Kumpupintil Lake is about 160 kilometres (99mi) long and located 300 kilometres (190mi) east of Newman.
The 33,000-hectare (82,000-acre) lake typically is dry, except during very wet periods such as the 1900 floods and in many recent tropical wet seasons since 1967. It lies on the Tropic of Capricorn, due east of the mining town of Newman and the Jigalong Community. It is at the northern side of the Little Sandy Desert and south of the Karlamilyi National Park. The Canning Stock Route passes down the western shores of the lake and the surrounds consist mostly of sand dunes. Its elevation is 325metres (1066ft) above mean sea level.[1]
The lake is important to Martu people for spiritual and ceremonial reasons, as well as being an important place for water and traditional food.
Kumpupintil Lake, then officially known as Lake Disappointment, photographed in 2015
In indigenous culture, Kumpupintil was off-limits to the tribes neighbouring the area, such as the Kurajarra, Wanman, Kartudjara and the Putidjara. The reason for the taboo, existing down to modern times, derives from the lake's mythological associations with the Ngayurnangalku spirits thought to live below its surface. This prohibition extended to flying over the area, since the Ngayurnangalku, ancestral cannibal beings with pointy teeth and clawlike fingernails,[5] are deemed capable of attacking even planes that intrude over the lake's airspace.[6]
The Aboriginal people told a story about how the Ngayurnangalku were split into the 'good' and the 'bad' over a debate on whether or not they should continue to eat people. One group decided that they would stop participating in cannibalism and were only kept safe by 'bodyguards'. The other group continued to follow cannibalism. Aboriginal stockmen would muffle their horses' bells so that they would not alert the cannibals to their presence when they approached the lake.[7]
Name
The lake known to the Western Desert Martu people as Kumpupintil was named Lake Disappointment by the explorer Frank Hann in 1897.[8] Hann was in the area exploring the east Pilbara, around Rudall River. He noticed creeks in the area flowed inland, and followed them, expecting to find a large fresh water lake. The lake was typically dry and so was named Lake Disappointment.[lower-alpha 1]
The name "Kumpupintil" describes how the lake was made and is linked to a Martu creation story where Martu warriors fought mighty giants in an epic battle.
↑ "It was left to Frank Hann in the course of an exploring/prospecting expedition travelling east from Nullagine to sight and name the lake on 20 April 1897. Hann had travelled from Nullagine across the Davis River to the Coolbro Creek, then to the southeast following and naming the Broadhurst Range, crossing the upper Rudall River and the Cotton Creek as far as the Harbutt Range where he turned south to the Mckay Range. Here to the southward he sighted a large lake ten miles distant, and they made their way to it next day, but 'found it was all white salt ... it is the largest thing in lakes I ever saw ... I shall call the lake Lake Disappointment as I was disappointed in not finding water in it."[9]
Karlamilyi National Park lies in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 250 kilometres (160 mi) northeast of Newman and 1,250 kilometres (780 mi) north-northeast of Perth. Proclaimed an A Class Reserve on 13 April 1977, it is the largest national park in Western Australia.
Nullagine is an old goldrush town in Western Australia's Pilbara region. It is located on the Nullagine River 296 km south-east of Port Hedland and 1,364 km north-north-east of Perth on the old Great Northern Highway.
The Little Sandy Desert (LSD) is a desert region in the state of Western Australia, lying to the east of the Pilbara and north of the Gascoyne regions. It is part of the Western Desert cultural region, and was declared an interim Australian bioregion in the 1990s.
Lake Dora is a seasonal salt lake located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It lies between the vegetated sand fields of the Great Sandy and Gibson Deserts. The Rudall River occasionally flows into Lake Dora.
The Martu (Mardu) are a grouping of several Aboriginal Australian peoples in the Western Desert cultural bloc.
The Rudall River is an ephemeral river in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The entire length of the river is located within the boundaries of the Karlamilyi National Park, which straddles the Little Sandy Desert (LSD) and the Great Sandy Desert (GSD).
Parnngurr is a medium-sized Aboriginal community, located 370 km from Newman in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, within the Shire of East Pilbara. Parnngurr was originally known as Cotton Creek, the name of the ephemeral creek that runs beside the community.
The Nyamal are an Indigenous Australian people of the Pilbara area of north-western Western Australia.
Keiadjara, also rendered Kiyajarra, were an Aboriginal Australian people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The Warnman, also spelt Wanman, are an Aboriginal Australian people of Western Australia's Pilbara region.
The Kartudjara are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The Ngolibardu, otherwise written Ngulipartu, were an Aboriginal Australian people of Western Australia.
The Ngarla are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The Walmadjari (Walmajarri) people, also known as Tjiwaling and Wanaseka, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The Kukatja people, also written Gugadja, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
The Kurajarra were an Aboriginal Australian people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The Ildawongga are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The Ngaatjatjarra are an Indigenous Australian people of Western Australia, with communities located in the north eastern part of the Goldfields-Esperance region.
The Nakako are an Aboriginal Australian people of Western and Southern Australia.
The Mandjindja, Mantjintjarra or Manytjilytjarra are an Aboriginal Australian people of Western Australia belonging to the Western Desert cultural bloc.
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