Kakadu National Park

**Kakadu National Park** is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 171&nbsp;km southeast of Darwin. It is the second largest national park in the world. It covers an area of . It is about 200&nbsp;kilometres from north to south, and more than 100&nbsp;kilometres from east to west. It is the size of Slovenia, about one-third the size of Tasmania, or nearly half the size of Switzerland. The Ranger Uranium Mine, one of the biggest Uranium mines in the world, is inside the park.

## History
### Early history
The name Kakadu comes from *Gagadju*, the name of an Aboriginal language spoken in the northern part of the Park. Kakadu National Park has many different ecological areas, and many different plant and animal species. The main natural features protected within the National Park include:
*  Four major river systems:
** the East Alligator River,
** the West Alligator River,
** the Wildman River; and
** the entire South Alligator River;
* Six major landforms:
** Savanna woodlands
** Monsoon forests
** Southern hills and ridges
** Stone country
** Coast and tidal flats,
** Floodplain and billabongs
* Many different plants and animals: This is an international list of places that are have outstanding cultural or natural values of international significance. Kakadu was listed in three stages: Stage 1 in 1981, Stage 2 in 1987, and the entire Park in 1992.

About half of the land in Kakadu is aboriginal land under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. Most of the remaining land is currently under claim by Aboriginal people. The areas of the Park that are owned by Aboriginal people are leased by the traditional owners to the Director of National Parks to be managed as a national park. The remaining area is Australian Government land controlled by the Director of National Parks. All of Kakadu is declared a national park under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The Aboriginal traditional owners of the Park are descendants of various clan groups from the Kakadu area. Their lifestyle has changed in recent years, but their traditional customs and beliefs remain very important. About 500 Aboriginal people live in the Park; many of them are traditional owners. All of Kakadu is jointly managed by Aboriginal traditional owners and the Australian Government’s Department of the Environment and Water Resources through a division known as Parks Australia. Park Management is directed by the Kakadu Board of Management.

### Establishment
Kakadu was set up at a time when Australians were becoming more interested in national parks for conservation and in recognising the land rights of Aboriginal people. A national park in the Alligator River region was proposed as early as 1965. In 1978 the Australian Government took over the titles of various pieces of land that now makes up Kakadu National Park.

Kakadu National Park was made a park in three stages between 1979 and 1991. Each stage of the Park includes Aboriginal land under the Land Rights Act that is leased to the Director of National Parks or land that is subject to a claim to traditional ownership under the Land Rights Act. Most of the land that was to become part of Stage One of Kakadu was given to the Kakadu Aboriginal Land Trust under the Land Rights Act in August 1978. In November 1978, the Land Trust and the Director signed a lease for the land to be managed as a national park. Stage One of the Park was declared on 5 April 1979.

Stage Two was declared on 28 February 1984. In March 1978, a claim was lodged under the Land Rights Act for the land included in Stage Two of Kakadu. The land claim was partly successful. In 1986, three areas in the eastern part of Stage Two were given to the Jabiluka Aboriginal Land Trust. A lease between the Land Trust and the Director of National parks was signed in March 1991.

In 1987, a land claim was made for the land in the Goodparla and Gimbat pastoral leases that were to be included in Stage Three of Kakadu. The other area to be included in Stage Three, the Gimbat Resumption and the Waterfall Creek Reserve, were later added to this land claim. The need to create the park in stages was due to the debate over whether mining should be allowed at Guratba (Coronation Hill) which is located in the middle of the area referred to as Sickness Country. The traditional owners’ wishes were ultimately respected and the Australian National Government decided that there would be no mining at Guratba.

In 1996, the land in Stage Three, apart from the former Goodparla pastoral leases, was given to the Gunlom Aboriginal Land Trust and leased to the Director of National Parks to continue being managed as part of Kakadu.

### The arrival of non Aboriginal people
#### Explorers
The Chinese, Malays and Portuguese all claim to have been the first non-Aboriginal explorers of Australia’s north coast. The first surviving written account comes from the Dutch. In 1623 Jan Carstenz made his way west across the Gulf of Carpentaria to what is believed to be Groote Eylandt. Abel Tasman was the next explorer to visit in 1644. He was the first person to record European contact with Aboriginal people. Almost a century later Matthew Flinders surveyed the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1802 and 1803.

