WfHC - cover page (not to be used with pre-printed report ... - CSIRO

T 

Working Knowledge: local ecological and hydrological knowledge 

about the flooded forest country of Oriners Station, Cape York 

Marcus Barber, Jeff Shellberg, Sue Jackson and Viv Sinnamon 

September 2012 

Featuring information from the Oriners Mob at Kowanyama, Forest People from 

central Cape York, the Hughes family and former Oriners Station cattlemen.

Water for a Healthy Country Flagship Report 

Australia is founding its future on science and innovation. Its national science agency, CSIRO, is a 

powerhouse of ideas, technologies and skills. 

CSIRO initiated the National Research Flagships to address Australia‟s major research challenges 

and opportunities. They apply large scale, long term, multidisciplinary science and aim for widespread 

adoption of solutions. The Flagship Collaboration Fund supports the best and brightest researchers to 

address these complex challenges through partnerships between CSIRO, universities, research 

agencies and industry. 

The Water for a Healthy Country Flagship aims to provide Australia with solutions for water resource 

management, creating economic gains of $3 billion per annum by 2030, while protecting or restoring 

our major water ecosystems. The work contained in this report is collaboration between CSIRO, the 

National Water Commission, and the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population 

and Communities. 

For more information about Water for a Healthy Country Flagship or the National Research Flagship 

Initiative visit www.csiro.au/org/HealthyCountry.html 

Citation: Barber, M., Shellberg, J., Jackson, S and Sinnamon, V. (2012). Working 

Knowledge: local ecological and hydrological knowledge about the flooded forest country of 

Oriners Station, Cape York. CSIRO, Darwin. 

ISBN: 978-0-643-108851 (WEB) 

Copyright and Disclaimer: 

© 2012 CSIRO To the extent permitted by law, all rights are reserved and no part of this publication 

covered by copyright may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means except with the 

written permission of CSIRO. 

Important Disclaimer: 

CSIRO advises that the information contained in this publication comprises general statements based 

on scientific research. The reader is advised and needs to be aware that such information may be 

incomplete or unable to be used in any specific situation. No reliance or actions must therefore be 

made on that information without seeking prior expert professional, scientific and technical advice. To 

the extent permitted by law, CSIRO (including its employees and consultants) excludes all liability to 

any person for any consequences, including but not limited to all losses, damages, costs, expenses 

and any other compensation, arising directly or indirectly from using this publication (in part or in 

whole) and any information or material contained in it. 

This report was jointly funded and published by the National Water Commission and the Department 

of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. The views and opinions 

expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the 

Australian Government or the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and 

Communities. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this publication 

are factually correct, the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or 

completeness of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned 

directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the contents of this publication. 

Enquiries: 

Dr Marcus Barber 

CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences 

PMB 44 Winnellie NT 0822 

Phone: 08 8944 8420 

Email: Marcus.Barber@csiro.au 

Cover Photograph: Eight Mile Creek in flood. Image © KALNRMO. Unless otherwise indicated, all 

figures and photographs in this report are © 2012 CSIRO. 

Working Knowledge at Oriners Station, Cape York 

ii

CONTENTS 

Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................... xi 

LIst of Abbreviations ................................................................................................ xii 

Executive summary ................................................................................................. xiii 

1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 

1.1 Working Knowledge .................................................................................................. 1 

1.2 Flooded forest country at Oriners Station ................................................................. 4 

1.3 Forest People and the Oriners Mob .......................................................................... 6 

1.4 Research methods and participants ......................................................................... 7 

1.4.1 Research methods ................................................................................................ 7 

1.4.2 Research participants ............................................................................................ 7 

1.5 Existing archival resources ....................................................................................... 8 

1.5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 8 

1.5.2 Natural scientific resources.................................................................................... 9 

1.5.3 Cultural, linguistic, historical and ethnographic resources ................................... 10 

1.6 History of Oriners Station ........................................................................................ 19 

1.6.1 The pre-colonial period ........................................................................................ 19 

1.6.2 The Hughes Family ............................................................................................. 19 

1.6.3 The Finches at Sefton ......................................................................................... 21 

1.6.4 Indigenous cattlemen .......................................................................................... 21 

1.6.5 Oriners purchase and recent history .................................................................... 23 

1.7 Oriners and the contemporary regional NRM context ............................................ 32 

1.8 Summary ................................................................................................................. 35 

2 Interview topics and themes: environmental and landscape processes ..... 37 

2.1 Variability and Change ............................................................................................ 37 

2.1.1 Geographic variability: Oriners regional comparisons ......................................... 37 

2.1.2 Inter-annual variability – weather and flood levels ............................................... 44 

2.1.3 „This month is different‟: abnormal changes ........................................................ 45 

2.1.4 Seasonal signals ................................................................................................. 47 

2.2 Water....................................................................................................................... 49 

2.2.1 Rain ..................................................................................................................... 49 

2.2.2 Flood levels and drainage lines at Oriners .......................................................... 51 

2.2.3 Regional flooding- the Eight Mile and Crosbie Creeks ........................................ 57 

2.2.4 Permanent water and groundwater flow .............................................................. 64 

2.2.5 Water quality........................................................................................................ 67 

2.3 Native animals ........................................................................................................ 69 

2.3.1 Aquatic animals ................................................................................................... 69 

2.3.2 Birds .................................................................................................................... 72 

2.3.3 Native predators: dingoes .................................................................................... 75 

2.3.4 Wallabies ............................................................................................................. 77 

2.4 Introduced animals .................................................................................................. 77 

2.4.1 Cattle ................................................................................................................... 78 

2.4.2 Pigs ..................................................................................................................... 79 

2.4.3 Horses ................................................................................................................. 81 

2.4.4 Cane toads .......................................................................................................... 82 

2.5 Human activity ........................................................................................................ 85 

2.5.1 Pre-colonial wet season residence and subsistence ........................................... 85 


iii

2.5.2 Access, infrastructure and residence ................................................................... 86 

2.5.3 Bush food at Oriners ............................................................................................ 91 

2.5.4 Cattlemen: working connections .......................................................................... 94 

2.5.5 Old and new connections .................................................................................... 95 

2.5.6 Tourists and trespassers ..................................................................................... 98 

2.5.7 Resources and funding ...................................................................................... 101 

2.6 Landscape processes and human and animal distributions ................................. 103 

2.6.1 Water and animal distributions .......................................................................... 103 

2.6.2 Cattle mustering patterns .................................................................................. 105 

2.6.3 Fire regimes....................................................................................................... 109 

2.6.4 Erosion .............................................................................................................. 114 

2.7 Additional features of knowledge about Oriners ................................................... 121 

2.7.1 Applying „Working Knowledge‟ .......................................................................... 122 

2.7.2 Linguistic classifications and categories ............................................................ 123 

2.7.3 Correlations and causes .................................................................................... 127 

3 Local scientific knowledge ........................................................................... 131 

3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 131 

3.2 Physical conditions ............................................................................................... 131 

3.2.1 Climate .............................................................................................................. 131 

3.2.2 Topography and drainage ................................................................................. 134 

3.2.3 Geology ............................................................................................................. 135 

3.2.4 Soils ................................................................................................................... 138 

3.2.5 Land systems .................................................................................................... 140 

3.2.6 Soil erosion ........................................................................................................ 146 

3.2.7 Catchment land use ........................................................................................... 146 

3.2.8 Surface hydrology .............................................................................................. 148 

3.2.9 Hydrogeology .................................................................................................... 151 

3.2.10 Fluvial geomorphology of the Eight Mile Creek near Oriners Lagoon ................ 153 

3.2.11 Gully erosion...................................................................................................... 165 

3.3 Biological conditions ............................................................................................. 171 

3.3.1 Forest cover....................................................................................................... 171 

3.3.2 Grass cover ....................................................................................................... 172 

3.3.3 Weeds ............................................................................................................... 172 

3.3.4 Fire timing, frequency, and distribution .............................................................. 173 

3.3.5 Feral animals and stock ..................................................................................... 177 

3.3.6 Native terrestrial animals ................................................................................... 178 

3.3.7 Native birds........................................................................................................ 179 

3.3.8 Native aquatic animals ...................................................................................... 179 

3.4 Oriners and Forest Country – a brief personal perspective .................................. 180 

4 Synthesis: process and relationship models .............................................. 183 

4.1 Models of landscape-scale ecological, hydrological, and geomorphological relations at 

Oriners Station ...................................................................................................... 184 

4.1.1 Wet season........................................................................................................ 184 

4.1.2 Early dry season ................................................................................................ 186 

4.1.3 Late dry season ................................................................................................. 188 

4.1.4 Comparisons and interactions across seasons ................................................. 188 

4.1.5 Impact of Oriners Mob residence ....................................................................... 189 

4.2 Models of processes affecting Oriners and Jewfish Lagoons .............................. 190 

4.2.1 Model Introduction ............................................................................................. 190 

4.2.2 Oriners Lagoon .................................................................................................. 191 

4.2.3 Jewfish Lagoon .................................................................................................. 192 

4.2.4 Other major lagoons – Mosquito and Horseshoe .............................................. 194 

4.3 Water quality ......................................................................................................... 196 


iv

5 Working knowledge: Conclusions and recommendations ......................... 197 

5.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 197 

5.2 Flooded forest country – key characteristics ........................................................ 198 

5.3 Future plans and aspirations ................................................................................ 201 

5.4 Recommendations for further research ................................................................ 202 

5.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 204 

6 References ..................................................................................................... 205 

7 Glossary ......................................................................................................... 212 

8 Appendices .................................................................................................... 218 

8.1 Informed Consent Form ........................................................................................ 218 

8.2 Seasonal indicator observations ........................................................................... 219 

8.3 Wildlife Animal Species List for the Oriners and Sefton Area............................... 220 

8.4 Plant Species List for the Oriners and Sefton Area .............................................. 225 


v

FIGURES 

Figure 1. Watercourse of Eight Mile Creek. ........................................................................... xi 

Figure 2. Mitchell River catchment with Oriners and Sefton Stations in the Alice River 

subcatchments. .......................................................................................................... xv 

Figure 3. Cattle stations in lower Mitchell River catchment, with outlines of Kowanyama 

managed lands (red) including Oriners and Sefton Stations. ........................................ 2 

Figure 4. Map of the lower Eight Mile and Crosbie Creek valleys and locations of the 4 major 

lagoons discussed in the report: Oriners, Mosquito, Jewfish and Crosbie. .................... 5 

Figure 5. Horseshoe Lagoon. ............................................................................................... 11 

Figure 6. Cecil Hughes in Mareeba, July 2012. .................................................................... 20 

Figure 7. David Hughes speaking at a Mitchell River workshop attended by KALNRMO staff 

during the early 1990s. Image © KALNRMO............................................................... 24 

Figure 8. David and Bill Hughes negotiating the sale with Kowanyama people. Image © 

KALNRMO .................................................................................................................. 25 

Figure 9. Planning meeting at Oriners soon after the purchase. Image © KALNRMO .......... 26 

Figure 10. Shed construction team, Oriners station. Image © KALNRMO ............................ 27 

Figure 11. Cattle yards at Oriners Station. Image © KALNRMO .......................................... 28 

Figure 12. Oriners house during construction. Image © KALNRMO ..................................... 29 

Figure 13. Oriners house from the air in 2012. ..................................................................... 30 

Figure 14. Paddy Yam, Philip Yam, Ravin Greenwool and his son Delvin at the Oriners 

house in 2011. ............................................................................................................ 31 

Figure 15. Billabong downstream from Oriners Homestead. ................................................ 41 

Figure 16. Paddy Yam and Louie Native standing next to Grevillea pteridifolia in flower at 

Mosquito Lagoon. ....................................................................................................... 47 

Figure 17. Philip Yam with woody debris wedged by flood at Eight Mile Creek. ................... 51 

Figure 18. Oriners homestead area in flood ©KALNMRO .................................................... 52 

Figure 19. Philip Yam and Louie Native talk to Jeff Shellberg about flow patterns at Oriners. 

................................................................................................................................... 55 

Figure 20. Oriners Lagoon in flood ©. KALNRMO ................................................................ 56 

Figure 21. Flooded Oriners airstrip.©KALNRMO .................................................................. 56 

Figure 22. Flood level on trees downstream from Oriners homestead. ................................ 57 

Figure 23. Large Woody Debris (LWD) deposited during flood on the Eight Mile Creek. ...... 58 

Figure 24. Jeff Shellberg talks with Philip Yam, Louie Native, and Viv Sinnamon about 

erosion and water flow along the Eight Mile Creek at Oriners. .................................... 60 

Figure 25. Oriners country in flood. Image © KALNRMO ..................................................... 61 

Figure 26. Flooded forest at Oriners. Image © KALNRMO ................................................... 61 

Figure 27. Mitchell catchment in flood – Errk Oykangand National Park. Image © KALNRMO 

................................................................................................................................... 62 

Figure 28. Mitchell catchment in the wet season. Image © KALNRMO ................................ 62 


vi

Figure 29. Mitchell catchment in flood – Errk Oykangand National Park. Image © KALNRMO. 

................................................................................................................................... 63 

Figure 30. Oriners country in flood. Image © KALNRMO ..................................................... 63 

Figure 31. Oriners Lagoon looking upstream. ...................................................................... 66 

Figure 32. Pig damage at Oriners. ....................................................................................... 80 

Figure 33. Erosion damage at old Oriners airstrip. ............................................................... 89 

Figure 34. Fish from Oriners Lagoon. .................................................................................. 91 

Figure 35. Philip Yam talks to motorcycle tourists passing through Oriners ......................... 98 

Figure 36. Fire damage to Oriners cattle yards in the 1990s. Image © KALNRMO .............. 99 

Figure 37. Old stockman‟s quarters with eroding foundations. ........................................... 102 

Figure 38. Oriners station from the air looking east circa 1990, showing older road networks. 

Image © KALNRMO ................................................................................................. 118 

Figure 39. Oriners station and lagoon from the air looking west circa 2012. ....................... 118 

Figure 40. Oriners station and building from the air looking east circa 2012. ...................... 119 

Figure 41. Cleared zone for new road through Oriners. ..................................................... 120 

Figure 42. Giant long-armed prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (image: P. Hamilton) ...... 123 

Figure 43. North Queensland yabby or redclaw, Cherax quadricarinatus (Image: P. Hamilton) 

................................................................................................................................. 124 

Figure 44. Average monthly rainfall at Oriners Station and nearby stations with longer 

records of rainfall and temperature. .......................................................................... 132 

Figure 45. Daily rainfall totals at Oriners Station 1963-1970. .............................................. 133 

Figure 46. Long-term annual WY rainfall totals and trends at Koolatah and Musgrave. ...... 134 

Figure 47. Topography and drainage of the catchments surrounding Oriners and Sefton 

Stations. Elevation data derived from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission 30m pixel 

digital elevation model (SRTM 2000). ....................................................................... 135 

Figure 48. Geology of the catchments surrounding Oriners and Sefton Stations. Note 

locations of abandoned mines. ................................................................................. 136 

Figure 49. Soils of Oriners and Sefton Stations based on the original “Atlas of Australian 

Soils” (Isbell et al. 1968; BRS 1991). ........................................................................ 140 

Figure 50. Land system of the forest country around Oriners/Sefton Stations. Balurga (Ba); 

Mottle (Mo); Annaly (A); Cumbulla (C) (extracted from Galloway et al. 1970). ......... 140 

Figure 51. Balurga (Ba) land system. Extensive plains on weather terrestrial sediment; sandy 

red and yellow earths and uniform sandy soils; bloodwood-stringybark woodland, and 

some paperbark woodland. (Galloway et al. 1970). .................................................. 141 

Figure 52. RAAF oblique photograph from 1943 of the Balurga (Ba) land system near Sefton 

and Oriners Stations. ................................................................................................ 142 

Figure 53. Mottle (Mo) land system. Extensive plains on weathered terrestrial sediments, 

siltstone, and alluvium; massive earths; paperbark or bloodwood-stringybark woodland 

(Galloway et al. 1970). .............................................................................................. 143 

Figure 54. Annaly (A) land system. Lowlands on partially dissected terrestrial sediment over 

shale massive earths and texture-contrast soils; paperbark or bloodwood-stringybark 

woodland. (Galloway et al. 1970). ............................................................................ 144 


vii

Figure 55. Cumbulla (C) land system. Alluvial plains in part actively forming and largely 

flooded in the wet season; texture-contrast soils; paperbark woodland (Galloway et al. 

1970). ....................................................................................................................... 145 

Figure 56. Land use map of the Mitchell catchment showing a) operating mines, abandoned 

mines, mine claims, proposed mines, b) distribution of major alluvial gullies, c) major 

paved and unpaved roads, d) existing and proposed water resource development, e) 

agricultural development near Dimbulah (green outline). Note the relatively sparse 

development in and around Oriners and Sefton Stations. ......................................... 148 

Figure 57. Minimum flood inundation frequency data for Oriners and Sefton Stations and part 

of the Mitchell fluvial megafan (MODIS satellite imagery, number of times inundated 

between 2003 and 2009; Ward et al. 2012). Major permanent water body locations and 

typical dry-season water clarity estimates from Landsat satellite data (1986 and 2005) 

are also shown (Lymburner and Burrows 2008), as are the locations of smaller 

intermittent palustrine wetlands are also shown in black (Queensland Department of 

Natural Resources (QDERM) 2010).......................................................................... 149 

Figure 58. Air photograph of a mound spring (white) areas on Oriners Station. ................. 152 

Figure 59.Photographs of a mound spring on western Oriners Station with a) water seeping 

to the surface, b) fluid muds oozing to the surface under pressure, c) the pebble lags of 

gravel and ferricrete nodules on the spring surface, and d) sheet wash deposit on top 

of the spring following wet season rain-fall runoff or groundwater discharge. ............ 153 

Figure 60. False colour satellite image (ASTER) of the river segment and landscape 

surrounding Oriners Station and Eight Mile Creek. Note bright red colour is riparian 

vegetation (mainly Melaleuca spp.) growing along Eight Mile Creek. Inset box refers to 

air photographs in Figure 64 and Figure 65. ............................................................. 154 

Figure 61. Digital elevation model of the river segment and landscape surrounding Oriners 

Station and Eight Mile Creek using the 30m pixel data from the Shuttle Radar 

Topography Mission (SRTM 2000). Inset box refers to air photographs in Figure 64 and 

Figure 65. Cross-section lines refer to data in Figure 62. .......................................... 155 

Figure 62. Elevation cross-sections across the Eight Mile Creek Valley at Oriners, derived 

from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission 30m pixel digital elevation model (SRTM 

2000). Cross-section locations are mapped in Figure 61. Note that 2 to 5 m fluctuations 

in elevation could be errors from vegetation artefacts in the data. ............................. 155 

Figure 63. Longitudinal profile of the Eight Mile Creek Valley from the confluence of Crosbie 

Creek to the headwaters derived from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission 30m pixel 

digital elevation model (SRTM 2000). The Oriners segment of Eight Mile Creek is also 

mapped in Figure 61. ................................................................................................ 156 

Figure 64. 1955 Aerial Photograph of the Eight Mile Creek reach near Oriners Station and 

Lagoon. See Figure 67 for detail of inset box. ........................................................... 158 


Lagoon, showing existing (pre-2004) and new road (2010) infrastructure, air strip and 

gully erosion problem areas. See Figure 68 for detail of inset box. ........................... 158 

Figure 66. Ground photos during July 2011 of a) Eight Mile Creek looking upstream near the 

main anabranch bifurcation that feeds Oriners Lagoon, note major sand bar deposits 

that influence channel divergence and anabranching, b) Eight Mile Creek looking 

upstream below the main anabranch bifurcation that feeds Oriners Lagoon, c) the main 

anabranch channel looking downstream that feeds Oriners Lagoon, and d) the smaller, 

most upstream, anabranch channel looking downstream that feeds Oriners Lagoon.159 

Figure 67. 1955 Aerial Photograph Oriners Station and Lagoon. Note new road in 1955. .. 162 


viii

Figure 68. 2004 Aerial Photograph of Oriners Station and Lagoon, showing existing road 

infrastructure and gully erosion problem areas. ........................................................ 162 

Figure 69. Ground photos during July 2011 of a) a sand bar infilling the top end of Oriners 

Lagoon, b) the same sand bar at distance with colonizing vegetation, c), bank erosion 

and adjacent sand bar along the main anabranch channel above Oriners Lagoon, d) 

similar anabranch bank erosion and sand splay onto the floodplain above Oriners 

Lagoon, e) general sheet and gully erosion along the road crossing the upper 

anabranch inlet to Oriners Lagoon, and f) the same eroded anabranch channel looking 

upstream from the road. ............................................................................................ 163 

Figure 70. Ground photos of the Oriners Lagoon outlet a) in 1997 looking north with active 

road across outlet and sparse woodlands and emergent Melaleuca trees on sill, b) in 

July 2011 looking south with denser stands of Melaleuca trees, c) in July 2011 looking 

upstream at eroded cut through the sill on the southern outlet, d) in July 2011 looking 

upstream at the southern outlet channel eroding upstream toward the sill and cut, e) in 

~1990 looking upstream at the sill on the northern outlet, and f) in July 2011 looking 

upstream at an incipient cut that will eventually erode through the sill on the northern 

outlet; note same tire hanging from tree in e and f. ................................................... 164 

Figure 71. Examples of alluvial gullies on lagoon banks at a) Oriners Lagoon, b) Jewfish 

Lagoon, c) road/track at Jewfish Lagoons feeding water into a gully, which is the same 

as d) next to Jewfish Lagoon. ................................................................................... 168 

Figure 72. A large gully upstream of Oriners Lagoon triggered by the road crossing the 

lagoons inlet drainage ways. ..................................................................................... 168 

Figure 73. Examples of roads/tracks that have cut into the Eight Mile floodplain creating 

linear alluvial gullies: a) the western road entrance to Oriners, b) the eastern entrance 

to Oriners, c) an intact road segment on the eastern road, d) a gullied road segment 

downstream of c on the eastern road, e) the gullied airplane strip at Oriners from the 

ground, and f) the gullied airplane strip and adjacent road/fenceline at Oriners from the 

air. ............................................................................................................................ 169 

Figure 74. Examples of potential impacts from new road construction through Oriners Station 

and bypassing the Oriners homestead: a) the new cleared bypass viewed from the air, 

b) the new cleared bypass crossing an intact swampy drainage way (dambo) viewed 

from the air, c) the same intact swampy drainage way (dambo) viewed from the 

ground, d) a similar nearby drainage way that has been gullied from excess road 

runoff, e) the new bypass road clearing and initial gully erosion by subsequent wet 

seasons, and f) a new constructed road prism with continued delivery of road ditch 

sediment and concentrated water to a local creek, in addition to the spread of grader 

grass and other weeds.............................................................................................. 170 

Figure 75. Annual fire frequency of all seasonal fires for the Oriners/Sefton area between 

1997 and 2010. Dark red to purple area represent frequent fires occurring 10 year out 

of 14 total. Data are from the Northern Australia Fire Information (NAFI) website 

(www.firenorth.org.au). ............................................................................................. 175 

Figure 76. Annual fire frequency of late-season fires for the Oriners/Sefton area between 

1997 and 2010. Dark red to purple area represent frequent late-season fires occurring 

10 year out of 14 total, with a similar pattern and frequency to all fires in Figure 75. 

Data are from the Northern Australia Fire Information (NAFI) website 

(www.firenorth.org.au). ............................................................................................. 175 

Figure 77. 1955 aerial photograph of the Eight Mile Creek floodplain and grassy woodlands 

1000m south of the Oriners Station Air Strip. Compare to Figure 78. ........................ 176 

Figure 78. 2004 air photograph of the Eight Mile Creek floodplain and grassy woodlands 

1000m south of the Oriners Station Airstrip. Note woodland thickening around 


ix

vegetation corridors compared to 1955, but also note that not all dark areas in the 

southwest (bottom right) part of the photograph are trees, as this areas was partially 

burnt grassland along the road. Compare to Figure 77. ........................................... 176 

Figure 79. Early-dry season fire scars during 2012 for the Oriners/Sefton area, with all fires lit 

by humans in a coordinated ground and air based traditional fire regime program. Data 

are from the Northern Australia Fire Information (NAFI) website (www.firenorth.org.au). 

................................................................................................................................. 177 

Figure 80. Model of Oriners landscape interactions in the wet season ............................... 186 

Figure 81. Early dry season diagram ................................................................................. 187 

Figure 82. Road erosion leading into Oriners Lagoon. ....................................................... 187 

Figure 83. Late dry season diagram ................................................................................... 188 

Figure 84. Early dry season diagram- Oriners Mob residence ............................................ 189 

Figure 85. Erosion channel upstream from Oriners Lagoon. .............................................. 190 

Figure 86. Model of factors affecting water volume and storage capacity at Oriners Lagoon. 

................................................................................................................................. 191 

Figure 87. Jewfish Lagoon looking upstream. .................................................................... 192 

Figure 88. The recently widened and already eroding road crossing immediately upstream of 

Jewfish Lagoon. ........................................................................................................ 193 

Figure 89. The outlet sills and channels of Jewfish Lagoon looking downstream at a) the left 

outlet channel and b) the right outlet channel. ........................................................... 194 

Figure 90. Model of factors affecting water volume and storage capacity at Jewfish Lagoon. 

................................................................................................................................. 194 

Figure 91. Mosquito Lagoon looking upstream................................................................... 195 

Figure 92. Oblique air photos of Horseshoe Lagoon looking East. ..................................... 196 


x

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The project is the result of a research partnership between the Kowanyama people (through 

the Kowanyama Aboriginal Land and Natural Resource Management Office- KALNRMO) 

and the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship of the CSIRO. The authors wish to 

acknowledge the assistance of all of the Indigenous 1 and non-Indigenous research 

participants in this study who made the field research possible – the Oriners Mob 2 , „Forest 

People‟ connected to the area, the Hughes family, and Indigenous cattlemen from other 

places who worked at Oriners over the years. 

Griffith University and the Australian Rivers Institute provided logistical support for scientific 

participation in this project. The work reported here follows on from other work undertaken 

with the KALNRMO, including collaboration with research partners from the Tropical Rivers 

and Coastal Knowledge Research Hub (TRaCK - www.track.gov.au). 

CSIRO volunteers Chloe Gibbon, Mitchell Proudfoot and Roshini Vincent assisted with 

interview transcripts and other research tasks. Finally, the authors thank Veronica Strang for 

generously providing her time and expertise as an expert reviewer. Her comments assisted 

the concluding phase of the report‟s production and provided fruitful suggestions for further 

analysis. 

Figure 1. Watercourse of Eight Mile Creek. 

1 This report follows CSIRO publication convention in using „Indigenous‟, but „Aboriginal‟ will be used 

where it is part of an organisational name or formal quotation. 

