Template:Use Australian English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox Australian place

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 and Tanami deserts in the region of the Pilbara, and on the east by the Northern Territory.

The region was named in 1879 by government surveyor Alexander Forrest after Secretary of State for the Colonies John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

HistoryEdit

The Kimberley was one of the earliest settled parts of Australia, with the first humans landing about 65,000 years ago.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> They created a complex culture that developed over thousands of years. Yam (Dioscorea hastifolia) agriculture was developed,<ref>Gammage, Bill (October 2011). The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines made Australia. Allen & Unwin. pp. 281–304. Template:ISBN.</ref> and rock art suggests that this was where some of the earliest boomerangs were invented.<ref>"Kimberley rock art could be among oldest in the world". ABC News AU. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2016.</ref> The worship of Wandjina deities was most common in this region, and a complex theology dealing with the transmigration of souls was part of the local people's religious philosophy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref>

During the 18th century, Dutch explorers named the region of Kimberley and nearby Darwin variations of Van Diemen's Land<ref>Template:Citation.</ref> after the VOC governor-general Anthony van Diemen. This should not be confused with the more general and prolonged use of the same name for Tasmania.

In 1837, with expedition support from the Royal Geographical Society of Great Britain, Lieutenants George Grey and Franklin Lushington and 12 men sailed on the schooner Lynher from Cape Town, South Africa. They reached Hanover Bay on 2 December 1837. The exploring party started inland on 19 January 1838. Leaders and men were totally inexperienced, their progress was delayed by flooded country, and they abandoned many stores along the way. The party was constantly split up although they had to contend with large numbers of hostile Aboriginals. On 11 February, Grey was speared near the hip, during a skirmish with Indigenous Australians, and became critically ill, and left him with a lifelong limp,but, after two weeks, continued the exploration.<ref name="pgAU/54">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="wS/EB1911/Grey,_Sir_George">Template:Cite EB1911</ref><ref name="RNZ/george-grey-1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The party found and named the Gairdner River, the Glenelg River, the Stephen and Whately ranges and Mount Lyell before returning to Hanover Bay in April. There they were picked up by Template:HMS and Lynher and taken to Mauritius to recuperate.<ref name=grey1>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1879, Western Australian government surveyor Alexander Forrest led a party of seven from the west coast at Beagle Bay to Katherine, Northern Territory. Forrest explored and named the Kimberley district, the Margaret and Ord rivers and the King Leopold Ranges (now the Wunaamin-Miliwundi Ranges), and located well watered pastoral lands along the Fitzroy and Ord rivers.<ref name="ReferenceA">The Australian Encyclopaedia, Vol. V, The Grolier Society, Sydney</ref> He subsequently set himself up as a land agent specialising in the Kimberley during a period to 1883 when over Template:Convert of land were taken up as pastoral leaseholds in the region.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1881, Philip Saunders and Adam Johns, in the face of great difficulties and dangers, found gold in various parts of the Kimberley. Early in 1881, the first five graziers, who called themselves the Murray Squatting Company, took up Template:Convert behind Beagle Bay and named it Yeeda Station.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> In 1883 they were the first men to shear sheep in the southern Kimberley. Additional Anglo-European settlement occurred in 1885, when ranchers drove cattle across Australia from the eastern states in search of good pasture lands. After gold was discovered around Halls Creek, many other erstwhile European miners arrived rapidly.

In the 1890s, the area was the site of an armed insurrection of indigenous people led by Jandamarra, a Bunuba warrior.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

During World War II, when Australia was among the nations at war with the Axis powers, the Japanese invaded the nation with only a small reconnaissance party in The Kimberley on 19 January 1944; they were investigating reports that the Allies were building large bases in the region. Four Japanese officers were on board a small fishing boat. They investigated the York Sound region for a day and a night before returning to Kupang in Timor on 20 January. After returning to Japan in February, the junior officer, who had commanded the party, suggested using 200 Japanese prison inmates to launch a guerrilla campaign in Australia. No superior adopted his suggestion, and the officer was posted to other duties.<ref>Frei (1991), pg 173–174.</ref>