 Aboriginal Rock Art site]]
Phillip Parker King, an English navigator entered the Gulf of Carpentaria between 1818 and 1822. During this time he named the three Alligator Rivers after the large numbers of crocodiles, which he thought were alligators.

Ludwig Leichhardt was the first land-based European explorer to visit the Kakadu region, in 1845 on his way from Moreton Bay in Queensland to Port Essington in the Northern Territory. He followed Jim Jim Creek down from the Arnhem Land escarpment, then went down the South Alligator before crossing to the East Alligator and going north.

In 1862 John McDouall Stuart travelled along the south-western boundary of Kakadu but did not see any people.

The first non-Aboriginal people to visit and have long term contact with Aboriginal people in northern Australia were the Macassans from Sulawesi and other parts of Indonesia. They travelled to northern Australia every wet season, probably from the last quarter of the 17th century, in sailing boats called praus. They came to harvest trepang (sea cucumber), turtle shell, pearls and other prized items to trade in their homeland. Aboriginal people helped in harvesting and processing the trepang, and in collecting and exchanging the other goods.

There is no evidence that the Macassans spent time on the coast of Kakadu. There is evidence of some contact between Macassan culture and Aboriginal people of the Kakadu area. Among the finds from archaeological digs in the Park are glass and metal pieces that probably came from the Macassans, either directly or through trade with the Coburg Peninsula people.

The British attempted a number of settlements on the northern Australian coast in the
early part of the 19th century: Fort Dundas on Melville Island in 1824; Fort Wellington at Raffles Bay in 1829; and Victoria Settlement (Port Essington) on the Coburg Peninsula in 1838. They wanted to secure the north of Australia before the French or Dutch, who had colonised islands further north. The British settlements all failed for a variety of reasons, such as lack of water and fresh food, sickness and isolation.
It is difficult to assess the impact of these settlements on the local Aboriginal people and the type of relationship that developed between them and the British. Certainly, some Aboriginals worked at the settlements. Exposure to new sickness was an ever-present danger. As in other parts of Australia, disease and the disruption it caused to society devastated the local Aboriginal population.

#### Buffalo hunters
 in the wetlands]]
Water buffalo have had a big influence on the Kakadu region as well. By the 1880s the number of buffaloes escaped from early settlements had grown so much that hunting them for skins and horns was economically successful.

The industry began on the Adelaide River, close to Darwin, and moved east to the Mary River and Alligator Rivers regions.

Most of the buffalo hunting and skin curing was done in the dry season, between June and September, when buffaloes gathered around the remaining billabongs. During the wet season hunting stopped because the ground was too muddy to follow the buffalo and the harvested hides would rot. The buffalo hunting industry became an important employer of Aboriginal people during the dry-season months.

#### Missionaries
Missionaries had a big influence on the Aboriginal people of the Alligator Rivers area. Many of the people lived and went to school at missions. Two missions were set up in the region in the early part of the century. Kapalga Native Industrial Mission was started near the South Alligator River in 1899, but lasted only four years. The Oenpelli Mission began in 1925, when the Church of England Missionary Society accepted an offer from the Northern Territory Administration to take over the area, which had been used as a dairy farm. The Oenpelli Mission operated for 50 years.
 in Kakadu.]]

Some writers and anthropologists say that missionaries, in trying to ‘civilise and institutionalise’ Aboriginal people, forced them to give up their lifestyle, language, religion, ceremonies and change the whole way they lived. Others say that, although they might not have used the best methods to achieve their goal, the missionaries did care about the Aboriginal people at a time when wider Australian society did not.

#### Pastoralists
The pastoral industry made started slowly in the Top End. Pastoral leases in the Kakadu area were progressively given up from 1889, because the Victoria River and the Barkly Tablelands were better pastoral regions.