2 The usage of „Oriners Mob‟ and „Forest People‟ as collective terms for Indigenous people associated 

with the Oriners area is explained further in 1.3 of the introduction. 


xi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 

ASTER – Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer 

BMP – Best Management Practice 

CYPAL – Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land 

CYPLUS – Cape York Peninsula Land Use Strategy 

CSIRO – Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization 

DERM – Department of Environment and Natural Resource Management 

DOGIT – Deed of Grant in Trust 

GPR – Ground Penetrating Radar 

KAC – Kowanyama Aboriginal Council 

KALNRMO – Kowanyama Aboriginal Land and Natural Resource Management Office 

LANDSAT – Land Satellite or Land Remote-Sensing Satellite 

LWD – Large Woody Debris 

LiDAR – Light Detection and Ranging 

MODIS – Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer 

NAFI – Northern Australia Fire Information 

NRM – Natural Resource Management 

OSL – Optical Stimulated Luminescence 

QPWS – Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service 

SRTM – Shuttle Radar Topography Mission 

TRaCK- Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge 


xii

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

This is a report about a local ecological knowledge recovery, documentation and modelling 

project in south central Cape York, Queensland, Australia. It was funded through the Water 

for Healthy Country Flagship of the CSIRO under an agreement between the CSIRO and the 

Kowanyama Aboriginal Land and Natural Resource Management Office (KALNRMO). The 

geographical focus of the project is Oriners Station (Figure 2; Figure 3) but it also contains 

material relevant to Sefton station and to other Indigenous lands north of the Alice River. 

Oriners is an area of the Cape that is associated with Olkol speaking peoples and contains 

some places of considerable cultural importance. In the wet season, Oriners country 

periodically floods and the soils become saturated and boggy, but these characteristics have 

also meant that the area is relatively undeveloped, undisturbed, and of high ecological value. 

From the 1940s, the Oriners area was owned and used as a cattle station by several 

members of the non-Indigenous Hughes family, a well-known and longstanding pastoral 

family in Northern Queensland, and many of the workers on the station during this period 

were local Indigenous people. In the early 1990s the property was purchased from the 

Hughes family by the Kowanyama Council and since that time, Oriners has been 

intermittently occupied by a subset of Kowanyama people (sometimes called „the Oriners 

Mob‟) and managed for its conservation, natural resource management (NRM) and heritage 

value by the KALNRMO. The key community objective has been to get people back onto the 

country and this report reflects the ongoing commitment of the KALNRMO and the wider 

Kowanyama community to building and maintaining a socially, economically and 

environmentally sustainable presence at Oriners. Indigenous people from around the region 

recognise the value and distinctive characteristics of the Oriners area and want to see it 

managed well. For them this project is one step in that ongoing process. 

The report also reflects the aspirations of the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship of the 

CSIRO, which committed significant funds to investigating and modelling indigenous 

hydrological knowledge and ecological understanding at key sites in Northern Australia. This 

was part of the ongoing commitment of the CSIRO to appropriate research partnerships with 

Indigenous people, particularly in the area of knowledge documentation and natural resource 

management. 

The project report collates and synthesises some key aspects of knowledge about the 

Oriners area. It is divided into 5 parts. Part 1 introduces some key framing concepts for the 

report. The first of these is „Working Knowledge‟, which is preferred here to more common 

labels like „Local‟, „Indigenous‟, and/or „scientific‟. Working Knowledge is used because it 

collectively describes the contexts in which much of the knowledge was gained (Indigenous, 

pastoral, NRM, and scientific work), the provisional and ongoing quality of that knowledge, 

the fact that the men offering it come from a range of backgrounds (local, Indigenous, and/or 

scientific) and the fact that this report is oriented towards ongoing NRM work in the area. 

Other key concepts are „Oriners Mob‟, which describes the contemporary Indigenous people 

most closely associated with the station, and „flooded forest country‟, which describes its two 

major distinctive characteristics from the perspective of its Kowanyama owners. Part 1 also 

reviews key literature related to the area, focusing on cultural, historical, and linguistic 

sources, describes the fieldwork methods (primarily semi-structured interviews) and the 

research participants. Finally it discusses the regional and strategic significance of Oriners as 

both a distinctive property and a key component of a growing number of properties in the 

area more heavily oriented to Indigenous and NRM objectives than to pastoral activities. 


xiii

Part 2 of the report contains a synthesis of key findings from the fieldwork interviews with 

Indigenous cattlemen, senior men of the Hughes family, and long term KALNRMO Manager 

and co-author Viv Sinnamon. Interview material and analysis highlights: 

The distinctiveness of Oriners compared to areas further down in the Mitchell delta 

Weather patterns and water features of the area 

The animals most commonly observed there (both native and introduced) 

Human activities 

Key processes and relationships, including the role of water in animal movements, 

cattle mustering patterns, fire regimes and erosion processes. 

The remainder of part 2 notes some characteristics of „Working Knowledge‟ emerging from 

the material, highlights questions of classification and categorisation using Indigenous 

linguistic material from the literature, and discusses ideas of correlations and causes in local 

knowledge. 

Part 3 reviews key aspects of scientific knowledge of the Oriners landscape, focusing on 

physical conditions. Biological conditions are also considered, but in a more limited way due 

to data availability and researcher expertise. Since local data are limited, this synthesis is a 

work in progress and can be expanded upon in the future as additional scientific knowledge 

is collated or collected locally. Where available, local data and observations from the Oriners 

area are presented, but proxy data from other adjacent areas of the central Cape were 

reviewed where applicable. Most of the scientific information comes from past regional 

surveys by government programs and scientific researchers. Additional historical air 

photographs and remote sensing data from satellites add value to these reconnaissance 

surveys and help set Oriners in a regional perspective. Data and observations on climate and 

rainfall, topography and drainage, geology, soils, land systems, hydrology, hydrogeology, 

fluvial geomorphology, soil and gully erosion, vegetation, fire frequency, feral animals, and 

other native animals are reviewed. This collation of data and additions over time will be 

useful for NRM and further scientific research for Oriners itself, as well as being of some use 

on adjacent stations. In this study, the emphasis is placed upon the relationships between 

scientific data and local observations. 

Part 4 attempts to synthesise and model important relationships and processes in the 

Oriners landscape based on the information in previous sections. Key foci are the seasonal 

hydrological regime, animal distributions, human activity, fire, and erosion. This part reflects 

the orientation of the original CSIRO funding source, which was aimed at documenting, 

systematising, and modelling Indigenous and/or local hydrological and ecological knowledge. 

It also reflects the practical and NRM-oriented focus of the overall project, rather than in the 

manner of an ethnobiological study, attempting to define, characterise and systematise 

worldviews or knowledge systems as a whole. The models focus on identifying critical 

physical and biological processes at work in the Oriners landscape with a view to identifying 

major areas for further research and/or management intervention. Within that overall frame, 

particular emphasis is given to understanding water and sediment flows in the permanent 

lagoon immediately adjacent to the station homestead, known as Oriners Lagoon (Od nodh 

in the local language). This is one of four major permanent lagoons on the station which have 

been key sites for human hunting, pastoral activity and residence in the past, and are likely to 

be key foci for management action in the years to come. 

Part 5 provides a short conclusion to the report, discussing the usefulness of the „Working 

Knowledge‟ framework, identifying key knowledge gaps for future research, and 

recommending next steps. An important next step emerges from a limitation of the current 

study, which in response to initial fieldwork circumstances, focused on knowledge held by 

men (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous). This orientation deliberately left considerable 


xiv

space for a complementary study emphasising the (working) knowledge of women about the 

Oriners area. Part 5 also discusses the strategic value of Oriners in relation to the ongoing 

tenure and management developments in the central Cape. If those developments progress 

as planned, Oriners will lie at the centre of a substantial area of land being managed 

according to contemporary Indigenous and NRM objectives. These objectives may include 

pastoral activity, but not give it the same priority it has had in the past. Therefore the 

theoretical approach and findings from the current study may have important implications for 

adjacent country and for Indigenous land management activity elsewhere in North 

Queensland. 

Parts 6-8 contain references, a glossary of scientific terms, and appendices containing the 

informed consent form, information about seasonal observations, and scientific lists of 

animals and plants recorded from the Oriners area. 

Figure 2. Mitchell River catchment with Oriners and Sefton Stations in the Alice River 

subcatchments. 


xv

1 INTRODUCTION 

1.1 Working Knowledge 

Marcus Barber: When you say you are worried about the water, is there something in 

particular? 

Michael Ross: Just a general sense. Them big lagoons in the photo. If it is not looked after. 

You look at the pigs ripping it to pieces and then you get human tourists leaving rubbish 

and you don‟t know what they are putting in the water. They could poison it. You don‟t need 

them sort of things happening. Pollution on them nice big lagoons. They been there before 

our time and they all in good condition, bit of rough and tear around there, but you got to 

look at the flow in the wet season, well in the wet season you can‟t move in Oriners. As far 

as I know you couldn‟t even move. Walk out to the back step, and in the horse paddock 

maybe, then you bog, you are out of sight. That is boggy country. And you can‟t move very 

much. Back up a bit further, that is high country. Well, it‟s starting to get higher with them 

ridges, but not very much. 

This project focused on documenting the recent ecological and hydrological history of 

Oriners Station (Figure 3), as remembered by cattlemen who worked on it in the past, and by 

those who are involved in its present management. „Work‟ of different kinds has been the 

basis for the majority of human presence in this sparsely inhabited area since the 1940s, 

although in more recent times the (often unwelcome) presence of non-Indigenous 

recreational hunters and fishers has grown in importance. The main title of this report, 

„Working Knowledge‟, refers to this labour history but also to the fact that knowledge gained 

through activity is continually being negotiated and adapted, continually „worked out‟ in 

practice under changing conditions. The title also refers to how such knowledge is oriented to 

particular purposes, namely to different kinds of economic activity- such knowledge is not 

usually comprehensive or encyclopaedic in the scientific sense, but functional and 

purposeful. It is knowledge useful for „getting things done‟. Many of men interviewed here 

were born and raised in the Kowanyama and Mitchell River area but not on Oriners itself, 

whilst others were cattlemen from elsewhere on the Cape who found themselves working on 

the station for a season, or a few months a year, or for a full year on a few occasions. 

Through repeated visits, these men formed a „working knowledge‟ of the Station, of its 

landscape features, its ecological and hydrological characteristics, of the processes of 

change going on within it, and of the visible consequences of those changes. They also 

brought with them complementary and comparative knowledge gained from elsewhere in the 

Mitchell catchment and the broader Cape. This comparative knowledge enabled them both to 

understand Oriners country more rapidly and to assess how it differed from other places in 

the broader North Queensland landscape. 

„Working Knowledge‟ was chosen as a title here because it also reflects another source of 

knowledge included in the report, knowledge coming from scientific work. Scientific research 

is work directed specifically at gaining knowledge of the natural world, and in this respect it 

differs from other forms of work which generate knowledge but do not have knowledge 

acquisition as their primary goal. However scientific research is rarely resourced and 

undertaken purely for the sake of extending the boundaries of knowledge in general. Rather 

it is directed towards particular priorities and goals, as well as towards achieving desired 

effects. Those influences shape the nature and conduct of the scientific work undertaken. In 

this project, the primary natural scientific knowledge about Oriners was generated and/or 

collated by one of the report authors, Jeff Shellberg. Jeff has completed four years of 

hydrological and geomorphological research in the Mitchell River catchment, working to 

complete his PhD on erosion processes in the catchment. This work is supported by his 

earlier career work as a hydrologist. Like the knowledge provided by the Indigenous 


1

cattlemen and the Hughes family, the knowledge and expertise Jeff has provided has shaped 

the direction and orientation of the research effort. 

Figure 3. Cattle stations in lower Mitchell River catchment, with outlines of Kowanyama 

managed lands (red) including Oriners and Sefton Stations. 3 

A third aspect of the „Working Knowledge‟ outlined here is that contemporary work and 

presence on Oriners Station is primarily based on NRM funding, resources, and priorities. An 

important participant in this project was Viv Sinnamon, who has lived at Kowanyama since 

1972, was heavily involved in the successful purchase of Oriners by the Kowanyama 

community by 1992 and, as the longstanding manager of the KALNRMO, is still involved in 

managing current NRM and heritage activity. Viv Sinnamon‟s perspective reflects his deep 

commitments to Kowanyama and its people, but also commitments to Indigenous 

management, NRM and cultural landscape management as important forms of work, both in 

terms of maintaining ecologically valuable landscapes and in promoting sustainable 

Indigenous livelihoods in remote areas. Contemporary NRM is an increasingly important 

component of Indigenous peoples‟ relationships with their country, particularly in terms of 

providing support for ongoing presence and economic activity in regional and remote areas. 

It provides people with the resources and opportunities to visit and care for places that matter 

to them, but importantly for this study, it also influences their engagements with the country. 

It affects the timing of the visits people make, the activities they undertake whilst they are 

there, and the particular aspects of the country they are encouraged to focus their attention 

on. The „working knowledge‟ of the present day derives from past ways of living and working 

on Oriners, particularly those of the cattle station era, but it is also shaped by the newer 

requirements and priorities emerging from NRM and conservation. The orientation of this 

report and the categories used within it reflect the priorities of this contemporary work. In this 

sense it too is a „working document‟, both provisional and work-oriented in nature. 

3 As discussed in more detail below, transitions in tenure will lead to greater Indigenous management 

involvement in adjacent stations - Crosbie, Wulpan, and Dixie Stations (among others) in partnership 

with the Queensland Government. 


2

Identifying three different forms of relevant work does not mean that those categories are 

discrete and separate. Firstly, although there are differences, the nature of the work and its 

associated knowledge overlap: a successful cattleman needs to understand and act on 

information with scientific origins, as well as undertake land management action that accords 

with NRM principles; a scientist may be motivated by conservation objectives, and need to 

understand how cattle numbers and movements impact on the main object of his or her 

study; the contemporary Indigenous natural resource manager may engage with scientists 

and scientific knowledge on a regular basis as part of normal work duties, as well as relying 

on the ongoing presence of healthy cattle to supplement meat supplies. It is not just the 

nature of work and knowledge that overlap, people do too. A number of elders and senior 

land managers in the Oriners Mob are former cattle workers, some with decades of 

experience in the industry. Now their focus is on NRM projects and activities, but the skills 

and perspectives they bring to bear on those projects reflect that past history of a different 

but related kind of work. Contemporary Indigenous leaders and managers of Kowanyama 

and Oriners seek a similar „decision support system‟ that allows them to combine both 

Indigenous and western sciences that in addition allows the reoccupation of country by its 

people. This stance is reflected in the recently produced Terms of Reference for the 

Kowanyama Wetland Advisory Group (KALNRMO 2010). 4 It is important to identify the 

different sources of knowledge, information and associated experience coming from the 

research participants, but also the overlaps and commonalities between them. 

There is one further way in which the emphasis on „working knowledge‟ should not be 

misunderstood. Work is a part of life, not the whole of life, and Oriners is remote and 

inaccessible, so working at Oriners has usually involved living there, if sometimes only for 

short periods. People gain crucial knowledge and learn important lessons in non-work 

situations; in casual conversations at mealtimes, whilst fishing for pleasure, during periods of 

rest and reflection, and so on. Furthermore, allowing people to learn by observing, by being 

part of the scene rather than an active participant, is a crucial aspect of Indigenous modes of 

teaching, particularly of teaching children (Hamilton 1981). This occurred regularly during the 

early establishment of a contemporary base at Oriners, when younger people spent 

considerable time having long conversations with knowledgeable Indigenous elders from the 

area. Contact with an experienced long-term non-Indigenous pastoralist (now deceased) was 

also important during this time. A number of currently active members of the Oriners Mob 

owe their knowledge to those times spent with old men and women now gone. Residence 

over several wet seasons spent at Oriners isolated from Kowanyama from October through 

to May provided a small number of the Oriners Mob with an opportunity to get to know the 

country intimately. Rather than limiting knowledge to just that gained during work, what 

„working knowledge‟ emphasises here is the particular role that organised work played in 

peoples‟ collective and individual presence at Oriners (particularly men), as well as the 

practical, provisional, and work-oriented nature of the knowledge recorded for this project. 5 

4 The terms note that: 

“Traditional Owner knowledge of country is integral to the operations of the Kowanyama land 

management agency and would be incorporated with contemporary western science to develop best 

practice aboriginal management plans. The Terms of Reference for the TAG have been developed 

with this in mind, and with understanding of the need for flexibility in response to evolution/change in 

circumstances, capacity, wetland management issues, stakeholders and TAG membership.” 

(KALNRMO 2010:3) 

5 It is also worth noting two further bases for selecting the term to describe the work here. Firstly, 

„Working Knowledge‟ avoids potential pitfall within an Indigenous domain in which some research 

participants have deep traditional ties going back generations to the area in question, whilst others are 

speaking based on working there for a year or two before moving on. Whilst „Working Knowledge‟ 

significantly constrains the full spectrum of knowledge held by the former, it also clearly (and 

appropriately) identifies the perspective of the latter. Secondly, „Working Knowledge‟ was an 

appropriate focus for a primary researcher (Barber) who was new to the Kowanyama community and 

the area and was undertaking a project with constrained field time. Detailed questions about more 

culturally sensitive topics, which had also already been documented by others (Strang 2001), would 

be unlikely to be well received. 


3

As a contrast and complement, it is useful to note two other accounts from this area that 

emphasise different aspects of Indigenous peoples‟ knowledge of Oriners country. Strang 

(2001) reports on an extensive cultural mapping exercise to record what is still remembered 

about the important Dreaming or Ancestral stories of places in the area between the Alice- 

Mitchell area and Oriners. Her account emphasises and reflects the spiritual and 

mythological importance of the landscape to local people, as well as its articulation with local 

histories of use. From 1996-1997 Stewart and Hamilton produced a detailed ethnobotany 

from the Oriners area, bringing Indigenous elders together with non-Indigenous researchers 

to record detailed knowledge about plants, including their traditional uses. This current report 

complements those two accounts, as it focuses on broader landscape processes, historical 

ecology, and personal and regional history. Crucially, it also involves interviews with 

members of the non-Indigenous Hughes family, who owned and operated the station for 

several decades. For intellectual property and community reasons, both Strang and Stewart 

and Hamilton‟s reports remain stored in the restricted archives of the KALNRMO, although 

some information contained in the latter report is available by investigating botanical entries 

in the online Olkol dictionary subsequently produced by Hamilton. The current document is 

public and to be shared with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous research participants as 

well as being available through the CSIRO to the wider Australian community. This affects its 

content and scope, as well as the degree to which it references detailed content from the 

earlier reports, notably restricted cultural matters and information on plant uses. What the 

existence of those reports usefully demonstrates here is that knowledge is multifaceted, and 

knowledge documentation can have a range of orientations. 

The above paragraphs refine and clarify why the term „Working Knowledge‟ is used here as 

an orientation. It is appropriate in describing: 

the particular assemblage of research participants; 

the kinds of knowledge recorded; 

the provisional and purposeful orientation of that knowledge; 

the categories under which that knowledge is organised in the report; 

and the contexts and applications for which the report might be used in the future. 

1.2 Flooded forest country at Oriners Station 

As the title suggests, alongside „working knowledge‟, a second key aspect of Oriners Station 

and of this report is its status as „flooded forest country.‟ Oriners is known locally by 

Indigenous people as „forest country‟ to distinguish that area from the very different coastal 

delta lands on which Kowanyama community itself lies, and from higher elevation country 

elsewhere on the Cape. „Flooded forest country‟ is used less commonly in everyday speech, 

but more explicitly describes the two key landscape characteristics that Oriners is best 

known for – its forest plants and animals and the seasonal flooding regime that sustains 

them. The former and current accommodation buildings at Oriners Station are situated at the 

heart of the flooded forest system, on a permanent lagoon at the edge of the course of the 

Eight Mile Creek (Figure 4).The area floods periodically during heavy wet season rains in the 

upper catchment, and the ground is soft, boggy, and difficult to negotiate by horse or vehicle 

for several months of the year. Some kilometres downstream from the station buildings are 

two further large permanent lagoons, known locally as Mosquito and Jewfish respectively 

(Figure 4). A third large permanent lagoon, Horseshoe, lies further to the north (Figure 4; 

Figure 5). As well as these distinctive larger permanent lagoons, there are also numerous 

smaller lagoons along the creeks and tributaries, as well as temporary and permanent 

swamps and wetlands which support a wide array of plant and animal life. Taking the station 

as a whole, these more heavily watered areas that include extensive Melaleuca viridiflora 

woodlands are complemented by slightly higher elevation sand ridge country, which is not 

normally submerged during the wet (but is saturated) and is covered in more sparse 

ironwood and messmate forest with stony knolls of quinine and lancewood. A previous 


4

esearcher (Strang 2001) focused on cultural mapping of the area between the Alice-Crosbie 

junction and Oriners and noted the singularity of this landscape and its value to its traditional 

inhabitants: 

The Alice-Crosbie area is characterised by major river and creek systems, and floods 

extensively in the wet season, although high ridges above the rivers provide sanctuary from 

the floodwaters. At the time of the mapping project, an unusually long wet had left much of 

the country boggy and inaccessible to vehicles, and many of the deep creeks were still 

flowing. Even in mid `dry' season, there were spring flowers and green grass, and the big 

swamps were teeming with wildlife. It was clear that, for hunter-gatherers, such country 

would have offered a huge and unusually reliable range of resources. Even in the driest of 

seasons there are springs which never run dry; there are major populations of birds, fish 

and animals; a wide array of edible and medicinal plants and fruits, and materials for 

traditional artefacts. The Kunjen elders described regular patterns of movement around the 

area, and noted many long-term camp sites, where people lived even when some 

members of their communities became involved in work on the cattle stations. Being some 

distance from any major settlements, people could continue their traditional practices 

relatively undisturbed, and Kunjen elders recall their families living in „custom ways' well 

into this century. Even after several families made a base at the station homestead at 

Koolatah, they still walked back to this area to make use of their land. 

(Strang 2001: 1) 

Figure 4. Map of the lower Eight Mile and Crosbie Creek valleys and locations of the 4 major 

lagoons discussed in the report: Oriners, Mosquito, Jewfish and Crosbie. 

Nevertheless, although the sand ridge areas are slightly higher, like the rest of the station 

they remain soft during the wet season and are difficult for vehicles and heavy, hard hoofed 

animals such as cattle to negotiate. The soft and boggy ground, regular flooding regime, poor 

nutrition available to stock in the large areas of more sparsely vegetated ti tree woodlands 

and sand ridges mean that the station is not rich cattle country. It has therefore remained 

largely unfenced and has never had high stocking rates. It also did not have large numbers 


5

of people residing there during the cattle era, as the stocking rates did not justify it. Its 

relative remoteness means that tourists and other travellers have not been present in large 

numbers, although the numbers are increasing. Ownership and associated management of 

the station has also been stable for long periods, with only the Hughes family and 

Kowanyama people responsible for the station since its creation in the 1940s 6 . The 

catchment area feeding into the Eight Mile Creek at Oriners has also been spared the worst 

excesses of past mining activity, with visibly lower levels of mining disturbance than other 

areas closer to the upper catchment of the main Mitchell channel (Figure 48; Figure 56). 

Although part of the Mitchell catchment, the Oriners area is high up on the northern edge. 

Water it supplies to the Mitchell through the Alice and Crosbie catchments only reaches the 

main river far to the south of the station, and well down the course of the Mitchell itself. The 

station is therefore not a major part of current water development plans along the Mitchell 

watershed. The distance from the main river channel and associated catchment also means 

that there has been less scientific scrutiny of the area, and far less is known about it than 

about other parts of the Mitchell which have received more attention. 

In summary, following points make a research focus on the „flooded forest country‟ of Oriners 

valuable: 

it has some unique geological, hydrological, and ecological features; 

it has not been badly damaged by overstocking; 

it has had stable ownership and associated management for long periods; 

it has not supported large human populations; 

it is not on major existing tourist routes; 

it has not been heavily impacted by mining or water infrastructure developments in its 

upstream catchment; 

and it is scientifically under-investigated. 

Oriners is an area of ecological and conservation significance not just locally, but regionally. 

1.3 Forest People and the Oriners Mob 

The term „Forest country‟ is associated with „Forest People‟. The original inhabitants of this 

area of the Cape suffered badly during the period of the worst colonial and early cattle era 

violence, and much of the history of that time is not properly recorded (Sharp 1974[1952]; 

Strang 1997). The remaining Olkol and Kunjen speakers and other inhabitants of the area 

were forced out and/or encouraged to settle on stations and missions, including Kowanyama. 

The Oriners area is the subject of an ongoing native title claim, and the term „Forest People‟ 

can be applied to the group involved in the claim who are descended from the original 

inhabitants and/or who have recognised traditional and kinship connections to the Oriners 

area. They are spread across a wide area and live variously at Kowanyama, in other regional 

Cape communities, in nearby towns such as Laura, and in larger regional centres such as 

Mareeba and Cairns. 

At a local level, „Forest People‟ is sometimes used interchangeably with „Oriners Mob‟, but 

the two terms do not generally refer to identical groups of people. „Oriners Mob‟ tends to be 

used primarily as a local Kowanyama term to describe the people involved in the ongoing 

work of managing the station. This includes some of the „Forest People‟ recognised in the 

claim process, but also includes people who are interested in the area, and in some cases 

have become strongly attached to it, but who would not immediately claim a traditional 

connection to it. Many of the „Oriners Mob‟ are „Forest People‟, but not all. The group who 

are not „Forest People‟ linked to the claim represent a continuation of the tradition of people 

6 Nearby Sefton station was similarly stable, being operated by the Finch family from the 

1967 until it was purchased by Kowanyama Council in 1996 (1.6.3). Much of the material in 

this report applies to Sefton, and in some respects to the country north of the Alice River 

more broadly. 


6

from elsewhere working on the country, and of them developing knowledge and connections 

associated with that work. Straightforward motivations for this work associated with paid 

employment and wages are complemented by other ways in which the landscape is valued 

by people working on it, valued as unusual and therefore important. Also, it is not only 

Indigenous people who have recognised the value of the region: the natural resource 

manager Viv Sinnamon spoke regularly during the research about its ecological and cultural 

significance; the scientist Jeff Shellberg spoke about its ecological and hydrological integrity 

and comparative significance to much of the rest of the Mitchell catchment; and David 

Hughes noted to Viv Sinnamon at the time of its sale that „Oriners is the way the Cape used 

to be‟. These are all people who, in different ways, have recognised the significance and 

unique beauty of this flooded forest country, of the people who are attached to it, of the work 

needed to maintain it, and of the knowledge required for that work. 

1.4 Research methods and participants 

1.4.1 Research methods 

As research methods, this study used a combination of: 

semi-structured interviews; 

field visits to key locations; 

and literature surveys. 

The first two methods were primarily important for generating the local knowledge described 

in Part 2, whilst field visits and literature surveys were important in generating the scientific 

information presented in Part 3. Formal scientific sampling of the area was not part of the 

research scope and was not undertaken. Interviews were conducted with research 

participants from 2010-2012 in different locations around Cape York, including Kowanyama, 

Mareeba, Laura, Coen, and Highbury Station. Participants each gave their written permission 

(see Appendix 8.1) and the research was conducted in accordance with CSIRO ethical 

guidelines. Except one interview in which detailed notes were taken, all interviews were 

recorded and transcribed. A preliminary list of questions oriented to key themes and 

categories was generated for the semi-structured interviews, and the themes and categories 

were reanalysed and refined using NVivo analysis software once the interviews were 

complete. The revised themes and categories appear in Section 2. 

The full recordings and transcriptions will be provided to Kowanyama for their archives on 

completion of the report. Information was also recorded during fieldwork visits to Oriners and 

Sefton Stations in 2010 and to Oriners in 2011 in the company of KALNRMO staff and 

members of the Oriners Mob. Jeff Shellberg‟s review of relevant scientific literature relied on 

previous research undertaken for his PhD about the lower Mitchell catchment, but these 

literature and data foundations were augmented with additional work focused specifically on 

the Oriners area. 

