Kakadu National Park is a
protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...
in the
Northern Territory of Australia
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 ...
, southeast of
Darwin. It is a
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
. Kakadu is also gazetted as a
locality
Locality may refer to:
* Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada
* Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England
* Locality (linguistics)
* Locality (settlement)
* Suburbs and localitie ...
, covering the same area as the national park, with 313 people recorded living there in the
2016 Australian census
The 2016 Australian census was the 17th Census in Australia, national population census held in Australia. The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of the Commonwealth of Australia was count ...
.
Kakadu National Park is located within the
Alligator Rivers
Alligator Rivers is the name of an area in an Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory of Australia, containing three rivers, the East, West, and South Alligator Rivers. It is regarded as one of the richest biological regions in Australia, ...
Region of the Northern Territory, covering an area of , extending nearly from north to south and over from east to west. It is roughly the size of
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
or one-third the size of
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
, and is the second-largest national park in Australia, after the
Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert National Park. Most of the region is owned by the
Aboriginal traditional owners
Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...
, who have occupied the land for around 60,000 years and, today, manage the park jointly with
Parks Australia
Director of National Parks is a Commonwealth corporate entity responsible for the management of a portfolio of terrestrial and marine protected areas proclaimed under the ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (''EP ...
. It is highly
ecologically
Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...
and
biologically diverse
Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
, hosting a wide range of habitats and
flora and fauna
An organism is any living thing that functions as an individual. Such a definition raises more problems than it solves, not least because the concept of an individual is also difficult. Many criteria, few of them widely accepted, have been pro ...
. It also includes a rich heritage of
Aboriginal rock art
Indigenous Australian art includes art made by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, including collaborations with others. It includes works in a wide range of media including painting on leaves, bark painting, wood carving, ro ...
, including highly significant sites, such as
Ubirr
Ubirr, once referred to as Obiri Rock, so-named by C. P. Mountford, is a rock formation within the East Alligator region of Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia, and is known for its rock art. It consists of a group of ...
. Kakadu is fully protected by the
EPBC Act
The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...
.
The
Ranger Uranium Mine site, one of the most productive
uranium mines
Uranium production is carried out in about 13 countries around the world, in 2017 producing a cumulative total of 59,462 tonnes of uranium (tU). The international producers were Kazakhstan (39%), Canada (22%), Australia (10%), Namibia (7.1%), Ni ...
in the world until it ceased operations in January 2021, is surrounded by the park.
Domestic Asian water buffalo
The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called domestic water buffalo, Asian water buffalo and Asiatic water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also kept in Italy, the Balkans ...
, which are now an established
feral
A feral (; ) animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in som ...
population and invasive environmental pests, were released into the area in the late 19th century.
Feral pigs
A feral pig is a domestic pig which has gone feral, meaning it lives in the wild. The term feral pig has also been applied to wild boars, which can interbreed with domestic pigs. They are found mostly in the Americas and Australia. Razorback a ...
,
cats
The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...
,
red foxes
The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plu ...
and
rabbits
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated form ...
are further examples of
invasive species
An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...
, all of which compete with and wreak havoc upon the sensitive, unique ecosystems of the Northern Territory, and of the whole of Australia. These species were intentionally brought to the continent by the early settlers,
pastoralists
Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The anima ...
, and
missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...
. The European presence, albeit less than in more populated regions (on the east and west coasts), was still felt. In Kakadu, missionaries established a mission at Oenpelli (present-day
Gunbalanya
Gunbalanya (also spelt Kunbarlanja, and historically referred to as Oenpelli) is a town in west Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia, about east of Darwin. The main language spoken in the community is Kunwinjku (a dialect of Bin ...
) in 1925. A few pastoralists, crocodile-hunters and
wood cutter
Lumberjack is a mostly North American term for workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees. The term usually refers to loggers in the era before 1945 in the United States, when trees were felled us ...
s also made a living in the area at various times up until the early 20th century. The area was progressively given protected status from the 1970s onward.
History
Aboriginal history
The name ''Kakadu'' probably originates from the mispronunciation of
Gaagudju, which is the name of an
Aboriginal language spoken in the north-western part of the park. Explorer
Baldwin Spencer had incorrectly ascribed the name "Kakadu tribe" to the people living in the
Alligator Rivers
Alligator Rivers is the name of an area in an Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory of Australia, containing three rivers, the East, West, and South Alligator Rivers. It is regarded as one of the richest biological regions in Australia, ...
area
Aboriginal peoples
There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
have occupied the Kakadu area continuously for around 60,000 years.
[ Kakadu National Park is renowned for the richness of its Aboriginal cultural sites. There are more than 5,000 recorded art sites illustrating Aboriginal culture over thousands of years. The archaeological sites demonstrate Aboriginal occupation for at least 40,000 and possibly up to 65,000 years.
]
Arrival of non-Indigenous people
Explorers
The Chinese, Malays and Portuguese all claim to have been the first non-Aboriginal explorers of Australia's north coast. The first surviving written account comes from the Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
. In 1623 Jan Carstenszoon
Jan Carstenszoon or more commonly Jan Carstensz In Dutch patronyms ending in -szoon were almost universally abbreviated to -sz was a 17th-century Dutch explorer. In 1623, Carstenszoon was commissioned by the Dutch East India Company to lead an e ...
made his way west across 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 ...
to what is believed to be Groote Eylandt. Abel Tasman
Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch sea explorer, seafarer and exploration, explorer, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first European to reach New ...
is the next documented explorer to visit this part of the coast in 1644. He was the first person to record European contact with Aboriginal people. Almost a century later Matthew Flinders
Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer, navigator and cartographer who led the first littoral zone, inshore circumnavigate, circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then ...
surveyed the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1802 and 1803.
Phillip Parker King
Phillip Parker King (13 December 1791 – 26 February 1856) was an early explorer of the Australian and Patagonian coasts.
Early life and education
King was born on Norfolk Island, to Philip Gidley King and Anna Josepha King ''née'' Coo ...
, an English navigator entered the Gulf of Carpentaria between 1818 and 1822. During this time he named the three Alligator Rivers after the large numbers of crocodiles
Crocodiles (family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include all extant member ...
, which he mistook for alligator
An alligator, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the genus ''Alligator'' of the Family (biology), family Alligatoridae in the Order (biology), order Crocodilia. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mis ...
s.