DemographicsEdit

The 2011 estimated permanent population of The Kimberley was 34,794 but it rises dramatically during winter when it attracts a seasonal population. On Census night in 2011 (9 August), it was 50,113. The population is fairly evenly distributed, with only three towns having populations in excess of 2,000: Broome (12,766), Derby (3,261), and Kununurra (4,573). Approximately 40% of the region's population is of Aboriginal descent.<ref name=Census2011Y>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Urban centres and localitiesEdit

Rank Template:Abbr Template:Abbr Population
Template:CensusAU Template:Abbr Template:CensusAU Template:Abbr Template:CensusAU Template:Abbr 2016 census Template:Abbr 2021 census Template:Abbr
1 Broome Broome 15,242 Template:Census 2001 AUS 11,547 Template:Census 2006 AUS 12,766 Template:Census 2011 AUS 13,984 Template:Census 2016 AUS 14,660 Template:Census 2021 AUS
2 Kununurra Wyndham–East Kimberley 5,219 Template:Census 2001 AUS 3,748 Template:Census 2006 AUS 4,573 Template:Census 2011 AUS 4,341 Template:Census 2016 AUS 4,515 Template:Census 2021 AUS
3 Derby Derby–West Kimberley 3,662 Template:Census 2001 AUS 3,093 Template:Census 2006 AUS 3,261 Template:Census 2011 AUS 3,325 Template:Census 2016 AUS 3,009 Template:Census 2021 AUS
4 Halls Creek Halls Creek 1,264 Template:Census 2001 AUS 1,211 Template:Census 2006 AUS 1,443 Template:Census 2011 AUS 1,546 Template:Census 2016 AUS 1,605 Template:Census 2021 AUS
5 Fitzroy Crossing Derby–West Kimberley 1,450 Template:Census 2001 AUS 928 Template:Census 2006 AUS 1,144 Template:Census 2011 AUS 1,141 Template:Census 2016 AUS 1,022 Template:Census 2021 AUS
6 Wyndham Wyndham–East Kimberley 784 Template:Census 2001 AUS 669 Template:Census 2006 AUS 787 Template:Census 2011 AUS 604 Template:Census 2016 AUS 745 Template:Census 2021 AUS
7 Bidyadanga (La Grange) Broome 510 Template:Census 2001 AUS 425 Template:Census 2006 AUS 595 Template:Census 2011 AUS 617 Template:Census 2016 AUS 593 Template:Census 2021 AUS
8 Balgo Halls Creek 456 Template:Census 2001 AUS 460 Template:Census 2006 AUS 508 Template:Census 2011 AUS 359 Template:Census 2016 AUS 472 Template:Census 2021 AUS
9 Warmun Halls Creek 315 Template:Census 2001 AUS 210 Template:Census 2006 AUS 297 Template:Census 2011 AUS 366 Template:Census 2016 AUS 457 Template:Census 2021 AUS
10 Yungngora Derby–West Kimberley 245 Template:Census 2001 AUS 288 Template:Census 2006 AUS 283 Template:Census 2011 AUS 409 Template:Census 2016 AUS 434 Template:Census 2021 AUS
11 Looma Derby–West Kimberley 285 Template:Census 2001 AUS 393 Template:Census 2006 AUS 374 Template:Census 2011 AUS 531 Template:Census 2016 AUS 412 Template:Census 2021 AUS
12 Kalumburu Wyndham–East Kimberley 335 Template:Census 2001 AUS 413 Template:Census 2006 AUS 467 Template:Census 2011 AUS 412 Template:Census 2016 AUS 388 Template:Census 2021 AUS
13 Bardi (One Arm Point) Broome 310 Template:Census 2001 AUS 214 Template:Census 2006 AUS 334 Template:Census 2011 AUS 365 Template:Census 2016 AUS 325 Template:Census 2021 AUS
14 Bayulu Derby–West Kimberley 253 Template:Census 2001 AUS 259 Template:Census 2006 AUS 320 Template:Census 2011 AUS 322 Template:Census 2016 AUS 308 Template:Census 2021 AUS
15 Beagle Bay Broome 293 Template:Census 2001 AUS 199 Template:Census 2006 AUS 285 Template:Census 2011 AUS 348 Template:Census 2016 AUS 307 Template:Census 2021 AUS
16 DjarindjinLombadina Broome Template:N/A Template:N/A 245 Template:Census 2011 AUS 395 Template:Census 2016 AUS 253 Template:Census 2021 AUS
17 Wangkatjungka Derby–West Kimberley Template:N/A Template:N/A Template:N/A 254 Template:Census 2016 AUS 231 Template:Census 2021 AUS
18 Mindibungu Halls Creek 215 Template:Census 2001 AUS 144 Template:Census 2006 AUS 257 Template:Census 2011 AUS 150 Template:Census 2016 AUS 202 Template:Census 2021 AUS

