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Kununurra is a town in far northern
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
located at the eastern extremity of the
Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...
approximately from the border with 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 ...
. Kununurra was initiated to service the Ord River Irrigation Scheme. It is located on the traditional lands of the Miriwoong, an
Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...
people. Kununurra is the largest town in Western Australia north of Broome, with the closest town being
Wyndham Wyndham may refer to: *Wyndham (name), a surname and given name Places Australia *City of Wyndham, an LGA (local government area) in Victoria * Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley, a LGA in Western Australia * Wyndham Important Bird Area, Western Aust ...
, away. Kununurra is from
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
via the
Great Northern Highway Great Northern Highway is an Australian highway that links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its northernmost port, Wyndham. With a length of almost , it is the longest highway in Australia, with the majority included as part of the ...
. The town is situated among the scenic hills and ranges of the far north-east Kimberley region, having an abundance of fresh water, conserved by the Ord River Diversion dam and the main Ord River Dam. The tropical agriculture crops grown in the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA) have changed over the years. Tourism and mining have also become important to the local economy.


History

The history of the idea of agriculture on the Ord River dates from the 19th century. On the first pastoral lease map (held by WA State Records Office) for the area dated 1887, it shows the northern bank between Wyndham and Kununurra, near House Roof Hill was held as a "Concession for Sugar Cane Planting," although it was never taken up. The idea of tropical agriculture on the Ord was discussed much from the earliest dates, but the land remained under pastoral lease until 1960. Kununurra was built on land resumed from
Ivanhoe Station Ivanhoe or Ivanhoe Station is a pastoral lease and cattle station located just north of Kununurra in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Founded in 1893 by the Durack brothers, station is presently owned by the Consolidated Pastoral C ...
pastoral lease before 1961, as the town for the Ord River Irrigation Area which started as the Ord River Project or Ord Scheme, with survey work starting in 1959.
Lake Kununurra Lake Kununurra is a freshwater man-made reservoir located in the Ord River valley. The lake was formed in 1963 by the construction of the Ord Diversion Dam in Kununurra, northern Western Australia, which was built to supply water to the Ord Ri ...
is the flooded section of the
Ord River The Ord River is a river in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river's catchment covers . The lower Ord River and the confluence with Cambridge Gulf create the most northern estuarine environment in ...
valley that was formerly known as Carlton Reach, which was at times a waterhole held back by the natural rock barrier known as Bandicoot Bar. At this site in 1959 drilling and blasting marked the start of construction of the Ord River Diversion Dam, which is anchored down onto the Bandicoot Bar. This dam with twenty radial flood gates was almost completed when visited by
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
and
Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...
in March 1963, then later completed and officially opened by then Prime Minister,
Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...
on 20 July 1963 when he said that Kununurra and the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA) is "... the most exciting place in Australia". As well as the town site some ORIA farmers live on their farms; however the initial idea of the Ord Scheme was for "closer settlement" to allow farmers the convenience of living in the town and since the start of the first Pilot Farm in 1960 most farmers in the valley had lived in the town. However, many people now live on their irrigation farms. Other agricultural and residential localities exist within a radius of the town, including various Aboriginal Communities, Crossing Falls, the Riverfarm Road and Packsaddle farm areas, and the Frank Wise Institute of Tropical Agriculture, formerly known as the Kimberley Research Station (KRS). KRS started in 1945 from the original Carlton Reach Research Station, set up by Kimberley Michael Durack with help from his brother William Aiden Durack in 1941, and support from the WA Department of Agriculture and the WA Public Works Department, being the first serious attempt at tropical agriculture on the banks of the Ord River. It was also in 1941 that
Russell Dumas Sir Russell John Dumas KBE, CMG (17 January 1887 – 10 August 1975) was a public servant and engineer who led several large works projects in Western Australia. Early life Dumas was born in Mount Barker, South Australia second of five child ...
inspected the Ord gorges for dam sites on behalf of the Public Works Department. The scheme involved damming the Ord River by building the Ord River
diversion dam A diversion dam is a dam that diverts all or a portion of the flow of a river from its natural course. Diversion dams do not generally impound water in a reservoir; instead, the water is diverted into an artificial water course or canal, which ...
so that the waters could be conserved and directed to irrigate about of land. By 1966, there were 31 farms on the Ord River plains. In 1968 the second stage of the scheme was started with the building of the Ord River Dam (or Ord River Main Dam), known locally as "Top Dam," which holds back the waters of Lake Argyle. Flooding of the Ord River continued until completion of the Main Ord River Dam situated upstream from Kununurra, which was started in 1968, and officially opened on 30 June 1972, with support from WA Premier
John Tonkin John Trezise Tonkin (2 February 1902 – 20 October 1995) was an Australian politician who was the premier of Western Australia from 3 March 1971 to 8 April 1974. A member of the Labor Party, Tonkin was a minister in the Willcock, Wise a ...
, by then Prime Minister
William McMahon Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988), also known as Billy McMahon, was an Australian politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Australia from 1971 to 1972. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia ...
, when he said "This marks the beginning of Ord Stage II (Two)." The Ord River Dam flooded the land of the Argyle Downs station, the home station of the pioneering Durack family, to form what has become known as
Lake Argyle Lake Argyle is Western Australia's largest and Australia's second largest Freshwater lake, freshwater man-made Reservoir (water), reservoir by volume. The reservoir is part of the Ord River (Kimberley)#Ord River Irrigation Scheme, Ord River Ir ...
. Stone work from the original Argyle Downs homestead, was removed before Lake Argyle filled and was re-erected near the dam site to become the Argyle Downs Homestead Museum. The Museum had been run by Tourism WA but was taken on by the Kununurra Visitor Centre during 2010. The second stage of the Ord Project still has not been fully developed but new work is underway. In May 2010, with major funding from the Federal Government, the extension of the main channel construction got underway under the Moonamang Joint Venture. Kununurra post office opened on 1 September 1960.


Etymology

The name Kununurra is derived from the English pronunciation of the word (alternatively ) which in the
Miriwoong language Miriwoong, also written Miriuwung and Miriwung, is an Aboriginal Australian language which today has fewer than 20 fluent speakers, most of whom live in or near Kununurra in Western Australia. All of the fluent speakers are elderly and the Mi ...
means "river". It is a widespread myth that it means '(Meeting of) Big Waters' or 'Big River'. One also finds accounts of the name of Kununurra which state that it was the Miriwoong name for this part of the Ord River, which makes sense in that the Ord River runs for hundreds of kilometres coming from the south near Hall's Creek. It is stated to be likely that other parts of the Ord River were known by other Aboriginal language names, by the various tribal language group areas, over which the river traverses. A 1943 soil classification had named the volcanic clay known locally as "blacksoil", being the predominant soil type of the irrigation area, as "Cununurra Clay" and "Cununurra" was put forward as a possible name, among others in 1960. The General Post Office (GPO) representative from WA on the Nomenclature Committee, objected saying that Cununurra was too close in name to the town of
Cunnamulla Cunnamulla () is a town and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, Queensland, Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the 2021 Au ...
and that could cause postal confusion. A compromise was reached and "K" was used with an argument having been put forward that this would bring it into line with other East Kimberley placenames, such as Kalumburu, and Karunjie. The name was only finally decided just days before the newest town of the Kimberley region, being gazetted on 10 February 1961.


Population

Kununurra has a transient population; if itinerant residents, the outlying farm areas and communities were included in census population figures, it is estimated numbers would have exceeded 7,000 for 2006, as opposed to the actual figure of 5,619. An influx in the dry season (from April to September) of tourists and itinerant farm workers can push up the population to around 10,000. According to the 2016 census of Population, there were 5,308 people in Kununurra. * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 22.9% of the population. * 71.8% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 3.6% and New Zealand 2.1%. * 76.4% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Miriwoong 2.2%. * The most common responses for religion were No Religion 38.8% and Catholic 19.0%. Material was copied from this source, which is available under
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License


