Kimberley historical timeline

Last updated

This timeline is a selected list of events and locations of the development of the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

DateEventLocationNotes
c 120,000 BP Wolfe Creek Crater formed by meteorite impact Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater National Park
17-25,000 BPEstimated age of Gwion Gwion (Bradshaws) rock art Roe River
c 4000 BPEstimated age of Wandjina rock artNorth-West Kimberley
1688 William Dampier, first European to the region, sails along the coast Cape Leveque and King Sound [1]
1699William Dampier return journey, leaves after an altercation with Indigenous Australians after a man is killed [1]
c 1720 Visits of Makassan trepang fishermen begin Niiwalarra
1803 Nicolas Baudin sails along the coast charting Cape Bougainville Admiralty Gulf [2]
1819 Philip Parker King sails along the coast in HMS Mermaid surveying the coastline Cambridge Gulf and King Sound
1820HMS Mermaid grounded and repaired at Careening Cove, Coronation Island Coronation Island
1837Lieutenants George Grey and Franklin Lushington, and 12 men sailed on the schooner Lynher from Cape Town to Hanover Bay and explore inlandHanover Bay
1861The giant North West pearl oyster the Pinctada maxima was discovered in Roebuck Bay by the crew of the Dolphin. Roebuck Bay and Eighty Mile Beach [3] [4]
1864First white settlement made at Camden Harbour, soon abandoned Camden Sound
1865 La Grange expedition shoots dead several Aboriginal men in retaliation for deaths of three white men Lagrange Bay
1879 Alexander Forrest trekked across from the western coast to the Northern Territory. Forrest named the Kimberley district, Margaret River, Ord River and the King Leopold Ranges Kimberley
1879Charles Harper suggested to the Legislative Council that Roebuck Bay be set up as a port for the pearling industry Roebuck Bay [1]
1880The Murray Squatting Company take up leases in the newly opened West Kimberley Yeeda
1881The Kimberley Squatting Company take up the lease for Liveringa Station Liveringa [5]
1881First ships using pearl diving equipment arrive in Roebuck Bay, revolutionizing the pearling industry Roebuck Bay [3] [4]
1882The Victorian Squatting Company take up leases on the Drysdale River Drysdale River Station [6]
1883The townsite of Derby is named and established with a Government resident Derby [7]
1883Townsite for Broome chosen by John Forrest, town proclaimed later the same year Broome [1]
1883Leases issued to the MacDonald and MacKenzie families for lands along the Fitzroy River Fossil Downs Station [8]
1885Construction of wooden jetty at Derby completed Derby [7]
1885Gold rush at Halls Creek following discovery by prospectors Charles Hall and John Slattery Halls Creek [9]
1885Gogo cattle station established by the Emanuel family Gogo Station
1886Townsite of for Wyndham chosen by John Forrest Wyndham
1887140 lives lost when pearling fleet hit by cyclone off Broome
1887Lots at townsite for Halls Creek laid out Halls Creek [9]
1887Apostolic Vicariate of Kimberley (later Catholic Diocese of Broome) established Broome
1889Broome connected to Java by telegraph cable landed at Cable Beach Cable Beach
1890 Trappist monks establish Beagle Bay mission Beagle Bay
1891Pastoralist Joseph Bradshaw discovers Gwion Gwion rock paintings Roe River
1893Michael and Patrick Durack establish Carlton Hill and Ivanhoe cattle stations Carlton Hill Station and Ivanhoe Station [10]
1894Townsite of Halls Creek gazetted Halls Creek [9]
1894Shootout between posse of white police and settlers and aboriginal band led by Jandamarra Windjana Gorge
1897Jandamarra shot dead by tracker Micki Tunnel Creek
1900 Daisy Bates visits Beagle Bay and Broome and reports on conditions Broome, Beagle Bay
1908Construction of wells along Canning Stock Route commences Halls Creek
1908 Benedictines establish Drysdale River Mission Kalumburu
1908Irish Sisters of St John of God establish convent in Broome Broome [11]
1910Construction of wells along Canning Stock Route completed Wiluna
1913Forrest River Mission re-established by Anglican Church, run by Ernest Gribble Oombulgurri
1915Several indigenous people killed in Mistake Creek massacre Mistake Creek, near Lake Argyle
1916 Sun Picture Gardens outdoor cinema opens Broome
1918Beagle Bay church with pearl shell altar opened Beagle Bay
1920 Broome race riots between Japanese and Indonesians, leaving 8 dead Broome
1926Punitive expedition kills unknown number of Aboriginal persons in Forrest River massacre Oombulgurri
1931 Fr Worms begins research on Yawuru langauage and culture Broome
1932Two German aviators rescued by aboriginal fishermen after forced landing on Kimberley coast Berkeley River
1936Derby Leprosarium opened, staffed by nuns led by Sr Mary Gertrude. Derby [12]
1938Australia's only order of aboriginal nuns founded Broome [13]
1939 Isaac Steinberg arrives in Perth to promote Kimberley Plan to resettle Jewish refugees in northern Australia Perth
1942Japanese planes attack Broome, killing at least 88 Broome
1943Drysdale River mission bombed by Japanese, killing 6 Kalumburu
1944Construction of Mungalalu Truscott Airbase completed Mungalalu Truscott Airbase
1945Frank Lacy established Mount Elizabeth cattle station Mount Elizabeth Station [14]
1949 Air Beef Scheme commences operation Glenroy Station [9]
1949Townsite of Halls Creek moved 12 kilometres (7 mi) west after flooding and regazetted Halls Creek [9]
1951 BHP commence mining Iron ore at Cockatoo Island Cockatoo Island [15]
1957Lease for Home Valley taken up by Harold MacNamara Home Valley Station [16]
1959Construction of barrages and 17-mile dam completed for Camballin Irrigation Scheme Camballin [17]
1959 BHP commence mining Iron ore at Koolan Island Koolan Island [18]
1959 Mary Durack's book Kings in Grass Castles tells the story of her grandfather Patrick Durack's overland trek from Queensland to the Kimberley
1960Construction of Ord River Diversion dam commences Ord River
1961Townsite for Kununurra is proclaimed Kununura [19]
1962 Air Beef Scheme operations cease Glenroy Station [20]
1963Construction of Ord River Diversion dam completed forming Lake Kununurra Lake Kununurra [21]
1969Construction of Ord River main dam commences Ord River
1972Construction of Ord River main dam completed forming Lake Argyle Lake Argyle [21]
1975Townsite of Fitzroy Crossing is gazetted, town has existed since the 1900s Fitzroy Crossing
1978 Kimberley Land Council formed Noonkanbah Station
1983Construction of RAAF Curtin commences Derby
1983 Camballin Irrigation Scheme abandoned Camballin [22]
1984 Pearl Coast Zoo opened as part of Lord Alistair McAlpine's tourist developments Broome
1985 Argyle diamond mine opens Lake Argyle
1987Three murdered by the "Kimberley Killer" Joseph Schwab Pentecost River
1988Construction of RAAF Curtin completed Derby [23]
1990Premiere of Jimmy Chi's musical Bran Nue Dae Perth
1993 BHP cease mining Iron ore at Koolan Island Koolan Island [18]
1994Broome campus of University of Notre Dame Australia opened Broome
2000 Cyclone Rosita causes severe damage in Broome area Broome
2002 Curtin Immigration Reception and Processing Centre closed after riots RAAF Curtin
2003 Miriuwung and Gajerrong native title claim recognised by Federal Court Kununurra
2003 Purnululu National Park declared a World Heritage Site Purnululu National Park
2006Mining and processing commences at Coyote Gold Mine Coyote Gold Mine
2007Mount Gibson Iron commence mining Iron ore at Koolan Island Koolan Island [18]
2008Filming of Bran Nue Dae musical comedy-drama Broome, Djarindjin
2008Documentary film Yajilarra portrays indigenous women's fight against violence in Fitzroy Crossing area Fitzroy Crossing
2011 Oombulgurri Community closed down after history of violence Oombulgurri
2014Mount Gibson Iron suspend mining Iron ore at Koolan Island Koolan Island [18]
2017 Fitzroy Crossing woman June Oscar appointed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner
2019WA Coroner reports on inquest into 13 aboriginal child deaths by hanging Perth [24]
2020 Argyle diamond mine closes
2022 Cyclone Ellie causes record flooding Fitzroy River
2022Multiple injuries in tour boat accident at Horizontal Falls Horizontal Falls