Indigenous languagesEdit

The Kimberley has been noted as a region of great linguistic diversity, rivalled in Australia only by the Top End. Depending on the geographical boundaries of The Kimberley, and the definition of what constitutes a "language" (as opposed to a "dialect"), about 50-60 Aboriginal languages were once spoken in this region. The vast majority of these do not belong to the family of Pama-Nyungan languages.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Four endemic, primary language families are recognised within the core Kimberley region:

Pama-Nyungan languages spoken in and around the Kimberley region include the Marrngu languages (such as Karajarri and Nyangumarta, the Ngumpin languages (such as Walmajarri and Jaru), the Yapa languages (such as Warlpiri) and the Western Desert languages (including Wangkajunga and Kukatja). Non-Pama-Nyungan languages spoken around the Kimberleys (but speakers of which today live within the Kimberley) include the Daly language Murrinh-Patha and Western Mirndi language Jaminjung.

Presently, many indigenous languages are no longer spoken on a daily basis. In addition to Australian English, post-contact languages spoken in the Kimberley include Aboriginal English, Kriol, Pidgin English and the Malay-based Broome Pearling Lugger Pidgin (not spoken on a daily basis any more).

PoliticsEdit

At the federal level, the Kimberley is represented by the member for Durack. At state level, the Kimberley electorate takes in all of the region and its towns.

The Kimberley region consists of the local government areas of Broome, Derby-West Kimberley, Halls Creek and Wyndham-East Kimberley.

ArtEdit

The Kimberley region is extremely rich in art, mainly that of Indigenous rock art.<ref>Kimberley (Western Australia). (2024, May 28). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimberley_(Western_Australia)

</ref> Considering the area's size, it is no surprise that there are tens of thousands of rock art examples coming from a variety of different cultural groups within the region.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref> The diversity of peoples has allowed for many different art styles to develop with some of the most widely known examples being Wandjina and Gwion Gwion.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In addition to the variation in styles, there are almost equally diverse fabrication techniques. The earliest form of Kimberley rock art was hand stencils,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web

}}</ref> but techniques such as engraving, painting, scratchwork, pecking, drawing, and later beeswax applique<ref name=":1">Template:Citation</ref> have also been used. In addition to the varying styles and techniques, there are united visual depictions that reflect the changes and persistence within the cultural and natural environment.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:Kangaroo-Painting.jpg
Depiction of kangaroo painting with added drawing for clarity - examined by Traditional Owner Ian Waina on the left.

The changing and expanding complexity of styles and techniques has caught the attention of many, paving the way for mass amounts of archaeological and anthropological research. Much of the artwork in the area has been gone over with similar or alternative methods to preserve the art, add to it, or enhance it.<ref name=":2" /> Rock shelters are some of the best locations for preservation.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The oldest category known as the Irregular Infill Animal or the Naturalistic period is responsible for the region's life-size animal depictions.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite journal</ref> A rock shelter in Kimberley's northeastern territory is home to a perfect example of this, a two-meter-long kangaroo painting on the ceiling. This case was extremely rare as archaeologist found remains of mud wasp nests that could be used for dating. These nests were located both below and on top of the painting making them prime for determining an accurate age of the kangaroo art itself. They analysed samples from 6 of the nests and settled on a date between 17,500 years old and 17,100 years old, making the kangaroo rock art the oldest in Australia.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Based on oral accounts from Aboriginal people in the region<ref name=":1" /> it has been confirmed that many of the works that have been re-touched maintain a much deeper significance. There is a complex performative aspect that goes hand-in-hand with the art that remains today. The re-touching/re-marking actions are considered a performance and act as a retelling of the story behind the art. The performance is a way for people to reconnect with the cultural significance behind the work itself and maintain the connection of person to place.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This process highlights indigenous beliefs about the land and the position that native people have within that space.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Identity plays a major role in understanding the rock art in the region. There are many different sectors within the Kimberley region that allow for a dispersal of cultural thought and expression unique to the group in their respected areas.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This differentiation of style may have been socially necessary, but there was a unifying aspect in regard to the Wandjinas and the meaning behind them. They are seen throughout the region at many different sites and are the most repainted rock art in Kimberley. This is due to the fact that indigenous groups believe in the power that Wandjina holds. Creation stories, migrational patterns, and clothing style of the figures emphasise their importance and integration into the sociocultural groups inhabiting the area.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

GeographyEdit

The Kimberley is an area of Template:Convert, which is about three times the size of England, twice the size of Victoria, or just slightly smaller than California.

The Kimberley consists of the ancient, steep-sided mountain ranges of northwestern Australia cut through with sandstone and limestone gorges and steep ridges, from which the extreme monsoonal climate has removed much of the soil. The southern end of the Kimberley beyond the Dampier Peninsula is flatter with dry tropical grassland and is used for cattle ranching. In parts of the Kimberley, such as the valleys of the Ord and Fitzroy Rivers in the south, the soils are relatively usable cracking clays, whilst elsewhere they are lateritic Orthents. Although none of the mountains reach even Template:Convert, there is so much steep land as to make much of the region difficult to traverse, especially during the wet season, when even sealed roads are often flooded. The coast is typically steep cliffs in the north but flatter in the south, all subject to high tides.

ClimateEdit

The Kimberley has a tropical monsoon climate. The region receives about 90% of its rainfall during the short wet season, from November to April, when cyclones are common (especially around Broome) and the rivers flood. The annual rainfall is highest in the northwest, where Kalumburu and the Mitchell Plateau average Template:Convert per year, and lowest in the southeast where it is around Template:Convert. 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 Template:Convert per year in annual rainfall over the whole region. A 2007 study suggests Asian pollution may be a key contributory factor to this increased rainfall.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> In 1997 and 2000, the region received especially heavy rains, leading to record flooding of the Fitzroy and other rivers.

The Kimberley is one of the hottest parts of Australia, with the average annual mean temperature around Template:Convert, and with mean maximum temperatures almost always above Template:Convert, even in July. The hottest part of the year is November before the rains break, when temperatures frequently reach above Template:Convert on the coast and well over Template:Convert inland. Mean minimum temperatures in July range from around Template:Convert in the south to Template:Convert along the coast, whilst in November and December they are generally around Template:Convert.<ref>Bureau of Meteorology (Australia) http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/climate_averages/temperature/index.jsp?maptype=1&period=an</ref> Record high temperatures range from around Template:Convert, while record lows are around Template:Convert, although some parts of the central Kimberly plateau can drop below Template:Convert during the dry season.

The Aboriginal people of the Kimberley recognise six traditional seasons based on meteorological events, as well as on observations of flora and fauna.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

GeologyEdit

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

This area is also known as the Kimberley Block physiographic province, of which it is part of the larger West Australian Shield division. This province contains the Wunaamin-Miliwundi Range, Durack Range, Leveque Rise, Browse Depression, and Londonderry Rise physiographic sections.

CoastlineEdit

Template:See also In Bureau of Meteorology weather reports the "North Kimberley Coast" is the WA border to Kuri Bay section of the coast, while the "West Kimberley Coast" is from Kuri Bay to Wallal Downs. Significant sections of the coastline between Broome and Wyndham have no means of road access, and boat or helicopter are the only means. Due to the isolation, a number of tourist operations on the coastline have been called "wilderness" locations.

