|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
13°S 142°E Romilly – Queensland by Degrees |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Location: This confluence point is 4.1 km north of the Aurukun Road and was reached on foot from the road. The point was accurately located by GPS. The site is within Aurukun Shire and the nearest settlements are Weipa (42 km in a direct line to the north-west) and Aurukun (49 km in a direct line to the south-west). The Landscape: The point is located on a wide plain at an elevation of 26 m ASL. The geology of the plain is mudstone of Early Cretaceous age (146 to 100 million years). The soil is a grey clay loam and evidence of bauxite and ironstone was seen in the area. The site drains to the Hey River and Albatross Bay. Vegetation at the site is a mid-height eucalypt dominated savannah, with Variable-barked Bloodwoods (Eucalyptus dichromophloia), Narrow-leaved Ironbark (E.crebra) and Cooktown Ironwood (Erythrophleum chlorostachys) as the most common trees. Also evident are Grevilleas such as Silver Oak (Grevillia parallela) and Bushman's Pegs (G. glauca); Hakea persiehana; various Wattles; and in the more poorly drained areas Paperbark Ti-tree (Melaleuca dealbata) can dominate. Ground cover is course grasses such as Spear Grass (Heteropogon contortus) and Kangaroo Grass (Themeda triandra).
Fauna seen in the area included brumbies, feral pigs and macropods (mainly Northern Nailtail Wallaby and Agile Wallaby). There are numerous termite mounds in the area. There was no apparent land use in the vicinity of the point. Point information and photos: Tony Hillier, Kev Teys, Bruce Urquhart, Dale Farnell and John and Mary Nowill, 2008. WITHIN THE DEGREE SQUARE The Country: Much of the area within the degree square is generally flat and low-lying. Average elevation is around 50 m ASL with the highest country along the northern edge of the Mungkan Kandju National Park where the maximum elevation is 163 m ASL. In coastal areas and around the estuaries of the major rivers there are extensive swamps. The core of the area covering much of the country to the east of the confluence point is composed of mudstone of Early Cretaceous age (146 to 100 million years). These are the oldest rocks in the square. The north and south edges of the area and the entire west coast are composed of sandstone and lateritic duricrust of Cainozoic age (less than 65 million years). This is the geology from which bauxite is mined. The remainder of the area, mainly along the drainage channels, is composed of sediments and alluvium of Quaternary age (less than 2 million years). The vegetation across the area is very similar to that at the confluence point, with slightly denser woodland along the western half, grading to more open savannah to the east. Mangrove forests are found around most of the estuaries. Fauna throughout the area is similar to that identified at the confluence point. The bird life is a notable feature with more than 100 species recorded. They include the Palm Cockatoo and various other parrots, Blue Wing Kookaburra, honeyeaters and finches. Estuarine crocodiles are evident in most estuaries and dugong are present in the waters of the Gulf.
The Climate: The climate of the area is classified as tropical savannah. It has a markedly dry winter. The climate station at Weipa provides representative statistics. Weipa Aero (site 027045) 1972-2008 (elevation 18 m ASL)
The highest temperature ever recorded in Weipa was 39.2°C in November 2004 while the lowest temperature was 10.2°C in June 2007. Rainfalls also vary greatly. The highest total of 2719.4 mm was recorded in 1996 and the lowest total of 1359.0 mm in 1993. Extremes of Nature: The area is subject to cyclones. The cyclone database maintained by the Bureau of Meteorology shows that 52 cyclones have tracked within 200 km of the confluence point between 1906-7 and 2006-7. Of these, nine tracked within 50 km of the point. They included: an unnamed cyclone in January 1952; an unnamed cyclone in January 1954; an unnamed cyclone in March 1961; TC Faith in April 1972; TC Otto in March 1977; TC Greta in January 1979; TC Rebecca in February 1985; TC Mark in January 1992; and TC Ingrid in March 2005.