1.4.2 Research participants 

The Indigenous research participants in this project fell into one or more of the following 

categories: 

Indigenous cattlemen who had worked at Oriners in the past; 

Indigenous people with traditional connections to the area; 

Indigenous people with recent experience of living there after purchase by 

Kowanyama community. 

In some cases (such as senior member of the Yam family, Paddy Yam), research 

participants were included in all three of these categories. Other people were only present in 


7

the area for one or two seasons, but this occurred either a long time ago or involved 

distinctive experiences (such as being there during a heavy wet season). The Indigenous 

research participants included: 

Robert Burns 

Fred Coleman 

Alan Creek 

Edwin David 

Ivan Jimmy 

Wilfred Jimmy 

Ezra Michael 

Louie Native 

Philip Port 

Michael Ross 

Paddy Yam 

Philip Yam (Brolga) 

Robert Murray 

The non-Indigenous research participants comprised of men from the Hughes family with 

experience of the property during Hughes family ownership (Cecil, Colin, Brian and David 

Hughes), and Viv Sinnamon, long-term coordinator of the KALNRMO who has experience of 

the property dating from the period of its sale to Kowanyama in the early 1990s. Robert 

Murray, Brian Hughes and David Hughes were all consulted following the drafting of the 

primary report, and any corrections and additions were incorporated into the existing draft. 

As was first noted in the executive summary, the research participants for this study were all 

men. This reflects the orientation of residence during the pastoral era, and to a lesser degree 

the pattern of residence (particularly wet season residence) by Indigenous people since the 

property passed back to Kowanyama. This residential orientation, combined with the 

unavailability of some key potential female research participants early in the research, led to 

a deliberate decision to focus the study on men‟s knowledge, leaving space for a 

complementary and comparative study of women‟s knowledge of the Oriners area in the 

future. The current study documents and qualitatively models work-related cross-cultural 

environmental knowledge about water flows, animal movements, erosion processes, and so 

on. Women were integral to pastoral homestead life and some were also experienced 

horsewomen and cattle workers, giving them important knowledge about such topics and 

making the overall „working knowledge‟ orientation appropriate to them. However a 

subsequent complementary study of women‟s knowledge would also be free to choose a 

different focus or orientation, one that could be appropriate to, and defined in consultation 

with, the participants of such a study. 

1.5 Existing archival resources 

1.5.1 Introduction 

Oriners is hard to access and has had a low residential population during recorded history, 

and so there are relatively few resources available about the specific geographic area and/or 

its people. However the Mitchell River and the Kowanyama community have both had 

considerably more attention paid to them. A number of those works provide useful context for 

an Oriners study both from a natural and a social sciences perspective. Recent Kowanyama 

management and/or knowledge retention aspirations regarding Oriners have also generated 

resources focused on specific issues, and this report is the most recent of those. Some key 

resources, and their relevance, are reviewed below. 


8

1.5.2 Natural scientific resources 

The key scientific resources about Oriners (or about adjacent sites in the region which 

provide the nearest sensible proxy) are reviewed in detail in Part 3. However a brief 

summary of the available resources is as follows. Generally very little direct and detailed 

scientific information has been collected at Oriners and Sefton Stations. Scientific information 

that has been collected has largely been part of larger regional reconnaissance surveys. 

However these data are extremely useful in collating an initial synthesized understanding of 

resources in the area. Additional remotely sensed data from modern satellites value adds to 

these reconnaissance surveys helps set Oriners and Sefton in a regional perspective. 

Key scientific data sets applicable to Oriners and Sefton include: 

Climate and Rainfall: for Oriners Station and regional stations from the Australian 

Bureau of Meteorology (ABOM 2012), plus scientific analysis of regional precipitation 

patterns and trends over different time scales (Lough 1991; Yu 1998; Lu and Yu 

2002; Nott et al. 2007; Heinrich et al. 2008; Risbey et al. 2009; Shellberg 2011; 

Shellberg et al. 2012) 

Topography and Drainage: for the Oriners region from NASA data (SRTM 2000) and 

streamline data from Australian topographic maps. 

Geology: for the Oriners area from regional datasets and reviews by CSIRO 

(Galloway et al. 1970), the Queensland Geological Survey (Grimes and Doutch 1978; 

Grimes 1979; Smart et al. 1980a), and others (Blewett and Wilford 1996; Brooks et al. 

2009). 

Soils: for the Oriners area from regional datasets by CSIRO (Isbell et al. 1968; 

Galloway et al. 1970; BRS 1991) and CYPLUS (Biggs and Philip 1995a; Biggs and 

Philip 1995b). 

Land Systems: for the Oriners area from regional datasets by CSIRO (Galloway et al. 

1970). 

Land Use: for the Oriners region from historical air photographs, catchment reports 

(McDonald and Dawson 2004; Rustomji et al. 2010), government datasets (Australian 

Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2008; Queensland Department of Employment Economic 

Development and Innovation (QDEEDI) 2010) , and other publications (Crowley and 

Garnett 1998, 2000; Strang 2001; Strang 2004; Shellberg et al. 2010; Shellberg 

2011) and additional field observations by Griffith University. 

Hydrology: for the Oriners region from general overviews by the Queensland 

Government (Horn 1995) and CSIRO (2009), and more detailed information from 

historical air photographs, remotely sensed data from Griffith University (Ward et al. 

2012), James Cook University (Lymburner and Burrows 2008) and the Queensland 

Government (QDERM 2010), with additional field observations by Griffith University. 

Hydrogeology: for the Oriners region from general overviews by the Queensland 

Government (Horn, Derrington et al. 1995) and CSIRO (2009), with more detailed 

information from the Queensland Geological Survey (Grimes 1972; Gibson et al. 

1973; Grimes 1975; Grimes and Doutch 1978; Grimes 1979; Grimes and Spate 2008) 

and additional field observations by Griffith University. 

Fluvial Geomorphology: for the Oriners area from satellite imagery (ASTER), 

elevation data (SRTM 2000), historical air photographs (Queensland and Federal 

Governments) and additional field observations by Griffith University. 

Soil and Gully Erosion: for the Oriners area from CSIRO (Galloway et al. 1970), 

CYPLUS (Biggs and Philip 1995a; 1995b), and Griffith University (Shellberg et al. 

2010; Shellberg 2011; Shellberg et al. 2012) and additional field observations by 

Griffith University. 

Vegetation: for the Oriners area from CSIRO and CYPLUS on forests (Galloway et al. 

1970; Neldner and Clarkson 1995; Neldner and Clarkson 1996; Clarkson and Neldner 

1996) and grasslands (Neldner and Clarkson 1995; Neldner and Clarkson 1996; 

Clarkson and Neldner 1996; Neldner et al. 1997). 


9

Fire Frequency: for the Oriners area from the Northern Australia Fire Information 

(NAFI) database, historical air photos (Queensland and Federal Governments), and 

other publications on research from nearby cattle stations (Crowley and Garnett 

1998; 2000). 

Feral Animals: for the Oriners region from regional studies of the impacts of feral pigs 

(McGaw and Mitchell 1998; Doupe et al. 2009a; 2009b; Mitchell 2010; DEEDI 2010) 

and cattle (Shellberg et al. 2010; Shellberg 2011; Shellberg et al. 2012; Pettit et al. 

2012) on ecosystem processes. 

Native Terrestrial Animals: this is a placeholder section for future detailed literature 

and database review and field investigations of the native terrestrial animals and 

wildlife of the Oriners and Sefton Areas. A brief review of initial wildlife reference data 

is provided (Winter and Lethbridge 1995), along with a minimum a wildlife species list 

for the area (DERM Wildlife Online). 

Native Birds: this is a placeholder section for future detailed literature and database 

review and field investigations of the birds of the Oriners and Sefton Areas. A brief 

review of initial bird references is provided (Winter and Lethbridge 1995; Garnett and 

Crowley 1995; Abrahams et al. 1995; Crowley and Garnett 1998; 1999; 2000; 2001), 

along with a minimum a bird species list for the area (DERM Wildlife Online). 

Native Aquatic Animals: this is a placeholder section for future detailed literature and 

database review and field investigations of the aquatic animals of the Oriners and 

Sefton Areas. A brief review of initial aquatic references is provided (Herbert et al. 

1995; Abrahams et al. 1995; Cook et al. 2011), along with a minimum amphibian and 

reptile species list for the area (DERM Wildlife Online). 

1.5.3 Cultural, linguistic, historical and ethnographic resources 

Information from resources additional to the natural sciences will be reviewed in more detail 

here, as they are not collated or analysed later in the document. Four recent works 

specifically focused on Oriners and generated in collaboration with people associated with 

the area are: 

An unpublished and restricted cultural mapping report containing information about 

important sites in the area (Strang 2001); 

An unpublished and restricted ethnobotany of Oriners plants (Stewart, Hamilton et al. 

1996); 

An online dictionary of the Olkol and Oykangand languages (Hamilton 1996); 

A series of local unpublished Kowanyama planning documents and reports 

canvassing development options and aspirations for Oriners; 

Two recent further sources which are about wider and/or adjacent areas, but which contain 

important general analysis of relevance to Oriners country are: 

Bruce Sommer‟s book focusing on language and kinship amongst the Oykangand, 

one of the languages of the Kunjen people (Sommer 2006). 

Strang‟s ethnography comparing the differing cultural and landscape values of 

Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Cape York (Strang1997). 

These resources are discussed in more detail below. 

1.5.3.1 Kunjen country cultural mapping (Strang 2001) 

Veronica Strang is an anthropologist with deep and longstanding research ties with the 

Kowanyama community. That link has generated much important material, far more than can 

be adequately examined here (Strang 1997; Strang 1999; Strang 1999; Strang 2001; Strang 

2001; Strang 2002; Strang 2003; Strang 2004; Strang 2005). Two works are of primary 

interest to the current study. The first (Strang 1997) is a major ethnography contrasting 


10

settler and Indigenous landscape and environmental values (discussed in more detail below) 

and the second (Strang 2001) is a cultural mapping report which documents a number of 

important stories and sites relevant to the focal area. She states that the objectives of the 

work were to facilitate the sharing of knowledge between generations and thereby prevent its 

loss, but also to indicate the wider significance of the stories to contemporary decolonisation: 

The linkage between stories is also a relationship between people, whose clan identity is 

based on ancestral totems. Thus the stories written here are part of a traditional social and 

economic network in which each individual was situated within a particular clan and set of 

exchange relationships, and owned or had rights to particular tracts of land. The stories 

therefore retain a vital function as tenure to land, and their recording is part of a continuing 

effort by the Aboriginal community to define and re-establish their traditional rights to land 

following the intense disruption and dispossession brought by the colonisation of the land 

by Europeans. 

(Strang 2001: 2) 

As indicated previously, the Strang report remains restricted community property, but some 

indication of its content can be given by focusing on four major lagoons on Oriners country. 

These were visited during the current research, are mentioned regularly in the interview 

transcripts which follow, and are ongoing foci for management action. In English these 

lagoons are known as Horseshoe, Oriners, Jewfish, and Mosquito respectively. Comparing 

edited public versions of the information in Strang‟s report about each lagoon provides 

insights into that report‟s focus, the lagoons themselves, and the retention of cultural 

information in the area. The most detailed entry provided here is for Horseshoe: 

AFILAP AMPUNGK / HORSESHOE LAGOON 

Translation: Bony Bream Home 

Tract language name(s) Anganb / Afilap (Lefty Yam says it is half each) Translation: 

Rainbow and Bony Fish 

Language(s) Uw-Ilbmbanhdhiy / Olkol Non-Aboriginal name: Horseshoe Lagoon 

Physical features: A big lagoon surrounded by mature trees and tall forest including black 

quinine, lady apple, and snake vine. There is a cattle yard at the southern end of the 

lagoon, which curves more or less north-south. There is another older yard further up the 

lagoon. 

(Strang 2001: 35) 

Figure 5. Horseshoe Lagoon. 


11

Strang then describes the story of how the ancestral Bony Bream came to choose and create 

Horseshoe Lagoon as its home. This involved interactions and negotiations with both 

Kitehawk and Rainbow, other important ancestral creatures in the area, and the story also 

refers to the considerable depth of the lagoon (100 feet in Strang‟s account). Strangers need 

to be appropriately introduced by a relevant elder via a formal protocol for them to not come 

to harm or offend the ancestors living there. Primary responsibility for this place rests with the 

Yam family. Strang further notes that Afilap Ampungk‟s abundant resources and reliable 

water made it a major meeting place in pre-colonial times, and it was also an important 

mustering point during the cattle era. 

Further information drawn from Strang‟s report about the other three permanent lagoons in 

the area provides some comparisons. The lagoon next to the Oriners Homestead is called 

Odnodh, which is translated from Olkol as „red paint‟. The totemic associations of Oriners 

Lagoon are known but subject to some restrictions, and the specific story and details 

underlying that association is further restricted to women only. Mosquito Lagoon is called 

Ombolamb Ampungk, which translates as „Mosquito Home‟. This area is known to have had 

ancestral and totemic significance, but the details were lost in colonial era violence. However 

it remains an important camp site and source of resources, as Strang notes: 

People used to burn sandalwood to keep the mosquitos away: there were many of them 

here `a big mob here'. They made cup mari, and collected bush medicines. 

Contemporary usages: still used as a dinner camp, and for fishing, hunting and gathering. 

For example, there are Uk-arryal trees here from which the bark (Uk-enyjen) is widely used 

for making a strong dilly bag, wrapping wounds, tying spears and humpies, or tying the 

bark around a body: 

„Tie him up humpy, he stop there for a while, might be two or three years, long as that 

water, rain, hit him, he'll be still there. He'll see you and me out.‟ 

(Paddy Yam) 

The bark is also used for medicine and (from young trees) can be chewed to assuage 

thirst. 

(Strang 2001: 48) 

Nearby Jewfish lagoon is named in two languages - Igay Ampungk in the Uw-Oykangand 

language, and Ijaj Ampungk in Olkol. Both refer to the bloodwood tree. As well as its 

significance for cattle mustering, Strang notes that the Jewfish was an important place for 

freshwater resources: 

They would catch catfish, saratoga, turtle, barramundi. They also hunted crocodiles here: 

`when you see bubble, go, cut him. He roll, give another spear. Put stick in jaws, he lock, 

then hit him with a stick between the eyes'. 

(Strang 2001: 51) 

Comparing Strang‟s basic information about the four key lagoons of interest here shows that 

significant knowledge about those places has been retained, notably the traditional language 

names for each, and the living people responsible for those places (often the members of the 

extended Yam family). However the report also shows that knowledge retention differs on a 

site by site basis - for two lagoons, the Dreaming or ancestral narrative is retained, and for 

two it has been lost. The diversity within Dreamings and their associated protocols is also 

clear- at Afilap Ampungk (Horseshoe), the Bony Bream can be publicly identified as the 

ancestral creator, but Strang notes the need for strangers to be properly introduced by an 

elder. In contrast, at Odnodh (Oriners) the story is known but restricted to women, and 


12

Strang does not identify formal protocols needed there 7 . As deep permanent water sources, 

in all four cases these lagoons were identified as being important for pre-colonial life, 

important as mustering and residence sites in the cattle era, and important for contemporary 

hunting and natural resource management. 8 

1.5.3.2 Ethnobotanical Information (Stewart, Hamilton et al. 1996) ) 

Researchers Geoff Stewart and Philip Hamilton collaborated with Indigenous elders to 

produce a document about traditional plant names and uses (Stewart, Hamilton et al. 1996). 

This document remains in the restricted Kowanyama archives. This is a far shorter document 

than Strang‟s and consists of a series of entries documenting botanical diversity and 

associated knowledge in the Oriners area and a well preserved botanical collection at 

Kowanyama. The following entry, sourced from that report, provides an indication of the kind 

of content it contains: 

Scientific name: Acacia ditricha #041 

Common name: Wattle 

Oykangand name: uk urryimarr 

Pakanh name: yuku niichi 

Use: Fish poison, the skin of the bark is taken off and tied into big bundles (maybe as big 

as a 44 gallon drum) and is used together with its brother, uk arrphanh. The two poisons 

must be used at the same time, this practice generally happened in the late dry season 

when water-holes were dwindling and food was scarce. When the fish rise to the surface 

only the live ones are eaten. 

External medicine, a bogey is made from the inner bark and is useful for healing cuts and 

sores. 

(Stewart, Hamilton et al. 1996: 2) 

The Stewart and Hamilton report, and the associated well-preserved botanical collection, will 

provide an important resource for future botanical work at Oriners at an appropriate time. 

However as the current report emphasises wider landscape-scale hydrological and 

ecological processes, the specifics of plant identifications were not a major priority. 

1.5.3.3 Linguistic information (Hamilton 1996 and Sommer 2006) 

The ethnobotanical work Hamilton was involved in was part of a wider linguistic study based 

with Kowanyama people. The main public result of this work is an online Olkol and 

Oykangand word list (Hamilton 1996). This list is discussed further at 2.7.2 below, which 

provides some relevant examples from the work to provide further context. 

A second linguistic resource with a stronger ethnographic and analytical context but focused 

on an adjacent language group (the Oykangand) was produced by Bruce Sommer (Sommer 

2006). The Oykangand language is associated with country downstream from Olkol territory 

at Oriners, but the station boundaries do not formally correspond with traditional or 

7 However such protocols can be implemented as and when appropriate. Both of the non-local field 

researchers (Marcus Barber and Jeff Shellberg) were formally welcomed to the country at Oriners by 

senior owner Michael Yam. This involved a short ceremony at Odnodh (Oriners Lagoon) in which the 

heads of the new arrivals were wetted with water from the lagoon and with sweat from local owners, 

and then names and introductions were called out to the local ancestors. 

8 It is worth noting explicitly here that the current report is not a cultural mapping document - 

it does not focus on sites, names, traditional associations, etc. This is because of both the 

existence of Strang‟s high quality work with appropriate people (including a crucial informant, 

Lefty Yam, who has since died), and because, as was discussed above, it has different 

intentions and aims. 


13

emembered linguistic associations. Sommer (p7) notes that the term „Kunjen‟ found 

commonly in the literature on languages in the area is often used at Kowanyama in a way 

that incorporates the Oykangand, Olkol (Olgol in Sommer‟s spelling) and Kawarrangg 

speaking peoples, with the Oykangand associated with Mitchell delta area inland of saltwater 

incursion, the Olkol with the upstream areas of the Alice River, and the Kawarrangg with the 

Mitchell River just below the Palmer River. This means that, depending on the context, it can 

be appropriate to refer to both Olkol and Kunjen speaking peoples as associated with the 

Oriners area, but the primary and more specific association is with the Olkol. Therefore this 

term, and the contemporary terms „Oriners Mob‟ and „Forest People‟, will be used in the 

subsequent sections of this report. Also noteworthy from Sommer‟s demarcation is the strong 

association between language, identity and water. He writes of the historical Oykangand: 

While the salt water tides reach into their country at the end of the dry season (October to 

December), they are not exploiters of the marine environment, and maintain a proud 

orientation to the og uland – the annual flooding of the Mitchell River which refreshed their 

freshwater lagoons, refilled their creeks and spread out onto the plains, making the course 

of the river a complex maze that is for a short time many kilometres wide. 

(Sommer 2006: 7) 

In a chapter about names and naming, Sommer notes that: 

“The Oykangand as a community of speakers name themselves from the ecology of their 

environment: „the people from the outside lagoons.‟ They will say „The floodwaters bin bring 

us‟ in support of that orientation” 

(Sommer 2006: 168) 

In terms of names for individuals, he notes the relationship between the ancestral stories and 

the wider environment, as well as kinship connections: 

the practice is for the child to take a name from the character, behaviour or environmental 

correlates of the principal figure of its father‟s story...Oykangand people take pains to 

explain that these names relate to the story figure as a natural species and not as a human 

ancestor. For example, RS‟s name [in erk ubundiy – „animal place dark-in‟] reflects the fact 

that the emu is difficult to approach closely in hunting – its sense are so sharp that it is 

usually seen only at a distance away from its darker habitations. 

(Sommer 2006: 159) 

He goes on to discuss the significance of conception-site names, which had more common 

usage than the personal names described above, and were focused on critical sites in the 

country belonging to the carrier‟s father. Sommer also describes how animal species were 

named using either a name that made the sound the animal made, or described a key 

physical or behavioural feature (Sommer 2006, 162-165). All of the above examples suggest 

the importance of environmental observation, knowledge, and comparison. 

However, Sommer qualifies his entire 2006 account by noting that much of it is based on 

data obtained from older people now long deceased (he began collecting data in the 1960s). 

Even at that time of data collection some 40 years before publication, a significant number of 

the practices and customs were no longer active, including substantial elements of kinship 

systems. The knowledge recorded from people contributing to this project cannot replicate 

the level of detail made possible by Sommer‟s long-dead informants and by his considerable 

linguistic skills. 

1.5.3.4 Development aspirations - KALNRMO archives 

KALNRMO archives yielded a range of unpublished documents and reports about Oriners 

(Anonymous 1992; Anonymous 1995; KALNRMO 2001; Sinnamon and Meaney 2002; 

Kowanyama Aboriginal Council 2003; Kowanyama Aboriginal Council 2003; Anonymous 


14

2010) as well as letters and other correspondence. These related to post-purchase 

community plans and aspirations about the station, the establishment of key infrastructure, 

and the wider context of homeland/outstation development at Kowanyama. Copies and 

originals of photographs of the area from the previous two decades were also located, 

although not all were of sufficient quality to be reproduced here. One of the largest 

documents located was a late draft of a strategic assessment report for Oriners produced by 

the consultancy company Burdon Torzillo (Burdon Torzillo and Associates 2000). This draft 

report dated late 2000 and presumably published in 2001, examined future options for 

Oriners, reflecting the long term strategic vision people had for the station at that time. Most 

importantly for present purposes, the report documents the rapid and ongoing rise of 

„homelands‟ (small family-oriented settlements around Kowanyama) which created 

considerable competition for scarce resources with respect to the better established but far 

more remote settlement at Oriners. This issue is discussed in more detail in 1.7 below. 

Viewed from the present day, it is also clear how resource, logistical, and personnel 

constraints limited the degree to which the vision the Burdon Torzillo report and others from 

around that era contains was able to be realised in the subsequent decade. The difficulties 

encountered provide important lessons for subsequent development at Oriners, and 

development in similarly remote circumstances elsewhere on the Cape. 

1.5.3.5 Wider cultural and environmental values analysis – Strang 1997 

The literature cited above gives, to varying degrees, specific information relevant to Oriners 

as a location. However in many respects the most significant resource complementing and 

contextualising the specific ecological knowledge recovery project attempted here is the 

published work of Strang. Strang‟s primary published resource (Strang 1997) uses 

ethnographic research undertaken with both Indigenous residents of Kowanyama and with 

non-Indigenous cattlemen (including members of the Hughes family, notably David Hughes). 

In that research, Strang presents and analyses the differing ways that these two groups 

understand, use, and ascribe meaning to their surroundings. Her broader theoretical 

intention is to show (Strang 1997: 6) how the relationship between human beings and the 

environment is founded on a combination of: 

universal human imperatives and cognitive processes 

responses to ecological pressures and potentials 

beliefs and values instituted within specific cultural contexts. 

Strang argues that human environmental interactions are an expression of cultural values, 

which, in combination with universal human imperatives and ecological pressures, create a 

particular and recurring „mode‟ of interacting with the environment. Her work compares and 

contrasts the respective modes of the Indigenous residents and landowners of Kowanyama, 

and the non-Indigenous cattlemen. After an extended analysis of them, her conclusion draws 

out the key features of each mode, and analyses their implications for environmental 

relationships. She acknowledges the risks and dangers of making oppositional simplifications 

as well as the overlaps between perspectives, but is nevertheless able to produce a 

summary of values based on her research (Strang 1997: 285): 

ABORIGINAL WHITE AUSTRALIAN 

Unboundaried Boundaried 

Connected/immediate Alienated/distanced 

Holistic/integrated Specialised/fragmented 

Lateral/spatial Linear/temporal 

Emotional/irrational Intellectual/rational 

Subjective Objective 

Qualitative Quantitative 

Implicit/metaphorical Explicit/literal 

Conservative/passive Progressive/active 

Stable Mobile/transformational 


15

Mystical/spiritual Scientific 

Personal/specific Impersonal/generic 

Collective/relational Individuated/independent 

Vague Precise 

Small scale Large scale 

Strang argues that despite the clear and necessary overlaps, „these particular characteristics 

are genuinely more apparent, emphasised, and valued in the behaviour of each cultural 

group‟ (Strang 1997: 285). She attributes this to differing levels of fragmentation, scale, and 

continuity – that Indigenous Australians relations to landscapes tend to be smaller scale, 

emphasise stability and continuity, and do not involve the same level of economic 

exploitation and commoditisation of land. Strang notes that such values are significant to how 

people related to their surroundings as „according to their prior knowledge and acculturation, 

individuals identify, classify, interpret and evaluate each component of their surroundings, 

constructing and responding to a particular vision of the environment‟ (Strang 1997:199). As 

well as their implications for individual and group relations to their surroundings, Strang also 

suggests some implications of her analysis for environmental sustainability more generally, 

identifying factors which encourage or discourage sustainable relations with land and noting 

that „while Western culture is faltering and beginning to question many of the values it has 

prioritised, Aboriginal culture is quietly re-establishing a solid and sustaining environmental 

relationship‟ (Strang 1997: 290). 

Strang‟s 1997 account (and others produced later) of her work in the Mitchell catchment 

provides important context for this project in a range of ways. The values summary above 

suggests that Indigenous people and non-Indigenous pastoralists possess quite different 

understandings of their surroundings, and this is borne out by other explicit statements in the 

text about key differences: 

As the two major groups in the watershed, the pastoralists and the Aboriginal people have 

between them a range of issues concerning the land: the primary one is obviously that of 

ownership and control, but there are other issues about access, about caring for the land 

and its resources, and management of the activities in the watershed as a whole. Though 

there is some common ground, their ideas about all these issues rarely overlap... 

(Strang 1997: 10) 

Strang‟s ethnographically grounded account justifies this position in a range of ways; the 

opening vignette underscores how differently the two groups know about and interpret Emu 

Lagoon (formerly a part of Koolatah Station, now part of the National Park); chapter 4 about 

Indigenous people „living on the land‟ contrasts with chapter 5 about pastoralists „living off the 

land‟); and after reviewing differing modes of spatial organisation, readings of the country, 

and mapping processes, Strang analyses underlying cosmologies as „Antipodean worlds‟. 

Yet she also notes ongoing processes of exchange and convergence: 

despite the difficult relationship between Aboriginal and white Australians, it appears that 

their cosmological constructs are, gradually, beginning to converge. Beliefs and values are 

being exchanged as Aboriginal groups learn the language of science and the white 

Australians search for a more holistic interaction with their environment. 

(Strang 1997: 274) 

Strang notes the increasingly strong emphasis on protecting „Nature‟ and on conservation 

and heritage issues in Australian law and government processes as evidence for this 

convergence, but then reiterates her position: 

There remain, however, some intractable differences: the issue of alienation – land as 

„home‟ versus land as commodity; living within the land as opposed to living off it; the idea 


16

of collective rather than individual ownership. Ultimately, these are differences in values, 

and how and where these values are located. 

