Bunubunu (Rocky Creek), this creek is associated with a File Snake Ancestor. Warralungku (The McArthur River Crossing) and Mabunji, a set of specific rocks at the McArthur River Crossing that carries the imprint of the Hill Kangaroo's tail and feet. The area of Borroloola belongs to members of the Rrumburriya clan. A famous story about Borroloola concerns one (police) Corporal Power, who appealed to the Carnegie Trust for books to stock the town's library. He succeeded beyond his wildest dreams when some 3,000 volumes arrived, the courthouse their only suitable repository. Bill Harney recounts how by 1923, when he was involuntarily detained there, it had fallen into decay: he found Sue's ''Mysteries of Paris'' in shards,
Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
in the lavatory of the Macarthur Hotel, and a "splendid edition of Shakespeare" being used to light campfires.
David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...
visited Borroloola in 1963 to film what became episode 2 of 'Quest Under Capricorn', the 8th and final series of the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
's
Zoo Quest ''Zoo Quest'' is a series of multi-part nature documentaries broadcast on the BBC Television Service BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Fla ...
expedition documentaries. He interviewed Irishman Jack Mulholland, then owner of the hotel. He described having joined the library having arrived at Borroloola one rainy season some years prior and read many books, including the complete set of works by W. W. Jacobs. In 1977, the Yanyuwa people were the first to successfully lodge a claim under the new Federal ''Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976'' over Borroloola and the Pellew Islands. The claim was finally resolved in 2015. A second land claim in 2002 saw the remaining islands in the area also handed back. Yanyuwa man John Kundereri Moriarty , a recipient of the
Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...
(AM) and a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
Achievement Award, was born in Borroloola. Moriarty is a co-founder of the Moriarty Foundation, which works for the development of Aboriginal families and communities.


Demographics

At the 2016 census, Borroloola had a population of 871. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 76.1% of the population. * 89.2% of people were born in Australia and 79.6% of people spoke only English at home. * The most common responses for religion were No Religion 49.7% and Other Protestant 18.2%.


Facilities and attractions

The King Ash Bay fishing club is situated on the McArthur River about 40 km downstream (north-east) from Borroloola by river, just over 40 km from Borroloola by road. Their boat ramp provides access to the mangrove-lined waterways of the McArthur
estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...
and the
Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands The Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands is situated in the south-west corner of the Gulf of Carpentaria, off the coast of the Northern Territory, Australia. History They were named in 1802 by Matthew Flinders in honour of Edward Pellew, 1st Vi ...
in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The largely self-contained village houses a small permanent population during the wet season, but numbers swell as tourists, mostly retired and semi-retired, arrive in April and May to enjoy the mild dry season weather. The Fishing Classic competition, held over the Easter weekend each year (weather and road access permitting), marks the end of the wet season. The Borroloola Community Education Centre (CEC) contains a FAFT ('Families as First Teachers') Centre, preschool, primary school and secondary school. The Borroloola CEC has a combined staff of more than 25. The staff is composed of mostly out-of-state teachers and local indigenous teacher aides. The CEC enjoys an average attendance of 100 students but has far more listed on its rolls. Two of the problems facing the school are intermittent student attendance and a high staff turnover. The current Acting Principal is Stephen Pelizzo, who took over the school in 2017. Borroloola has a health centre that can provide basic services.


Waralungku Arts

Waralungku Arts, an Aboriginal-owned and -controlled arts centre in Borroloola, was established in 2003.


Economy

The main economic sectors in Borroloola are
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
,
mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...
, and
art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...
. The controversial McArthur River mine, one of the world's largest zinc, lead and silver mines, is located about 70 km from Borroloola. As of 2006, 42 businesses were registered in the town.


Transport

The Borroloola Airport has a 1,149-metre long runway at an elevation of 55 feet (16.8 metres). The airport can be very busy during the day and the occasional Careflight services the town during the night. One single-engine Cessna 210 aircraft from Katherine Aviation is based at the airport permanently. It frequently services the region with chartered and government flights to towns and communities such as Robinson River, McArthur River Mine and Katherine, as well as offering scenic flights to the nearby Sir Edward Pellew Islands and surrounding attractions. There are refuelling services for both Avgas and Avtur at the airport and limited parking areas. The runway is lit up at night by solar-powered lights. The Carpentaria Highway runs west from Borroloola to Daly Waters. The Savannah Way runs east from Borroloola to Normanton. Both highways are part of Australia's Highway 1, although large portions of the Savannah Way are unsealed. Four bus services operate between
Katherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...
and Borroloola weekly (two of which continue to Darwin).


Climate

Borroloola has a
tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...
with the 3 distinct seasons of the Northern Territory, the wet season, the dry season and the build-up season. Extreme temperatures have ranged from to .


See also

* Cape Crawford, Northern Territory * Numby Numby/Ngambingambi sinkhole


References

{{authority control Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory