Borroloola, Northern Territory
Encyclopedia
Borroloola is a town in the Northern Territory
of Australia
. It is located on the McArthur River
, about 50 km upstream from the Gulf of Carpentaria
. At the 2006 census
, Borroloola had a population of 773, of whom 579 declared themselves indigenous.
. Rivers that run from the Tablelands escarpment
to the Gulf regularly flood in the wet season
, making travel on the unsealed section of Highway One
along the coastal plain to Queensland
impossible. The rivers of this region have carved spectacular gorges through sandstone deposits in their upper reaches. The rivers and coastal areas are host to barramundi
, earning Borroloola a reputation among sports fisherman, and also to the deadly saltwater crocodile
. The region has little rain from May to September, and is characterised by lightly treed Savanna
grasslands.
In the local Indigenous languages of Yanyuwa, Garrwa, Marra, Gudanji and Binbingka, Borroloola would be written as Burrulula. The name belongs to a small lagoon just to the east of the present day caravan park. The name itself carries no specific meaning, other than it is the name of the lagoon and associated with the Hill Kangaroo. It was at this site that the Hill Kangaroo Ancestral Being (Nangurrbuwala) danced his ceremonies. The white barked gum trees in the area are said to be his body decorations as they flew from his body as he danced. Other Indigenous names in the area of Borroloola are Wurrarawala (Trig Hill) this hill is associated with the backbone of the Hill Kangaroo Ancestor. Bunubunu (Rocky Creek), this creek is associated with a File Snake Ancestor. Warralungku (The McArthur River Crossing) and Mabunji, a set of specific rocks at the McArthur River Crossing that carry the imprint of the Hill Kangaroo's tail and feet. The area of Borroloola belongs to members of the Rrumburriya clan. (see also "Forget About Flinders" A Yanyuwa Atlas of the south west Gulf of Carpentaria (2002) by Yanyuwa families, John Bradley an Nona Cameron. J.M. McGregor Publishers. Queensland)
and the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands
in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The largely self-contained village houses a small permanent population during the wet season, but numbers swell as tourists, mostly retired and semi-retired, arrive in April and May to enjoy the mild dry season weather. The Fishing Classic competition, held over the Easter weekend each year (weather and road access permitting), marks the end of the wet season.
The Borroloola Community Education Center (CEC) contains a preschool, primary school and secondary school. The Borroloola CEC has a combined staff of more than 25. The staff are composed of mostly out-of-state teachers and local indigenous teacher aides. The CEC enjoys an average attendance of 100 students, but has far more listed on its rolls. Two of the problems facing the school are intermittent student attendance and a high staff turnover. The current Principal is Geoff Perry, who took over the school in 2008.
The CEC has seen much recent construction. In 2007 a 2m tall metal fence was constructed around the preschool and primary school. In 2008 construction began on several new buildings. After the removal of older buildings the new construction will enlarge the school by three buildings.
, lead
and silver
mine about 70 km south-west of Borroloola, is operated by McArthur River Mining (MRM), which is wholly owned by the Swiss mining company Xstrata
. In October 2006, MRM had an application approved by the Northern Territory Government to expand the mine to include an open-pit excavation. This expansion will include a diversion of part of the McArthur River. Some local indigenous people, mainly the Yanyuwa
saltwater people living in the Pellew Group of islands, protested the expansion application on environmental grounds.
In April 2007 the Territory Supreme Court
found that the approval of the expansion of the McArthur River mine was invalid because Territory Mines Minister Chris Natt
did not follow the proper process. Within days of the Supreme Court judgement, the Clare Martin
Territory government rammed through legislation to sidestep the objection and ensure the continued operation of the mine. Several indigenous MLAs, including a Yanyuwa woman, Barbara McCarthy, opposed the passage of the amended legislation, but most other members of the Parliament, including members of the opposition CLP, voted for the amendment. A further challenge by the Borroloola Traditional Owners (under the auspices of the Northern Land Council
), to the Federal Court
in Darwin, was heard in late July 2007. The challenge against the then federal Environment Minister (Ian Campbell
) argued that Senator Campbell did not follow the correct process in signing off on the Territory Government's approval of the mine expansion. Justice Mansfield released his finding in June 2008 that, overall, the minister did not err in approving the redevelopment. The traditional owners are now considering either a political campaign or an appeal to the full bench of the Federal Court.
The Merlin diamond mine
, adjacent to the McArthur River Mine, has resumed operations after a period of inactivity.
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is located on the McArthur River
McArthur River
The McArthur River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia which flows into the Gulf of Carpentaria at Port McArthur, opposite the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands. The river was named by Ludwig Leichhardt while he explored the area in 1845...
, about 50 km upstream from the Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Borroloola had a population of 773, of whom 579 declared themselves indigenous.
Location
Borroloola lies on the coastal plain between the Barkly Tablelands and the Gulf of CarpentariaGulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
. Rivers that run from the Tablelands escarpment
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
to the Gulf regularly flood in the wet season
Wet season
The the wet season, or rainy season, is the time of year, covering one or more months, when most of the average annual rainfall in a region occurs. The term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities. Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the...
, making travel on the unsealed section of Highway One
Highway 1 (Australia)
Australia's Highway 1 is a network of highways that circumnavigate the Australian continent, joining all mainland state capitals. At a total length of approximately it is the longest national highway in the world, longer than the Trans-Siberian Highway and the Trans-Canada Highway...
along the coastal plain to Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
impossible. The rivers of this region have carved spectacular gorges through sandstone deposits in their upper reaches. The rivers and coastal areas are host to barramundi
Barramundi
The Barramundi , also known as Asian Seabass, is a species of catadromous fish in family Latidae of order Perciformes. The native species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific region from the Persian Gulf, through Southeast Asia to Papua New Guinea and Northern Australia. Known in Thai...
, earning Borroloola a reputation among sports fisherman, and also to the deadly saltwater crocodile
Saltwater Crocodile
The saltwater crocodile, also known as estuarine or Indo-Pacific crocodile, is the largest of all living reptiles...
. The region has little rain from May to September, and is characterised by lightly treed Savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
grasslands.
History
The 'Coast Track' follows the path of cattle drovers of the late 19th century as they moved herds from north-west Queensland to stock the new stations of the Northern Territory and the Kimberley. The drovers in turn followed a well-worn Aboriginal path. Tony Roberts (2005) writes a moving and well-researched history of the region, in which the local tribes went from almost total isolation from European Australians in 1870, to a decimated collection of displaced and defeated groups, over a single decade. Entire tribes such as the Wilangarra, including women, children and babies were massacred, and most adult males were killed, by police and quasi-police groups, and by drovers and station workers involved in the cattle droves of that era.In the local Indigenous languages of Yanyuwa, Garrwa, Marra, Gudanji and Binbingka, Borroloola would be written as Burrulula. The name belongs to a small lagoon just to the east of the present day caravan park. The name itself carries no specific meaning, other than it is the name of the lagoon and associated with the Hill Kangaroo. It was at this site that the Hill Kangaroo Ancestral Being (Nangurrbuwala) danced his ceremonies. The white barked gum trees in the area are said to be his body decorations as they flew from his body as he danced. Other Indigenous names in the area of Borroloola are Wurrarawala (Trig Hill) this hill is associated with the backbone of the Hill Kangaroo Ancestor. Bunubunu (Rocky Creek), this creek is associated with a File Snake Ancestor. Warralungku (The McArthur River Crossing) and Mabunji, a set of specific rocks at the McArthur River Crossing that carry the imprint of the Hill Kangaroo's tail and feet. The area of Borroloola belongs to members of the Rrumburriya clan. (see also "Forget About Flinders" A Yanyuwa Atlas of the south west Gulf of Carpentaria (2002) by Yanyuwa families, John Bradley an Nona Cameron. J.M. McGregor Publishers. Queensland)
The community
The King Ash Bay fishing club is situated on the McArthur River about 40 km downstream (north-east) from Borroloola by river, just over 40 km from Borroloola by road. Their boat ramp provides access to the mangrove-lined waterways of the McArthur estuaryEstuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
and the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands
Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands
The Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands is situated in the south-west corner of the Gulf of Carpentaria, off the northern coast of Australia.-History:They were named in 1802 by Matthew Flinders in honour of Sir Edward Pellew, a fellow naval officer...
in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The largely self-contained village houses a small permanent population during the wet season, but numbers swell as tourists, mostly retired and semi-retired, arrive in April and May to enjoy the mild dry season weather. The Fishing Classic competition, held over the Easter weekend each year (weather and road access permitting), marks the end of the wet season.
The Borroloola Community Education Center (CEC) contains a preschool, primary school and secondary school. The Borroloola CEC has a combined staff of more than 25. The staff are composed of mostly out-of-state teachers and local indigenous teacher aides. The CEC enjoys an average attendance of 100 students, but has far more listed on its rolls. Two of the problems facing the school are intermittent student attendance and a high staff turnover. The current Principal is Geoff Perry, who took over the school in 2008.
The CEC has seen much recent construction. In 2007 a 2m tall metal fence was constructed around the preschool and primary school. In 2008 construction began on several new buildings. After the removal of older buildings the new construction will enlarge the school by three buildings.
McArthur River Mine
The McArthur River zinc mine, a zincZinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
, lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
and silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
mine about 70 km south-west of Borroloola, is operated by McArthur River Mining (MRM), which is wholly owned by the Swiss mining company Xstrata
Xstrata
Xstrata plc is a global mining company headquartered in Zug, Switzerland and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is a major producer of coal , copper, nickel, primary vanadium and zinc and the world's largest producer of ferrochrome...
. In October 2006, MRM had an application approved by the Northern Territory Government to expand the mine to include an open-pit excavation. This expansion will include a diversion of part of the McArthur River. Some local indigenous people, mainly the Yanyuwa
Yanyuwa language
The Yanyuwa language is spoken by the Yanyuwa people around the settlement of Borroloola in the Northern Territory, Australia....
saltwater people living in the Pellew Group of islands, protested the expansion application on environmental grounds.
In April 2007 the Territory Supreme Court
Australian court hierarchy
There are two streams within the hierarchy of Australian courts, the federal stream and the state and territory stream. While the federal courts and the court systems in each state and territory are separate, the High Court of Australia remains the ultimate court of appeal for the Australian...
found that the approval of the expansion of the McArthur River mine was invalid because Territory Mines Minister Chris Natt
Chris Natt
Christopher William "Chris" Natt is a former Australian politician and Australian rules footballer with Port Adelaide Football Club.A ruckman, Natt played 216 games for Port Adelaide between 1972 and 1983...
did not follow the proper process. Within days of the Supreme Court judgement, the Clare Martin
Clare Martin
Clare Majella Martin is a former Australian politician. She is the current CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service . A former journalist, she was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in a shock by-election win in 1995...
Territory government rammed through legislation to sidestep the objection and ensure the continued operation of the mine. Several indigenous MLAs, including a Yanyuwa woman, Barbara McCarthy, opposed the passage of the amended legislation, but most other members of the Parliament, including members of the opposition CLP, voted for the amendment. A further challenge by the Borroloola Traditional Owners (under the auspices of the Northern Land Council
Northern Land Council
The Northern Land Council is in the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia. It has its origins in the struggle of Australian Aboriginal people for rights to fair wages and land. This included the strike and walk off by the Gurindji people at Wave Hill, cattle station in 1966. The head...
), to the Federal Court
Federal Court of Australia
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law , along with some summary criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single Judges...
in Darwin, was heard in late July 2007. The challenge against the then federal Environment Minister (Ian Campbell
Ian Campbell (Australian politician)
Ian Gordon Campbell , Australian politician, was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing Western Australia between 1990 and 2007.-Early life:...
) argued that Senator Campbell did not follow the correct process in signing off on the Territory Government's approval of the mine expansion. Justice Mansfield released his finding in June 2008 that, overall, the minister did not err in approving the redevelopment. The traditional owners are now considering either a political campaign or an appeal to the full bench of the Federal Court.
The Merlin diamond mine
Merlin diamond mine
The Merlin diamond mine is one of only three diamond mines in Australia. The mine is located in the Northern Territory of Australia, about 80 kilometres south of Borroloola...
, adjacent to the McArthur River Mine, has resumed operations after a period of inactivity.
See also
- Cape Crawford, Northern TerritoryCape Crawford, Northern TerritoryCape Crawford is a location in the Northern Territory.Cape Crawford, 100 kilometres south-west of Borroloola in the Northern Territory in Australia, is surrounded by savannah woodland, rock escarpments, waterfalls and waterholes...
- Numby Numby/Ngambingambi sinkhole
External links
Good historical background on Borroloola at *Borroloola Council- Borroloola Guest House
- King Ash Bay Fishing Club
- Frontier Justice: A History of the Gulf Country to 1900 Tony Roberts, (Brisbane: UQP 2005)