(Strang 1997: 275) 

Strang provides some comprehensive descriptions of people, places, histories, and concepts 

of considerable importance to the work described here. Yet as should already be clear, this 

project does not emphasise comparative environmental values and differences. Rather it is 

focused on the recovery of ecological knowledge and environmental history about a 

particular place, and on the ongoing management of that place. It therefore presumes (and 

demonstrates) that both groups of people have knowledge of Oriners based not just on 

presence there over several decades, but also on joint involvement in pastoral activities. To 

adopt the language of Strang‟s title, in some respects it is a project focused on „common 

ground‟, at least at the level of empirical observations of landscape, key fauna, major 

processes, and histories of variability and change. As Strang herself notes, pastoralists show 

respect for Indigenous knowledge in this area: 

Aboriginal bush lore tends to be the only aspect of Aboriginal culture that is respected, and 

the only knowledge the graziers are prepared to learn from Aboriginal people. 

(Strang 1997: 194) 

However she also observes that pastoralists evaluate the landscape differently from 

Indigenous people: 

Information about the natural resources is evaluated through the frame of the cattle 

endeavour: grass and water resources according to their potential to sustain cattle and 

horses; the vegetation for shade, grazing and unimpeded mustering; the soil as it supports 

vegetation and dries out after the floods. Other practical knowledge about the environment 

is highly valued- being able to predict rain; to judge the right time for burning grass; to know 

the flood patterns- these sorts of things are discussed and debated solemnly by the 

managers and head stockmen. 

(Strang 1997: 195) 

However Strang immediately notes that pastoralists with long term ties to the area can 

constitute exceptions in a range of ways, having considerable knowledge of the bush, 

extended residence, and a willingness to work alongside Indigenous people. She specifically 

names David Hughes and the Finches as examples of this. She also reports comments by 

Colin Hughes which demonstrate affective and aesthetic values: 

The more hard work you put into it, the more you appreciate it...It‟s a good little spot here: 

you got the river not far away, clean water, all you need...You go in [to town] for a week at 

a time, and that‟s about it, that‟s enough. I‟d miss the bush life, the quiet life...it‟s a quieter 

life and nobody to bustle you around all day (Colin Hughes 1992) 

(Strang 2005) 

Strang also notes that the Hughes family also have generations of attachment to Indigenous 

people, encouraging both a respect for bush lore and a more affective concern for the 

surrounding country: 

People that own the land, and that have been on the land a long time, they‟ve got a very 

strong attachment to it, just the same as the Aboriginals. And you can get other sort of 

people that just buy it and do a few things to it and sell it – flog few cattle off it...just to 

make a quid out of it. The genuine graziers...they look after it so that they can get the 

benefits out of it for years to come (Colin Hughes 1992). 

What I worked for, as far as getting a dividend of any sort of dollars that you would be able 

to invest anywhere else, it‟ll probably never happen in my lifetime...you‟ve just got to work, 


17

ut your children will probably get that. We‟ve got a lot of property, but we‟ve got a lot of 

debt too...it‟s all about mortgaging and getting bigger...so when my boys come along, 

they‟ve got something (David Hughes 1992). 

(Strang 1997: 206) 

The narrow focus on matters of shared experience makes it possible to attempt syntheses 

that Strang‟s work suggests would be problematic at either a broader scale and/or using a 

less disciplinarily constrained and less utilitarian focus. This is a „working knowledge‟ 

recovery project rather than a detailed ethnographic comparison and synthesis of 

environmental values. In addition, the scientific data and associated perspectives presented 

here could be placed within some of Strang‟s formulations about non-Indigenous pastoralist 

perspectives, and she briefly describes a process by which then new „readings‟ of the 

landscape were being generated by scientific „outsiders‟ in response to government 

requirements for additional information. Such assessments were broad scale surveys of 

soils, geology, biogeography, wildlife etc designed to classify the landscape into functional 

regions and/or habitats (Strang 1997: 203). Those undertaking such a process would seem 

to have far more in common with the summary of the pastoralist‟s perspective than with that 

of local Indigenous people, and Strang argues that one of the four key „streams‟ 

underpinning the pastoralist perspective is scientific rationalism (the others being Christian 

beliefs, secular law, and other spiritual constructs such as new age and environmentalist 

discourses which stem from disillusionment with materialist scientific cosmologies), However 

further comparative analysis of the scientific perspective and its relationship to the other two 

is not drawn out in detail in her work, which concentrates on pastoralists and Indigenous 

people. 

The scientific perspectives present in this report emerge from three major vantage points. 

The most explicit is through the collation and interpretation of existing scientific data 

undertaken by Jeff Shellberg and presented in Part 3. In many respects this represents the 

„outsider‟ and objectivist broad scale perspective referred to by Strang above. However, 

Jeff‟s research has involved extensive periods of „on the ground‟ fieldwork throughout the 

Mitchell catchment, with explorations by foot, vehicle, boat, and air, often in collaboration with 

local indigenous people and pastoralists. Therefore his „working knowledge‟ of the catchment 

is scientific, but also local and experiential, and this is important in terms of the scientific 

summary of part 3, but also informs the broader analysis. Finally, the third vantage point from 

which to consider scientific perspectives within the report is in terms of the document as a 

whole. It is generated by a combination of social and natural scientists, and is deliberately 

comparative in tone. As indicated in the preceding sections, it is also constrained in its 

perspectives, placing all three perspectives (Indigenous, pastoral, and scientific) in the 

service of generating „Working Knowledge‟ syntheses of management relevance to a 

valuable landscape. Focusing on particular individuals with distinctive personal histories 

rather than on an „average‟ person from each of the three categories makes attempting a 

useful collective synthesis more meaningful and viable than would be suggested by Strang‟s 

table of opposing values. The Indigenous people are former cattlemen and/or current NRM 

workers and the pastoralists are drawn from a family with their own very deep historical ties 

to the area. That family also has a past history of working closely with Indigenous people, 

(particularly the Yam family heavily associated with Oriners, as the Yams lived and worked 

on the Hughes-owned Koolatah Station into the 1960s and continued working there whilst 

living at Kowanyama well into the 1970s. 

However Strang‟s account of underlying values and cultural constructs suggests that even if 

experiences are shared and observations consistent, diverging interpretations and 

explanations are likely to arise. There is some evidence for this in the information that 

follows, but that evidence is not sufficient to immediately invalidate the syntheses suggested 

in Part 4. This is in part because of the strong materialist emphasis in those syntheses, which 

focus on physical causes and processes. However it is also because people are generally 

more comfortable describing observations of local environmental phenomena than they are 


18

in giving reasons or causes for them. This is not surprising given the complexity of some of 

the causal processes involved, and the fact that Oriners was primarily a workplace rather 

than a long-term residential site for those being interviewed. 9 A working synthesis of local 

knowledge is made possible by focusing on environmental description, on complementary 

and/or shared experiences, and on physical causal processes that may not be complete or 

holistic, but which are less likely to be a basis for controversy or disagreement than those 

emerging from some of the conflicting values and perspectives identified by Strang. In 

searching for a working synthesis of local knowledge, this project gathers information useful 

for future management as well as identifying and assisting in the ongoing creation of an area 

of common ground. 

1.6 History of Oriners Station 

1.6.1 The pre-colonial period 

As noted previously, the contemporary boundaries of Oriners incorporate country associated 

with the Olkol people of central Cape York. The wide variation in seasonal conditions at 

Oriners suggests that traditional occupation was likely to have been seasonal, in keeping with 

the broader seasonal patterns of residence noted for Indigenous groups elsewhere (Keen 

2003). Strang cites a comment from Kowanyama elder Colin Lawrence: 

...them old people moved in the wet time, moved right up here somewhere. On the ridge 

there. They knew when the flood was up - creek start running. They knew where the high 

ground was (Colin Lawrence 1992). 

(Strang 1997: 15) 

Early colonial violence in this area is largely undocumented, but is likely to have been severe 

in the later decades of the 1800s and into the 1900s (Sharp 1974[1952]; Strang 1997). 

Sharp‟s description of a particularly bloody encounter involving the Jardine brothers, which 

became known as the Battle of Mitchell River, describes Indigenous people dying in volleys of 

gunfire in an incident that early maps suggest took place northeast of the Alice-Mitchell 

junction (Strang 1997:17). Such violence pushed the surviving resident population out of some 

areas and into others, then on to settlements and missions. Strang describes that the 

important (now deceased) Kunjen elder Lefty Yam knew that his ancestors had come from the 

Coleman River area, but had sought refuge from the violence on Koolatah Station. They had 

begun stockwork on the station, remaining there even after the mission was well established, 

and the Yam family now associate themselves with country in the Mitchell catchment. The 

dispersal of Olkol and Kunjen people to Kowanyama mission, and particularly the Yam family 

to Koolatah Station, was to be important in the subsequent decades. 

1.6.2 The Hughes Family 

The Hughes family is one of the most prominent pastoral „dynasties‟ in the region. They first 

appeared in this part of the Mitchell catchment in 1912, when Maddock Hughes and his 

brothers (including Cuthbert Hughes) occupied the Koolatah block after some time working at 

Highbury (Strang 1997: 51). 10 Koolatah was identified by colonial authorities as vacant at the 

time. There were a significant number of Indigenous residents at Koolatah during this period, 

with the Yam family being the most prominent, and their labour was crucial to building the 

station. Four brothers from the Hughes family were involved in the establishment of Koolatah 

Station – Lucas, Cuthbert, Malcolm, and Maddock. Cuthbert remained on the property for over 

9 Unfortunately Nugget Finch, the main non-Indigenous cattleman who did reside in the area for over 

30 years, died prior to the commencement of this study. His wife Pam was made aware of this 

research but did not wish to be involved. 

10 Strang obtains some of her material about the Hughes family from an unpublished manuscript 

produced by a member of the family Hughes, R. (1989). Family album of Herbert Maddock and Laura 

Hughes: their forebears, descendants and relations. Southport, Queensland.. 


19

20 years, Cecil Hughes, the son of Maddock, first arrived at Koolatah in1942, and estimates 

that he became involved in mustering Oriners in the late 1940s. At that time it was officially 

vacant, but was also occasionally used by pastoralists at Strathleven Station. The Hughes 

family formally took up Oriners as part of their holdings in the early 1950s. Station 

infrastructure and buildings proceeded slowly, but as Cecil notes, the regular mustering 

required led to greater facilities and ongoing residence: 

We used to muster it, and as time went on the cattle had to be looked after out there. So 

we built a hut there and had somebody there. The drafting yard and the dip, loading ramp 

and everything, paddocks, and we carried on there for a number of years…Then we put a 

caretaker out there, a feller called Wilmott. He was out there for a while. 

Cecil Hughes 

Figure 6. Cecil Hughes in Mareeba, July 2012. 

During this period, Oriners mustering occurred from the base at Koolatah Station. Koolatah 

was mustered first, then Oriners was mustered later in the dry season. The infrastructure 

improved in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and in the mid 1960s it was possible for Herbert 

and Nola Hughes to reside at Oriners, then to use it as a base whilst they built a homestead 

at New Dixie, the land for which had been purchased from Hank Morris in the early 1960s. 

Colin Hughes, the current owner of Drumduff and Highbury Stations, and the son of Herbert 

and Nola, spent his very early childhood at Oriners before the family moved to New Dixie in 


20

the late 1960s. From this period on, Oriners mustering activity was primarily based at and 

organised from New Dixie, and Colin recalls himself and his brother Brian being responsible 

for it in the 1970s and 1980s: 

Oh we used to do all of the mustering at Oriners. We would have been about sixteen or 

seventeen. 

Colin Hughes 

Oriners was ultimately sold in the early 1990s to the Kowanyama Council on behalf of the 

Hughes family. The sale was negotiated by David Hughes, the nephew of Cecil and then 

manager of Koolatah Station, by David‟s father Bill Hughes, and by Herbert Hughes, the 

now-deceased owner of Dixie Station and the father of Colin Hughes, current manager of 

Drumduff and Highbury Stations. At this point, the Hughes family ceased playing a direct role 

in Oriners, other than managing the common boundaries between Oriners and the stations 

they continued to operate, formerly Dixie Station and currently Drumduff Station. 

1.6.3 The Finches at Sefton 

Sefton Station, lying to the west of Oriners, is also owned by the Kowanyama people and it is 

often included in discussions about the future of the Oriners area. Nugget Finch and his wife 

Pam established Sefton in the mid 1960s as tenants in common with Edward Loudon and 

operated it as a pastoral property until the 1990s following transfer of Loudon‟s interests to 

the Finches in late 1981. The station was far smaller and operated independently as a 

lifestyle block (Strang 1997: 120-121) rather than as part of a larger assemblage as the 

Hughes‟ properties did. It therefore did not have a permanent Indigenous labour force, 

although Nugget participated in joint mustering efforts with adjacent station holders on a 

regular basis and was known for his positive relations with Indigenous cattlemen (V. 

Sinnamon, pers. comm.). Water resources were an ongoing challenge, and a small excision 

from Oriners was negotiated between the Hughes and Finch families in order to improve 

water supply to Sefton. The final transfer did not occur prior to the Hughes‟ selling Oriners, 

but the agreement was honoured by the Kowanyama people, and the transfer of this small 

parcel occurred in 1994. Financial difficulties required Sefton to be sold in 1996 (to 

Kowanyama Council), but the Finches remained there for some time as caretakers, before 

being requested to leave in the late 1990s by the Kowanyama Council of that time, which 

was acting on poor advice about development possibilities for the station and a lack of full 

awareness about the positive role that the Finches played in maintaining Sefton (V. 

Sinnamon, pers. comm.). As it was unoccupied from that point onwards, Sefton subsequently 

fell into disrepair, and much of the infrastructure is now destroyed by fire. Nugget Finch died 

in 2008. Sefton is an important component of contemporary Kowanyama people‟s territory, 

and a significant amount of the information presented here may apply to Sefton as well. 

However the primary emphasis of the current report is on Oriners Station. 

1.6.4 Indigenous cattlemen 

The above paragraphs provide a brief history of the changes in non-Indigenous tenure and in 

particular of the Hughes family‟s relationship to Oriners. However this is only one part of the 

story, for cattle work was a primary means through which Indigenous people, particularly 

Indigenous men, were able to exercise a degree of autonomy, learn valued traditional 

knowledge in situ, and visit and maintain connections with areas such as Oriners. A history of 

Oriners is also a history of these movements, even though most were undocumented and 

are now not always remembered with clear markers of the dates and times they occurred. 

However there are exceptions: 

Michael Ross: Let the young fellow know how long you been there, when you started in all 

this country here. 


21

Robert Burns: I was walking around a long time, a long time ago. I must have been about 

10 or 12 then. 

Fred Coleman: Just on his legs 

Marcus Barber: Do you know how old you are now or were you born before they recorded 

it? 

Robert Burns: 78 I am now. 

Marcus Barber: So that would have been 

Michael Ross: 37, 38 

Marcus Barber: In the thirties... no forties [you were walking there]. When you were moving 

around that country, were there already cows on that country? 

Robert Burns: No, they put Oriners there sometime in, fifties, early fifties. 1952-1953. 1952 

or something. Oriners there, then Sefton… 

Michael Ross: Old Nugget. He been there before Oriners come up eh? 

Robert Burns: Yeah I think so…No no. Oriners was there before. 

Marcus Barber: So can I just check, first time you saw that country was in the forties, and 

you were moving back and forth, can you remember when you stopped, was it the 

seventies? 

Robert Burns: 1961. I was over in the Strathmay area then. 1984 I went back to Dixie when 

old Herbie Hughes was running it. 

Fred Coleman: I was a kid at Old Dixie. Same time with the Hughes‟. I spent more time at 

Dixie when I was working with the Hughes‟. I stopped just before when Herbie Hughes sold 

out. Just before that. 

Another cattleman, Philip Port was also able to locate the 2 year period he worked at Dixie 

and Oriners reasonably accurately, working with Herbert Hughes. In other cases, these older 

cattlemen do not remember dates and years, but do remember specific details about the time 

which, with further investigation, could enable approximate dates for their presence to be 

narrowed down. Such details include infrastructure and the presence other people, for 

example Ezra Michael spent an intense wet season at Oriners in the 1960s, recalling that the 

white foreman at the time was called Norman Hudson and that he slept in a shed adjacent to 

the main house. Edwin David recalls the circumstances of his time working with the Hughes 

family at Oriners: 

Marcus Barber: When did you go up there, were you mustering up there. 

Edwin David: yes, we were mustering up there. 

Marcus Barber: Who was the boss up there? 

Edwin David: Cecil Hughes 

Marcus Barber: How many times did you go up there? Was it just once, or more than 

once? 

Edwin David: few times. Few years. I worked there for 12 months eh? 

Marcus Barber: so you stayed there for a wet season, right the way through? 

Edwin David: Yeah. 

Marcus Barber: Can you remember the year that was? 

Edwin David: No. 

Marcus Barber: when you were there, was there any house or shed there? 


22

Edwin David: Yeah, there was a shed there, and an upstairs house. Belonged to all the 

stockman. 

Marcus Barber: Who was the stockman living there? 

Edwin David: I can‟t remember that. 

Marcus Barber: Ezra remembered a man called Norman Hudson or something like that, do 

you remember that name? 

Edwin David: Yeah, could be. 

Marcus Barber: Were you living in the shed or the high house? 

Edwin David: In the shed. 

Marcus Barber: What kind of jobs were you doing? 

Edwin David: Cattle mustering. 

Marcus Barber: Just catching them or also fencing? 

Edwin David: We‟d muster them. A few branded ones, cleanskins. Put them in the yard. 

We used to go out in the morning, camp out there. 

Marcus Barber: Who else was out there with you? 

Edwin David: Simpson Yam. Nelson Gibb. Yeah, he come from Coen eh? Just the 3 of us. 

Marcus Barber: Can you remember when you first came? What season was it? 

Edwin David: Wet season, in the sixties eh? 

Marcus Barber: Did you go by horse? 

Edwin David: No, plane. 

Marcus Barber: Were you replacing some boys who were already there? 

Edwin David: Yeah. Paddy Yam must have been there. Lefty Yam. All the Yam family been 

there. They used to live there. 

Marcus Barber: When you came in, was it still raining then? 

Edwin David: It had stopped raining then. 

Marcus Barber: Was the country still green? 

Edwin David: Yes. 

The establishment of equal wages for Indigenous workers radically altered the cost of labour 

for non-Indigenous pastoralists across Australia, and although Indigenous cattlemen 

continued to be employed after equal wages were legislated, their numbers were significantly 

reduced over time. 11 The combination of the higher Indigenous wages required and the 

improved technology available decreased the need for Indigenous cattlemen with traditional 

horse skills, as although motorcycles and choppers are more expensive and complicated to 

operate, they dramatically increase the speed and efficiency of musters, reducing the nature 

and amount of human labour required. 

1.6.5 Oriners purchase and recent history 

Oriners was purchased from the Hughes family in 1990, and the Oriners Mob and the wider 

Kowanyama community remain proud that the purchase was undertaken with their own 

Council funds, rather than funds sourced from external sources such as the Indigenous Land 

11 However the decline was not immediate in this area - Viv Sinnamon reports that in 1981 there was a 

full stock camp at Rutland Station of up to 14 Indigenous stockmen from Kowanyama, managed by an 

Indigenous head stockman. 


23

Corporation. 12 Viv Sinnamon provided his recollections of the excision of Oriners from the 

Koolatah block and the subsequent sale: 

It was a family decision though, I think. And David took us on a trip [around the property], 

we met him out at, where did we meet him? Crosbie Gorge I think, and we had a group of 

people there. Timmy Malachi, Ivan Jimmy, Wilfred might have been there, I don‟t think 

Philip [Yam] was. Anyway, we met Dave and he took us on a tour, just a preliminary sort of 

tour that you‟d normally have if you were buying a property, just showing us around. 

Marcus Barber: Were Paddy and Lefty [Yam] there? 

Viv Sinnamon: Yeah, some of the old fellas were there, we‟ve got photos of that. It was the 

first time really I‟d talked to David either, sort of one on one, you know? And what 

happened was, after that trip, we formed a negotiating team. He and old Herbie [Hughes] I 

think. 13 We‟ve got a photo of that, together. It was me and I think James Bernard, Timmy 

Malachi and they had their stock and station agents and we met. It was actually at a time 

when there was a lot ILC and DAA money in those days and they were buying property and 

the price of property suddenly went up because people saw that they could harvest a few 

black feller dollars. The thing with Kowanyama was the purchase wasn‟t going to be made 

that way - it was actually bought from the [Kowanyama] Enterprise Fund, something we 

later found out David didn‟t realise. But anyway, they offered it to us for $100,000 less than 

the price they had asked for it the previous year when they‟d offered it to National Parks. 

National Parks were in the middle of forming their master plan for the State, and they said 

„oh no no, we‟re busy planning, we don‟t think we‟re in the position to talk about buying 

anything yet‟. In negotiations we managed to negotiate a price that was $100, 000 less and 

12 months to pay. De-stocked, knowing that you can‟t de-stock this country in 12 months 

and plus there wasn‟t many cattle on there anyway. And we successfully bought it, paid for 

the property in 12 months under all the payment agreements and everything else. 

Figure 7. David Hughes speaking at a Mitchell River workshop attended by KALNRMO staff 

during the early 1990s. Image © KALNRMO 

12 Strang (1997:69) describes hearing complaints from pastoralists that cattle properties were being 

purchased by Indigenous groups „with our tax money!‟ This did not occur in the Oriners case. 

13 David Hughes indicated in a subsequent interview that his father Bill had been more heavily 

involved than Herbert. 


24

The negotiations about the property relied on pre-existing working relationships between the 

Hughes family and the Indigenous cattlemen, but Viv Sinnamon recalled that it also created 

new ones based on mutual recognition: 

Quite clearly he [David Hughes] shared a working relationship, a relationship with them [the 

Aboriginal cattle workers] and he understood their relationship to the land. Probably the 

one thing that [marked] the beginning of a different kind of relationship with David 

happened then, we think. We had a bundle of spears in the back of our truck and he 

walked over to them and said „oh‟ and then went through them and he saw a barramundi 

spear, a spear with the barb on the end. He then immediately took it off the back of the 

truck and held it like he‟d used them before, like he knew what he was doing with it. He 

said „oh haven‟t seen one like this for a long time, wish I‟d have had this the other week, I 

would have gone and got myself a feed. Geez I‟d love to have one of these!‟ So the next 

time we saw him we made sure we had one in the back and gave it to him. 

Viv Sinnamon 

Figure 8. David and Bill Hughes negotiating the sale with Kowanyama people. Image © 

KALNRMO 

A further event that aided the relationship occurred soon afterwards, when Kowanyama 

community representatives supported a temporary extension for the Hughes family of 

grazing rights over the Alice-Mitchell National Park. Viv Sinnamon recalled a conversation 

with David Hughes about Oriners after the National Parks staff had departed: 

Viv Sinnamon: [I said] „there‟s some people here that have a really close association with 

the place‟ and he just waved that aside. He said, „no no, I understand that. But are they 

going to raise cattle on it?‟ And I said „yeah, there‟s talk of raising a few cattle and stuff‟, 

and that‟s when he said, „yeah but it‟s not really cattle country‟. And then he said something 

that surprised me. He said „wouldn‟t it be nice when they actually come to call Oriners 

home‟. And I said „yeah really nice, that‟s the plan‟. And I said „there‟s a time in July/ 

August in good years where you drive along the road ( in those days when the road was 

actually just a track), you‟re driving and you see...‟, and I got to about „see‟, and he just 

looked at me and said „yeah, all the colours of the grasses‟ and he started to describe 

exactly what I‟d seen. 

Marcus Barber: The aesthetics of it? 

Viv Sinnamon: Yeah and this is a very stoic, monosyllabic stockman. And I went „right, I 

know where you stand now‟. 


25

The purchase process was a factor in reshaping and reconfirming relationships with the 

Hughes family, but the Kowanyama people also had clear strategic objectives in the Oriners 

purchase: 

The interesting thing was that almost the day we paid our deposit National Parks wanted to 

know whether we‟d bought it or not. We were also aware of the fact that in future 

negotiations with National Parks we were in a really good position because it surrounded 

the Park. It literally doubled the area, and then of course later, we bought - only a few years 

later - we bought Sefton. 

Viv Sinnamon 

This strategic focus on tenure boundaries was augmented when the true value of the 

property in ecological, rather than pastoral terms, was apparent: 

The ecological stuff didn‟t happen until later [in the purchase process] and then we 

realised, some of us had started to talk you know? When Dave said „well it wouldn‟t raise a 

decent goanna‟ and then he said „well, no, it does raise good goannas! It‟s not good cattle 

country, but you‟ve got a piece of the way Cape York used to be.‟ And he was very proud 

of that fact. 

Viv Sinnamon 

Figure 9. Planning meeting at Oriners soon after the purchase. Image © KALNRMO 

Some of the wider contemporary implications of the commercial purchase of Oriners are 

discussed in 1.7 below, and its ecological value and distinctiveness is explored throughout 

this report. The purchase of Oriners occurred at a time when Indigenous labour in the 

pastoral industry had declined substantially, but a number of people involved in the 

subsequent management of Oriners were able to use those skills in their work at Oriners. 

The residence and management aspirations for the property are clear in the early 

Kowanyama literature about the station and include some ongoing pastoral activities, but 

also a potential role in managing social problems at Kowanyama and in facilitating cultural 

continuity and knowledge sharing (Strang 1997:100). Viv Sinnamon noted that in the early 


26

years people had a rapid learning curve about some of the difficulties, but also had some 

notable achievements: 

Marcus Barber: Were people talking much about the logistical difficulties of Oriners when 

they were buying it? 

Viv Sinnamon: Not at the time. I think we were partially naïve and also intent on buying it, 

and dealing with that later. Then we quickly went into planning mode, getting the first ideas. 

The first plan was to get enough infrastructure in to actually make it attractive to younger 

people to come here. So the hot water system, the house and the shed. The shed came 

first and you know, that was a really good effort. The guys were really motivated up here. In 

the first 18 months, they basically built a shed. They helped the contractor, all the Oriners 

guys, with three little cement mixers, little hand cement mixers, wheelbarrows and shovels. 

The contractor was really cynical, and he came and said - he was a local guy that had been 

doing local contracts from Cairns and he‟s now got property at Lakeland Downs - he came 

to me and was very cynical about using local labour. He said he‟d get some assistance 

from Cairns „get a few people I know‟. And I said „no no, the idea was that we use the 

Oriners fellers‟. The response was „oh bloody hell we‟ll be here „til next year!‟ And I said, 

„well it‟s not an option that‟s the way it is‟. And three weeks later he came into town and I 

saw him and I said „what‟s the matter, [are] you having trouble out there or something?‟ 

And he said: „no no I‟m an educated man! Those fellers worked like bloody mad and we‟ve 

finished!‟ I said: „well you‟re helping them build their shed and not the other way around‟. It 

was just that we did have a highly motivated group of people. 

Figure 10. Shed construction team, Oriners station. Image © KALNRMO 

The rapidly developing commitment to the area was clear, even amongst people who were 

new to the place and despite criminal attempts to undermine the development that was 

occurring: 

Viv Sinnamon: These guys here very quickly got an identity with the Oriners Mob. I don‟t 

know whether it was because they were so isolated or whether it was a certain pride. 

Marcus Barber: They began to identify as the Oriner‟s Mob? 


27

Viv Sinnamon: Yeah, and when we had the family youth program, they did up the old 

butcher shop. The guys used to go out working during the day while we did the other stuff 

with the younger fellas. We had representatives from other different homelands come, just 

a member from each homeland come, that we could get to come along as part of the thing. 