Geography

The landscape surrounding Kununurra includes features such as Valentine Spring, Black Rock Creek and Middle Springs along with many other
waterfalls A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...
and swimming holes. Popular fishing spots include Ivanhoe Crossing, The Diversion Dam, Buttons Crossing, and various locations along the Dunham and
Ord Ord or ORD may refer to: Places * Ord of Caithness, landform in north-east Scotland * Ord, Nebraska, US * Ord, Northumberland, England * Muir of Ord, village in Highland, Scotland * Ord, Skye, a place near Tarskavaig * Ord River, Western Austra ...
Rivers. The town is located close to the confluence of the
Ord Ord or ORD may refer to: Places * Ord of Caithness, landform in north-east Scotland * Ord, Nebraska, US * Ord, Northumberland, England * Muir of Ord, village in Highland, Scotland * Ord, Skye, a place near Tarskavaig * Ord River, Western Austra ...
and the
Dunham River The Dunham River is a river in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river rises between the Durack Range and the O'Donnell Range then flows north-west parallel with the Great Northern Highway to the east and the Bedford Stock Route to ...
.
Lake Argyle Lake Argyle is Western Australia's largest and Australia's second largest Freshwater lake, freshwater man-made Reservoir (water), reservoir by volume. The reservoir is part of the Ord River (Kimberley)#Ord River Irrigation Scheme, Ord River Ir ...
, Australia's largest artificial lake, over in size, is by road from the town, being held back by the main Ord River Dam. The town lies within the
Ord Irrigation Area Important Bird Area The Ord Irrigation Area Important Bird Area is an area of land used for irrigated agriculture along the Ord River in the vicinity of the town of Kununurra in the Kimberley region of north-western Australia. It has been identified by BirdLife I ...
(IBA), so identified by
BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...
because of its importance for wild birds, especially
estrildid finch Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family (taxonomy), family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills. ...
es.


Climate

Like other areas in the tropics of
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, Kununurra experiences a
semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''BSh'') with distinct wet and dry seasons; it borders closely on the
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 ...
(Aw). The average annual rainfall is around . The dry season from April to September is the most popular time to visit: heat and humidity are lower, and road and park accessibility at their best. In the town's 53 years of weather records, rainfall of over has never been recorded in August, with most Augusts being completely rainless. The build-up season from October to December is characterised by high heat and humidity. The oppressive conditions of the build-up often give way to spectacular electrical storms, along with dramatic
lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...
displays over the rugged Kimberley landscape. Such storms however bring little rain, and the lightning will often start
bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...
in the surrounding scrub. The summer
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
period between January and March often causes accessibility issues, and the closure of many roads and national parks, due to heavy rain. Days are overcast and hot; heavy downpours are a frequent occurrence.


Agriculture

Key farm activities include the growing of
melons A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. It can also specifically refer to '' Cucumis melo'', commonly known as the "true melon" or simply "melon". The term "melon" can apply to both the ...
,
mangoes A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast Asi ...
and until recently,
sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
. Farmers are now turning to a more lucrative (though longer term) crop of Indian sandalwood. Other crops that have been grown in the Ord are
cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
,
safflower Safflower (''Carthamus tinctorius'') is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual plant in the family Asteraceae. It is one of the world's oldest crops; today, it is commercially cultivated for vegetable oil extracted from the seeds. ...
and
rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...
, which is being trialled once again, having been the first crop planted on the Pilot Farm in 1960. The town has a melon picking season, which attracts migratory farm workers to the area. There is also a thriving tourism industry with most tourist operators capitalising on the scenery of the
Ord River The Ord River is a river in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia. The river's catchment covers . The lower Ord River and the confluence with Cambridge Gulf create the most northern estuarine environment in ...
,
Lake Argyle Lake Argyle is Western Australia's largest and Australia's second largest Freshwater lake, freshwater man-made Reservoir (water), reservoir by volume. The reservoir is part of the Ord River (Kimberley)#Ord River Irrigation Scheme, Ord River Ir ...
, Diversion Dam and other local locations, including the relatively nearby
Bungle Bungle Range The Bungle Bungle Range is a major landform and the main feature of the Purnululu National Park, situated in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Formation The distinctive beehive-shaped towers are made up of sandstones and conglomera ...
.