Ludwig Leichhardt
Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (; 23 October 1813 – ), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's disappearanc ...
was the first land-based European explorer to visit the Kakadu region, in 1845 on his route from Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...
in 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 ...
to Port Essington
Port Essington is an inlet and historic site located on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory. It was the site of an early attempt at British settlement, but now exists only as a remot ...
in the Northern Territory. He followed Jim Jim Creek down from the Arnhem Land
Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...
escarpment, then went down the South Alligator before crossing to the East Alligator and proceeding north.
In 1862, John McDouall Stuart
John McDouall Stuart (7 September 18155 June 1866), often referred to as simply "McDouall Stuart", was a Scottish explorer and one of the most accomplished of all Australia's inland explorers.
Stuart led the first successful expedition to tra ...
travelled along the south-western boundary of Kakadu but did not see any people.
The first non-Aboriginal people to visit and have sustained contact with Aboriginal people in northern Australia were the Macassans from Sulawesi
Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...
and other parts of the Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
n archipelago. They travelled to northern Australia every wet season, probably from the last quarter of the seventeenth century, in sailing boats called ''prau''s. Their main aim was to harvest trepang (sea cucumber
Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class (biology), class Holothuroidea ( ). They are benthic marine animals found on the sea floor worldwide, and the number of known holothuroid species worldwide is about 1,786, with the greatest number be ...
), turtle shell, pearl
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...
s and other prized items to trade in their homeland. Aboriginal people were involved in harvesting and processing the trepang, and in collecting and exchanging the other goods.
There is no evidence that the Macassans spent time on the coast of Kakadu but there is evidence of some contact between Macassan culture and Aboriginal people of the Kakadu area. Among the artefacts from archaeological digs in the park are glass and metal fragments that probably came from the Macassans, either directly or through trade with the Cobourg Peninsula
The Cobourg Peninsula is a peninsula located east of Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia. It is deeply indented with coves and bays, covers a land area of about , and is virtually uninhabited with a population ranging from about 20 ...
people.
The British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
attempted a number of settlements on the northern Australian coast in the early part of the nineteenth century: Fort Dundas
Fort Dundas was a short-lived British settlement on Melville Island between 1824 and 1828 in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia. It was the first of four British settlement attempts in northern Australia before Goyder's survey an ...
on Melville Island in 1824; Fort Wellington at Raffles Bay
Raffles Bay is a bay on the northern coast of the Cobourg Peninsula of the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is on the lands of the Iwaidja people.
It was named in 1818 by explorer Phillip Parker King after Sir Thomas Sta ...
in 1829; and Victoria Settlement (Port Essington
Port Essington is an inlet and historic site located on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory. It was the site of an early attempt at British settlement, but now exists only as a remot ...
) on the Cobourg Peninsula in 1838. They were anxious to secure the north of Australia before the French or Dutch, who had colonised islands further north. The British settlements were all subsequently abandoned for a variety of reasons, such as lack of water and fresh food, sickness and isolation.
Buffalo hunters
Water buffalo
The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called domestic water buffalo, Asian water buffalo and Asiatic water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also kept in Italy, the Balkans ...
had a large influence on the Kakadu region as well. By the 1880s the number of buffaloes released from early settlements had increased to such an extent that commercial harvesting of hides and horns was economically viable. The industry began on the Adelaide River, close to Darwin, and moved east to the Mary River and Alligator Rivers regions.
Most of the buffalo hunting and skin curing was done in the dry season, between June and September, when buffaloes congregated around the remaining billabong
In Australian English, a billabong ( ) is a small body of water, usually permanent. It is usually an oxbow lake caused by a change in course of a river or creek, but other types of small lakes, ponds or waterholes are also called billabongs ...
s. During the wet season hunting ceased because the ground was too muddy to pursue buffalo and the harvested hides would rot. The buffalo-hunting industry became an important employer of Aboriginal people during the dry-season months.
Missionaries
Missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...
also had a large influence on the Aboriginal people of the Alligator Rivers region, many of whom lived and were schooled at missions in their youth. Two missions were set up in the region in the early part of the century. Kapalga Native Industrial Mission was established near the South Alligator River in 1899, but lasted only four years. The Oenpelli
Gunbalanya (also spelt Kunbarlanja, and historically referred to as Oenpelli) is a town in west Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia, about east of Darwin. The main language spoken in the community is Kunwinjku (a dialect of Bin ...
Mission began in 1925, when the Church of England Missionary Society accepted an offer from the Northern Territory Administration to take over the area, which had been operated as a dairy farm. The Oenpelli Mission operated for 50 years.
Pastoralists
The pastoral industry made a cautious start in 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 ...
. Pastoral leases in the Kakadu area were progressively abandoned from 1889, because the Victoria River and 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 proved to be better pastoral regions.
In southern Kakadu, much of Goodparla and Gimbat was claimed in the mid-1870s by three pastoralists, Roderick, Travers and Sergison. The leases were subsequently passed on to a series of owners, all of whom were unable for one reason or another to make a go of it. In 1987 both stations were acquired by the Commonwealth and incorporated in Kakadu National Park.
A sawmill at Nourlangie Camp was begun by Chinese operators, probably before World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, to mill stands of cypress pine in the area. After World War II a number of small-scale ventures, including dingo shooting and trapping, brumby
A brumby is a free-roaming feral horse in Australia. Although found in many areas around the country, the best-known brumbies are found in the Australian Alps region. Today, most of them are found in the Northern Territory, with the second la ...
shooting, crocodile shooting, tourism and forestry, began.
Nourlangie Camp was again the site of a sawmill in the 1950s, until the local stands of cypress pine were exhausted. In 1958 it was converted into a safari camp for tourists. Soon after, a similar camp was started at Patonga and at Muirella Park. Clients were flown in for recreational buffalo and crocodile hunting and fishing.
Crocodile hunters often made use of the bush skills of Aboriginal people. By imitating a wallaby's tail hitting the ground, Aboriginal hunters could attract crocodiles, making it easier to shoot the animals. Using paperbark rafts, they would track the movement of a wounded crocodile and retrieve the carcass for skinning. The skins were then sold to make leather goods. Aboriginal people became less involved in commercial hunting of crocodiles once the technique of spotlight shooting at night developed. Freshwater crocodile
The freshwater crocodile (''Crocodylus johnstoni)'', also known Common name, commonly as the Australian freshwater crocodile, Johnstone's crocodile, and the freshie, is a species of crocodile native to the northern regions of Australia. Unlike ...
s have been protected by law since 1964 and 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 ...
s since 1971.