Every afternoon when the Oriners mob come [back], they‟d make a point of driving past the 

butcher shop and it was the one thing that really made an impression because we quite 

clearly brought something that was dilapidated, a dilapidated old thing into something that 

looked pretty flash. And we did it all nicely with recycled material, which really intrigued the 

guys. 

Marcus Barber: So that butcher shop was a bit of a statement, not just to the wider world 

but within Kowanyama itself, about the seriousness of the intent with respect to this place? 

Viv Sinnamon: Amongst themselves, yeah, because when we first bought it, someone 

didn‟t like the idea of blackfellers having the property and burnt the yards down. We found 

that really hard to believe, that somebody would do that, but it happened. 

Figure 11. Cattle yards at Oriners Station. Image © KALNRMO 

The yards were rebuilt, but were subsequently lost in a 2009 bushfire despite an emergency 

trip from Kowanyama to try to rescue them. The second major addition to the infrastructure 

was a purpose designed and built house, constructed in 1998. It was intended to facilitate 

ongoing residence at Oriners throughout the year, and was occupied for several wet seasons 

throughout the late 1990s and into the 2000s. 


28

Figure 12. Oriners house during construction. Image © KALNRMO 

Peoples‟ reasons for staying including both practical concerns and personal curiosity 

Marcus Barber: Why did you want to stay up there? 

Philip Yam: We wanted to stay there to look after the place, because then after when they 

pulled us out of there, everything got stolen. 

Marcus Barber: Yes. But that first year, was it just to look after the place, or what were you 

thinking for yourself? 

Philip Yam: I wanted to stay there to see what the wet like. I wanted to see how big the 

flood going to be. 

Marcus Barber: And what was it like? 

Philip Yam: Well, the river was full! The flood flowed right to the front of that house, where 

the big gum tree is standing there now. Right through there, all that other shed almost go 

under water. 

A stable wet season presence was established in the late 1990s following the construction of 

the house, and this lasted for several years. However changes in leadership at the 

KALNRMO and the KAC saw shifting priorities and levels of support and resourcing for wet 

season and general residence at Oriners in those years. Of particular concern to KAC and 

others were the helicopter costs associated with providing supplies and medical support in 

the wet season, and the general logistical difficulties of supporting a site that is a long way 

from Kowanyama along rough roads which are susceptible to flooding. Equally important 

during this period was the explosive growth of outstations or homelands surrounding 

Kowanyama in the late 1990s and early 2000s (Burdon Torzillo and Associates 2000). These 

created significant pressure on existing Kowanyama resources and logistical support as Viv 

Sinnamon recalls: 

We succeeded in getting the place established and then it fell over to a certain extent. 

When I first started, we didn‟t have to compete with all the other homelands and then 

suddenly by 96-97 all these other homelands were popping up. Kowanyama took a while to 

catch on because Aurukun had had homelands for a long time, a lot of the other 


29

communities, Lockhardt [River] and that had little homelands here and there. Not too many 

but a few. Everybody was wondering what we were doing, and then suddenly it just caught 

on. I think it had a lot to do with funding as well, because DAA was running a homeland 

funding [pool]. We got onto that for Oriners and that certainly opened the door for a whole 

lot of others - 14 odd [homelands around Kowanyama]. 

Viv Sinnamon 

Oriners pre-dated the new homelands, already had major high quality infrastructure in place, 

and was considered by the Oriners Mob to be something different from a normal homeland. 14 

But it was also by far the furthest residential site from Kowanyama, and the drain on time and 

resources created by the homeland movement and changes in key Kowanyama personnel 

meant that the early Oriners visions and strategies reaffirmed in later planning documents 

(Burdon Torzillo and Associates 2000) could not be realised. The difficulties in maintaining a 

support base at Kowanyama, particularly reliable communications monitoring, meant that, 

despite the successes in establishing viable key infrastructure, residence at Oriners began to 

decline in the early to mid 2000s. 

Figure 13. Oriners house from the air in 2012. 

This decline in residence led in turn to damage caused partly by a lack of maintenance, but 

in the main due to repeated thefts and vandalisation of important infrastructure. A particularly 

critical loss was the theft of the solar power system. The road through Oriners currently goes 

straight past the station, and during fieldwork visits to it, a number of through-travellers were 

observed in the course of a few hours in the peak dry season. One commented after 

stopping that the station was generally considered to be abandoned. The logistical difficulties 

of resourcing Oriners from Kowanyama and the major competition and drain on resources 

created by the temporary explosion in outstations during the early 2000s are important 

14 Strang 1997:101 notes that „Oriners, partly because it is a cattle lease, has tended to generate quite 

ambitious plans, but other „outstation‟ ideas are more modest, simply expressing the desire of many 

older people to return to their own country...‟ 


30

factors in explaining this situation. However, even with this context, the neglect of relatively 

expensive infrastructure at Oriners is a problematic feature of the recent period. As one 

Indigenous research participant in this study noted when viewing a photo of the current 

station: 

Look at that big empty house. Those sorts of things make it harder for Indigenous people. 

People say „look at all the blackfellers, they had their opportunity and they missed it. 

There is a renewed commitment from the KALNRMO to re-establishing a presence at 

Oriners, and there is now a designated KALNRMO staff member responsible for the 

property, with multiple visits made in each recent dry season. There has always been 

considerable enthusiasm amongst key members of the Oriners Mob to travel to and live and 

work on the station: 

[The first time I went to Oriners] I was just going up there for a holiday, with my aunties. I 

went up there for holiday, and to see what the place looked like. Then I find it was real 

better up there, you know, out in the bush. I really like it up there, and I worked up there, I 

worked up there until today, I still like to go back up there. 

Louie Native 

One further recent development is important to note here. In 2010, government funding led to 

the clearing of the path for a new road through the area. Intended to replace the current road 

coming from Dixie Station to Koolatah Station, this new road no longer runs past the Oriners 

buildings. The effect this will have on station infrastructure is unclear. On the one hand it will 

reduce the casual visits of passers-by and therefore potential theft and vandalisation from 

opportunists, but it will also reduce the chance that those entering Oriners will be observed 

by residents at the homestead. Given that the relative inaccessibility of Oriners has been 

both a logistical constraint and the major reason why it has retained much of its ecological 

integrity, the creation of a new road is a significant development. However perhaps more 

important are recent developments in the tenure regime of properties in the region. These 

changes, and their relationship to Oriners, are considered in the next section. 

Figure 14. Paddy Yam, Philip Yam, Ravin Greenwool and his son Delvin at the Oriners house in 

2011. 


31

1.7 Oriners and the contemporary regional NRM context 

The purchase of Oriners and the creation of the KALNRMO both occurred within a few years 

of one another. They were early public examples of the long term aspiration by the 

Kowanyama community and its component groups to independently manage their estates in 

a sustainable way. The KALNRMO has looked at models of Indigenous NRM elsewhere, 

particularly drawing on ideas from Native American contexts, to develop locally appropriate 

arrangements and activities. Indigenous land management is highly valued locally (Strang 

1997: 105-107) and they are considered as carers and protectors of Indigenous traditions 

within a contemporary framework (Strang 1997:192). Since its inception, the KALNRMO has 

grown considerably in both size and in the increasing range and sophistication of its 

activities. As indicated in the historical context provided above, Oriners was a strong focus of 

attention in the first 10 years, growing rapidly before competition from other homelands, 

changes in key personnel, and logistical and resourcing difficulties intervened. 

In the context of the contemporary Cape and its NRM regimes, the maturity of KALNRMO 

operations and the commercial purchase of Oriners outlined in the previous section take on 

additional significance. In 2007, the Queensland government amended legislation to provide 

for a new class of protected area, called National Park (Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal 

Land) NP (CYPAL). This enabled existing National Parks, and a series of properties 

purchased by the State government, to revert to Indigenous land jointly managed in 

perpetuity as National Parks by a combination of local Indigenous owners and the QPWS. 

The Kowanyama people and the KALNRMO in particular have been a driving force in 

establishing appropriate local transfer and co-management arrangements under the CYPAL 

process, as they successfully completed the first transfer of an existing National Park, the 

Errk Oykangand NP (formerly the Alice-Mitchell NP), close to Kowanyama in 2009. The land 

surrounding the park is predominantly owned by the Kowanyama people and a total of three 

Indigenous people from landowning groups associated with Errk Oykangand 15 are employed 

as rangers by KALNRMO. These two factors demonstrated the potential for holistic 

management of the park, a crucial point in Kowanyama negotiations with DERM, alongside 

the existing land management track record of the KALNRMO. Ultimately, a steering 

committee consisting of traditional owners, Kowanyama Land Trust representatives, 

KALNRMO staff, and QPWS staff was agreed upon and this body now oversees planning 

and management decisions for Errk Oykangand. The overall budget is channelled through an 

Indigenous Management Agreement that incorporates resourcing for Kowanyama to develop 

management plans using their own consultants. These plans are then returned to the 

steering committee for evaluation and ratification. Notably, QPWS also provides the 

resources for one KALNRMO staff position focused on Errk Oykangand, rather than DERM 

employing the ranger directly. These aspects are important modifications to the CYPAL 

process as it was generally envisaged. According to KALNRMO staff, the presence of 

knowledgeable, experienced and committed local QPWS staff was crucial in reaching a 

successful agreement and to the success of early co-management operations. 

The Errk Oykangand arrangements reflect general Kowanyama aspirations for independent 

Indigenous land management and the capacity of the KALNRMO to deliver management 

outcomes, but the CYPAL context and Kowanyama engagement with it are important to the 

contemporary Oriners situation for other reasons. Under this „land dealing‟ process, a 

significant number of former pastoral properties in the Oriners area are intended to move 

back into Indigenous ownership. Kalinga station, at the eastern edge of Olkol speaking 

territory, has already reverted to a combination of Indigenous freehold land and the comanaged 

Alwal National Park (http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/parks/alwal/culture.html). Along 

with DERM staff and members of the Olkol residing elsewhere, some Kowanyama Olkol 

representatives are involved in negotiations about co-management and resourcing 

arrangements for Alwal, and it is likely that KALNRMO will again be directly involved in 

15 Across the Mitchell River area, Aboriginal boundaries do not coincide with existing land tenure 

boundaries recognised by Australian law. 


32

management implementation. The new park will require additional resources and presence 

by Olkol people in an area which is close to Oriners by road, enhancing both access to and 

the significance of the infrastructure at Oriners. 

Yet of likely greater longer term significance to Oriners and its people is that a number of 

other stations in the region around Oriners are part of the CYPAL process, albeit at earlier 

stages of negotiation. These include the directly adjacent stations of Crosbie, Wulpan, and 

Dixie, as well as the nearby stations of Strathmay and Glen Garland (Figure 3). Pending 

further negotiations about the divisions of land between the two CYPAL land categories and 

their boundaries in each case, the expectation is that each of these properties should be 

approximately 50% Indigenous land, 50% co-managed National Park. The change of 

government in Queensland may have some impact on the process, but if it continues to be 

implemented as planned, there will be a rapid and significant increase in the land area in the 

immediate Oriners region being managed for a combination of conservation, heritage, 

Indigenous and/or sustainable pastoral values. Even if the more recently planned acquisition 

of Dixie Station does not ultimately transition to conservation lands in the short to medium 

term, Oriners remains directly connected to new NP (CYPAL) land on Crosbie Station, and 

through the Crosbie, to Strathmay. 16 Combined with the change in status of the former 

Kalinga station, the estimated land area involved, in which Oriners lies at the heart, is 

substantial at over 10,000 km 2 . There are important implications for regional Indigenous 

connectivity from these changes, including, as Michael Ross notes, connectivity of people, 

land, and water: 

Michael Ross: They are all in there together. So if any project happens down there, we in 

Crosbie got to know about it. Strathmay. We start linking together then. All tribal people 

linking together…The Kowanyama mob are involved with that over here, over Kalinga. Last 

year we got it handed back. All that cleared area, the white area [on the map]. That‟s all 

freehold, that belong to the possum tribe and the back country come to the Olkol people as 

National Park. Now we are in the process of doing a project, next year, with the Parks. 

That‟s the head of our boundary country, the tribal one. 

Marcus Barber: So the back end of that country, the western side, is that connecting in to 

Oriners? 

Michael Ross: That‟s part of the chain. That is where we are connected, what we do over 

here, does not matter if it is a little project, it still affects what happens down there. And 

what they do affects us up here. We got to know that. We‟ve got a corporation over there, 

[at] Glen Garland, that property over there is where Fred [Coleman] is, on the Pormpuraaw 

road. We‟ve owned that since 1993. That, Oriners…see we are doing our boundaries first. 

We‟re not worried about inside country at the moment. Get your boundaries together first. 

That‟s why Trevor and them and Michael Yam, they are on our board of directors for the 

corporation. So they get involved pretty well. Especially in this area here [Oriners], I‟m 

pretty worried about the water system. I‟m a water man myself, I like dealing with water - 

looking after the water system. This flush come down to there and goes back to the west 

coast, [heading down the Crosbie and into the Mitchell] goes back to the west coast. So 

what happens up here [at Laura] doesn‟t affect there. Own water system up here. At 

Oriners you‟ve got these big peak flows and, as you can see, that is all water country in 

there [along the Eight Mile Creek floodplain]. 

The commercial purchase of Oriners decades before the new CYPAL land process was 

enacted in 2007 demonstrates that Indigenous aspirations for ownership and independent 

16 It is worth noting here that Sefton Station has a common boundary with Harkness Station, which is 

now a designated Nature Refuge Area. These are properties on which a private landowner has 

voluntarily agreed to protect significant conservation values on the property, through measures such 

as riparian fencing, weed control, etc. Although they share a point rather than a line boundary, Sefton 

is also directly connected to the impending NP (CYPAL) on Crosbie Station. 


33

management of country are not new. Yet if it is carried through, the current CYPAL process 

will significantly increase Indigenous ownership of the traditional areas of the Olkol speaking 

peoples, and significantly increase the degree to which those areas are being managed for 

contemporary Indigenous values which incorporate conservation, cultural heritage, and 

sustainable pastoral activities. From this perspective, Oriners is not just an important 

individual property; it is part of a significant and growing assemblage of properties that have 

a varied range of hydrological, ecological, and cultural connections with one another. 

However although these new properties are Indigenous owned and reflect similar 

management values and aspirations at the general level, the terms and conditions under 

which the transition to Indigenous ownership may occur may be quite different from the 

situation at Oriners. Under the terms of the agreements, the stations are purchased by the 

State and then freehold ownership is passed on to an appropriately constituted Indigenous 

land trust. That land trust is obliged to reach an Indigenous Management Agreement (IMA) 

with the State, which results in approximately 50% of the property becoming a designated 

National Park in perpetuity on Indigenous freehold land. However although the other 50% of 

the land becomes non-National Park Indigenous leasehold, that 50% can contain areas 

which are the subject of further conservation restrictions. In certain locations, these 

restrictions are further augmented by the Wild Rivers legislation, which further constrains 

permissible forms of development in designated Cape York river catchments. These kinds of 

restrictions can be experienced as interference by Indigenous people, particularly by older 

cattle workers who value activities and developments which are perceived as incompatible 

with high-value conservation areas: 

The 50:50 legislation is really much less than that. High preservation areas and nature 

refuges greatly reduce the amount of land available to Indigenous people, and there is a 

hell of a lot of people involved in the management of it. You can‟t do what you want to do 

on that area. Now with this Wild Rivers coming on, it makes it even harder for us. Wild 

Rivers includes the whole watershed, so all the creeks running in as well. If you want to 

build a dam or clear a paddock, you have to fill out all of these forms. You won‟t be waiting 

a week; you‟ll be waiting a year. And the minister still has sign off at the end. 

I‟ve been all around, I know the places. Now they don‟t want cattle on the property, don‟t 

want horses in the area. We made a 50:50 deal with them, and they are sort of coming 

back, giving us 80:20, and what‟s going to happen when its 90:10, then it‟s got to come to 

100%! We‟ll be out the gate! That is what we are looking at. It should be 50:50 and that‟s it. 

Look at my country here, its mountain country not flat country. Get on horseback and go up 

a beautiful mountain, spring waters, different kinds of insects, frogs, birds. All these things, 

they are there in the rainforest. Don‟t stop me riding up there, just because of the cow! 

They say „No you ride down here, we got to fence that off‟. That‟s what I‟m upset about. 

They‟re making me back into an 80:20. 

The changes in land management associated with the transition from cattle stations to 

conservation management zones can also create generational tensions: 

And then one of my family works at Wild Rivers. And he said „Dad, we can look after this 

place if you listen to us‟. Little boy come and told me, you know! And I grew up on there! 

How can we have the young people working in National Parks, on the other hand we want 

money, to have cattle and enjoy our life on the land where we work? 

Oriners is managed according to contemporary Indigenous land management principles 

which, as the comments above suggest, may crosscut or hybridise the forms of management 

characteristic of cattle stations on the one hand, and National Parks on the other. In effect, 

Oriners (and nearby Sefton) are closer in ownership and management status to the Deed of 

Grant in Trust (DOGIT) lands of the former reserves and missions such as Kowanyama and 

Pormpuraaw than they are to a number of the newer NRM-focused properties emerging from 


34

the CYPAL process. Oriners‟ ownership status enables relatively unrestricted management 

action by Indigenous land managers across the entire property, generating fewer of the 

tensions expressed in the comments above, even if resource and logistical constraints 

remain critical issues for property management in the wider area (including in the National 

Parks themselves). However as previously stated, the KALNRMO have also actively sought 

to push the CYPAL models in the direction of greater Indigenous self-government and 

independence, with a key argument being an extended track record of successful 

management action dating back to 1990. Other groups and individuals involved in the 

CYPAL processes may not be able to rely on such a record of capacity and cohesion in 

arguing for independent Indigenous management structures and resources. The above 

comments are from individuals, but they point to some of the potential tensions and 

compromises involved in the CYPAL process and the decision making and resourcing 

models that emerge from it. As a property purchased by Indigenous people on the open 

market with community funds, Oriners (and Sefton) will always be locally distinctive. However 

the degree to which both are distinctive in terms of resourcing, management structures, and 

management priorities will largely depend on future negotiations between the relevant 

Indigenous groups associated with each station and DERM. In these negotiations, the 

demonstrated local Indigenous management capacity and the willingness of DERM to 

devolve responsibility and control to local managers will be crucial. Regardless of the exact 

outcome of those negotiations, the fact remains that Oriners now has an additional layer of 

significance and cultural and ecological connectivity because of changing land tenure and 

management orientation in the properties surrounding it. The full implications of these 

changes will only be clear over time. 

1.8 Summary 

The above sections provide some key framing concepts, historical events, and reference 

points for the material which follows: 

„Working Knowledge‟ describes both the conditions under which the ecological 

knowledge emphasised here was learned, its adaptive and provisional quality, and its 

orientation to future NRM work on the station. 

„Flooded forest country‟ describes the two distinctive characteristics of the Oriners 

area- its seasonal flooding regime and the particular habitat types that characterise it 

when compared with both the coastal lowlands of the Kowanyama area and the 

higher hills elsewhere on the Cape. The forested and seasonally boggy landscape 

resulted in low stocking rates and minimal fencing during the pastoral era, as well as 

low residential population and through-traffic levels. 

„Forest people‟ can be used as a term to collectively describe those Indigenous 

people with traditional and kinship ties to the area, but „the Oriners Mob‟ at 

Kowanyama is also commonly employed to describe the overlapping group of people 

directly involved in the planning, management, and work associated with the station - 

the process of developing „working knowledge‟ about the station is an ongoing one. 

Reviewing the recent history of Oriners shows how stable ownership has been over 

time, with just the Hughes family and the Kowanyama people possessing it since it 

was first separately constituted in the 1940s. Indigenous and non-Indigenous 

cattlemen worked it for several decades, and the knowledge gained by Indigenous 

cattlemen has been important in the post-pastoral management era. 

Literature and archival sources do exist for the area, and the approach taken in this 

study is designed to complement rather than duplicate existing resources 

The commercial purchase of Oriners gives people significant management autonomy 

in a region where tenure is shifting to NRM-oriented and/or Indigenous management, 

but under different operating conditions from the Oriners lease. It is therefore part of a 

growing assemblage of properties whose combined scale may be better able to 

accommodate local Indigenous forms of governance, but Oriners is also distinct from 

them in the autonomy if offers local Indigenous managers. 


35

The above points demonstrate the value of investigating, documenting, collating and 

synthesising local ecological knowledge of Oriners at this time, and of orienting that 

synthesis to the ongoing work of managing the station for NRM and Indigenous cultural 

purposes. The subsequent sections reflect this broad NRM orientation, but also the water 

orientation of the funding source for the research, and the desire of the CSIRO Water for a 

Healthy Country Flagship for synthesis and modelling of local ecological and hydrological 

knowledge. Water is critical to life, and therefore to the ecological relations characteristic of 

natural systems, but it is a particularly noticeable feature of the flooded forest country of 

Oriners, with its wide seasonal fluctuations in water availability. It is also crucial to the 

erosion processes that are an additional emphasis in the sections below, and particularly of 

the synthesis and modelling in Part 4. The next two sections present key points and insights 

on which this synthesis and modelling is based. 


36

2 INTERVIEW TOPICS AND THEMES: ENVIRONMENTAL AND 

LANDSCAPE PROCESSES 

Part 2 of this report contains the bulk of the comments from people who participated in the 

research. These are organised into themes and categories which reflect the ecological and 

NRM orientation of the project. A preliminary list of questions oriented to key themes and 

categories was generated for the semi-structured interviews, and the themes and categories 

were reanalysed and refined once the interviews were complete. Key topics include: 

observations of geographic and temporal variability at Oriners; rainfall, water and flooding 

cycles; the presence and distribution of animals (both native and introduced); different kinds 

of human activity in the area; landscape processes such as mustering patterns, erosion and 

fire; and a synthesis section which notes some major characteristics of the „working 

knowledge‟ documented from Oriners. These topics are dealt with in turn in the sections of 

Part 2 which follow. 

2.1 Variability and Change 

Section 2.1 describes how people interviewed compare Oriners with other parts of the 

Mitchell catchment and wider Cape, and how they see the area varying through time. This 

section includes statements about key geographic features (2.1.1) and variability (2.1.2). 

Variations within a year (ie seasonal changes) appear in a range of ways as one component 

of other sections in Part 2, notably in the sections on rainfall and water flows, animal 

movements and human access. A number of people also noted changes in weather patterns 

and in the wider environment over their lifetimes which they saw as permanent, rather than 

part of normal variability. These appear in 2.1.3. Observations of change outside normal 

inter-annual variability was not a universal perception, as comments from other participants 

show, but was a significant theme in observations of the Oriners and wider Cape landscape 

over the time these cattlemen have lived there. The comments in section 2.1 further indicate 

the distinctiveness of the Oriners area, people‟s knowledge of it over different timescales, 

and that such change in the area is perceived as an ongoing process. 

2.1.1 Geographic variability: Oriners regional comparisons 

2.1.1.1 Oriners country- water, plants and soil 

Key features of Oriners noted below include many creeks, sand ridges, soil which becomes 

boggy in the wet, and plants which differ in either kind or in numbers from elsewhere on the 

Mitchell. Such features give the area its distinctive character, and Viv Sinnamon recalled the 

reactions of people who saw the area for the first time during the pre-purchase inspection: 

Marcus Barber: That first trip, can you remember what your first impression was? Having 

spent a lot of time down the rest of the Cape or other parts of the Cape? 

Viv Sinnamon: Oh just how different it was. Like we‟d always heard about this Oriners, 

mythical Oriners place where people used to get their lancewood and stuff, because I‟d 

heard about the trade. There‟s a forest people that used to trade forest gear for baler shells 

and then return them, trade them back for neck shells and things like that. We knew that 

Xanthorrea [grass tree] gum and forest products like lancewood and good ones like this 17 

went back towards the coast. But yeah it struck us as very different and quite isolated too 

of course. We come from the delta, coastal delta country where there‟s heaps of cabbage 

palms and big wetlands and stuff like that and [here at Oriners] it was quite obviously very 

dry, quite sandy soil, big stands of broad leaf tea tree, you know, the steel blue fellers. It 

was called „forest country‟ by the mob up there and of course there are others who talk 

17 During the interview, Viv Sinnamon was extracting gum from Erytheophloem chlorostachys 

(Cooktown Ironwood). This gum is of higher quality and easier to harvest than gums on the delta, and 

Viv thought this may be because of the softer sandy soils at Oriners compared with the higher clay 

content soils of the coast. 


37

about forest and think of something different. But to people at Kowanyama it was 

considered forest because of the messmates and the ironwoods. The ironwoods out here 

grow much healthier and straighter and of course the messmate trees give that forest sort 

of look too. When you look through there you see all the straight trunk trees and that‟s how 

they, the people, thought about top end forest country. 

Marcus Barber: Can you remember what the responses were of the men you were with? 

Viv Sinnamon: Yeah Timmy Malachi, who lives in Mareeba now, is one we had coming with 

us. I can remember coming around, you know the knoll area, where there‟s a bit of rock? 

The first bit of rock you can see on the road [coming into Oriners]. We came round the 

corner of that swamp and hit that side of that hill and he‟d never been there, never seen it, 

and he was amazed you know? It was so different, we were right on the edge of the upland 

country so it‟s obviously different, much older landscape and stuff. It‟s got rock, and of 

course this country has the stories about stone knives and things. There were no stone 

knives; it‟s all bones and shell technology down in the delta. So traditionally, it‟s altogether 

a very different place. 

Recollections from others who know the Oriners area note differences in water flows, soils, 

plants, and fire management regimes: 

It‟s all sand ridge country. [and] open swamps. In the wet season, it‟s real boggy. Like all 

them high country, there‟s plenty of water. Just living in water. But there‟s plenty to eat 

there, we‟d never starve. Like fish, and pigs. We were happy [working there], because we 

were doing our job. 

Philip Port 

--------------------------------------- 

This country is no good when the first lot of storms hit. Boggy. Then you get cattle, brumby, 

wild horses. They look for higher ground. They come right up here, right up near the 

homestead too. 

Philip Yam 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: Is that country the same as here, or is it a bit different? 

Edwin David: Oh, just very, very different country. See there‟s a lot of creeks and that eh? 

Marcus Barber: What about the plants and trees, are they different? 

Edwin David: Yeah, different plants, different trees. And too many creeks there. 

Marcus Barber: What about the soil? 

Edwin David: The soil is different from here, that‟s all sand ridges eh? 

Marcus Barber: What happens when it gets wet? 

Edwin David: It gets very boggy. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: What is the same and different about Oriners and Koolatah? 

Cecil Hughes: The Eight Mile is a bit of good cattle country, on the Eight Mile. And then the 

Crosbie. But there‟s a lot of very poor country in between. It‟s just sand ridges, sandy 

country. 

Marcus Barber: Is the water and the rain there similar to Koolatah? 

Cecil Hughes: It‟s in the same band there. There‟s good water out there down the Eight 

Mile and [on the] Crosbie there‟s big lagoons. The water is very good there. The best of the 

country is along the creek frontages. Once you go off that, the sand ridge country is very 


38

poor but if you burn the country at the right time you get the regrowth and it takes the cattle 

through the winter months. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: Can you remember the first time you saw it, what you thought about the 

country up there? You grew up at Koolatah and Kowanyama. Had you seen country like 

Oriners before? 