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Broome history". Broome Visitor Information Centre. 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "Nicolas Baudin's Scientific Expedition To The Terres Australes". 2001. Archived from the original on 15 October 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Broome History Overview". Broome Holidays. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Pearling". Cable Beach Club. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "Register of Heritage places – Assessment Documentation" (PDF). Heritage Council of Western Australia. 11 December 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "History". Drysdale River Station . Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Derby History". Derby Visitor Centre. 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Wendy Birman (1974). "Macdonald, Charles (1851–1903)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University . Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Halls Creek Suburb Profile". REIWA. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "Carlton Hill". Consolidated Pastoral Company . Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Sisters of St John of God Kimberley" . Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  12. ↑ "Derby Leprosarium". Find & Connect. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  13. ↑ Choo, Christine (2019). "Daughters of Our Lady Queen of the Apostles: The first and only order of Aboriginal nuns in Australia, 1938-1951" (PDF). Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society. 40: 103–30. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  14. ↑ "Mt Elizabeth Gibb River Road Australia". Discover Australia. 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "Iron ore in Western Australia" (PDF). PDF. Department of Industry and Resources. 1995. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 September 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "History of Karunjie Station". Indigenous Land Corporation. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  17. ↑ "Agriculture in the West Kimberley" (PDF). Environs Kimberley. 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  18. 1 2 3 4 "Koolan Island". Mount Gibson Iron. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  19. ↑ "1961 Kununurra Townsite Proclamation". Kimberley Historical Society. 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  20. ↑ "MMA Air Beef Scheme". AussieAirliners. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  21. 1 2 "Ord river Irrigation Scheme". Lake Argyle. 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  22. ↑ Jane O'Sullivan (14 August 2015). "The Kimberley, future Asian food bowl". University of Queensland . Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  23. ↑ New RAAF Base Opened Australian Aviation issue 46 September 1988 page 8
  24. ↑ Fogliani, R V C (2019). "Inquest into the 13 Deaths of Children and Young Persons in the Kimberley Region". Coroner's Court of Western Australia . Retrieved 17 October 2024.
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