Kimberley (Western Australia)

The Kimberley is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northern part of Western Australia, bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami Deserts, and on the east by the Northern Territory.

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It covers an area of convert|423517|km2|sqmi|0, which is about three times the size of England or comparable to the size of California or 15% larger than Japan or twice the size of Victoria or one sixth the size of Western Australia. It has a population of 38,000 est.

History

The Kimberley was one of the earliest settled parts of Australia, with the first arrivals landing about 40,000 years ago from the islands of what is now Indonesia. Fact|date=May 2008

Alexander Forrest trekked across from the western coast to the Northern Territory in 1879. Forrest was the first European man to discover and name the Kimberley district, the Margaret and Ord Rivers, the King Leopold Ranges, and the fertile area between the Fitzroy and Ord River. [The Australian Encylopaedia, Vol. V, The Grolier Society, Sydney] He subsequently set himself up as a land agent specialising in the Kimberleys and was thus instrumental in the leasing of over convert|51000000|acre|km2 in the region during 1883.

In 1881, Philip Saunders and Adam Johns, in the face of great difficulties and dangers found gold in various parts of the Kimberleys. Early in 1881 the first five graziers, who called themselves the Murray Squatting Company, took up 120,000 behind Beagle Bay and named it Yeeda Station. [The Australian Encylopaedia, Vol. V, The Grolier Society, Sydney] They became the first men to shear sheep in the southern Kimberleys in 1883. There was further European settlement in 1885, when cattle were driven across Australia from the eastern states in search of good pasture lands. Many other Europeans arrived soon after, when gold was discovered around Halls Creek.

The population of the Kimberley is only about 41,000, but this figure is growing at a rate of 4.8% per year, around three times the state average. The population is fairly evenly distributed, with only three towns having populations in excess of 2,000: Broome (15 000), Derby (3 600) and Kununurra (5 000). Approximately 33% of the region's population are of Aboriginal descent.

Geography, climate and vegetation

The Kimberley consists mainly of ancient, steep-sided mountain ranges from which the extreme climate has removed most soil except in the valleys of the Ord and Fitzroy Rivers in the southern part of the region. In these areas the soils are relatively usable cracking clays, whilst elsewhere they are lateritic Orthents. Although none of the mountains reach even convert|1000|m|ft|0, there is so much steep land as to make much of the region very difficult to traverse, especially during the wet season when even sealed roads are often flooded.

The Kimberley has a tropical monsoon climate. During the wet season, from November to April, the region receives about 90% of its rainfall, and cyclones are common especially around Broome. The annual rainfall, however, is highest in the northwest, where Kalumburu averages convert|1270|mm|in|0 per year, and lowest in the southeast where it is around convert|520|mm|in|0. In the dry season, from May to October, south easterly breezes bring sunny days and cool nights. Climate change since 1967 has led to large increases of as much as convert|250|mm|in|0 per year in annual rainfall over the whole region. Recent studies suggest Asian pollution and not global warming as the cause of this increased rainfall [ [http://www.csiro.au/files/files/pbg2.pdf Australian rainfall and Asian aerosols] ] . In 1997 and 2000 the region received especially heavy rains, leading to record flooding of the Fitzroy and other rivers.

The Kimberley is the hottest part of Australia, with mean maxima almost always above convert|30|C|F|0 even in July and ranging in November before the rains break from convert|37|C|F|0 on the coast to convert|40|C|F|0 in the south around Halls Creek. Mean minima in July range from around convert|12|C|F|0 in the south to convert|16|C|F around Kalumburu, whilst in November and December they are generally around convert|26|C|F|0.

The aboriginal people of the Kimberley recognise traditional seasons based on meteorological events as well as observed events relating to fauna and flora.

The Kimberley is chiefly covered in open savanna woodland dominated by low eucalypt and boab trees. In sheltered gorges of the high rainfall north, however, are patches of rainforest. These were not known to science until 1965. This wet area is one of the most floristically rich parts of Australia outside the Wet Tropics and southwestern WA.