EcologyEdit

The rugged and varied sandstone landscape is home to a distinctive mixture of wildlife, which has been thoroughly mapped and described by the Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management.<ref>Miles, J. M., and A. A. Burbidge. editors. 1975. A biological survey of the Prince Regent River reserve, north-west Kimberley, Western Australia. Wildlife Research Bulletin no. 3. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Perth</ref><ref>Kabay, E. D., and A. A. Burbidge. editors. 1977. A biological survey of the Drysdale River National Park, north Kimberley, Western Australia. Wildlife Research Bulletin no. 6. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Perth.</ref><ref>Burbidge, A. A., and N. L. McKenzie. editors. 1978. The islands of the north-west Kimberley, Western Australia. Wildlife Research Bulletin no. 7. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Perth</ref><ref>McKenzie, N.L. editor. 1981a. Wildlife of the Edgar Ranges area, south-west Kimberley, Western Australia. Wildlife Research Bulletin no. 10. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Perth</ref><ref>McKenzie, N.L. editor. 1981b. Mammals of the Phanerozoic South-west Kimberley, Western Australia: biogeography and recent changes. Journal of Biogeography 8: 263–280.</ref><ref>McKenzie, N.L. editor. 1983. Wildlife of the Dampier Peninsula, south-west Kimberley, Western Australia. Wildlife Research Bulletin no. 11. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Perth.</ref><ref>Western Australian Museum. 1981. Biological survey of Mitchell Plateau and Admiralty Gulf, Kimberley, Western Australia. Western Australian Museum, Perth</ref><ref>Burbidge, A. A., N. L. McKenzie, and K.F. Kenneally. 1991. Nature conservation reserves in the Kimberley, Western Australia. Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth.</ref><ref>McKenzie, N. L., R. B. Johnston, and P. G. Kendrick. editors. 1991. Kimberley rainforests of Australia. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Sydney.</ref><ref>Wheeler, J.R. editor. 1992. Flora of the Kimberley region. Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth.</ref><ref>Kenneally, K. F., D. C. Edinger, and T. Willing 1996. Broome and beyond. Plants and people of the Dampier Peninsula, Kimberley, Western Australia. Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth.</ref>Template:Excessive citations inline There are habitats similar to the Kimberley across the border in the Northern Territory, including the valleys of the Victoria and Daly Rivers but these have been less carefully studied.<ref>Price, O., D. Milne, G. Connors, B. Harwood, J. Woinarski, and M. Butler. 2001. A conservation plan for the Daly Basin bioregion. Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory, Darwin.</ref><ref>Template:WWF ecoregion</ref>

FloraEdit

Much of the Kimberley is chiefly covered in open savanna woodland dominated by low bloodwood and boab trees (Adansonia gregorii) with Darwin stringybark and Darwin woollybutt eucalyptus in the wetter areas. The red sandy soil of the Dampier Peninsula in the south is known for its characteristic pindan wooded grassland, while in the more fertile areas like the Ord Valley, the trees are found in grasslands of Chrysopogon, Aristida, Dichanthium and Xerochloa (rice grass) in the wetter valleys. The banks of the Ord, Fitzroy River and other rivers are home to a greater variety of vegetation, while in sheltered gorges of the high rainfall north there are patches of tropical dry broadleaf forest, called monsoon forests, deciduous vine forest or vine thicket in Australia, (often mistakenly which is called "dry rainforest"), which were unknown to science until 1965,<ref>Beard, J. S. 1976. The monsoon forests of the Admiralty Gulf, Western Australia. Plant Ecology, 31(3): 177–192. {{#invoke:doi|main}}</ref> and are one of the most floristically rich parts of Australia outside the Wet Tropics and southwestern WA. There are also areas of mangrove in river estuaries where the coast is flatterTemplate:What.

Flora regionsEdit

In 1979, Beard identified four phytogeographic districts within the Northern Botanical Province:<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

  • Gardner District (Ga) in the north (and further divided into the West Gardner (WGa), Central Gardner (CGa) and East Gardner (EGa))
  • Fitzgerald District (Fi) in the centre
  • Dampier (Da) and Hall (Ha) Districts in the south

FaunaEdit

Animals found here include the huge saltwater crocodile, its smaller cousin the freshwater crocodile and a rich variety of birds such as the channel-billed cuckoo, Pacific koel, purple-crowned fairywren and the bowerbird. The sandstone gorges of north Kimberley are an important refuge for a particularly rich collection of endemic species including some that have disappeared from the flatter areas, including the purple-crowned fairywren, the endangered Gouldian finch and a large number of amphibians: flat-headed frog, cave-dwelling frog, magnificent tree frog, Derby toadlet, small toadlet, fat toadlet, the unconfirmed marbled toadlet, Mjoberg's toadlet, mole toadlet and stonemason's toadlet. Mammals that have declined especially in the flatlands include the bilby, northern quoll, pale field rat, golden-backed tree-rat, and golden bandicoot. Megabats such as the black flying foxes and little red flying foxes are common and perform important pollination and seed dispersal work for many species of native trees and shrubs.