Philip Yam: No I‟d never seen country like that before. 

Marcus Barber: What made you think it was different? 

Philip Yam: Well, up there it gets hotter, and the country dries up very quick. And you get 

people dropping matches, [starting] fires, and you‟ve got to try to stop them fires coming 

into the homestead. We used to watch all that. We did not want them burning the whole 

place down. 

Marcus Barber: What about the trees up there, are they the same as in other places or are 

they different? 

Philip Yam: Well, see that‟s all, nearly all ti tree country there, that‟s all other [kinds of] ti 

tree there that we got. Different from here, from Kowanyama, all different. Maybe Koolatah 

is a bit different too. You only get a few ti trees in and around Koolatah but Oriners is full of 

ti tree, right through. 

--------------------------------------- 

When you get further down on the Mitchell River you see a lot of different big trees that 

don‟t grow out in that country. Paperbark and ti-trees and that grow around Oriners 

waterhole, but when you get down on the Mitchell you get big trees, Leichardt trees, and all 

the rest of it. 

Cecil Hughes 

When asked about Oriners, Wilfred Jimmy responded that there was „a whole forest up there‟ 

and that he had noticed how the birds were different, much louder than they were at 

Kowanyama. For him, as for others, it was a „different life‟ when one was living in that 

location. 

2.1.1.2 Rainfall patterns 

Research participants made slightly different observations about rainfall in the area; some 

noted that it differed from areas elsewhere in the catchment, others noted its general 

consistency with the regional pattern. 

Viv Sinnamon: The sky, it‟s hard to tell up there because it can rain here [at Oriners] earlier 

than Kowanyama and the country responds differently to the delta. This is soupy soil, once 

it starts to rain, it does not take many showers to get everyone edgy and wanting to get the 

hell out if they are not going to stay here. 

Marcus Barber: So it rains here earlier than down on the flat? 

Viv Sinnamon: Yeah. 

Jeff Shellberg: You can usually see it when you are down on the delta, looking up this way 

and you can see just a line of thunderstorms, really nasty weather up here. And it will be 

clear [on the delta]. 

Philip Yam: Here [at Oriners] we get rain early because we are close to the east coast see? 

It comes from there straight in here. 

Viv Sinnamon: Must be a bit of convection coming off the uplands. 


39

Marcus Barber: Is that where Kowanyama‟s rain comes from or does it come from another 

place. 

Philip Yam: I think they come from here, right through there. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: Do they get as much rain up there at Oriners as you get down here [at 

Highbury]? Is it drier? 

Colin Hughes: No, I wouldn‟t say it is drier. I‟d say it probably be, at that latitude up north, it 

would be probably getting on average an inch more than we get here. For every latitude 

you go north you can add on a couple of inches. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: Is it drier up there or wetter? We got no rain gauges up there. 

Philip Yam: You get a lot a rain. Sometimes you get rain up there in the winter too. 

Marcus Barber: Do you get rain down here [at Kowanyama] in the winter time? 

Philip Yam: Here not much. But up there you will get a big one. It can rain for couple of 

days up there. Just showers you know, not very heavy. But it will go for a couple of days. 

Marcus Barber: Where does that rain come from? Does it come from the east? 

Philip Yam: Yes, it always comes from the east. 

Marcus Barber: Is that the same for the big monsoons, or do they come from another 

direction? 

Philip Yam: Yes, I think it‟s the same, because you get rain up there through the winter. 

Sometimes it gets cold up there during the winter, very cold. 

Marcus Barber: Could that be one reason why the ti tree like it more? 

Philip Yam: Probably. A lot of that area still got moisture in the ground. 

--------------------------------------- 

They get that early storm before us, for some reason. Down in this country here, down 

towards Strathmay country, they get early storms before we get it, on the east coast. 

Fred Coleman 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: Is the rain similar across all of those stations- Koolatah, Oriners, Dixie? 

Cecil Hughes: When the storm season‟s on you might 3 or 4 inches over there, then over 

here there‟s nothing. But when the monsoons come down, and they usually come down, 

well then the rain is spread over the whole area. Then there‟s not much difference 

between the rains down near Koolatah and up at Oriners because the main rain comes 

from the monsoons and that covers everything. Some years the monsoon is very weak or 

does not come down well you get back to storms. There might be more storms here than 

there is there or here and there. 

Marcus Barber: So in a weak monsoon year, then you might get more patchy rain where 

one place might get a few big storms and the other ones don‟t 

Cecil Hughes: That‟s right. 

Marcus Barber: So it might be a bad monsoon but Oriners or Dixie might get three storms 

that year and it will be better there than elsewhere? 

Cecil Hughes: That‟s right. 

Marcus Barber: But when the monsoons come properly, then it is consistent? 

Cecil Hughes: Consistent right across 


40

2.1.1.3 Flow patterns 

Figure 15. Billabong downstream from Oriners Homestead. 

Oriners floods in the wet season, but it was consistently observed that they are not fast 

floods. The country is flat and the water drains away slowly to the west. Flood pulses in the 

region generally take 3 or 4 days to go down, and Oriners is consistent with this pattern. 

2.2.2 and 2.2.3 have more detail on this point. 

It‟s pretty slow running all the drainage system out there [at Oriners], that‟s why it takes a 

long time to peak and a fair while to go away. In comparison to here [at Highbury], it‟s 

pretty, fairly flat country and it‟s out off the main creek. There‟s no big drainage lines, and 

what drainage lines are there are only shallow, like the 4 Mile and the Eight Mile and the 6 

Mile. Only shallow drainage lines so it makes for, most of them are slow, very slow flowing 

water. 

Colin Hughes 


41

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: when you saw that flood come up near the tree [at Oriners], how many 

days did that stay there. Was it for 2 months or? 

Philip Yam: Three days. And then it was all gone again. I was talking to old Nugget [Finch] 

once. I got him up here [to Oriners] to do some work here for me. It was in the wet. I went 

down on the quadbike, waited for him at the Eight Mile Creek there and he swam across, 

and I brought him up here. He said „you know one year I stayed here, coming back from 

Dixie. And the water was just lapping under the floor of that old [stockman‟s] quarters there. 

Just under the floor. I stayed here four days‟. 

--------------------------------------- 

Well I can remember Cecil [Hughes] saying that at Koolatah in ‟74 he had 14 blokes in row 

there over an 8 week period parked because when one [flood] went down another would 

come back up. It just depends where the rain falls and how much falls behind it. But most 

times, most places, its 3 or 4 days before goes down. 

Colin Hughes 

Other Indigenous cattlemen familiar with Oriners in flood, notably Edwin David and Ezra 

Michael, also reported that the flooding water moved slowly across the landscape adjacent to 

the station. 

2.1.1.4 Soil type and stocking rates 

The soil of Oriners absorbs water and softens during the wet season. Combined with the 

flood regime, this affected where buildings could be sited. However the fragile soils also 

required careful management of stock numbers and excavation activities. 

Marcus Barber: what about the soil up there? Is that the same as here? 

Philip Yam: No, its different, that‟s all sandy country. There‟s a few places with good dirt in 

them, but most of them are all sand ridge, doesn‟t matter where you go, it‟s all sand ridges 

everywhere. 

Marcus Barber: What does that mean if you are trying to look after it? Are there different 

things you need to do? 

Philip Yam: Some of it you don‟t like digging in the place because you‟ll have holes. They‟ll 

get washed out. You don‟t want to have to take too much dirt off the top. You‟ll end up with 

creeks. 

Marcus Barber: So its easier to damage it because its sandier? 

Philip Yam: Yeah. A lot of that sand ridge country is really thin eh? Falls apart. You lose 

that [top] dirt, then it‟s all gone. It won‟t stay together for a long time, because sand ridge 

country is different. Soon as the top gone away, that‟s it. The water just keeps eating it out. 

--------------------------------------- 

David Hughes: Once you get onto the, start to get into that Alice forest country, about 12 

mile out off the Mitchell, once you get into that forest there, you drop off. The strength of 

that country for cattle is halved, at least. So for instance on the best of the Mitchell, you run 

a beast [every] 18 acres. You go out on that Alice River, Crosbie, 8 Mile, any of that 

country, then you are back to a beast about [every] 45. 

Marcus Barber: What is it that limits it? 

David Hughes: Protein. There‟s plenty of grass, bulk grass, just no protein [in it]. So it‟s 

poor grazing country, it‟s light grazing country, it‟s country that is fragile, that‟s another 

word for it. And to be able to get the best out of it, you must understand it, because there is 


42

no room for mistakes. If you make mistakes in that country with cattle and pasture, it will 

cost you dearly. 

Marcus Barber: In what way is it fragile? 

David Hughes: Fragile in the sense that if you burnt it wrong, fenced it wrong, overgrazed 

it, that type of thing. That country does not lend itself to being cut into small areas. You‟ve 

got to let the cattle have the full variety. One of the positives of that area is what we call top 

feed, there‟s a lot of top feed in that country, a lot of edible trees and shrubs, that is one of 

the big positives in that country. 

Viv Sinnamon recalled how early camping experiences after the purchase of the property 

confirmed that the decision taken decades earlier to site the homestead next to Oriners 

Lagoon (Odnodh) was the correct one: 

When we started to talk about a location here [for a house somewhere on Oriners Station], 

there were a couple of people who thought that there might be higher places than Oriners 

[Lagoon, where the existing Hughes-era homestead was]. Part of the reason why we went 

to Mosquito Lagoon was because Mosquito and Jewfish Lagoon were two areas that 

people were talking about. By the time we had finished camping at Mosquito, everyone was 

quite convinced that Oriners [Lagoon] was the place to stay. Like, it got flooded but it‟s the 

harder bit of ground and that was why the house was there. I‟m sure the Hughes‟ and old 

Lefty and his older relatives from Koolatah would have told him [Cecil] exactly that; that this 

was the harder ground. Not that they would have camped here in the wet, but they‟d at 

least have known from their travels. 

Viv Sinnamon 

In Strang‟s book (1997:129) Colin Hughes described the negative consequences of 

overstocking on the general landscape, particularly the inability to burn when the grass is 

denuded and the erosion problems. In relation to Oriners, he describes the consequences of 

the general terrain and particularly the soil type for station infrastructure and stocking rates: 

Colin Hughes: 70% of it is forest country, but what‟s down the Eight Mile and the Crosbie, 

all that channel country there, that‟s where we used to run most of the cattle. 

Marcus Barber: The impression was that it had not been heavily stocked and therefore was 

in reasonably good condition 

Colin Hughes: Yep. You couldn‟t…well there was no fences. When we sold it there were no 

fences on the place. So you couldn‟t really overstock it anyway, because the cattle would 

just disperse, go somewhere else. I forget how many we used to run, we used to run about 

15 or 18 hundred head. But there was a fair scatter on them over the whole place. 

Marcus Barber: So it‟s not a lack of rainfall that makes it difficult cattle country in some 

respects? 

Colin Hughes: No, it‟s just the soil type. It‟s the same as like at the back of Drumduff. We‟ve 

got 100 square mile of country that we have not fenced up. We just, I suppose you‟d call it, 

harvest it every 2 to 3 years sort of thing, because it is not viable country to spend $1800 a 

km to put a fence up, put dams in, to only run a beast over a hundred acres or something, 

whereas in the better country you can run a beast over 30 acres. If you put fences up you 

could run more in a certain area but you‟d still have to give them a bit of space. 

--------------------------------------- 

Because of the lay of the land at Oriners, there is not much frontage, and it‟s very boggy, in 

that forest country like Oriners, if you get a big wet, a long wet, it can take a couple of years 

for you to get over it because they get right down in condition. Its boggy and they can‟t 

move around, can‟t get much fodder, and they‟ve got mosquitoes and every other thing that 


43

comes along with that, and where the better grass is they can‟t get at it because its too 

boggy, they tend to sit on big ridges and that is where they‟ll flog it down and eat it up as 

high and they can reach. 

David Hughes 

The comments made by the research participants in 2.1.1 confirm the statements in the 

introduction that Oriners is distinctive from places and areas further down on the Mitchell 

delta. The main reasons for this are water flows, flood regimes, fragile soils which become 

boggy when wet, and distinctive „forest‟ plants. 

2.1.2 Inter-annual variability – weather and flood levels 

No two years are identical, and understanding how country varies between years, is an 

important part of knowing about local landscapes. Understanding variability involves 

knowledge of regular patterns of conditions, of the variations within such patterns, and the 

awareness of major departures from them. Colin Hughes noted both the „general rule‟ for the 

arrival of the wet, and that in 2010 it had come much earlier to the Mitchell than normal: 

This year has put it [the start of the wet] out of whack. This is the first year I‟ve seen this big 

a rain through this country this early. But normally, October-November, you get a bout of 

storms for a couple of weeks, and most times you‟ll get a break then for 4-5 weeks, until 

Christmas time. That‟s the general rule anyway. 

Colin Hughes 

Thinking about the timing of the end of the wet, Colin again suggests the value of 

understanding patterns, but also expecting variability in them: 

You just take it [the end of the wet] as it comes. I can remember when I was a kid we had 

20-odd inches over Easter when we were at Dixie. That was because a big cyclone came 

down the east coast. But most times by end of April or early May it is pretty well gone. 

Colin Hughes 

Colin describes distinct differences from overall general patterns, but some research 

participants also noted consistent inter-annual patterns:Jeff Shellberg for instance 

commented on the possibility of 5 year cycles of wet and dry years, and Philip Port noted that 

heavy wet seasons seemed to recur approximately every 7 years in his area of the Cape. 

Alongside this observed pattern, Philip also emphasised the importance of learning from 

older people about past observations which might fall outside of common experience: 

Before I was born, the old people used to tell me „this is the old floodmark up here‟ [at his 

homestead outside of Coen]. After all those years I had never seen the water go up there. 

But after I did my homestead up and a big cyclone, I think it was cyclone Monica, came 

through, I came to town and knew this rain was coming down. Just only a couple of days, 

like four days. When I went back out after the flood, and I couldn‟t believe it! But I knew 

these old people showed me that old mark. The water was right through house. And just 

imagine if I was there, staying there, watching the water! The thing is that when we were 

there it might be just a little flood you know, but after all these years go by you never see [a 

big one]. 

Philip Port 

Flood levels are one observation that can be measured, even after the flood has passed. 

Despite never having lived at Oriners at the height of the wet season, Colin Hughes was able 


44

to comment on the expected average floods over a 20 year period based on his observations 

of the marks on the homestead wall: 

I haven‟t been out there [to Oriners] for years but I‟d say they probably missed out [on a 

flood at the homestead] last wet season [2009-10]. I‟d say there would be a likelihood, a 

chance that wet season before they would have got some sort of flood there, because 

everyone else in this country did. But no, it‟s not every year. Pretty well the same as, like 

Koolatah, probably over a 20 year period they‟d probably get 8 or 10 years where there is 

floodwater. Depth varies too I suppose, I know a lot of years we used to go down there and 

clean the place up after the wet, but we never had anyone living down there [during the 

time Oriners was managed from Dixie Station]. And you know, a lot of times it only went 

through the house that deep [1 or 2 foot] and left a water stain on the wall. The deepest 

one that I can remember was about 4 foot. 

Colin Hughes 

This kind of comment about a „statistical average‟ is less commonly made by Indigenous 

cattlemen whose learning involved less formal schooling, but the knowledge of potential 

variations can at times be greater, as it can encompass more frequent direct observations of 

the country and over a longer time period. Members of the Yam family have lived at Oriners 

over the wet season a number of times, and therefore have observed the floods themselves 

as well as the flood marks. Paddy Yam also commented that he had witnessed another 

extreme, saying he had once seen the sandy bottom of Jewfish Lagoon, after it nearly went 

dry at the end of a long period of low rainfall. This is not a common or frequent observation 

made about one of the main permanent waterholes on the station. Understanding variability 

means understanding the general average pattern, the ways in which that pattern varies in 

recurring ways, and identifying events or instances that lie well outside of what one might 

expect as part of that variability. All of these kinds of knowledge are evident in the comments 

above. 

2.1.3 „This month is different‟: abnormal changes 

Alongside the expected variability and general averages noted above, there were also 

observations of changes in the weather which were more than a single unusual instance. 

These were now noted in sufficient numbers that they represented a new kind of pattern – a 

permanent change to what was normal. There was a clear recognition by a number of 

Indigenous people that the weather they now experienced was different from the weather 

they remembered from the past: 

The seasons have changed. Years ago you could tell the first storms were coming. There 

would be an early storm in December to make everything nice for Christmas. Now the 

shower rains come earlier and heavier. There are more cyclones predicted for this country. 

It used to be you would see the electrical storms before the wet season came. Now the 

rains come from anywhere, rather than from the west first. 

Alan Creek 

--------------------------------------- 

But now you can notice changes in the weather now, this month is different. It should have 

been a wet month now, but it‟s not. It should have been raining here, it should have been 

raining all around Koolatah, Dunbar, but we are not getting that much rain. It‟s not like what 

it was in the early days in our time, when we were kids, growing up. We had rain around 

this month of the year [late October] It should be pouring rain, I think. Right across 

Koolatah, Dunbar, all up here, right down that way and up this way. 

Ivan Jimmy 


45

Ivan Jimmy‟s brother Wilfred made similar observations: 

Marcus Barber: Were the clouds and the rain the same in the old days as it is now? 

Wilfred Jimmy: No, it‟s quite different. In the old days it was good seasons, good years, the 

people was happy. Until late November there was no rain. 

Marcus Barber: What is different about the weather now? 

Wilfred Jimmy: It gets very, very, very, very hot. 

Marcus Barber: Hotter than before? 

Wilfred Jimmy: Yeah. 

Wilfred Jimmy went on to describe changes in the wind directions at Kowanyama, with 

associated differences in the way that rain and storms approached the community. Ivan 

Jimmy commented that the rain was not coming at the right time, that it was „all wrong‟, and 

described a new kind of unpredictability: 

Marcus Barber: Are there other seasons changing too? Is the wet season too long or too 

short, or is it just messy? 

Ivan Jimmy: It‟s just messy. You don‟t know the weather, if it‟s going to rain, or be a big wet 

season, or maybe just a few months or two, and then something go wrong then. It might 

stop. 

Marcus Barber: Is it getting hotter or is it messy rain. Is it too hot now? 

Ivan Jimmy: Too hot. 

Marcus Barber: Dry season or wet season or both? 

Ivan Jimmy: Both. Sun coming out more, getting more hot late at night. [It] gets real hot. 

Marcus Barber: What about the wind? Is the wind still the same? 

Ivan Jimmy: No. This time of year, well it should have been the wet season now. It should 

be coming this way, from the coast, it should be blowing from that way. 

In a separate conversation, older Indigenous cattlemen also commented on significant 

changes, albeit not the same kind: 

Marcus Barber: Is the weather and the rain the same now as when you were young? 

Robert Burns: No, no 

Fred Coleman: It‟s changed, it‟s changed a lot. 

Marcus Barber: What‟s different? 

Robert Burns: It used to be more before eh? Always. Big wet we got in 1974, I think. That 

was a big one. 

Marcus Barber: So there is less rain around now. Is it still coming at the same time? 

Robert Burns: No, no, it‟s a bit later now. 

Fred Coleman: Sometimes it‟s early 

Robert Burns: We get early storms. 

Marcus Barber: So sometimes you get one storm and then nothing, but the main wet 

season is coming later on? 

Fred Coleman: Yes 

Robert Burns: Mmm. 


46

Marcus Barber: So it‟s like it is a bit messy? You get a few storms come and then stop? 

Michael Ross: Last year we get start of our rain after New Year. When we been out here 

driving around. Well after New Year. Proper late storm eh? 

Marcus Barber: Has there been a bit of rain here this year? There has been some in other 

places. 

Robert Burns: Bit of rain everywhere. 

Fred Coleman: Bit of rain everywhere. 

However aside from noting the early onset of the wet in 2010 (see 2.1.2 above), Colin 

Hughes saw differences between years as part of the high levels of natural variability. From 

his perspective it was necessary to just „take it as it comes‟ with regard to the end of the wet 

season, and there were always storms around in October and November, but some years 

particular places missed out on receiving rain from them. Further research would be required 

to identify whether observations about permanent, non-normal changes in long-term patterns 

were consistent amongst Indigenous people in the area and/or whether Colin‟s perspective 

about high levels of natural variability is consistent amongst non-Indigenous resident 

cattlemen. 

2.1.4 Seasonal signals 

Figure 16. Paddy Yam and Louie Native standing next to Grevillea pteridifolia in flower at 

Mosquito Lagoon. 


47

Indigenous Australians are renowned for the specificity of their local knowledge, and 

seasonal calendars which collate plants, animals, and other indicators of changing seasons 

are now an established and valued part of documenting local or Indigenous knowledge 

(Prober, O‟Connor et al. 2011; Woodward, Jackson et al. 2012). A full Indigenous seasonal 

calendar for Oriners was not part of the research scope for this project, but generating a 

specific Oriners calendar would be one useful focus for a future research project. Strang 

(1997:180) provides the seasonal categories for Kunjen and the key natural events which 

relate to them (such as beefwood flowering or fish becoming fat). This she contrasts with a 

pastoral calendar driven by the basic distinction between wet and dry, months of the year, 

and the rhythms of pastoral activities. During the course of the interviews, research 

participants noted a number of ways they predicted or observed changes in the season, 

including bird calls, plants flowering, the presence of animals in the landscape, or wind 

changes, and this information is collated in Appendix 8.2. However this collation represents 

observations of in-year variation across the areas known to the speakers rather than a full 

seasonal calendar for the Oriners area. It demonstrates possibilities and foundations for 

Oriners seasonal data gathering rather than a completed process. 

However, alongside the capacity of seasonal indicators to demonstrate knowledge of withinyear 

variability, two further comments about such knowledge will be made here, both 

emerging from comments made by research participants. One is that such indicators are only 

reliable within a certain, sometimes quite restricted range. At Kowanyama, dollar birds arrive 

just before the wet, but this is not true elsewhere, as Alan Creek describes: 

Different old fellers will tell you different things depending on where they come from. Some 

people told me that the dollar bird18 came after the wet season, so if you saw it you knew 

the wet was over. When I got here [Coen area], one old feller told me that was not true in 

this area! If you saw the bird here it meant that more rain was coming. If you go to different 

places, different mobs will tell you different things. Storm birds can howl here anytime. So 

you can‟t say „that‟s not true‟. Different places got different things, like that dollar bird. 

Alan Creek 

Alan‟s comments suggest that the collation in 8.2 should be treated with caution, and that 

constructing a full seasonal calendar for Oriners should only be attempted once people are 

residing in (or at least regularly able to access) the area throughout the year. 

The second comment relates to the observations made above that the weather had 

noticeably changed over the course of peoples‟ adult lives. At least for the present, the 

seasonal indicators seem to be robust enough to continue to mark significant changes in the 

course of the yearly cycle: 

Marcus Barber: Is that wattle signal still working? Like you said that the rains were a bit 

mixed up… 

Ivan Jimmy: It‟s alright. Still see a lot of wattle on the creeks. 

Marcus Barber: and when you see that you can still go and find the eggs? 

Ivan Jimmy: You can find it in the sand right there. 

Marcus Barber: so the rain is getting mixed up but the crocodiles and flowers are still 

connected? 

18 Scientific term for the dollar bird is Eurystomus orientalis. It is also known as inh abijar 

in the local Olkol language (Hamilton online dictionary) 


48

Ivan Jimmy: Yeah. 

Marcus Barber: You said the rains were coming in a funny way, is that big grey [storm] bird 

getting confused? 

Ivan Jimmy: He can still call, sometimes late at night, sometimes early in the morning. 

Calling up, flying around, the rain is coming. Then we know “oh, the rain is coming!” 

Michael Ross noted the ongoing reliability of the Cooktown orchid in marking the end of the 

wet season saying of it that „he don‟t like rain, that feller‟, and that it had not let him down yet 

in terms of predicting the end of the wet season. The orchid does not grow at Oriners, but 

Michael‟s comments, made alongside his observations of growing instability in weather 

patterns, suggest that the seasonal indicators remain useful despite the changes people see 

in the weather itself. Constructing a complete and locally specific seasonal calendar for 

Oriners forest country would be a useful step to take. An additional, but more resourceintensive 

step, would be to keep records of the arrival of particular phenomena associated 

with that calendar. This may help identify long term patterns of change in the region, but 

would require consistent presence at Oriners for periods throughout the seasonal cycle over 

a number of years. 

2.2 Water 

Following on from the above discussions about variability and change in water weather, and 

seasons, the following section explores the memories and observations of water and water 

flows at Oriners itself. Important foci of the comments include rainfall patterns (2.2.1), flood 

levels and drainage lines around the Oriners homestead (2.2.2), wider flooding regimes in 

the Eight Mile and Crosbie creeks (2.2.3), recharge at permanent pools (2.2.4) and water 

quality (2.2.5). 

2.2.1 Rain 

Rain comes in a number of identifiable forms. In the previous section, Michael Ross identified 

the brief showers or „knockem down‟ rain that marks the end of the wet season. Like Cecil 

Hughes comment in 2.1.1 above, Colin Hughes notes the difference between the patchy 

storms associated with the start of the wet and the major, region-wide rains that come from 

larger monsoon and cyclone systems: 

Marcus Barber: The rainfall up there, is it the same as the rainfall here? Is the rain patchy 

enough that you can get heavily rained on here and not up there? 

Colin Hughes: Oh yeah. The only time you can sort of bank on widespread rain is if 

monsoons, a whole system comes through. Like these storms we are getting here now, 

some of them are only 3 or 4 kilometres right through. 

Thinking about rain at Oriners when he stayed there many years ago, Ezra Michael 

remembered much of the rain falling at night: 

Marcus Barber: You said it rained a lot when you were there. 

Ezra Michael: Yeah, Lot of rain there 

Marcus Barber: Was it raining all day every day, or sometimes it was clear? 

Ezra Michael: Sometimes. Sometimes. But we used to get most of the rain in the night. In 

the wet season you know, January, February, March. 


49

Colin Hughes followed up his thought about patchy rain with an observation about how rain 

seems to return to where it has rained previously: 

Colin Hughes: If you are lucky enough to be under storm, then the rains seem to follow that 

same pattern when it does come back. 

Marcus Barber: So if it rains early in one place it seems more likely to come back to that 

area? 

Colin Hughes: Yeah. 

Marcus Barber: That‟s consistent with something somebody else said. I‟ve not heard that 

before. 

Colin Hughes: Oh that‟s just, well I would not say it‟s a wives tale, but that‟s the pattern. I 

think most of the older indigenous fellers will probably tell you the same thing. If you fluke 

an early storm, you‟ll be the first to get the next lot of storms that come through. 

A similar idea, connecting surface water with rain water, was suggested by Michael Ross: 

Michael Ross: I think it got something to do with all that water. 

Marcus Barber: What do you mean? 

Michael Ross: Maybe, I don‟t know, it‟s just my thinking. I reckon more water underground. 

Artesian bore or something, maybe story water. It comes, because this area, it get early 

rain and more rain, a decent wet on it, and that‟s before, than other dry areas. 

Michael Ross: Because why I say that rain coming, that water drawing it, I‟m over here. I‟m 

over out here at Kalpowar country, at this area. You know that country, I been there long 

time now. I‟ve lived there ten years. From now, I‟ve been there ten years, and before that I 

been [there] fourteen years or so. There‟s three lakes there, top, middle, and bottom. Three 

lakes running like that in a row, and if there is rain around, it drops there, in that area. 