Mining
The first mineral discoveries in the Top End were associated with the construction of the Overland Telegraph
The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was an electrical telegraph system for sending messages the between Darwin, in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia, and Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Completed in 1872 (with a li ...
line between 1870 and 1872, in the Pine Creek – Adelaide River
The Adelaide River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Course and features
The river rises in the Litchfield National Park and flows generally northwards to Clarence Strait, joined by eight tributaries including the west branc ...
area. A series of short mining booms followed. The construction of the North Australia Railway
The North Australia Railway was a narrow gauge railway in the Northern Territory of Australia which ran from the territory capital of Darwin, once known as Palmerston, to Birdum, just south of Larrimah. Initially its name was the ''Palmerst ...
line (1889–1976) gave more permanency to the 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 ...
camps, and places such as Burrundie and Pine Creek became permanent settlements. Small-scale gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
mining began at Imarlkba, near Barramundi Creek, and Mundogie Hill in the 1920s and at Moline (previously called Eureka and Northern Hercules mine), south of the park, in the 1930s. The mines employed a few local Aboriginal people.
In 1953, uranium
Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
was discovered along the headwaters of the South Alligator River
Alligator Rivers is the name of an area in an Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory of Australia, containing three rivers, the East, West, and South Alligator Rivers. It is regarded as one of the richest biological regions in Australia, ...
valley. Thirteen small but rich uranium mines operated in the following decade, at their peak in 1957 employing over 150 workers. Early in the 1970s large uranium deposits were discovered at Ranger, Jabiluka and Koongarra. Following receipt of a formal proposal to develop the Ranger site, the Commonwealth Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the prime ...
initiated an inquiry into land use in the Alligator Rivers region. The Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry (known as the Fox inquiry) recommended, among other things, that mining begin at the Ranger site, that consideration be given to the future development of the Jabiluka and Koongarra sites, and that a service town be built.
Gold mining was proposed in the late 1980s at Coronation Hill (Guratba). This site had initially been excluded from the park but was added as part of stage 3. Its mining was blocked following environmental and social campaigns. Despite internal disagreement the then Prime Minister, Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. He held office as the Australian Labor Party, leader of the La ...
, vetoed mining in a Cabinet Meeting in May 1991.
In the mid 1990s a similar debate over additional uranium mining at Jabiluka was prevented by a campaign and blockade initiated by the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation.
The Ranger uranium mine closed in 2021.
Extent and features
Kakadu National Park covers an area of , extending nearly from north to south and over from east to west. It is the size of Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, about one-third the size of Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
, and nearly half the size of Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, making it the second largest national park in Australia after the Munga-Thirri–Simpson Desert National Park, which was proclaimed in November 2021.
The park includes four major river systems:
* the East Alligator River
Alligator Rivers is the name of an area in an Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory of Australia, containing three rivers, the East, West, and South Alligator Rivers. It is regarded as one of the richest biological regions in Australia, ...
* the West Alligator River
Alligator Rivers is the name of an area in an Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory of Australia, containing three rivers, the East, West, and South Alligator Rivers. It is regarded as one of the richest biological regions in Australia, ...
* the Wildman River
* the entire South Alligator River
Alligator Rivers is the name of an area in an Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory of Australia, containing three rivers, the East, West, and South Alligator Rivers. It is regarded as one of the richest biological regions in Australia, ...
Geology and landforms
Most of Kakadu was under a shallow sea approximately 140 million years ago, with the escarpment wall formed from sea cliffs and Arnhem Land from a flat plateau above the sea. The escarpment rises above the plateau and extends approximately along the eastern edge of the park and on into Arnhem Land. The escarpment varies from near vertical cliffs in the Jim Jim Falls area to isolated outliers and stepped cliffs in the North.
There are six main landforms in Kakadu National Park: the Arnhem Land plateau and escarpment complex, known as the stone country; the outliers; the lowlands; the southern hills and basins; the floodplains; and the tidal flats. Each landform has its own range of habitats. Kakadu's varied landscapes and the habitats they contain are features that contributed to its listing as a World Heritage Area.
Chasms and gorges form a network that dissects the rocky platforms on the plateau. The plateau top is a harsh, dry environment where water drains away quickly and topsoil is scarce. Sparse pockets of open forest and woodlands have developed in these areas. Creeks have carved deep gorges in the escarpment in which tall monsoon forests grow. These areas form microclimate
A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often slightly but sometimes substantially. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square m ...
s for plants and animals and often serve as a refuge during the dry season. ''Allosyncarpia ternata
''Allosyncarpia ternata'', commonly known as ''an-binik'', is a species of rainforest trees constituting part of the botanical family Myrtaceae and included in the eucalypts group. The only species in its genus, it was described in 1981 by Stan ...
'', a large shady tree found only in the Kakadu and Arnhem Land, is the dominant plant species.
The outliers are essentially pieces of the Arnhem Land plateau that have become separated from the plateau complex by erosion. They were islands in the ancient seas that once covered much of Kakadu. The gently undulating lowland plains stretch over much of the Top End. Travelling anywhere in Kakadu, you cannot help noticing the lowlands—they make up nearly 70% of the park. The soils are shallow and often overlie extensive sheets of laterite (ironstone) and a thick profile of strongly leached rocks.
During 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 ...
water carried down from the Arnhem Land plateau often overflows from creeks and rivers onto nearby floodplains. Alluvial soils carried in the floodwaters add nutrients to the floodplains. Nutrient-rich soils along with an abundance of water and sunlight make the floodplains an area of prolific plant and animal life. During the dry season the water recedes into rivers, creeks, and isolated waterholes or billabong
In Australian English, a billabong ( ) is a small body of water, usually permanent. It is usually an oxbow lake caused by a change in course of a river or creek, but other types of small lakes, ponds or waterholes are also called billabongs ...
s. Kakadu's wetlands are listed under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (the Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...
) for their outstanding ecological, botanical, zoological, and hydrological features.
The southern hills and basins cover a large area in the south of the park, including the headwaters of the South Alligator River. Rocks here have been exposed from beneath the retreating Arnhem escarpment; they are of volcanic origin and are extremely old (2500 million years). This landform is characterised by rugged strike ridges separated by alluvial flats.
Kakadu's coast and the creeks and river systems under tidal influence (extending about 100 kilometres inland) make up this landform. The shape of the estuaries and tidal flats varies considerably from the dry season to the wet season. During the dry season tidal action deposits silt along the river beds and banks. During the wet season the river beds are eroded by the floodwaters and large quantities of fresh and saline water flow out across the tidal flats, where silt is deposited. Large silt loads are also carried out to sea, some of the silt being deposited as a nutrient rich layer on the sea floor, contributing to the muddy waters that characterise Kakadu's coastline.