Media

Since 1980 Kununurra has been the base of the '' Kimberley Echo'' founded by the late James O'Kenny and Brian Cole. Radio stations that broadcast to Kununurra are
ABC Kimberley ABC Kimberley is an ABC Local Radio station based in Broome, Western Australia, and broadcasting to the Kimberley region. This includes towns of Kununurra, Halls Creek, Derby and Fitzroy Crossing. The station also broadcast to the Australia ...
on 819 AM and 6WR Waringarri Radio broadcasts across the Kimberley area from Kununurra on 693 AM, 101.1 FM, 101.3 FM, 102.1 FM, and 104.3 FM. 6WR Waringarri Radio also streams live online, and is available via the '
VAST VAST is an American alternative rock band based in Seattle, United States. The acronym VAST stands for Visual Audio Sensory Theater and is the main creation of singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jon Crosby. The band is signed to 2blo ...
' service to remote and blackspot areas of Australia on the Optus C1 satellite. Reach Beyond Australia broadcasts via shortwave from Kununurra between 9.7 and 15.3 MHz with evening releases in English and many Asian languages. Television stations are available in Kununurra and in the Kimberley region are
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
, SBS,
Seven Regional WA Seven Regional WA is an Australian Television broadcasting in Australia, television network serving all of Western Australia outside metropolitan Perth. It launched on 10 March 1967 as BTW-3 in Bunbury, Western Australia, Bunbury, and became k ...
,
WIN Win or WIN most likely refers to: * A victory Win, Winning, WIN or Winner may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * '' Win!'', a 2016 American film Literature * ''Win'' (Coben novel), 2021 * WIN (pacifist magazine) * WIN (wrestling ma ...
's Nine Regional WA and
Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...
affiliate
West Digital Television West Digital Television is an Australian digital television network jointly owned by Seven West Media and WIN Corporation. It broadcasts free-to-air on a number of digital terrestrial transmitters in regional and remote areas of Western Aust ...
.


Culture, recreation, and tourism

The town has many local attractions, including waterfalls, gorges, and ranges.


Jirrawun Arts

Jirrawun Arts Jirrawun Arts was a company and art centre owned by Indigenous Australians, founded in 1998 and operating first from Kununurra and later (2006 onwards) from Wyndham, Western Australia. It was notable as the base for contemporary Indigenous Austr ...
was an
Indigenous Australian 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, rock ...
centre, established in 1998 in Kununurra before moving to Wyndham in 2006. It was notable as the base for
contemporary Indigenous Australian art Contemporary Indigenous Australian art is the modern art work produced by Indigenous Australians, that is, Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander people. It is generally regarded as beginning in 1971 with a painting movement that star ...
ists of the eastern
Kimberley region The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy Desert, Great Sandy and Tanami Desert, Tanami deserts in t ...
, including
Paddy Bedford Paddy Nyunkuny Bedford (circa 1920/1922 – 14 July 2007), aka Goowoomji, was a contemporary Aboriginal Australian painter and printmaker from Warmun in the Kimberley in Western Australia. He was one of eight Australian artists selected for an ...
and
Freddie Timms Freddy Timms (1946, Bedford Downs Station – 2017) was an Australian indigenous artist from the Kimberley region. Life and art Timms commenced painting on canvas in the 1990s at Turkey Creek / Warmun in the Kimberley region of Western Austral ...
. It closed in 2010. Their art was exhibited in exhibitions in Melbourne and elsewhere.


Waringarri Aboriginal Arts

Waringarri Aboriginal Arts is an Aboriginal art centre that celebrates the art and culture of the Miriwoong people. It was established in the 1980s, and became the first wholly Indigenous-owned art centre in Western Australia. It is also one of the oldest continuously operating art centres in Australia. The centre was refurbished in 2011. Within the centre, there are artists' studios and galleries, in which artworks are for sale, and cultural tours and performances are available for visitors. These activities help to provide economic independence for artists and their community. Waringarri supports over 100 artists, including
painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
s,
printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique ...
s,
wood carver Wood carving (or woodcarving) is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ...
s, boab engravers,
sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
s, and
textile art Textile arts are arts and crafts that use plant, animal, or synthetic fibers to construct practical or decorative objects. Textiles have been a fundamental part of human life since the beginning of civilization. The methods and materials use ...
ists.