A species of endemic gecko, Gehyra kimberleyi, is named after the Kimberley region.<ref>Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. Template:ISBN. ("Kimberley", p. 141).</ref>

The gorges of central Kimberley are known for their fossils and for their large colonies of bats, including Windjana, Tunnel Creek, and Geikie Gorges. Lake Argyle and other wetlands of the Ord and the Kimberley are important habitats while there are important populations of shorebirds in the Ord estuary, Eighty-mile Beach and Roebuck Bay, which has been described as "one of the most important stop-over areas for shorebirds in Australia and globally".<ref>Lane, J., R. Jaensch, and R. Lynch. 1996. Western Australia. Pages 759-943 in A directory of important wetlands in Australia. Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Canberra, Australia.</ref> Finally there are a number of rocky islands off the north coast that are home to seabirds and turtles.

Threats and preservationEdit

Little of the Kimberley has been subject to wholesale clearance other than particularly fertile parts of the Ord Valley (and areas of Kimberley-type habitat across in the Daly River basin in the Northern Territory) but the pastureland in the southern areas has been affected by 100 years of livestock grazing and other threats including introduced weeds (such as cocklebur, parkinsonia, bellyache bush and castor oil plant), feral cats and changes to traditional Aboriginal fire regimes (the way grassland is burnt and allowed to renew). However, the remote sandstone areas to the north have valuable original habitats in good condition providing shelter for much wildlife.

The largest protected areas are the Prince Regent National Park and the Drysdale River National Park along with Gregory National Park and Keep River National Park across in the Northern Territory, which preserves similar habitats. (Keep River's nearest town is Kununurra in the Kimberley.)

The Kimberley is a popular tourist destination, with areas such as the Bungle Bungle Range, the Gibb River Road, Lake Argyle, El Questro Station, Mornington Sanctuary, 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.

Other parks in the region include 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 and Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater National Park. In 2012 the Western Australian government announced the creation of the 7,062 square kilometre Camden Sound Marine Park with a further three to come.Template:Update inline

Visitors to the area should be aware that the area can be subject to controlled burns at any time of year. In September 2011, a fire burned five people, two severely, who had been competing in the Kimberley Ultramarathon, an endurance cross country footrace.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Save the Kimberley campaignEdit

The Wilderness Society has led a campaign to protest a proposal to industrialise the James Price Point area of Broome. Woodside Energy, with the additional involvement of BHP and the Government of Australia, has sought to build a gas industrial complex, and those in opposition believe that such a development threatens the region. The campaign has received support from public figures such as John Butler, Clare Bowditch, Missy Higgins and former leader of the Australian Greens, Bob Brown.

On 5 October 2012, a concert was held at Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia, to raise awareness of the campaign; the protest event attracted approximately 6,000 people.

On 24 February 2013, an estimated 20,000 people gathered for a charity concert<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in Fremantle, Western Australia to raise awareness and funds to help protect the Kimberley, with performances from Ball Park Music, Missy Higgins, and John Butler.

EconomyEdit

The Kimberley region has a diverse regional economy. Mining, construction, tourism, retail, agriculture, and pearling are major contributors to the region's economic output.<ref name=kdc>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The town of Broome has 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.

One third of the world's annual production of diamonds is mined at the Argyle and the Ellendale diamond mines. Oil is extracted from the Blina oil field and natural gas is extracted from the Ichthys LNG project. Zinc and lead were mined at the Pillara and Cadjebut mines near Fitzroy Crossing, with nickel still being mined at Sallay Mallay near Halls Creek. Derby is the nearest export base for shipping these metals.

Traditionally, the economy depended on pastoral leases, with most of the region covered 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; tenants include Paspaley Pearls and Broome TAFE. The Kimberley also has a thriving fishing industry.

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 Freddie 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 organized 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.

Tourism is expected to remain one of the Kimberley region's major growth industries. Averaged across 2010, 2011, and 2012, there were 292,600 domestic and international visitors to the Kimberley annually.<ref name=kdc/>

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

Further readingEdit

Template:Refbegin

Template:Refend

External linksEdit

Template:Subject bar Template:Western Australian regions Template:Drainage basins of Australia