The estuaries and tidal flats are home to an array of plants and animals adapted to living in the oxygen-deficient saline mud. The dominant habitats are mangrove swamps and samphire flats. Where freshwater springs occur along the coasts and river banks, isolated pockets of coastal monsoon rainforests form.
Protection, ownership and management
The park was declared as a protected area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...
in several stages starting in the 1970s.[
The cultural and natural values of Kakadu National Park were recognised internationally when the ]Park
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...
was placed on the 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 ...
World Heritage List. This is an international register of properties that are recognised as having outstanding cultural or natural values of international significance.
Fight for Kakadu
Kakadu was proclaimed a National Park in several stages between 1979 and 1991. These parts also were progressively added to its World Heritage Status as those additions were made. The first was Stage 1 in 1981, then in 1987 (Stages 1 and 2), in 1992 (Stages 1, 2 and 3).
Between 1988-1991 an exclusion zone to allow exploration and mining, particularly of gold, at Coronation Hill and El Sherana by BHP
BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria.
As of 2024, BHP was the world� ...
existed. Groups from environmental, social and indigenous perspectives opposed the proposal. Miners and some economists supported it.
In Victoria the Kakadu Action Group (KAG) was formed by Lindsay Mollison at the Melbourne offices of the Australian Conservation Foundation
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) is Australia's national environmental organisation, launched in 1965 in response to a proposal by the World Wide Fund for Nature for a more co-ordinated approach to sustainability.
One high-profi ...
where regular meetings were held. The Group held public meetings to encourage support for opposition to the proposal. Mollison also participated by contributing and rebutting letters to the "Letters to the Editor
A letter to the editor (LTE) is a letter sent to a publication about an issue of concern to the reader. Usually, such letters are intended for publication. In many publications, letters to the editor may be sent either through conventional mai ...
" of The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
newspaper over the several years. The organisation was being surveilled by the Australian Government with archives of its meetings still held secretly by the Government (due for release in 2026).
In a hearts and mind campaign, including KAG's contributions, the excluded sections within the proposed stage 3 were progressively decreased in size and were eventually completely removed after the mining proposal was ultimately vetoed at a Cabinet meeting by the then Prime Minister, Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. He held office as the Australian Labor Party, leader of the La ...
, in May 1991. Those actions were important in his being replaced later that year. The area was added to Kakadu National Park as part of its stage 3 inclusions in 1992. The activities of the Kakadu Action Group during these years contributed to mining being banned and the areas being added to the Park.
However, a separate exclusion zone at Jabiluka still remained. In this instance the proposal was to mine uranium. This was finally ruled out and this part of Kakadu was added to the Park in 1996. The precedents set with Coronation Hill were important in that decision. Local First Nations Gaagudju man Big Bill Neidjie
Big Bill Neidjie ( – 23 May 2002), nicknamed "Kakadu Man", was the last surviving speaker of the Gaagudju language, an Aboriginal Australian language from northern Kakadu, after which Kakadu National Park is named. He was an elder of the ...
was an important leader in the campaign against the proposed Jabiluka mine and the inclusion of the area in the park.
In 2011 the Koongarra area, where there remained a proposal for another uranium mine, was added to the World Heritage Region.
Park management
The Kakadu National Park is proclaimed under the ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...
'' (the EPBC Act) and is managed through a joint management arrangement between the Aboriginal traditional owners and the Director of National Parks. The Director manages Commonwealth national parks through Parks Australia
Director of National Parks is a Commonwealth corporate entity responsible for the management of a portfolio of terrestrial and marine protected areas proclaimed under the ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (''EP ...
. Parks Australia and the Aboriginal traditional owners of Kakadu are committed to the principle of joint management of the park and arrangements to help this happen are highlighted in Kakadu's Plan of Management.
The EPBC Act provides for boards of management to be established for parks on Aboriginal land. The Kakadu Board of Management, which has an Aboriginal majority (ten out of fifteen members), representing the Aboriginal traditional owners of land in the park, was established in 1989. The Board determines policy for managing the park and is responsible, along with the Director, for preparing plans of management for the park. The Plan of Management is the main policy document for the park and strives to balance strategic or long-term goals and tactical or day to day goals.
Day-to-day management of Kakadu is carried out by people employed by Parks Australia, which is a branch of the Australian Government's Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Approximately one-third of the staff in Kakadu are Aboriginal people.
Kakadu National Park re-introduced a park use fee from April 2010, to help manage the natural and cultural values of the park environment and improve visitor services.
Aboriginal land ownership
Approximately half of the land in Kakadu is Aboriginal land under the ''Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976
The ''Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976'' (ALRA) is Australian federal government legislation that provides the basis upon which Aboriginal Australian people in the Northern Territory can claim rights to land based on tradi ...
''. Most of the remaining land was under native title claim by Aboriginal people for several decades until March 2022, under four different claims. On 24 March 2022 a ceremony took place today to mark the formal handback by Minister for Indigenous Affairs Ken Wyatt
Kenneth George Wyatt (born 4 August 1952) is an Australian former politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives from 2010 to 2022, representing the Division of Hasluck for the Liberal Party of ...
of nearly half of the park to Aboriginal traditional owners. These are the Limingan/ Minitja, Murumburr, Karndidjbal, Yulhmanj, Wurngomgu, Bolmo, Wurrkbarbar, Madjba, Uwinymil, Bunidj, Djindibi, Mirrar Kundjeyhmi and Dadjbaku peoples. The areas of the park that are owned by Aboriginal people are leased by the traditional owners
Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...
to the Director of National Parks
Director of National Parks is a Commonwealth corporate entity responsible for the management of a portfolio of terrestrial and marine protected areas proclaimed under the ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (''EPB ...
to be managed as a national park.
Climate
Kakadu is located in the tropics, between 12° and 14° south of the Equator
The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...
. The climate is monsoonal, characterised by two main seasons: the dry season
The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...
and 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 ...
. The "build up" describes the transition between the dry and the wet. During the dry season (from April/May to September), dry southerly and easterly trade winds predominate. Humidity is relatively low and rain is unusual. At Jabiru, the average maximum temperature for June–July is 32 °C. During the "build up" (October to December) conditions can be extremely uncomfortable with high temperatures and high humidity. However, "build up" storms are impressive and lightning strikes are frequent. In fact, the Top End of Australia records more lightning strikes per year than any other place on earth. At Jabiru the average maximum temperature for October is 37.5 °C.