[When] you go past that area, it‟s dry. Even last week, rain fall in it, and about ten 

kilometres up the road, it was dry as a bone! There is something in there that, and its 

similar up here. There is something that draws the rain to that area. 

Marcus Barber: So if you think there is water on the ground, then that makes the rain come 

from the sky more often as well? 

Michael Ross: Well, I don‟t know scientific but I think there is some connection there. That‟s 

my belief that there is a connection there. 

Michael notes that the connection he observes between the rain and the lakes and lagoons 

might be „story water‟, water associated with the ancestral creators. Ideas about causes of 

particular phenomena are discussed further in 2.7.3 below. Philip Yam uses the drying of 

surface water in the swamps and creeks as one way to assess whether the wet season is 

ending and the rains are stopping: 

About April, that‟s when the country starts drying up. You probably get a little bit of 

showers, but not heavy. You can go by them swamps, creeks, when the creeks starting 

dropping, you know the wet is really over now, they start to dry up. 

Philip Yam 

The suggestion from these comments is that rain follows predictable patterns, and these 

patterns may be related to time of year, time of day, and to the presence of water on the 

ground. One kind of rain, rain from heavy monsoons leads to flooding, and comments about 

Oriners floods appear at 2.2.2 below. 


50

2.2.2 Flood levels and drainage lines at Oriners 

Figure 17. Philip Yam with woody debris wedged by flood at Eight Mile Creek. 

The following comments show a very consistent set of observations of the flood regime and 

drainage at Oriners. Flood levels rise to a peak of between 3 and 4 feet (1-1.2 metres) at the 

station homestead and the water remains up for a period of a few days to a week. The water 

is generally clear rather than murky and flows and drains slowly because of the shallow 

gradients in the area. Ezra Michael‟s experience of repeated floods at Oriners during the wet 

season he stayed there is a well known story at Kowanyama: 

Ezra Michael: Yes, there was water on the floor [of the shed at Oriners], the water used to 

come right up from the river and right on to the floor. Just up to there (gestures to mid calf 

level). There was water everywhere. 

Marcus Barber: And was the lagoon coming out over the side? 

Ezra Michael: Yeah. 

Marcus Barber: It was flooding at Oriners. Did you hear anyone say it was flooding at 

Koolatah and Kowanyama too? Was it raining all across? 


51

Ezra Michael: I never heard it. No. He used to ring to Koolatah, Norman [Hudson, then 

manager of Oriners]. Just from Oriners, that‟s all. I was minding my own business - did not 

want to tell Norman Hudson what to do. Just keep quiet. He let Cecil Hughes know, that all 

was all ok, [that] we got plenty of rain. 

Marcus Barber: So when the water was up high, was it moving, was it flowing? 

Ezra Michael: Coming up to after the wet, around about, second week of March, then the 

water went down. 

Marcus Barber: But right in the middle of the wet, was the water moving? 

Ezra Michael: The water was running, from the waterhole, the water was running. It was on 

the land, because there was a lot of water you know? 

Marcus Barber: And if you looked down at the water [from the elevated sleeping platform 

inside the shed], was that moving or sitting still? 

Ezra Michael: Still sitting there. It wasn‟t flowing. Only time it started flowing was coming 

into March. 

Figure 18. Oriners homestead area in flood ©KALNMRO 

Cecil Hughes recalled a later flood the one Ezra experienced, but in this case the duration 

was far shorter: 

We had a couple, when I say a couple, we had quite a few floods out there [at Oriners] in 

those days. I just don‟t know what years it was, I can‟t remember. ‟74 would have been one 

for sure, because everybody got flooded out in „74. I think the water went through the hut 

we had there about 3 foot deep in „74. That was a ground level hut. I wasn‟t living there but 

we had a bloke out there. I think he said he got up on the table in the kitchen or something. 

He survived anyhow. It came up and down in a day. 

Cecil Hughes 


52

Robert Burns recalled that the water went through the house „nearly every year‟ and also 

gave a similar measure of its height. Colin Hughes confirms the flooding of the old house to 

the same level: 

No I‟ve never been there [at Oriners] when it was actually flooded around the station, but I 

know Dad [Herbert Hughes] had marks on the wall of the old house, and it used to get 

about waist deep. This is the old house. It was right on the bank of the lagoon, between 

where they‟ve got that two story house, pretty well straight in line with that, straight south 

on the bank of the lagoon. It came about waist high, 1.2 or 1.3 metres. That was quite a 

regular thing. Not every year. 

Colin Hughes 

Like Colin, Philip Port did not stay at Oriners during the wet but also saw the marks on the 

wall, at about 3-4 feet high. Edwin David did see it during the height of the wet season: 

Marcus Barber: did you ever stay there when it was really raining? Flooding up? 

Edwin David: Yeah, yeah, it used to [flood] right up into the house eh? Right up into the hut 

there. The white stockman‟s shed used to have water in it. You can‟t get about see, when it 

was really wet. 

Marcus Barber: How did you sleep? 

Edwin David: We used to sleep alright, sleep on top of the cupboard or something like that. 

Make a bunk. 

Marcus Barber: What did the white stockman do? Was he sharing the room with you? 

Edwin David: Yeah we used to share the room. Sometimes used to come back to Koolatah. 

Marcus Barber: When the water was there, was it raining right on the house? 


Marcus Barber: You said sometimes the water in the billabong was milky, was it really clear 

when it was raining hard? 

Edwin David: Yeah, it gets really clear. 

Marcus Barber: Did it have any dust in it? 

Edwin David: No. 

Marcus Barber: Was it moving, or just sitting there? 

Edwin David: Bit slow eh? 

Marcus Barber: And if you saw the rain coming and it comes up and floods the house, how 

long does it stay there? 

Edwin David: It used to stay there for quite a while. 

Marcus Barber: Like 1 day, or 5 days? 

Edwin David: About 5 days. It‟s 3 to 4 months until the water [really] goes down. 

Marcus Barber: So how many times were you in the wet season, like full flooding? 

Edwin David: Oh, three or four times. 

Marcus Barber: Ok. And was it different, sometimes the lagoon was flooding up and 

sometimes it stayed, or was every year always flooding up? 

Edwin David: Every year. 


53

Marcus Barber: So every time you were there, that water came up over the bank and filled 

the shed? 

Edwin David: Yeah. Just up over the verandah. 

Marcus Barber: How high? Like if I was standing up? 

Edwin David: Oh, about as high as your chest [gestures to stomach]. We used to do a lot of 

fishing from upstairs - we had no boat. We used to bring horse back to Koolatah too. We 

used to bring horses back there, put them up on the high ground. Because there‟s a lot of 

cattle and horse been die away from there [die from starvation]. 

The level of the floods around the homestead is consistent at a maximum of 3-4 feet, with 

this observation made by a wide range of people over a number of decades. The comments 

below show that it can also fall back and then recur multiple times. 

Marcus Barber: The flood come up for about a week, then it went down again, and did it 

come up a second time? 

Ezra Michael: Come up again, yeah, second time. During the big wet in February and 

March. 

Marcus Barber: Did it come up third time? 

Ezra Michael: yes, it come up third time. 

Marcus Barber: How many times did it come up, you reckon? 

Ezra Michael: Oho! Maybe five or six times! 

Marcus Barber: When it come up, was raining at Oriners, on the shed and station area or 

just up in Dixie? 

Ezra Michael: No, it was raining on Oriners too. Raining everywhere all around Oriners. Big 

monsoon. 

Marcus Barber: And what was it [the Oriners wet season] like? 

Philip Yam: Well, the river was full! The flood flowed right to the front of that house, where 

the big gum tree is standing there now. Right through there, that other shed almost go 

under water. 

Marcus Barber: Was that for a long time? 

Philip Yam: It only stay up for 3 days, then it will be all gone, back to normal. 

Marcus Barber: Did it come back up a second time? 

Philip Yam: Yes, it will come back up again when you get a bigger rain up Dixie [Station] 

way. 

Marcus Barber: So that first year, can you remember, did it do it 2 or 3 times, or…? 

Philip Yam: Couple of times. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: So you‟ll get 3 or 4 days [of flood] once in a year, or it might go back up to 

that multiple times? 

Colin Hughes: Could do. Could well do. It‟s pretty slow running all the drainage system out 

there, that‟s why it takes a long time to peak and a fair while to go away.…[There are] only 

shallow drainage lines, so it makes most of them are slow, very slow flowing water. There‟s 

not too many fences that ever get knocked down. There weren‟t a lot of fences, we 

probably only had the two paddocks, one paddock east of the house there, what we used 

to call the bull paddock, and another one, another two paddocks below the house. [After a 


54

flood] A lot of them were just lined with debris, but they weren‟t washed over, that‟s all, so 

I‟m saying that the water wasn‟t swift. There were only two or three places where it 

knocked the fence over. Just for a short distance across the deep watercourse or 

something like that. The rest of it, even though the whole three wires have been 

underwater and are full of debris it‟s not been knocked down. 

Marcus Barber: People have told me that, that it‟s flooded forest, it‟s not like it‟s a gushing 

torrent. 

Colin Hughes: No. 

Philip Yam has a detailed knowledge of the flow and flood regimes around the Oriners 

homestead, describing how the Eight Mile creek rises and fills small creeks and depressions 

around the homestead, the flows moving around the area behind the house on the other side 

of the lagoon. Jeff Shellberg, Marcus Barber, and Viv Sinnamon respond to Philip‟s 

description of the local flows: 

Jeff Shellberg: There‟s lots of what we would call anabranches, that come out and come 

back in and then go out. And there are these little pockets of these ridges and islands up 

top that are dry, and [the water is] kind of weaving its way down through them, all the way 

down. 

Viv Sinnamon: When you say dry, you mean under water? 

Jeff Shellberg: Well, it‟s wet, and you‟ll sink into it, but it‟s not inundated. 

Marcus Barber: There‟s not surface water on the top. Those floods here coming down, is 

the water moving fast, can you see it pushing everything down or is it pretty slow? 

Philip Yam: Well here it doesn‟t race that much. If you go to Eight Mile [Creek], it will be 

racing over there, on that side (gestures to the middle of watercourse). 

Jeff Shellberg: Well, we are kind of right on the edge here, on the edge of the floodway. 

Philip Yam: In this part here, it won‟t race too fast, because when it gets high, all that area, a 

lot of that water will go out that way too, on that side, out on that flat there [gestures towards 

low lying land and swamp]. It will flow out through there. 

Figure 19. Philip Yam and Louie Native talk to Jeff Shellberg about flow patterns at Oriners. 


55

Figure 20. Oriners Lagoon in flood ©. KALNRMO 

Figure 21. Flooded Oriners airstrip.©KALNRMO 

The flooded forest country at Oriners is regularly inundated when monsoon systems drop 

heavy rain on the station and on the land further upstream, much of which lies on Dixie 

Station. The lagoon floods up to a maximum of about 4 feet, a slow flowing flood with water 

that is often clean and clear. It can flood multiple times in a season depending on the cycle of 

rains. 3 to 4 feet appears to be a maximum observed height, and Philip Yam provides the 

reason in his last comment, noting that once the water reaches that level it floods out over a 

wide area, preventing further rises. The boggy, impassable country means that people are 

most familiar with the flood observations at the homestead itself. But some people made 

comments about the wider floods in the area, and these appear in 2.2.3 below. 


56

Figure 22. Flood level on trees downstream from Oriners homestead. 

2.2.3 Regional flooding- the Eight Mile and Crosbie Creeks 


57

Figure 23. Large Woody Debris (LWD) deposited during flood on the Eight Mile Creek. 

Colin Hughes commented that a flood at the Oriners homestead indicated that the whole of 

the Crosbie and Eight Mile systems were flooded. He also noted that the system was 

discrete - rain which landed in the main Alice River catchment was unlikely to back up the 

flow of the Eight Mile to the point at which a change was observable at the homestead. In a 

longer excerpt from a conversation recorded on site, Philip Yam, Louie Native, and three of 

the report authors explore water flows in the area: 

Marcus Barber: So that first rains, if it rains up further, up near the main road, does that 

water come down this way, or go somewhere else? 

Philip Yam: It fills up creeks, creeks will start running. Well actually, where we living here 

[at Oriners Lagoon], we are nearly downhill, from up this end [towards Dixie Station]. 

Because if a flood comes up here at Oriners, and there‟s a big flood, it‟ll only last 3 days 

and then it will be all gone again, it will be back to normal. 

Louie Native: Running through that waterhole bank again. 

Philip Yam: But if there is a real big one coming from up there [further up the catchment], it 

will come a little bit further. 

Marcus Barber: So if the rain falls close to here… 

Philip Yam: Bigger storm up there, up the top. 

Marcus Barber: That‟s when you get a really big flood here? 

Viv Sinnamon: in the Crosbie and all the Alice. 

Marcus Barber: But if it rains close to Oriners you get a smaller flood? 

Philip Yam: Smaller flood, yeah. All that area there will be full of water, along there [behind 

the house] because you got all these watercourses running through there. Water will be 

flowing in from that way [and] all these swamps get full, they start flooding all that area and 

all the high ridges stay dry. You got a lot of watercourses everywhere, running there and 

over there. And there are just little islands, here and there. 

Viv Sinnamon: We‟ve got a little surveyors map of this area, and the surveyor saw some 

hills. We‟ve got it all mapped here. Just for this area [around the homestead]. 

Marcus Barber: So the real floods you worry about are where there has been a lot of rain 

further up? 

Philip Yam: Well, we had a good relationship with the guy who used to own Dixie, and the 

old fellow [Nugget Finch] who lived at Sefton, well he used to ring him, because he had a 

phone down there [at Sefton]. Him and old Nugget would call up on the radio and tell us 

there is a big flood coming down, a lot of water coming down. 

Marcus Barber: How many days? 

Philip Yam: Come up for three days. 

Marcus Barber: But if Dixie told Nugget there was a flood coming, how quick did it come 

here, 1 day or 5 days or what? 

Philip Yam: 5 days later it would be here. It comes around in a big bend, which is the Eight 

Mile Creek. We‟d probably get a call from somewhere further up. 

Viv Sinnamon: If it starts coming down, it‟s coming down quick. 

Marcus Barber: But if they see it at Dixie, and it‟s come up at Dixie. Is it next day that it 

comes up here? 


58

Philip Yam: No, it takes a while. Probably if it‟s at Dixie now, it‟ll probably get here in 

another three days. 

Jeff Shellberg: Dixie just sits up on the divide between the Morehead River and the 

Normanby River, and the Eight Mile and Alice up here, and so, if they are seeing flooding 

up on those local creeks, yeah, a couple [of days], 3 days, 5 days, 8 days later you will see 

the water depending on the flood. You know when the Mitchell [River] floods from the 

Palmer and the Walsh, it could be 10 days or 2 weeks to get the water all the way down. 

So just up here [on the Alice], 3-4 days…yeah. 

Viv Sinnamon: And if you‟ve got a really fat Mitchell, in flood, the damming effect that you 

get… 

Jeff Shellberg: It‟s really common for station managers to call each other and say that „it‟s 

flooding here, it‟s coming down there. Get ready!‟ You can see the flood waves moving 

through the system via the vocal telegraph of everyone calling each other, and it all ends 

up in Kowanyama. 


59

Figure 24. Jeff Shellberg talks with Philip Yam, Louie Native, and Viv Sinnamon about erosion 

and water flow along the Eight Mile Creek at Oriners. 

Philip Yam commented that Dixie Station was the only place that could provide people at 

Oriners with a warning about floods coming down. However Viv Sinnamon recalled that Brian 

Hughes was able to use the Palmer River as a proxy for conditions at Mosquito Lagoon: 

When we were here during the wet [camped at Mosquito Lagoon in the 1990s], Brian 

[Hughes] dropped us in the helicopter. He was out at Drumduff, he was working out at 

Drumduff. He said „I‟ll just keep an eye on the Palmer, and if it starts looking a bit radical 

I‟m coming to pick you up‟. We got through the full trip, and the day he came to pick us up, 

it was just as well he did, because the rivers were coming down, and we watched it, it was 

like the tide. I and Paddy [Yam] were the last ones, it was 3 [chopper] ferries to get 

everyone back to Kowanyama, and in the end we were tucked into a little corner of the 

ridge, and we were cutting down trees and knocking antbed over and everything else, 

trying to make a spot for the helicopter. By the time Brian came in for that last load, he had 

to come in through the trees and land on this little tiny spot. We were stuffed if he hadn‟t 

come, because there was no way we were going to cut these big ironwood trees down. But 

he slipped in, picked up our baggage, all our stuff, took it out onto a little piece of road that 

was dry, dropped that there, and then come back and picked us up because it was just too 

dangerous to take off in a heavy helicopter. And when he took off on the road, he had to 

take off like an aircraft. We were watching that water and we could see it visibly rising. 

Because we landed in a dip and if you saw that camp at Mosquito we had, [it was] like a 

little dish. It was a real little helicopter pad, but it filled with water. But you could actually 

see the water rising, it was fast. 

Viv Sinnamon 

When the water does arrive at Oriners, the whole area floods, creating forests in flood. Philip 

Yam and Louie Native gave their response below when being shown the images: 

Philip Yam: Yeah, that‟s what it looks like in the wet, see all that water there. 

Louie Native: You can just see a sheet, eh, a big sheet of water. 

Philip Yam: One year they came, when they picked us all up in that one big blue chopper, 

well I was the last one on the last trip, That whole area, we wasn‟t even flying that high, we 

were just above the treetops. That whole country was underwater. Everywhere, there was 

water everywhere. 


60

Figure 25. Oriners country in flood. Image © KALNRMO 

Figure 26. Flooded forest at Oriners. Image © KALNRMO 


61

Figure 27. Mitchell catchment in flood – Errk Oykangand National Park. Image © KALNRMO 

Figure 28. Mitchell catchment in the wet season. Image © KALNRMO 


62

Figure 29. Mitchell catchment in flood – Errk Oykangand National Park. Image © KALNRMO. 

Figure 30. Oriners country in flood. Image © KALNRMO 


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2.2.4 Permanent water and groundwater flow 

The flooded landscape and very high water flows of the wet season are counterbalanced by 

the long dry season, where temporary water sources dry out. A poor wet season and long 

dry season can make the presence of permanent water sources vital to life in the area. Big 

lagoons such as Oriners and Mosquito are very important at such times, and the following 

conversations are about how their levels are maintained. 

Marcus Barber: Those big lagoons, like the one next to Oriners and Mosquito and 

Horseshoe. How come they stay there? Is it really deep or is there still water coming up 

from underneath? 19 

Robert Burns: Must be. They don‟t go down much at all. 

Fred Coleman: Must be 

Michael Ross: That‟s all story places. Horseshoe [Lagoon] he‟s story place. Horseshoe. 

Oriners is Moon story, [and] around the corner, Crocodile story. They all story places. Big 

[important] water. 

Marcus Barber: So is there water under the ground coming up to keep them going? 

Robert Burns: Yeah. 

Michael Ross: Because if it was just rain water, it would dry up like a dam, go away. Even 

last year the water was still the same, it was full. 

Fred Coleman: Even in my time working, I‟ve never seen it go dry. It always had water. 

Even if you go down to the junction, I‟ve never seen that go dry. And you get big fish there. 

Robert Burns: Big water and big fish too. 

Fred Coleman: Yeah, jewfish. 

--------------------------------------- 

Oriners Lagoon, I don‟t think it would ever go dry, because it makes water. It makes water. 

Soaks. And Horseshoe Lagoon and Crocodile, and that other one over near Goose 

Swamp, that actually makes water there. You can see the bluey film in them, that‟s where 

that water comes in. You have a look on the edges of the water, you know when you see a 

spring and you can see that bluey tinge through it? Cloudy I suppose you could call it. I 

believe that is [water] coming in from the sides. Jewfish Lagoon I‟ve seen low. I reckon 

Jewfish would go dry. I don‟t know about Mosquito, it‟s a bit more protected from 

evaporation. Emu Lagoon, that‟s one of the biggest lagoons. It nearly went dry, back in the 

sixties. George Murray told me that. He said it got so low the fish were dying. In Emu, and 

that‟s a big hole. You need a continuation of not much water flow [to dry out big holes]. You 

can get wet seasons with a fair bit of rain, but no big water flowing rain, like heavy stuff. 

Emu [Lagoon] is an overflow out of the Alice, that‟s what fills Emu up, and if the Alice does 

not run high enough [it does not fill]. And what can happen with those rivers too is that if 

they don‟t get a good high flow, they‟ll actually build up sand along the anabranches. And 

the next year will run high, but because of the [increased] sand bank up there, it won‟t go 

in. So you need another big flush to take it out again. 

David Hughes 

Cecil Hughes commented that the creeks in the area stopped every year, but that he had 

never seen Oriners waterhole dried out. He did not believe they were fed by groundwater, 

but rather were deep enough and held water well through the dry period. He had seen 

19 This conversation (and others on the same topic) may have benefitted from greater precision about 

water flowing from deeper underground via springs and rock fissures, and water seeping into the sides 

of permanent holes from the surrounding water table. 


64

waterholes on Koolatah Station dry out during the mid-1960s, but at that time the big 

waterholes on the Alice remained, as did flow in the Mitchell. Colin Hughes confirmed that he 

did not see groundwater as a major source of permanent water at Oriners: 

Colin Hughes: There are just a lot of swamps and that there. And there‟s a fair bit of water, 

like permanent water on Oriners, especially up the two rivers, the Crosbie and the Alice 

down the bottom. A lot of them big swamps, most years they hold water right through. 

Marcus Barber: Are they groundwater fed? Are they getting recharged from underneath? 

Colin Hughes: No. They just, the wet season, that fills them up there. The only ones that I 

could say on Oriners that could be spring fed is the waterholes I was talking about right 

down the western end close to Crocodile. They are just crystal clear, and it doesn‟t matter 

what time of year, the water level doesn‟t seem to change in them. Whether they are spring 

fed or not I don‟t know, but there are some big mud springs not far back up that one big 

watercourse, not far from Crocodile. [There is a] big mound of mud coming up with a crust 

on it and when you break that off, it just starts oozing back out again. Someone told me 

they took samples of it and people use that stuff, ochre or something, for makeup and stuff. 

It‟s rich in minerals. 

Marcus Barber: So the big ones - Horseshoe, Mosquito - from your point of view they are 

probably not groundwater fed. Do they seem to change much over the dry season? Do 

they drop back? 

Colin Hughes: Yeah, yeah. They never go dry though. Oh actually, Mosquito I‟ve seen 

nearly dry. Even Jewfish, I‟ve seen it pretty close to being dry. That would have been, back 

in the 80s. This is what I‟ve got in my head. I come down here [Highbury] around ‟88, so it 

would have been somewhere between ‟85 and ‟88. I‟m just guessing here… 

Marcus Barber: So you‟ve seen them nearly dry. What about Oriners itself, the one next to 

the station? 

Colin Hughes: I‟ve seen it really low but never dry. You could still drink it and that, but it 

was pretty stagnant looking. It‟s not real deep, be lucky to be 3 metres deep. 

Marcus Barber: And from your perspective it‟s not groundwater fed because you can see it 

going down. 

Colin Hughes: Yeah, the only two waterholes I reckon could be spring fed are the two right 

down the western end near Crocodile and I just can‟t think of the name of the other little 

waterhole, straight across from what we used to call Koolatah Murray‟s yard…Divers? Old 

Simpson Yam, he should know where that is. Or Paddy Yam. 

Philip Yam and Louie Native reported a story told to them by the old people about the depth 

and associated power of the Oriners waterhole: 

Marcus Barber: Is the lagoon level the same. Is that rock still there the same? 

Philip Yam: It‟s got a drop there, a deep spot. But that waterhole will go right down low eh? 

You can almost walk across it. You can see all the rock there, right across the waterhole. 

Go very low. 

Marcus Barber: Did you ever see it with nothing? 

Philip Yam: No. It still have water there, until the rain will get to it. 

Louie Native: But you never know, one… 

Philip Yam: One, I reckon one year it might get dry. 

Louie Native: One year it might get dry. 

Philip Yam: It‟s pretty low now. 


65

Marcus Barber: So do you know how deep it is? If it‟s really low, is it still over your head? 

Louie Native: Could still be over your head. You know where the rock is, where we put the 

pump in? The deep part. 

Philip Yam: See them old people when they‟ve been there, they reckon, that big hole, 

there‟s a big hole in there, a bloke went in there, with a horse. The bloke never come back 

out, they just found the horse floating. That‟s been a long time ago. 

Marcus Barber: Who told you that one? 

Philip Yam: Old people there, what we used to have up there. They said a guy went in and 

we never seen him again. 

Louie Native: Old people said. 

Marcus Barber: Who said this? Lefty? 

Philip Yam: Old Lefty and them and old Arthur. 

Marcus Barber: A whitefeller went in? 

Philip Yam: Whitefeller 

Marcus Barber: Why was he trying to take his horse in there? 

Philip Yam: The horse was bucking him, bolting for it. They went in there and they never 

seen him again. Only the horse came back out, floating. So it must be something to do with 

that hole, maybe some sort of sacred thing that we don‟t know about. 

Marcus Barber: Powerful place maybe. 

The question of what kind of water source and flow/evaporation regime maintains these large 

lagoons on the Oriners may be an important one to address in coming years. They are iconic 

„story places‟ as well as playing an important ecological role in the seasonal rhythm of life in 

that landscape. Documenting and understanding natural variability in lagoon levels (and the 

way it may change in the future, perhaps due to climate change) would seem valuable to 

wider future Indigenous management regimes in the area. 

Figure 31. Oriners Lagoon looking upstream. 


66

2.2.5 Water quality 

Water quality in the Oriners area is affected by geographic variability, seasonal factors, 

animal activity, and human actions. In general, Oriners Lagoon is known for good quality 

water compared with smaller lagoons nearby. Viv Sinnamon reported that water tests 

organised by KALNRMO in 2002 confirmed this, and he also noted the variability of water 

quality in the Oriners landscape: 

There are a range of lagoons and wetlands with very different morphology. Two round 

lagoons almost side by side within a woodland can be totally different to each other - one 

blue and clean and the other muddy brown. 

Viv Sinnamon 

Alongside this geographic variability, Edwin David described the seasonal variability in the 

main Oriners Lagoon, how in the dry season the water at the homestead lagoon would drop 

and the cattlemen would have to drink milky water. This was contrasted with the situation in 

the wet season, as reported by Ezra Michael: 

Marcus Barber: That water [in flood time], what colour was it when it was going 

downstream? Was it brown? 

Ezra Michael: It was pure white. You know water like this? 

Marcus Barber: You could see clear? 

Ezra Michael: You could see clear, you could see water was clear, running. But when the 

water was, when the wet season, there‟s all fresh water then, in the lagoon. 

Marcus Barber: When I was there at the lagoon, there was all dust in it, you could not see 

that? 

Ezra Michael: No, no dust, no nothing. It was all clear water. 

Marcus Barber: Was there things floating on it, like leaves and things like that? 

Ezra Michael: All the leaves was all gone in the wet, all washed away. Downstream, gone, 

finished. 

Marcus Barber: And if you looked down at the water, was that moving or sitting still? 

Ezra Michael: Still sitting there. It wasn‟t flowing. Only time it started flowing was coming 

into March. 

Responding to a question about cane toads and fish kills, Paddy Yam confirmed the 

observation that the toads did have an initial impact, but went on to describe another 

seasonal variation, how the first wet season flush could alter water quality and also result in 

fish kills: 

Marcus Barber: Cecil said some of the fish were dying from eating the small cane toads. 