Transport

East Kimberley Regional Airport, commonly referred to as Kununurra Airport, is located west of the town centre. Heavy wet seasons often result in this area being cut off from essential outside services and deliveries. The airport is a crucial piece of infrastructure which enables people and goods to enter or leave from the region and especially supports tourism and economic development.


Facilities

The town has many local attractions, including waterfalls, gorges, and ranges.


Legal

The Kununurra Courthouse, which includes a magistrate and a jury courtroom, was opened on 26 October 2014. It was designed by TAG Architects and Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects. The paintings of the Aboriginal artists from Miriwoong country were included in the design of the building.


Education

East Kimberley College has a student population of just over 900 ranging from kindergarten to year 12. St Joseph's Primary School and Ngalangangpum School are two Catholic schools. There is limited tertiary education available via a Western Australia North Regional
Technical and further education Technical and further education or simply TAFE () is the common name in Australia for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses. Colloquially also known ...
(TAFE) campus.


Health

Kununurra District Hospital houses 32 beds and a 10-bed aged care facility. There are dental practices in the town.


Community

The Kununurra Leisure Centre is a multi-purpose, community recreation facility catering for a wide range of sports, recreation activities and social functions. It includes a pool. Kununurra Neighbourhood House is a not-for-profit community centre that provides various services and activities for the residents of Kununurra. Some of the services offered by Kununurra Neighbourhood House include family support, playgroups, parenting programs, emergency relief, referrals and advocacy. The centre also hosts events such as markets, workshops, festivals and fundraisers. Kununurra Neighbourhood House is open to the community between 8 am and 1 pm Monday to Friday. Kununurra Youth Hub is run by
Police Citizens Youth Club Police & Community Youth Clubs (PCYC) or Police and Community Youth Clubs is a network of Australian non-profit, community organisations, founded in New South Wales. In some states such as NSW, they are constituted as an Incorporated Association. ...
(PCYC) to the community between 8 am and 5 pm daily.


In popular culture

Kununurra has a Celebrity Tree Park with many trees planted by famous people such as
Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962) is an Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor whose various projects extend from film and television into opera, theatre, music, and the recording industries. He is regarded by ...
who shot most his 2008 film ''
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
'' just outside Kununurra.
Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...
thought that the area's water helped her get pregnant while filming ''Australia'' in this town, stating "seven babies were conceived out of this film and only one was a boy. There is something up there in the Kununurra water because we all went swimming in the waterfalls, so we can call it the fertility waters now." The entertainer
Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (30 March 1930 – 10 May 2023) was an Australian musician, television personality, painter, and actor. He used a variety of instruments in his performances, notably the didgeridoo and the Stylophone, and is credited with the inventi ...
planted a '' Cathormion umbellatum'' tree in the Celebrity Tree Park in 1986. The plaque recording the planting was stolen in July 2014, after he was convicted in England in June 2014 of the
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...
of four underage girls, which effectively ended his career. A week later, the local council voted to keep it. The council, however, felt that ongoing vandalism at the park made it unlikely that the plaque would be replaced. It was voted the second best town to live in Australia for outdoor adventure by ''Outdoor Australia'' magazine in the March/April 2007 edition.


See also

*
Argyle diamond mine The Argyle Diamond Mine was a diamond mine located in the East Kimberley region in the remote north of Western Australia. Argyle was at times the largest diamond producer in the world by volume (14 million carats in 2018), although the propo ...
* El Questro Wilderness Park


References


External links


Kununurra Visitor CentreABC Local Radio - KimberleyShire of Wyndham East KimberleyKununurra Museum
run by the Kununurra Historical Society {{Western Australia Ord River Kununurra, Western Australia