The wet season (January to March/April) is characterised by warm temperatures and rain. Most of the rain is associated with monsoonal troughs formed over Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
, although occasionally tropical cyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...
s produce intense heavy rain over localised areas. At Jabiru, the average maximum temperature for January is 33 °C. Annual rainfall in Kakadu National Park ranges from 1,565 mm in Jabiru to 1,300 mm in the Mary River region.
Most non-Aboriginal people really only refer to the rain and dry seasons, but the Bininj/Mungguy people identify as many as six seasons in the Kakadu region:
* Kunumeleng – mid-October to late December, pre-monsoon storm season with hot weather and building thunderstorms in the afternoons
* Kudjewk – from January to March, monsoon season with thunderstorms, heavy rain, and flooding; the heat and humidity generate an explosion of plant and animal life
* Bangkerreng – April, the "knock 'em down storm" season where floodwater recedes but violent, windy storms knock down grasses
* Yekke – from May to mid-June, relatively cool with low humidity, the Aboriginal people historically started burning the woodlands in patches to "clean the country" and encourage new growth for grazing animals
* Wurrkeng – from mid-June to mid-August, the cold weather season with low humidity; most creeks stop flowing and the floodplains quickly dry out
* Kurrung – from mid-August to mid-October, hot dry weather with ever-shrinking billabong
In Australian English, a billabong ( ) is a small body of water, usually permanent. It is usually an oxbow lake caused by a change in course of a river or creek, but other types of small lakes, ponds or waterholes are also called billabongs ...
s.
Flora and fauna
Kakadu is ecologically
Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...
and biologically diverse
Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
.
Flora
Kakadu's flora is among the richest in northern Australia
The unofficial geographic term Northern Australia includes those parts of Queensland and Western Australia north of latitude 26th parallel south, 26° and all of the Northern Territory. Those local government areas of Western Australia and Q ...
with more than 1700 plant species
recorded which is a result of the park's geological, landform and habitat diversity. Kakadu is also considered to be one of the most weed free national parks in the world.
The distinctly different geographical areas of Kakadu have their own specialised flora. The environment referred to as the "Stone Country" features "resurrection grasses" that are able to cope with extreme heat and long dry spells followed by periods of torrential rain. Monsoon forests often develop in the cool moist gorges dissecting the stone country. The southern hills and basins support several endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
plants that are only found in Kakadu such as '' Eucalyptus koolpinensis'' near Jarrangbarnmi (Koolpin Gorge). Lowland areas form a large proportion of Kakadu National Park and are mainly covered in eucalypt-dominated open woodland with the ground layer consisting of a large range of grasses including spear grass Spear grass or speargrass is the common name of numerous herbaceous plants worldwide including:
Poaceae (grasses)
*'' Aciphylla'' spp.
*''Aristida'' spp.
*''Heteropogon contortus''
*''Imperata cylindrica''
*'' Piptochaetium''
*''Poa'' spp.
*''Stipa ...
, sedges and wildflowers. The Kakadu plum, '' Terminalia ferdinandiana'', is commonly found in the area.
The floodplain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...
s, which are inundated for several months each year, feature sedges such as spike rush as well patches of freshwater mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...
s (itchy tree), pandanus
''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with about 578 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. Common names include pandan, screw palm and screw pine. The genus is classified ...
and paper bark trees (Melaleuca
''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles, bottlebrushes or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They ...
). Varieties of water lilies
''Water Lilies'' ( ) is a series of approximately 250 oil paintings by French Impressionist Claude Monet (1840–1926). The paintings depict his flower garden at his home in Giverny, and were the main focus of his artistic production during ...
, such as the blue, yellow and white snowflake, are commonly found in these areas. Estuaries and tidal flats are populated with varieties of mangroves (39 of the 47 Northern Territory species of mangrove occur in Kakadu) that are important for stabilising the coastline. Mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...
s serve as feeding and breeding grounds for many fish species including the barramundi
The barramundi (''Lates calcarifer''), Asian sea bass, or giant sea perch (also known as dangri, apahap or siakap) is a species of catadromous fish in the family Latidae of the order Carangiformes. The species is widely distributed in the I ...
.
On the tidal flats behind the mangroves, hardy succulents (samphire
Samphire is a name given to a number of succulent salt-tolerant plants (halophytes) that tend to be associated with water bodies.
* Rock samphire ('' Crithmum maritimum'') is a coastal species with white flowers that grows in Ireland, the Uni ...
), grasses and sedges grow. Isolated pockets of monsoon forest grow along the coast and river banks. These forests contain several impressive trees, among them the banyan
A banyan, also spelled banian ( ), is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adjacent prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as ...
fig, which can be recognised by its large, spreading aerial roots, and the yellow-flowered kapok bush or cotton tree, '' Cochlospermum fraseri'', whose pods split to release cotton-like material.
Fauna
There is a remarkable variety and concentration of wildlife, including:
* over 280 bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
species
* roughly 60 mammal
A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
species
* over 50 freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...
species
* over 10,000 insect
Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
species
* over 1,600 plant
Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...
species
* some 117 species of reptiles
Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...
The diverse environments of Kakadu National Park supports a great array of animals, a number of which have adapted to particular habitats. Some animals in the park are rare, endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
, vulnerable or endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
. Responding to the extreme weather conditions experienced in the park, many animals are active only at particular times of the day or night or at particular times of the year.
File:Black Wallaroo Nourlangie Rock in Kakadu NP.jpg, Black wallaroo
The black wallaroo (''Osphranter bernardus''), also known as Woodward's wallaroo, is a species of macropod restricted to a small, mountainous area in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia, between South Alligator River and Nabarlek. It cl ...
s at Nourlangie Rock
File:Antilopine Kangaroo Kakadu.jpg, Agile wallaby in grassland at Kakadu National Park
File:Petrogale Brachyotis.jpg, Short-eared rock-wallaby in Kakadu
File:Plumed Whistling Ducks (Dendrocygna eytoni) -5 walking.jpg, Plumed whistling ducks
File:Kakadu 3541.jpg, Black-necked stork
The black-necked stork (''Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus'') is a tall long-necked wading bird in the stork family. It is a resident species across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia with a disjunct population in Australia. It lives in wetla ...
Kakadu National Park
File:Kakadu Brolga and Pied Geese.jpg, Brolga and magpie geese
File:Saltwater croc kakadu.jpg, 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 ...
File:Anhinga novaehollandiae.jpg, Australian darter
The Australasian darter or Australian darter (''Anhinga novaehollandiae'') is a species of bird in the darter family, Anhingidae. It is found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. It weighs around 2.6 kg and spans in length.
Taxon ...