These storms bring potentially destructive winds, intense rainfall and high seas. Some have caused inundation and erosion to the low-lying coastal areas. Flooding in all streams is a certainty. The area averages between 50 and 60 thunder days each year. Severe thunderstorms can also bring destructive winds and produce high seas. They can come up very quickly posing a serious threat to people travelling through the area in small boats. During the winter dry season thunder storms may spark bushfires if there is sufficient fuel to promote spread. There are no earthquake epicentres within the degree square recorded in the National Earthquake Database maintained by Geoscience Australia. The closest epicentre recorded is about 130 km to the east-south-east, a ML 3.5 event on 30 January 1980. No damage was reported from this earthquake. The Indigenous Story: The area includes the traditional lands of several Aboriginal groups. In the north is Anguthimiri land; around Weipa is Awngthim country; along the coast is Winda Winda country; and inland is Mbeiwum country. One of the more notable features of the Weipa area are the mounds of cockle shells which are located adjacent to the Pine, Mission, Hey and Embley Rivers. Archaeological research indicates that these shell mounds are amongst the largest in the world and were formed between 2,000 and 4000 years ago by successive generations of Aborigines. The Aboriginal people resisted European intrusions onto their land from the very first contact with Dutch navigators in 1606. One of Willem Janszoon's crew members from the Duyfken was killed in a clash in the Albatross Bay area. In the 1870s and 1880s the development of the beche-de-mer, pearling and pastoral industries greatly increased contact between Weipa Aborigines and Europeans. The fishing industries actively recruited Aboriginal labour, with little government supervision. Aborigines were sometimes kidnapped, often misunderstood the nature of their future employment and were unable to communicate effectively with either their English speaking employers or government officials. Friction and violence arose on the fishing vessels due to callous treatment by European and 'Malay' fishermen. Eventually, after deaths on both sides, officials such as the Honourable John Douglas, Thursday Island Government Resident (1885-1904), endeavoured to protect the Western Peninsular Aborigines by encouraging the Presbyterian Church to establish a chain of mission stations. The first of these was opened by Moravian missionaries Reverend J.N. Hey (pronounced 'Hi') and Reverend J.G. Ward at Mapoon (immediately north of this degree square) in 1891, to be followed by Weipa and Aurukun. The Embley River Mission station operated by the Presbyterian Church was established in 1898 located to the east of present-day Weipa. Aboriginal workers from the Mapoon mission assisted in establishing the Embley River Mission. In July 1904, 6500 square kilometres was gazetted as an Aboriginal reserve under the Queensland Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act of 1887. The site of the mission was moved closer to the coast in 1932 because of 'exhaustion of the soil' and the difficulties in navigating along the narrow and winding creek to the mission. To make way for the development of the Weipa port and township following the start of bauxite mining the mission was moved to a location adjacent to the new township. On 1 February 1966 control of the mission was transferred from the Presbyterian Church to the Queensland Government. At this time Comalco made numerous attempts to relocate the whole community of Napranum ('meeting place' in the local language) elsewhere, but then opted to build a new town on Leithen Point at the mouth of the Embley River south of Weipa. With the passage of the Community Services (Aborigines) Act in 1984 the Napranum Reserve was created as a Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT). On 1 October 1989 local government responsibility was given to the Napranum Council. The Aurukun community has a similar history. In 1904 the Presbyterian Church extended its operations by establishing a mission on the site of present-day Aurukun on the northern shore of Archer Bay. The Aurukun Reserve was also managed under the Queensland Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act of 1887 and Aboriginals from surrounding areas were relocated to the Reserve - many against their will. In 1978, the Queensland Government decided to take control of the Aurukun Reserve, a move resisted by the local people who appealed to the Commonwealth Government. After lengthy negotiations, legislation for self-management of the Reserve was introduced into Federal Parliament and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Queensland Reserves and Communities Self-Management) Act was passed in 1978. The Queensland Government revoked the Reserves which meant that neither the Queensland Act nor the new Commonwealth legislation applied to the area. Eventually State and Federal Ministers agreed that local authorities would be created for the former reserves and the land leased to the newly created councils for 50 years. On 22 May 1978, under the Local Government (Aboriginal Lands) Act, the Aurukun Shire Council was established and granted Aboriginal Land Lease No.1.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last
updated 22 April 2009. Web page done by Hayley Freemantle. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
