Kimberley historical timeline

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

DateEventLocationNotes
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 Aboriginies after a man is killed [1]
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
1837Lieutenants George Grey and Franklin Lushington, and 12 men sailed on the schooner Lynher from Cape Town to Hanover Bey 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]
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 discovered by prospectors Charles Hall and John Slattery at Halls Creek Halls Creek [9]
1885Gogo cattle station established by the Emanuel family Gogo Station
1886Townsite of for Wyndham chosen by John Forrest Wyndham
1887Lots at townsite for Halls Creek laid out Halls Creek [9]
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]
1908Construction of wells along Canning Stock Route commences Halls Creek
1910Construction of wells along Canning Stock Route completed Wiluna
1944Construction of Mungalalu Truscott Airbase completed Mungalalu Truscott Airbase
1945Frank Lacy established Mount Elizabeth cattle station Mount Elizabeth Station [11]
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 [12]
1957Lease for Home Valley taken up by Harold MacNamara Home Valley Station [13]
1959Construction of barrages and 17-mile dam completed for Camballin Irrigation Scheme Camballin [14]
1959 BHP commence mining Iron ore at Koolan Island Koolan Island [15]
1960Construction of Ord River Diversion dam commences Ord River
1961Townsite for Kununurra is proclaimed Kununura [16]
1962 Air Beef Scheme operations cease Glenroy Station [17]
1963Construction of Ord River Diversion dam completed forming Lake Kununurra Lake Kununurra [18]
1969Construction of Ord River main dam commences Ord River
1972Construction of Ord River main dam completed forming Lake Argyle Lake Argyle [18]
1975Townsite of Fitzroy Crossing is gazetted, town has existed since the 1900s Fitzroy Crossing
1983Construction of RAAF Curtin commences Derby
1983 Camballin Irrigation Scheme abandoned Camballin [19]
1985 Argyle diamond mine opens Lake Argyle
1983Construction of RAAF Curtin completed Derby
1993 BHP cease mining Iron ore at Koolan Island Koolan Island [15]
2006Mining and processing commences at Coyote Gold Mine Coyote Gold Mine
2007Mount Gibson Iron commence mining Iron ore at Koolan Island Koolan Island [15]
2014Mount Gibson Iron suspend mining Iron ore at Koolan Island Koolan Island [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

Broome, Western Australia Town in Western Australia

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Kununurra, Western Australia Town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia

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Kimberley (Western Australia) Region in Western Australia

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Derby, Western Australia Town in Western Australia

Derby is a town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. At the 2016 census, Derby had a population of 3,325 with 47.2% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent. Along with Broome and Kununurra, it is one of only three towns in the Kimberley to have a population over 2,000. Located on King Sound, Derby has the highest tides in Australia, with the differential between low and high tide reaching 11.8 metres (39 ft).

Ord River River in Kimberley region of Western Australia

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Fitzroy River (Western Australia)

The Fitzroy River is located in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia. It has 20 tributaries and its catchment occupies an area of 93,829 square kilometres (36,228 sq mi), within the Canning Basin and the Timor Sea drainage division.

Wyndham, Western Australia Town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia

Wyndham is the northernmost town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, located on the Great Northern Highway, 2,210 kilometres (1,373 mi) northeast of Perth. It was established in 1886 to service a new goldfield at Halls Creek, and it is now a port and service centre for the east Kimberley with a population of 780. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people make up 54% of the population. Wyndham comprises two areas - the original town site at Wyndham Port situated on Cambridge Gulf, and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) by road to the south, the Three Mile area with the residential and shopping area for the port, also founded in 1886. Wyndham is part of the Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley.

Elizabeth Durack Australian artist (1915–2000)

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Shire of Wyndham–East Kimberley Local government area in Western Australia

The Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley is one of the four local government areas in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia, covering an area of 117,514 square kilometres (45,372 sq mi) at Western Australia's northeastern corner. The Shire's seat of government was originally in Wyndham but now in the town of Kununurra, which is home to over half of the Shire's permanent population of around 7,000, while a council office is located at Wyndham.

Shire of Derby–West Kimberley Local government area in Western Australia

The Shire of Derby–West Kimberley is one of four local government areas in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia, covering an area of 104,080 square kilometres (40,186 sq mi), most of which is sparsely populated. The Shire's population as at the 2016 Census was almost 8,000, with most residing in the major towns of Derby, which is also the Shire's seat of government, and Fitzroy Crossing. There are also around 70 Aboriginal communities within the Shire.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Broome Catholic ecclesiastical territory

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Fossil Downs Station

Fossil Downs Station is a pastoral lease and cattle station located about 50 kilometres (31 mi) North East of Fitzroy Crossing in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Yeeda Station Pastoral lease in Western Australia

Yeeda Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

Liveringa

Liveringa or Liveringa Station, often referred to as Upper Liveringa Station, is a pastoral lease in Western Australia that once operated as a sheep station but presently operates as a cattle station.

Mount House Station Pastoral lease in Western Australia

Mount House Station, commonly referred to as Mount House, is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in Western Australia.

Main Roads Western Australia controls the major roads in the state's Kimberley region. Great Northern Highway is the major road connection through the region, with sealed roads spurring off it to connect to population centres, and unsealed roads offering an alternative route between Derby and Wyndham.

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

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. ↑ "Mt Elizabeth Gibb River Road Australia". Discover Australia. 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "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.
  13. ↑ "History of Karunjie Station". Indigenous Land Corporation. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  14. ↑ "Agriculture in the West Kimberley" (PDF). Environs Kimberley. 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Koolan Island". Mount Gibson Iron. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "1961 Kununurra Townsite Proclamation". Kimberley Historical Society. 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  17. ↑ "MMA Air Beef Scheme". AussieAirliners. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  18. 1 2 "Ord river Irrigation Scheme". Lake Argyle. 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  19. ↑ Jane O'Sullivan (14 August 2015). "The Kimberley, future Asian food bowl". University of Queensland . Retrieved 7 October 2015.
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