File:Great-billed Heron Kakadu BPS IMG 4036.jpg, Great-billed Heron in Ngurrungurrudjba, Kakadu National Park
File:Black Neck Stork Kakadu 2025 BPS.jpg, Black-necked Stork
The black-necked stork (''Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus'') is a tall long-necked wading bird in the stork family. It is a resident species across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia with a disjunct population in Australia. It lives in wetla ...
in Ngurrungurrudjba, Kakadu National Park
Mammals
About 74 mammal
A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...
species—marsupials and placental mammals—have been recorded in the park. Most of them inhabit the open forest and woodlands and are nocturnal
Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite.
Nocturnal creatur ...
, making it difficult to see them. Others, such as wallabies
A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...
and kangaroo
Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...
s (macropods, 8 species), are active in the cooler parts of the day and are easier to see.
Among the larger more common species are dingo
The dingo (either included in the species ''Canis familiaris'', or considered one of the following independent taxa: ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage ...
es, antilopine kangaroo
The antilopine kangaroo (''Osphranter antilopinus''), also known as the antilopine wallaroo or the antilopine wallaby, is a species of Macropodidae, macropod found in northern Australia: in Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, the Top End of the N ...
s, black wallaroo
The black wallaroo (''Osphranter bernardus''), also known as Woodward's wallaroo, is a species of macropod restricted to a small, mountainous area in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia, between South Alligator River and Nabarlek. It cl ...
s, agile wallabies, and short-eared rock wallabies. Smaller common mammals are 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 ...
s, brush-tailed phascogale
The brush-tailed phascogale (''Phascogale tapoatafa''), also known by its Australian native name tuan, the common wambenger, the black-tailed mousesack or the black-tailed phascogale, is a rat-sized arboreal carnivorous marsupial of the family ...
s, brown bandicoots, black-footed tree-rats, and black flying foxes. Dugong
The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest ...
s are found in the coastal waters. However, recent surveys have revealed a disturbing decline of nearly all mammal species throughout Kakadu, including once common and widespread species such as northern tart bats.
Birds
Kakadu's many habitats support more than 280 species of birds, or about one-third of Australia's bird species. Some birds range over a number of habitats, but many are found in only one environment.
Some 11,246 km2 of Kakadu's 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 ...
habitats has been 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 i ...
as an Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
(IBA) because it supports populations of the endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...
Gouldian finch
The Gouldian finch (''Chloebia gouldiae''), also known as the Gould's finch or the rainbow finch, is a colourful passerine bird that is native to Australia.
Taxonomy
The Gouldian finch was described by British ornithologist John Gould in 1844 ...
, the vulnerable red goshawk
The red goshawk (''Erythrotriorchis radiatus'') is a bird of prey found in Australia. It is found mainly in the savanna woodlands of northern Australia, particularly near watercourses. It takes a broad range of live prey, mostly birds.
Taxonomy
...
, the near threatened
A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...
partridge pigeon and chestnut-backed button-quail, and the restricted-range hooded parrot and rainbow pitta
The rainbow pitta (''Pitta iris'') is a small passerine bird in the Pitta (genus), pitta Family (biology), family, Pitta, Pittidae, endemism, endemic to northern Australia, most closely related to the superb pitta of Manus Island. It has a velv ...
. The Kakadu Savanna IBA also supports varied lorikeet
The varied lorikeet (''Psitteuteles versicolor''), is a species of parrot in the family Psittacidae that is endemic to the northern coastal regions of Australia. It is the only species in the genus ''Psitteuteles''.
Taxonomy
The first depictio ...
s, northern rosellas, silver-crowned friarbirds, white-gaped, yellow-tinted, white-lined, bar-breasted and banded honeyeater
The banded honeyeater (''Cissomela pectoralis'') is a species of honeyeater in the family Meliphagidae with a characteristic narrow black band across its white underparts. It is Endemism, endemic to tropical northern Australia.
Taxonomy and sys ...
s, sandstone shrike-thrushes, white-browed robins, canary white-eyes, and Masked finch, masked and long-tailed finches.
Waterbirds include large populations of Magpie goose, magpie geese, wandering whistling ducks, green pygmy goose, green pygmy geese, comb-crested jacana, black-necked stork, Australian pelicans, little black cormorant, Australian darter, nankeen night herons, pied herons, black bittern, sarus crane and brolga.
Reptiles
Some 117 species of reptiles
Reptiles, as commonly defined, are a group of tetrapods with an ectothermic metabolism and Amniotic egg, amniotic development. Living traditional reptiles comprise four Order (biology), orders: Testudines, Crocodilia, Squamata, and Rhynchocepha ...
have been recorded in Kakadu. Being cold-blooded, these animals rely on heat from an external source such as the sun to regulate their body temperature. This is not to say that reptiles are active only during the day; in fact, few snakes can withstand Kakadu's midday heat and most are active at night. Since the arrival of the cane toad in the park, many populations of reptiles have crashed. Reptiles which were once a common sight such as large goannas, eastern brown snakes, Acanthophis, death adders and many others were rare by 2010. The iconic frill-necked lizard has also significantly dropped in numbers.
Two species of crocodile occur in Kakadu: the freshwater crocodile (''Crocodylus johnstonii'') and the estuarine, or 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 ...
(''C. porosus''). Freshwater crocodiles are easily identified by their narrow snout and a single row of four large boney lumps called "scutes" immediately behind the head. Estuarine crocodiles do not have these scutes and their snout is broader. The maximum size for a freshwater crocodile is 3 metres, whereas a saltwater can exceed 6 metres.
On October 22, 2002, a twenty-four-year-old female Germans, German tourist was killed by a saltwater crocodile assault while swimming in Sandy billabong with other foreign backpackers including her sister.
Frogs
Kakadu's 25 frog species are extremely well adapted to the region's climatic extremes. Many remain dormant during rainless times. With the onset of the wet season, when the billabong
In Australian English, a billabong ( ) is a small body of water, usually permanent. It is usually an oxbow lake caused by a change in course of a river or creek, but other types of small lakes, ponds or waterholes are also called billabongs ...
s and swamps start to fill with water, the night air is filled with the sounds of frogs such as the northern bullfrog and the marbled frog. As the water builds up, frogs and tadpoles have an abundance of food, such as algae, vegetation, insects, dragonfly nymphs, and other tadpoles. Not all of Kakadu's frogs are found in the wetlands: many live in the lowland forests.
Fish
Fifty-three species of freshwater fish have been recorded in Kakadu's waterways; eight of them have a restricted distribution. In the Magela Creek system alone, 32 species have been found. In comparison, the Murray–Darling river system, the most extensive in Australia, now supports only 27 native fish species. Although introduced fish have been found in most Australian waterways, none have been recorded in the park.