Geology

During the Devonian period, a barrier reef system formed before a subsequent drop in sea levels over the Kimberley. This reef system was similar to the Great Barrier Reef and is still visible today in the form of the Napier Range and the Ningbing Range. Some of the features are Tunnel Creek, Windjana Gorge and Geikie Gorge. [cite web|author=Western Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation|year=2007|title=The Devonian 'Great Barrier Reef'|url=http://www.naturebase.net/content/view/668/96/|accessdate=2007-03-12]

This area is also known as the Kimberly Block physiographic province, of which it is part of the larger West Australian Shield division. This province contains the King Leopold Range, Durack Range, Leveque Rise, Browse Depression, and Londonderry Rise physiographic sections.The Aboriginals used this to their advantage.

Economy

The Kimberley features diverse industries such as:

Pearling

Broome supports a flourishing pearling industry which operates around the Kimberley coast. Some of the major farmers are Paspaley Pearls, Clipper Pearls, Broome Pearls and the Willie Creek Pearl Farm.

Mining

One third of the worlds annual production of diamonds are mined at the Argyle and the Ellendale diamond mines. Oil is extracted from the Blina oil field and gas is expected to be taken from offshore sources soon. Zinc and lead are mined at the Pillara, Sallay Mallay and Cadjebut mines near Fitzroy Crossing. Derby is the nearest export base for shipping these metals.

Agriculture and aquaculture

Traditionally, the region was oriented towards pastoral leases - with most of the region utilised by the leases.

More recently agriculture has been focused on the Ord River Irrigation Area near Kununurra. Irrigation was also trialled in the West Kimberley by way of the now defunct Camballin Irrigation Scheme. There are also fruit growers in Broome and in other areas in the West Kimberley. Beef cattle are grown in the Kimberley and exported live. Wyndham features the last remaining meatworks in the Kimberley - there were formerly works at Broome and Derby but financial constraints have caused these to be closed.

Barramundi are bred in Lake Argyle and Broome features a fully equipped Aquaculture Park near the port which is tennanted by amongst others Paspaley Pearls and Broome TAFE. The Kimberley also has a thriving fishing industry.

Indigenous art

Some of Australia's most prominent Indigenous artists and art centres are in or adjacent to the Kimberley region. Artists such as Paddy Bedford and Freddy Timms have an international profile, and there are a number of Aboriginal-owned and controlled art centres and companies that assist artists, arrange exhibitions and sell works. The art centres in the region are also organised through the Association of Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists. Issues have been raised regarding the exploitation of Indigenous artists by businesses and individuals, including in the Kimberley, which were canvassed in an Australian Senate parliamentary committee report.

See Also :
* [http://www.jirrawunarts.com Jirrawun Arts]
* [http://www.waringarriarts.com.au/index.html Waringarri Arts]
* [http://www.balgoart.org.au/ Warlayirti Artists]
* [http://www.ankaaa.org.au/ Association of Northern, Kimberley and Arnhem Aboriginal Artists]
* [http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/ecita_ctte/indigenous_arts/report/c08.htm parliamentary committee report]

Tourism

The Kimberley is a popular tourist destination, with areas such as the Bungle Bungle, the Gibb River Road, Lake Argyle, El Questro Station, Horizontal Falls and Cape Leveque. The Gibb River Road and the road into the Bungle Bungles can at times be accessed in a two-wheel drive car, although one can access many additional areas in a four-wheel drive vehicle.

See also:
* Drysdale River National Park
* Geikie Gorge National Park
* Mirima National Park
* Mitchell River National Park
* Point Coulomb National Park
* Purnululu National Park
* Tunnel Creek National Park
* Windjana Gorge National Park
* Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater National Park

Political

At federal level, the Kimberley is represented by the member for Kalgoorlie. At state level, the Kimberley electorate takes in most of the region and all of its major towns, while Central Kimberley-Pilbara includes south-eastern areas such as Halls Creek and Fitzroy Crossing.

The Kimberley region consists of the local government areas of:

* Broome
* Derby-West Kimberley
* Halls Creek
* Wyndham-East Kimberley

ee also

* List of pastoral leases in Western Australia

References

External links

* [http://www.kimberley.wa.gov.au Kimberley Development Commission]
* [http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/bradshaws/hugh-brown1.php Hugh Brown] Out in the Back Country - The Kimberley Region of North West Australia