In southern Kakadu much of Goodparla and Gimbat was claimed in the mid-1870s by three pastoralists, Roderick, Travers and Sergison. The leases were later passed on to a series of owners, who were all unsuccessful. In 1987 both stations were taken back by the Commonwealth and added to Kakadu National Park.

There was a sawmill at Nourlangie Camp, begun by Chinese workers, probably before World War I, to cut stands of cypress pine in the area. After World War II there were a number of small-scale activities, including dingo shooting and trapping, brumby shooting, crocodile shooting, tourism and forestry.

Nourlangie Camp was again the site of a sawmill in the 1950s, until the cypress pines were cleared. In 1958 it became a safari camp for tourists. Soon after, a similar camp was started at Patonga and at Muirella Park. People were flown in to hunt buffalo, crocodiles and fishing.

Crocodile hunters often made use of the bush skills of Aboriginal people. By copying a wallaby’s tail hitting the ground, Aboriginal hunters could attract crocodiles, making it easier to shoot the animals. Using paperbark rafts, they would track the movement of a wounded crocodile and get the carcass for skinning. The skins were then sold to make leather goods. Aboriginal people became less involved in commercial hunting of crocodiles once night spotlight shooting started. Freshwater Crocodiles have been protected by law since 1964 and Saltwater Crocodiles since 1971.

### Mining
.]]
Minerals were found in the Top End during the building of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line line between 1870 and 1872, in the Pine Creek – Adelaide River area. A number of short mining booms followed.

The building of the North Australia Railway line helped the mining camps, and places such as Burrundie and Pine Creek became permanent settlements. The mining camps and new settlements drew many Aboriginal people away from Kakadu. No Aboriginal people are known to have worked in the mines but their access to alcohol and other drugs had a huge impact.

Small-scale gold mining began at Imarlkba, near Barramundi Creek, and Mundogie Hill in the 1920s and at Moline (previously called Eureka and Northern Hercules mine), south of the Park, in the 1930s. The mines employed a few local Aboriginal people.

In 1953 uranium was discovered in the South Alligator River valley. Thirteen small but rich uranium mines operated in the following decade, at their peak in 1957 employing over 150 workers. No Aboriginal people were employed at any of these mines.

Early in the 1970s large uranium deposits were discovered at Ranger, Jabiluka and Koongarra. The Australian Government began an inquiry into land use in the Alligator Rivers region. The Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry (known as the Fox inquiry) recommended that mining begin at the Ranger site. It also said that Jabiluka and Koongarra sites should be developed, and that a town be built to support the mines.(Fox et al. 1976, 1977). The Ranger mine and the service town at Jabiru have had many impacts on Aboriginal people. Aboriginal people have different opinions about mining.

## Climate
Kakadu is in the tropics, between 12° and 14° south of the Equator. The climate is monsoonal,
with two main seasons: the dry season and the rain season. The 'build up' describes the change between the dry and the rain. During the dry season (from April/May to September), there are dry southerly and easterly trade winds. Humidity is relatively low and rain is unusual. At Jabiru, the average maximum temperature for June-July is 32&nbsp;°C. During the 'build up' (October to December) conditions can be extremely uncomfortable with high temperatures and high humidity. However, 'build up' storms are impressive and with many lightning strikes. At Jabiru the average maximum temperature for October is 37.5&nbsp;°C.
.]]

The rain season (January to March/April) has warm temperatures and rain. Most of the rain is caused by monsoonal troughs formed over Southeast Asia. Sometimes tropical cyclones cause very heavy rain over small areas. At Jabiru, the average maximum temperature for January is 33&nbsp;°C. Annual rainfall in Kakadu National Park ranges from 1,565&nbsp;mm in Jabiru to 1,300&nbsp;mm in the Mary River region.

The Aboriginal people, the Bininj/Mungguy, named as many as six seasons  in the Kakadu region:

* *Gunumeleng* - mid-October to late December, pre-monsoon storm season with hot weather and building thunderstorms in the afternoons
* *Gudjewg* - from January to March, monsoon season with thunderstorms, heavy rain, and flooding; the heat and humidity cause an explosion of plant and animal life
* *Banggerreng* - April, the "knock 'em down storm" season where floodwaters drain away, but violent, windy storms knock down grasses
* *Yegge* - from May to mid-June, cooler with low humidity, the Aboriginal people started burning the woodlands in patches to 'clean the country' and encourage new growth for grazing animals
* *Wurrgeng* - from mid-June to mid-August, the cold weather season with low humidity; most creeks stop flowing and the floodplains quickly dry out
* *Gurrung* - from mid-August to mid-October, hot dry weather with ever shrinking billabongs.