Insects
Kakadu supports more than 10,000 species of insect. Among the insect groups are grasshoppers, beetles, flies, termites, butterflies and moths, bees, wasps, ants, dragonflies and damselflies, caddisflies, non-biting midges and mayflies. The great variety of insects is a result of the varied habitats and relatively high temperatures throughout the year.
Perhaps the most striking insect-created features in the park are the termite mounds. The mounds in the southern part of the park are particularly large and impressive. Leichhardt's grasshopper, in colours of orange-red, blue and black, is perhaps the most spectacular insect found in Kakadu. It is also found on the Arnhem Land plateau and in Gregory National Park.
Environmental problems and threats
Kakadu has seen several invasive species that threaten the native habitat, particularly in recent decades. Introduced fauna including the water buffalo, Sus scrofa, wild pig and more recently, the Cane toads in Australia, cane toad have damaged habitat. Invasive weeds include ''Mimosa in Australia, Mimosa pigra'', which covers of the Top End, including vast areas of Kakadu, invasive para grass (''Urochloa mutica'') displaces the native food of much of Kakadu's birdlife. ''Salvinia molesta'' has infested the Magela floodplain. Brumby, Brumbies also inhabit areas of the National Park, including Yellow Water (Ngurrungurrudjba). The controversial Ranger Uranium mine, one of the world's most productive uranium mines, is surrounded by the park, and presents a significant management challenge both now and into the future, with the question of how to safely contain low-level radioactive wastewater. The escape of contaminated wastewater into the Park's wetlands, which may become more likely under climate change–induced rainfall events, would have a devastating impact on the Park's biodiversity.
Aboriginal rock art sites
The art sites of Ubirr
Ubirr, once referred to as Obiri Rock, so-named by C. P. Mountford, is a rock formation within the East Alligator region of Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia, and is known for its rock art. It consists of a group of ...
, Burrunguy (Nourlangie Rock) and Nanguluwur are internationally recognised as outstanding examples of Aboriginal rock art. Some of the paintings are up to 20,000 years old, which makes them one of the longest historical records of any group of people on earth. The local Aboriginal word for rock art is "kunbim". These sites are found in rocky outcrops that have afforded shelter to Aboriginal inhabitants for thousands of years. The painting in these rock shelters were done for various reasons:
* Hunting – animals were often painted to increase their abundance and to ensure a successful hunt by placing people in touch with the spirit of the animal
* Religious significance – at some sites paintings depict aspects of particular ceremonies
* Stories and learning – stories associated with the Creation Ancestors, who gave shape to the world were painted
* Sorcery and magic – paintings could be used to manipulate events and influence people's lives
* Fun - for play and practice.
Ubirr is a group of rock outcrops in the northeast of the park, on the edge of the Nadab floodplain. There several large rock overhangs that would have provided excellent shelter to Aboriginal people over thousands of years. Ubirr's proximity to the East Alligator River and Nadab floodplains means that food would have been abundant and this is reflected in much of the rock art here. Animals depicted in the main gallery include barramundi
The barramundi (''Lates calcarifer''), Asian sea bass, or giant sea perch (also known as dangri, apahap or siakap) is a species of catadromous fish in the family Latidae of the order Carangiformes. The species is widely distributed in the I ...
, catfish, Mullet (fish), mullet, goanna, Chelodina, snake-necked turtle, pig-nosed turtle, rock-haunting ringtail possum, and wallaby and thylacine (Tasmanian tiger).
There are also images of the Rainbow Serpent said to have created much of the landscape as well as mischievous Mimi spirits and the story of the Namarrgarn Sisters. Many stories connected to Aboriginal rock are highly complex and linked to other stories. Often the true meanings have been lost, but they all have a purpose which is usually to serve as a lesson or a warning to the young or to those passing through the area.
Burrunguy, formally called Nourlangie Rock, is located in an outlying formation of the Arnhem Land Escarpment. There are a number of shelters in amongst this large outcrop linked by paths and stairways. The shelters contain several impressive paintings that deal with creation ancestors. Some of the stories connected to these artworks are known only to certain Aboriginal people and remain secret.
Anbangbang Billabong lies in the shadow of Nourlangie Rock and is inhabited by a wide range of wildlife which would have sustained traditional Aboriginal people well.
Nanguluwur is a small art site, near Nourlangie, which displays several rock art styles. These include hand stencils, dynamic figures in large head-dresses carrying spears and boomerangs, representations of Namandi spirits and mythical figures, including Alkajko, a female spirit with four arms and horn-like protuberances. There is also an interesting example of "contact art" depicting a two-masted sailing ship with anchor chain and a dinghy trailing behind.
Human impacts
Human impacts during the 19th and 20th century have been significant. Introduction of domestic Asian water buffalo from Southeast Asia has resulted in damage to the fragile floodplains and wetlands. Since then, buffalo have largely been eradicated from the area so the land is now rehabilitating itself. Crocodile hunting which has been banned since 1972 made a huge impact on crocodile populations. In the 40 or so years that they have been protected, however the crocodile population has recovered so successfully that some consider there to be an over population.
Mining has an obvious impact on the landscape, but only one operational uranium mine ( Ranger) remains. Mine operators are required to completely rehabilitate the area once the operation is wound down. Some small scale logging occurred in the early part of the 20th century, but little evidence of this remains. Tourism represents a significant human impact to Kakadu National Park with hundreds of thousands of visitors arriving annually. Infrastructure such as roads, tracks, interpretive signage and shelter, accommodation, telecommunications and other services must be provided to support this activity.
Fire management
Fire is part of the landscape of Kakadu National Park, as the park contains large areas of woodland and grassy plains that are subject to long periods of dry hot weather. The flora of the region has adapted to frequent fires. Fires in northern Australia are less threatening than in southern Australia as many of the trees are largely fire resistant while other plants simply regenerate very quickly.
Controlled burn, Controlled burning is practised by the national park in consultation with traditional owners who have used fire as a land management tool for thousands of years. Fire is an important hunting tool for Aboriginal people using it to flush out prey. The other benefit is that once the fire has gone through an area the tender shoots of the fast regenerating grasses attract wallabies into a clearly defined area. Birds of prey such as whistling kites also rely on fire to flush out small animals and are usually found in large numbers circling a fire front. Other species such as white-throated grasswrens have declined because of too many fires. Aboriginal people understand that fire is necessary to "clean up" the landscape and believe that many small fires are preferable to one large fire.