Periods of torrential rain and long dry spells mean that Kakadu can change its appearance according to the season, so is a place deserving of more than one visit.
 abound in Kakadu National Park.]]

## Flora
Kakadu has more than 2000 plant species, because of the different geological areas, landforms and habitats. Kakadu is also said to be one of the most weed free national parks in the world. However, recent surveys have shown smaller numbers of nearly all mammals throughout Kakadu. This includes once common and widespread species such as northern quolls.

Kakadu’s many habitats support more than 280 species of birds. This is about one-third of Australia’s bird species. Some birds range over a number of habitats, but many are found in only one environment.

To date, 123 species of reptiles have been found in Kakadu. Being cold blooded, these animals need heat from an external source such as the sun to control their body temperature. This is not to say that reptiles are active only during the day; in fact, few snakes can withstand Kakadu’s midday heat and most are active at night.
 on the Yellow Waters.]]

Two species of crocodile live in Kakadu: the Freshwater Crocodile (*Crocodylus johnstonii*) and the Estuarine, or Saltwater Crocodile (*C. porosus*). Freshwater Crocodiles have a narrow snout and a single row of four large boney lumps called ‘scutes’ immediately behind the head. Estuarine Crocodiles do not have these scutes and their snout is broader. The maximum size for a ‘freshie’ is 3&nbsp;metres, whereas a ‘saltie’ can exceed 6&nbsp;metres.

Kakadu’s 25 frog species are extremely well adapted to the region’s climatic extremes. Many remain dormant during dry times. At the start of the wet season, when the billabongs and swamps start to fill with water, the night air is filled with the sounds of frogs such as the northern bullfrog and the marbled frog. As the water builds up, frogs and tadpoles have plenty of food, such as algae, vegetation, insects, dragonfly nymphs, and other tadpoles. Not all of Kakadu’s frogs are found in the wetlands: many live in the lowland forests.

]]
Fifty-one species of freshwater fish have been found in Kakadu’s waterways; eight of them have a restricted distribution. In the Magela Creek system alone, 32 species have been found. In comparison, the Murray–Darling river system, the most extensive in Australia, now supports only 27 native fish species. Although introduced fish have been found in most Australian waterways, none have been recorded in the Park.

Kakadu supports more than 10,000 species of insect including grasshoppers, beetles, flies, termites, butterflies and moths, bees, wasps, ants, dragonflies and damselflies, caddis flies, non-biting midges and mayflies. The great variety of insects is a result of the varied habitats and relatively high temperatures throughout the year.

Perhaps the most striking insect-created features in the Park are the termite mounds. The mounds in the southern part of the Park are particularly large and impressive. Leichhardt’s grasshopper, in colours of orange, blue and black, is perhaps the most spectacular insect found in Kakadu. It is also found on the Arnhem Land plateau and in Gregory National Park.
, or free-roaming feral horses]]

## Environmental issues and threats
Kakadu has seen several invasive species threaten the native habitat, particularly in recent decades. Introduced fauna including the Water Buffalo, wild pig and more recently, the Cane Toad have had major effects on habitat. Invasive weeds include *Mimosa pigra*, which covers 800&nbsp;km² of the Top End, including vast areas of Kakadu, invasive paragrass displaces the native food of much of Kakadu's birdlife. *Salvinia molesta* has infested the Magela floodplain. Brumbies also inhabit areas of the National Park, including Yellow Water.
]]

## Landforms
There are six main landforms in Kakadu National Park:
* Savanna woodlands
* Monsoon forests
* Southern hills and ridges
* Stone country of the escarpment
* Coast and tidal flats,
* Floodplain and billabongs
Each landform has its own range of habitats. Kakadu’s varied landscapes and the habitats they contain are features that contributed to its listing as a World Heritage Area.