Tourism
Kakadu National Park is a major tourist attraction in Australia's north. Visitation numbers in 2005 were 202,000, and in 2022 there were 208,056 visitors to the park. Kakadu's dramatic landscape, Aboriginal cultural significance and diverse and abundant wildlife are what visitors are drawn to. There are many beautiful waterfalls and gorges within the park that are popular with visitors, such as Maguk, Gunlom Falls, Twin Falls, Australia, Twin Falls and Jim Jim Falls.
Kakadu National Park has some of the best examples of Aboriginal rock art in Australia. The sites of Nourlangie and Ubirr are among the most visited locations in the park. It is possible to view some of Kakadu's diverse wildlife at places like Yellow Water Billabong, Cooinda on board a wildlife cruise or at Mamukala Wetlands or Anbangbang Billabong. The Kakadu region is one of the world's best for bird watching as approximately 30 percent of Australia's bird species can be seen here.
Large 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 ...
s are also commonplace and visitors are likely to see them at Yellow Water and East Alligator River, so it was no coincidence that the ''"Crocodile" Dundee'' films were shot here. The significance of these creatures to the local aboriginal people, as well as the success of the film, inspired the design of the Gagudju Crocodile Hotel in Jabiru. Visitors are urged to exercise caution around crocodiles as they have been responsible for a number of fatal attacks. Recreational fishing is a popular activity inside Kakadu National Park. The main target species is barramundi
The barramundi (''Lates calcarifer''), Asian sea bass, or giant sea perch (also known as dangri, apahap or siakap) is a species of catadromous fish in the family Latidae of the order Carangiformes. The species is widely distributed in the I ...
, and the most popular locations are Yellow Water, the South Alligator and the East Alligator River. Hunting is not allowed in Kakadu National Park.
There are several accommodation options in the park, mostly found in the town of Jabiru, as well as a range of services to cater to visitors' needs. Visitors can travel through Kakadu National Park with a recognised tour operator, or they can drive themselves. Many of the park's sites are accessible by standard two-wheel-drive vehicles, but areas like Twin and Jim Jim Falls and Gunlom require four-wheel-drive vehicles. Visitors can experience Kakadu National Park via the Nature's Way tourism drive, which is a loop from Darwin to Jabiru then onto Katherine, Northern Territory, Katherine and back to Darwin covering approximately 900 km.
General facilities
Kakadu National Park is linked to Darwin by the Arnhem Highway and to Pine Creek and Katherine by the Kakadu Highway. Both roads are sealed all weather roads although they may be cut off periodically during periods of heavy rain.
The town of Jabiru has several accommodation options, a service station, police, a medical clinic and a shopping centre with a range of outlets. The town was built for the uranium mine that was established prior to the founding of Kakadu National Park and provides infrastructure for the mine's workforce as well as the national park activities and tourism. Jabiru has a small airport from which scenic flights operate daily.
Other small tourism centres such as Cooinda and South Alligator provide limited facilities. Cooinda, south of Jabiru on the Kakadu Highway is the site of Gagudju Lodge Cooinda, Yellow Water Cruises and the Warradjan Cultural Centre. Fuel and limited provisions are available at Cooinda and there is also a small airstrip for scenic flights. South Alligator approximately west of Jabiru on the Arnhem Highway includes a hotel and service station. The Border Store near Ubirr Art Site and Cahills Crossing, north of Jabiru, is a general store.
Camp sites
There is a wide variety of designated camping sites throughout the park. Jabiru, Cooinda and South Alligator all have commercial camping areas and are in close proximity to most of the important natural attractions in these areas. Some of the park's campsites charge a nominal fee as these have shower and toilet facilities, others are free, however they have limited or no facilities. A list of the sites can be obtained from the Kakadu National Park's Glenn Murcutt-designed Bowali Visitor Centre or from their website.
Governance and demographics
On 4 April 2007, the land occupied by the national park was gazetted by the Northern Territory Government as a locality
Locality may refer to:
* Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada
* Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England
* Locality (linguistics)
* Locality (settlement)
* Suburbs and localitie ...
with the name Kakadu. The locality is part of the local government area of the West Arnhem Region.
The 2016 Australian census
The 2016 Australian census was the 17th Census in Australia, national population census held in Australia. The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of the Commonwealth of Australia was count ...
which was conducted in August 2016 reports that Kakadu had 313 people living within its boundaries.
See also
* Protected areas of the Northern Territory
*Protected areas managed by the Australian government
References
Further reading
* Jones, Rhys, and J. Allen. ''Archaeological Research in Kakadu National Park''. [Canberra, A.C.T]: Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, 1985.
* Lawrence, David. ''Kakadu The Making of a National Park''. Carlton South, Vic: Miegunyah Press, 2000.
* Morris, Ian. ''Kakadu National Park, Australia''. Steve Parish natural history guide. Archerfield, Qld: Steve Parish Pub, 2001.
* Morse, John, John King, and Jennifer Bartlett. ''Kakadu, Walking to the Future ... Together A Shared Vision for Tourism in Kakadu National Park''. Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia, 2005.
* Petty, Aaron M, Patricia A Werner, Caroline E R Lehmann, Jan E Riley, Daniel S Banfai, and Louis P Elliott. 2007. "Savanna Responses to Feral Buffalo in Kakadu National Park, Australia". ''Ecological Monographs''. 77, no. 3: 441.
* Shon S. Schooler, Buck Salau, Mic H. Julien & Anthony R. Ives. ''Alternative stable states explain unpredictable biological control of Salvinia molesta in Kakadu''. ''Nature'' 470, 86–89 (3 February 2011). .
* Van Dam, R. A., D. Walden, and G. W. Begg. ''A Preliminary Risk Assessment of Cane Toads in Kakadu National Park''. Supervising scientist report, 164. Darwin, N.T.: Supervising Scientist, 2002.
* Woinarski J.C.Z., Milne D.J. and Wanganeen G. (2001) Changes in mammal populations in relatively intact landscape of Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia. ''Austral Ecology'' 26: 360–370.
External links
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Dept of Ag, Water & the Environment Kakadu National Park website
UNESCO information on Kakadu National Park
Kakadu National Park
{{Authority control
Kakadu National Park,
Arnhem Land
Arnhem Land tropical savanna
Australian National Heritage List
Important Bird Areas of the Northern Territory
National parks managed by the Australian government
National parks of the Northern Territory
Protected areas established in 1979
Ramsar sites in Australia
Rock art in Australia
Rock formations of Australia
World Heritage Sites in Australia
1979 establishments in Australia