Most of Kakadu was under a shallow sea about 140 million years ago, with the escarpment wall formed from sea cliffs and Arnhem Land from a flat plateau above the sea.  Currently the escarpment rises 330&nbsp;metres above the plateau and stretches 500&nbsp;kilometres along the East edge of the park and on into Arnhem Land.

Like many World Heritage sites around the world, including Yellowstone National Park, Serengeti National Park, Stonehenge, Pompeii and Herculaneum and the Pyramids of Giza - a park use fee will help maintain world-best management practices and facilities for the more than 200,000 visitors who experience Kakadu each year.

The $25 fee will apply to all interstate and international visitors aged 16 years and over. It can be used for 14 days. All Northern Territory residents and children under 16 have free entry.

### General facilities
Kakadu National Park is linked to Darwin by the Arnhem Highway and to Pine Creek and Katherine by the Kakadu Highway. Both roads are sealed all weather roads although may be cut off periodically during periods of heavy rain.

The town of Jabiru has several accommodation options, a service station, police, a medical clinic and a shopping centre with a range of outlets. The town was built for the Uranium mine that was established prior to the founding of Kakadu National Park and provides infrastructure for the mine’s workforce as well as the national park activities and tourism. Jabiru has a small airport from which scenic flights operate daily. There are no scheduled air services between Jabiru and Darwin however.

Other small tourism centres such as Cooinda and South Alligator provide limited facilities. Cooinda, 50&nbsp;km south of Jabiru on the Kakadu Highway is the site of Gagudju Lodge Cooinda, Yellow Water Cruises and the Warradjan Cultural Centre. Fuel and limited provisions are available at Cooinda and there is also a small airstrip for scenic flights. South Alligator approximately 40&nbsp;km west of Jabiru on the Arnhem Highway includes a hotel and service station. The Border Store near Ubirr Art Site and Cahills Crossing, 50&nbsp;km north of Jabiru, is a general store.

### Camp sites
, also known as Barramundie Gorge]]
There are a wide variety of designated camping sites throughout the Park. Jabiru, Cooinda and South Alligator all have commercial camping areas and are close to most of the important natural attractions in these areas. Some of the Park’s campsites charge a nominal fee as these have shower and toilet facilities, others are free, however they have limited or no facilities.  A list of the sites can be obtained from the Kakadu National Park’s Glenn Murcutt-designed Bowali Visitor Centre or from their website.

## Related pages
* Ranger Uranium Mine
* List of World Heritage Sites in Australia

## References 
## Further reading

* Jones, Rhys, and J. Allen. *Archaeological Research in Kakadu National Park*. [Canberra, A.C.T]: Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, 1985. 
* 
* 
* Morse, John, John King, and Jennifer Bartlett. *Kakadu, Walking to the Future ... Together A Shared Vision for Tourism in Kakadu National Park*. Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia, 2005. 
* Petty, Aaron M, Patricia A Werner, Caroline E R Lehmann, Jan E Riley, Daniel S Banfai, and Louis P Elliott. 2007. "Savanna Responses to Feral Buffalo in Kakadu National Park, Australia". *Ecological Monographs*. 77, no. 3: 441.
* 

* Woinarski J.C.Z; Milne D.J. & Wanganeen G. 2001. Changes in mammal populations in relatively intact landscape of Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia. *Austral Ecology* **26**: 360-370.

## Other websites
* World heritage listing for Kakadu National Park
* Kakadu National Park website
* Kakadu National Park tourism website
* An Easy Adventure travel story by Roderick Eime
* Kakadu or Don't Is Kakadu Losing Its Way?
* Aboriginal Tradition  Local Bininj people interpret 6 different seasons in Kakadu
* Google Map  Map of Kakadu National Park with major camp sites
* Bird Watching Google Map  Map of Kakadu National Park with major bird watching spots
* Kakadu - The Photographs 
* Birds of Kakadu - photography 
* Kakadu - photos 
* Gigapixel Panorama from Ubirr Lookout