Paddy Yam: Eating the small ones yeah. [But] they got used to it, them fish. And they know 

that toad, that its poison, so they won‟t touch it. Even the goanna. They won‟t touch it. 

Goannas everywhere now. Bluetongue, wanguwu. Now all the fish dead over here! [From] 

that rain, first rain. Poison leaves. 

Marcus Barber: So the first rain kills the fish? 

Paddy Yam: Yeah poison leaves. They died everywhere. 

Marcus Barber: Does that happen every year? 

Paddy Yam: Every year do that. 


67

Marcus Barber: Does that happen at Oriners? 

Paddy Yam: Might be. I‟ve seen that been happening here. I seen it last year at Emu. I 

could see things. I said to Tony, „what that thing down there floating‟ „I don‟t know‟. So we 

went down the bottom and there is a bloody big fish dying away. “Something wrong here, 

all fish dying. Waste all the fish. They had a few leaves there, bark, [or] something else, 

killing all the fish. “Oh that‟s it!” Because that Emu doesn‟t get dry. They say, them over 

there, them young fellers, that maybe fish were too fat, maybe. 

Marcus Barber: Was there rain? 

Paddy Yam: It was dry eh! I come back and tell the mob here. What about all them dead 

fish out there? „I don‟t know!‟ One bloke said well we got some dead over here too! Well, 

we are going to lose all the fish. [That happened] last year. 

Viv Sinnamon described how any sudden drop in oxygen levels can result in fish kills, and 

this can be as a result of fresh water input during rain events or because of a sudden 

turnover of the lagoon bottom. One reason for this turnover, and for the associated changes 

in water quality, can be the behaviour of animals: 

Marcus Barber: Is it muddy because of the animals, or is the mud coming from somewhere 

else? 

Philip Yam: I don‟t reckon, maybe the animals. 

Viv Sinnamon: It is a clay bottom, its not light material. 

Philip Yam: Yeah, it‟s a clay bottom. 

Marcus Barber: And the animals are stirring it up? 

Philip Yam: Yeah. 

Jeff Shellberg: Pigs and cattle or just the crayfish? 

Philip Yam: Just the crayfish and things. 

Marcus Barber: The things living in it. They keep the water dirty? 

Philip Yam: They probably just move around, circulate that coolness of the water from the 

bottom, up to the top. 

Louie Native: Start to cool it, then they stop, then start moving again. 

Jeff Shellberg: They have to pass water past their gills, and if its stagnant they will move 

around, keep the gills filled with oxygen. 

Viv Sinnamon: all those motors under their tails, they keep moving like this. 

Marcus Barber: Why do you think the redclaws 20 like it [at T-Bone waterhole]? 

Philip Yam: I would not have a clue why they are all in there, all in there and no prawn. 21 

Viv Sinnamon: It may be their tolerance is not as high as the crayfish, for dirty water. Their 

tolerance of really silty nasty water isn‟t high, and [then there‟s] the temperature thing too. 

Like, down in the creek there at the end of the year near Kowanyama, if you want to catch 

those buggers, you go down under the sand, in the depressions, and they‟ll all be sitting 

there in the nice cool water. Cherabin. I think they‟ve got a lower tolerance for turbidity, but 

there might be also a food thing. Whatever it is, [perhaps] the lilies there that they eat. And 

it might be microscopic. I don‟t know enough about it. It‟s intrigued us, because we do know 

there‟s some places where people know if they want a feed of prawns, they‟ll go there and 

they‟ll know they‟ll get it. 

20 

Redclaw and crayfish are local colloquial terms for Cherax quadricarinatus, the North Queensland 

yabby. 

21 

Prawn is the local colloquial term for Macrobrachium rosenbergii, the giant, long-armed prawn 


68

Marcus Barber: Does the water taste different in those places? Does T-Bone water taste 

different from where there‟s prawns? 

Philip Yam: We don‟t know because we don‟t drink it. 

Jeff Shellberg: Earlier in the season in June, is it clear? 

Louie Native: No, it‟s still the same. 

Philip Yam: I think the water stays the same. Some places you go and there‟s water clean 

there, like back in Kowanyama the water is clean, then later on in the year it gets dirty. 

Viv Sinnamon: You can drink it most years, but some years it‟s bloody awful. It gets dirty, 

there‟s a lot of cattle and that, and the aquatics, it‟s a bit of a problem. 

Philip Yam: We don‟t drink that water, where the crayfish, the crayfish can. We just pop 

back into the Crosbie. 

Further comments about the role of animals in water quality appear in subsequent sections. 

Human activity can also have a significant effect on water quality. When constructing the new 

elevated house at Oriners, septic toilets (which might have resulted in high faecal coliform 

levels in the adjacent lagoon) were avoided. The waterless “clivus multrum” composting toilet 

systems which were installed were also positioned above the flood height in the area. 

However the primary concerns related to human effects on water quality relate to the 

presence of non-locals: 

Philip Yam: Those waterholes that we use for fishing and drinking. Some of them you go 

and you find dead pigs in them. The pig shooters they want to shoot them but they don‟t 

want to drag them away so they just leave it there. 

Jeff Shellberg: What about wild cattle fouling the water? 

Philip Yam: Wild cattle, we get a few wild cattle. There was a few, a couple of blokes, I 

don‟t know who they are, they shot some up here. One died near, coming out from Crosbie, 

near that waterhole, small one. I don‟t know if that one got shot right there… 

Viv Sinnamon: They are good bait for pigs. They‟ll shoot beasts just to attract the pigs. 

They let them get a bit smelly and it brings the goannas and the pigs. 

Philip Yam: That‟s what they do eh? They used to do that up in Dixie, up here this way. 

2.3 Native animals 

The following section reviews comments made about native animals, their distribution, and 

interactions with each other and with humans. The section title and categories reflect 

ecological (aquatic animals, birds) and conservation (native vs introduced) perspectives, but 

the comments naturally cross cut and interlink such classifications to a degree. Combined 

with 2.4, this section provides some broader context regarding animals in the area that is 

relevant to later synthesis. 

2.3.1 Aquatic animals 

The aquatic animals most commonly referred to by people talking about Oriners included 

fish, turtles, freshwater crocodiles, and crustaceans (prawns and crayfish). Aquatic resources 

are very important in hunting activities at Oriners (see 2.5.3 below). The following comments 

contain information about aquatic animal distributions, food species preferences (including 

the order in which people list species), and connectivity between aquatic habitats (notably in 

terms of barramundi). Ezra Michael noted the presence of freshwater shellfish in the Oriners 

Lagoon, and also identified key animals at Horseshoe: 


69

Marcus Barber: What animals do you see at Horseshoe? 

Ezra Michael: Freshwater turtle, crocodile. We never used to swim in there. All we used to 

do is get a drink of water and for cooking. 

--------------------------------------- 

Crocodiles, that was what struck me more about Oriners was the crocodiles. Lots of 

crocodiles at Oriners and probably some of the biggest sand goannas I‟ve seen is up there 

on that Flying Fox [Lagoon} and through there [at Oriners]. 

David Hughes 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: That day we went fishing to that waterhole we walked to near Oriners and 

you counted thirty freshwater crocs in that billabong. What kind of fish would you find 

there? I can remember that Paddy got a saratoga that day. What else would you find 

there? 

Philip Yam : Bream or catfish. Turtles. 

Marcus Barber: Is there any crayfish in a place like that? 

Philip Yam : You could get a crayfish bite your line, bait in there. You probably get a big 

prawn, you know? And probably a few redclaws. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: What kind of fish do you see up at Oriners? 

Edwin David: Jewfish, catfish, bream. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: If you are going fishing at Oriners, what kind of fish do you see? 

Paddy Yam: Catfish, saratoga 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: Does that [Jewfish Lagoon] have barramundi in it? 

Ezra Michael: It‟s a big waterhole, but I never caught any barramundi there. Lot of crocs in 

that waterhole, freshwater crocs. Could be saltwater crocs too. Because the water from 

Jewfish runs into Coota Creek, and Coota Creek runs into the Alice. 

Marcus Barber: So there is barramundi in Horseshoe but not at Oriners. Do you know why 

that is? 

Ezra Michael: I don‟t know why. Because the water comes in from the inland, the rain. 

Water comes from the land, turns into the water hole, fills the waterhole up, then runs down 

again, runs out the water and all that. And then the water stays there, in the lagoon. 

Marcus Barber: You said there is barramundi in Horseshoe, where do they come from? 

Ezra Michael: There‟s a lot there. They are freshwater barramundi they will always be 

there. But not at Oriners, nothing there. Only bream, barracuda, catfish, perch and all that. 

Jewfish and all that. Jewfish, catfish, bream, perch, but no barramundi. 

Marcus Barber: Can the barramundi swim up to Oriners lagoon? Is it connecting through? 

Ezra Michael: I never seen any barramundi in Oriners lagoon. Only bream. Catfish, perch 

and all that. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: What else comes out of those billabongs? 

Philip Yam: Turtles, fish, you get catfish, bream, saratoga. 


70

Marcus Barber: Are there any barramundi in those billabongs? 

Philip Yam: I seen barra only at… Crosbie, because we caught a few barra on the Crosbie. 

But not in the waterholes, we never ever get them in the waterholes. So they just probably 

live in the rivers. 

Marcus Barber: So you can‟t remember ever getting one in the waterholes? 

Philip Yam: No. Probably barra in there but we don‟t catch them. 

Marcus Barber: So when you catch them on the rivers, is there a special time of year or is it 

anytime, they are always there? 

Philip Yam: Anytime we will get them, you‟ll probably see them swimming on the top. 

Marcus Barber: And you spear them or catch them with a line. 

Philip Yam: Catch them with a line, throw a lure. 

Marcus Barber: What about along the Eight Mile, are there any barra along the Eight Mile? 

Philip Yam: Eight Mile is a pretty dry river. There‟s not hardly any water in there. 

Marcus Barber: Not enough water for the barra? 


In an unrecorded casual conversation between Paddy Yam, Philip Yam, Louie Native and 

the main researcher Marcus Barber, the Kowanyama men noted the dominance of saratoga 

at Mosquito Lagoon. They attributed this to its ability to feed on surface insects in a way that 

fish such as barramundi cannot. The way the waterholes along the Eight Mile become 

isolated from one another as the the dry season progresses was also noted as a possible 

explanation. Ex-cattlemen such as Paddy Yam have described how they did not have much 

time to fish when they were working at Oriners in the past, as they were focused on the 

cattle. But they are familiar with aspects of wider animal behaviour, such as that freshwater 

crocs will „have a big feed‟ and then they won‟t eat for a long period, perhaps a month or 

more. The high croc numbers noted above at a smaller billabong on the Eight Mile near 

Oriners was thought to perhaps be because the human hunting pressure for the eggs has 

not been high over the last ten years. Taking the station area in general, Philip Yam was 

willing to assert the consistent presence of the same aquatic species as when he first 

observed it, but less willing to speculate about changes in population numbers: 

Marcus Barber: Those fish and crocs we were talking about. Since you first saw Oriners, 

have any of the numbers gone up or gone down? 

Philip Yam: I think, it‟s, you‟ll get fish in any waterhole. 

Marcus Barber: we were talking with Jeff about erosion and pig damage to the wetlands. 

But you have not seen any big changes to the fish at this point, they are still there? 

Philip Yam: They are still there. 

Seasonal fishing for prawns and crayfish is an important part of life for Kowanyama people, 

both around the main settlement and at Oriners. Fishing by humans competes with fishing by 

pelicans, making the timing of fishing particularly important. In the conversation below, the 

possibility of crayfish as an indicator of water quality is also considered: 

Viv Sinnamon: There might be something in the different ones [lagoons] people go for 

crayfish. It‟s a seasonal use. You might be able to get some idea of how dirty those 

lagoons are and how long they last. The ones people catch crayfish in, go for crayfish, 

[they] fall later in the year. [It depends on] what the water is like, whether it‟s a little bit deep 

and stays there, or whether you are beating the birds. There‟s a seasonal thing where 


71

people are using the lagoon. Because it‟s shallow later in the year, it makes them easier to 

get, but they‟ve got to beat the birds. It‟s a race against [the birds], because the pelicans 

will move in and if they move in that‟s the end of the story, you don‟t get any crayfish for 

that year. There‟s enough [crayfish] there to seed for next year. But that seasonal activity, if 

you could get enough information from people and they give you some idea of the water 

levels, and also quality - if it‟s clear or if it‟s dirty. There‟s not many clear ones. 

Marcus Barber: The crayfish we are talking about, do they like muddy water or clear water? 

Philip Yam: Doesn‟t matter. 

Viv Sinnamon: I haven‟t worked out the crayfish versus the prawns. There‟ll be some 

places particularly in Kowanyama and some other places close to Crocodile where you‟ve 

got more prawns than crayfish, and sometimes you get no crayfish at all, and sometimes 

the mix will change, like you‟ll sometimes get a handful of prawns and a bunch of crayfish, 

or other places, loads of big prawns. And it must be a water quality thing. 

Marcus Barber: Does that change? Do the places change with prawns and crayfish? 

Philip Yam: Yeah. Sometimes it happens like that. 

Marcus Barber: So the animals can change? 

Viv Sinnamon: Yes. But there are target ones where people know they will get a feed of 

prawns, and there crayfish. 

Philip Yam: Like this waterhole up near Horseshoe. 

Marcus Barber: Not Horseshoe itself? 

Philip Yam: No. Tiny little waterhole, just on the top. Maybe a kilometre out from there. And 

we go there too for crayfish. Sometimes when we drag that, we get prawns in it. Prawns 

and crayfish mixed. 

Marcus Barber: You go there for crayfish, and there is sometimes prawns in there? 

Philip Yam: Prawns stay in that water. Because you got little ones and all in there. But 

when you go to T-Bone waterhole you don‟t get those prawns in there, it‟s all crayfish. 

Louie Native: Redclaw. 

The relationship between the crayfish and the pelicans is considered further in the next 

section, which reviews comments about birds at Oriners. In general terms, aquatic animals 

are a major focus of contemporary people‟s attention when hunting and fishing in the Oriners 

area. This may be partly because aquatic species are easier to obtain there than in water 

bodies closer to Kowanyama which receive higher hunting and fishing pressure, 22 but also 

reflects the general orientation of life at the station after the cattle era. Working cattlemen 

had little time for fishing, but nevertheless knew about important species available in the 

area. The role of wet season flows in generating connectivity between major water bodies 

and the subsequent effects on the distribution of aquatic species could be one important 

avenue for future research at the station. 

2.3.2 Birds 

Birds were not a strong focus of the questioning and research for this project. However the 

following comments represent some useful points in relation to birds in the area. This 

includes the presence of different kinds of birds such as fish hawks and cranes (both of 

22 KALNRMO has entered into a partnership with CSIRO to quantify indigenous aquatic resource use 

by those resident at Kowanyama. This is motivated by a desire to demonstrate the economic value of 

wild foods to the local economy and to develop a baseline for monitoring of harvesting. It is therefore 

further evidence of the growing capacity of the people to undertake sophisticated management 

activities, often in partnership. 


72

which rely on fish and aquatic life), but also other large natives such as brolgas, magpie 

geese, and bush turkeys. Chickens were present when the station was occupied, and The 

seasonal presence of pelicans and their interactions with the crayfish and with lagoon water 

levels is discussed further here. A specific project focused on seasonal bird life in the Oriners 

area may be valuable to consider in the future. Based on his experiences of a wet season in 

the early years of the station, Ezra Michael noted the primary presence of cranes, but later 

remembered other smaller birds: 

Marcus Barber: When it was wet, did you see any birds flying around? 

Ezra Michael: They were all gone. They were all gone. The most is the crane, 23 [we] used 

to see the crane flying around, when it was really wet. 

Marcus Barber: Did you see them in the dry season too? 

Ezra Michael: Yes, in the dry season, around the station waterhole. 

Marcus Barber: So in the wet season everything went away but the crane was still around? 

Ezra Michael: Still around. Maybe a dozen that‟s all. They stay there where the water runs 

out, you know, down the runaway. They are always hanging around for the little fish in the 

drain. 

Marcus Barber: What about any other animals? Just the crane? 

Ezra Michael: Only crane used to be there most of the time. Crane, not any other bird. But 

also pigeon and all them other little birds, pigeons, you know? 

Marcus Barber: They were up in the trees? 

Ezra Michael: They were up in the trees in the wet. After the rain they can go down on the 

ground and look for a feed for themselves. 

Michael Ross, Fred Coleman and Robert Burns remembered the seasonal absence of some 

bird species, and speculated about possible reasons for them - that they go away to an 

„island‟ or to New Guinea: 

Robert Burns: [That bird] gone when the wet comes. He goes away 

Michael Ross: He laying and digging and then he take off. Him and the white pigeon the 

same. White pigeon here now, after the wet, during the wet he gone. 

Fred Coleman: He must go out on that island somewhere 

Michael Ross: They go somewhere, maybe New Guinea or something but they all here 

now. Two bird that come, white pigeon and the dollar bird I don‟t know if they here, but they 

come, lay egg and everything else, their chick. Then they gone. 

Drawing on more recent experiences of Oriners, Philip Yam also noted the presence of key 

bird species, with fish hawks being the first to come to mind: 

Marcus Barber: What about birds? Are there any birds that stay up there in the wet? 

Philip Yam: Fish hawks. They stay up there. They got their nests all along there. They don‟t 

go anywhere, they stay there. Crows, hawks, butcher birds. They stay around there, 

they‟ve got their nests around there, close. 

Marcus Barber: Cranes? 

Philip Yam: Yeah, crane. Banana birds. 24 Banana birds [are] always building their homes 

underneath that shed. You‟ll get a few snakes crawling around, you‟ll see them. Especially 

23 Probably a reference to various kinds of egrets. 

24 Blue faced honey eaters, Entomyzon cyanotis. 


73

that old black headed python. You get a lot of that around there. We used to have snakes 

up there come into the homestead because we had chooks in there. That‟s why snakes 

used to come. But you don‟t see them much now because we got no chooks. They come to 

get some eggs. 

After noting the presence of bush turkeys (Alectura lathamii), Cecil Hughes confirmed the 

presence of brolgas in the area: 

Yes, there are brolgas there. Again there is not a lot of them but there are some. You get 

those magpie geese up there. Those big swamps, when there‟s water in them. There might 

be a better season there than somewhere else and they turn up and then they go when it 

gets dry. 

Cecil Hughes 

The seasonal presence of pelicans was also noted in discussions about aquatic species and 

birds at Oriners. The pelicans wait until the waterholes have lowered sufficiently that they can 

access the crayfish, as Philip Yam describes: 

Philip Yam: We get pelicans, in the dry you get pelican, when its crayfish time. They go to 

the waterhole then, to look for crayfish. Probably get about 50 pelicans in one waterhole. 

Marcus Barber: I have not seen them up there. 

Philip Yam: You got to catch them this time of the year [during the wet season buildup]. 

That‟s when they come in and have a feed then, eat all the crayfish out. 

Marcus Barber: Do you get crayfish yourself when you are up there? 


Marcus Barber: So the pelicans come here to Oriners? 

Philip Yam: Oh yeah, you get big mob up here! 

Marcus Barber: All year round or only sometimes? 

Philip Yam: As soon as the crayfish is ready to be eaten [by the pelicans]. 

Louie Native: That water is low [enough]. 

Jeff Shellberg: That would be about this time of year [July]? 

Philip Yam: maybe a bit later. 

Viv Sinnamon: Late August, September. 

Marcus Barber: How do they know the water is low, do you see them flying around first? 

Philip Yam: I think they know what time to go and get a good feed. 

Viv Sinnamon: Sometimes a few birds will fly around, then go back. A bit like the corellas at 

Kowanyama, [and the] ducks. They can read the country much better than humans can. 

Philip Yam described how the pelicans long necks enable them to reach into water as deep 

as an adult male‟s waist, and Viv Sinnamon described how they work together to fish 

particular waterholes: 

Because those buggers [the pelicans] will move across the top. They‟ll all line up, get in a 

big bunch and they‟ll just work the lagoon. And you see them all, moving along, and they 

push, they push the poor buggers [crayfish] up to the other end and then they just clean up. 

They‟re clever. They know what they are doing. 

Viv Sinnamon 


74

In summary, key bird species at Oriners include cranes, fish hawks, butcher birds, banana 

birds, and the seasonal presence of pelicans. Brolgas and bush turkeys can also be found, 

as well as an array of smaller birds. Birds appear not to be a strong focus for human hunters 

in the area, but clearly represent an important part of the fauna and wider ecology of Oriners. 

2.3.3 Native predators: dingoes 

Dingoes and/or wild dogs are important predators in the Oriners area, as the comments 

below show. 25 Cecil Hughes emphasised dingo mobility, and the fact that they seemed to „get 

thick and then go‟ rather than being present in consistent numbers. Baits such as 1080 were 

temporarily effective, but dingo mobility ensures that the effect was temporary: 

Cecil Hughes: We could control them, here, but they‟d just keep coming through. 

Marcus Barber: So they don‟t stay in the one place all the time? 

Cecil Hughes: No. 

Marcus Barber: Did you ever see the same one again? 

Cecil Hughes: No not really. They all look the same anyhow. 

Marcus Barber: When you say they come through in waves, was it every 2 weeks or every 

3 months? 

Cecil Hughes: It‟s variable. They breed up in the wetter months and then they move on, 

chasing food. They get thicker here, then they move on through, and you get another lot 

through. They kill a lot of calves. 

Cecil later noted the role that dingoes play in keeping kangaroo and wallaby numbers down 

(2.3.4). Alan Creek, who arrived in the area after Cecil Hughes had left, described how he 

saw very few dingoes then, as this was a period in which 1080 was being widely used. 

Some of the other older Indigenous cattlemen confirmed the high mobility of dingoes through 

the area, but also their consistent presence in the landscape as well: 

Marcus Barber: What about the dingo, the dog. Were they always there? 

Robert Burns: They been here before my time. 

Marcus Barber: Maybe this is the strange question, but does the dingo have a home, have 

a place, or do they move around everywhere? 

Robert Burns: they move around. 

Marcus Barber: Is there some time of year where there are lots, and then none, or are they 

there all the time? 

Robert Burns: They are there all the time. 

--------------------------------------- 

Ezra Michael: They move around looking for a feed. They always running around the 

house. You see wild dogs there all the time. They go for the calves. 

Marcus Barber: Was it ever the same dogs coming back? 

Ezra Michael: All different ones. All different ones coming through. It‟s a big area, Australia, 

Queensland. 

25 Given the prevalence of reptiles such as goannas and snakes at Oriners, it is important to note their 

role as native predators of insects and other smaller creatures. However the primary focus of this 

section is on the much larger dingo predators. Further information about goannas, particularly the 

population crash associated with the arrival of the cane toad, can be found at ?? 


75

Marcus Barber: I was trying to find out if they have a home or not? 

Ezra Michael: Oh they have a home alright, in the hollow log. After the wet, they are all free 

to go out. They have their pups then, and they turn into big dogs. Always have them in the 

winter. But me and Norman [Hudson – non-Indigenous caretaker at Oriners] never thought 

about shooting them. 

Marcus Barber: And you did not poison them or anything, you let them go? 

Ezra Michael: Yes 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: Does anything eat the wallabies? 

Philip Yam: Wild dogs, dingoes. There‟s heaps of dingoes up in that country. 

Marcus Barber: Why are they up there? 

Philip Yam: I don‟t know. Maybe, there‟s dingoes everywhere, but I don‟t know how come 

there‟s a big mob dingo up there now. There‟s heaps of dingoes there, all you‟ve got to do 

is get up at 5 in the morning and you‟ll hear them howling everywhere. Dingo does come 

right to the homestead. 

Marcus Barber: Do dingoes hunt their own areas? Do you see the same animal again and 

again? 

Philip Yam: Dingoes hunt certain places, where they can easily get food. You probably 

hear the same pack, come back through there howling at early hours of the morning or late 

at night. Probably the same mob, but you don‟t know if they are the same because they all 

look alike. 

Marcus Barber: Do you still see the dingoes in the middle of the wet? 

Philip Yam: Yeah, you‟ll see „em. Sometimes you get tame dogs going wild up that end. 

From pig shooters you know? We had a few of them up there, some tame ones. [They] get 

lost and mix up with the dingoes and bang. As long as, if she‟s a bitch, they‟ll put them in 

the mob but if it‟s a male they‟ll kill him. It happened, last month or so ago at Koolatah. One 

of the boys said „hey two dingo came in and killed those two dogs from the pig shooters. 

Killed them.‟ You get some very healthy dingoes up there, some big fellers. They are 

probably all mixed blood, from tame dogs. You get some black ones running around there. 

They all mixed breed now. 

Marcus Barber: Do they like goanna or what? What is their favourite? 

Philip Yam: They‟ll probably kill calves, pigs. What[ever] is easy to get. That‟s what they 

do. There won‟t be only one if they are going to go and kill a calf, there will be 5 or 6 of 

them. 

Marcus Barber: Working together? 

Philip Yam: Yeah. That‟s how they do it, in a pack. 

Marcus Barber: Did any of the people have trouble with them? 

Philip Yam: No, no one had trouble with dingoes, but in the wet I used to be there on my 

own, they used to come right up to the homestead and just sit there and stare at me every 

day. 

As the largest predator in the landscape, the dingoes play an important ecological role. Cecil 

Hughes emphasised the variability of dingo numbers in the area, a comment that relates to 

his time there from the 1950s through until the 1970s. Philip Yam notes the consistently high 

numbers of dingoes in the 1990s and 2000s, but also that it is hard to identify particular 

animals (a comment Cecil also made). Assuming both comments are accurate, the possibility 


76

of increased and/or more consistent dingo numbers at Oriners in recent times may be partly 

due to lapsing of human management activity such as baiting and/or changes in food supply. 

2.3.4 Wallabies 

Research participants made a consistent observation that wallabies are present at Oriners, 

but in relatively low numbers and concentrated around the creeks. The reasons given for 

their distribution and/or low numbers relate to the presence of water and food around the 

creeks, and the foliage which gives them cover and some protection from dingo predators. 

Philip Yam: Wallaby, we only find them up on the high ridges up the top side of Oriners, 

back up towards Dixie. You‟ll see them all up on them high ridges. 

Marcus Barber: Is that in the wet time or all the time? 

Philip Yam: All the time. There‟s heaps of wallabies along that Eight Mile. There‟s a lot of 

big ridges along there too. 

Marcus Barber: Do you know why they like it up there? 

Philip Yam: Probably get away from the water, floods and all that. 

Marcus Barber: But in the dry? 

Philip Yam: In the dry they are still hanging around there because along that Eight Mile 

there is green pickings for them. You got moisture on the side of the ridges. 

Marcus Barber: Do they come down around the station much? 

Philip Yam: You get a few down around there, but not as many [as elsewhere]. You 

probably only see about 6 or 7. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: What about wallabies and kangaroos in that area? 

Paddy Yam: No we never seen much them there. 

Marcus Barber: Why not? 

Paddy Yam: I don‟t know where they come from. There is a mob there now. They come 

down to the river, Dixie way. They move around, them old fellers. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: So the dingoes come in waves, in terms of other animals, you were talking 

about the kangaroos? 

Cecil Hughes: You won‟t find many out there, the dingoes kill them all. 

Marcus Barber: Is it not such good kangaroo country out there? 

Cecil Hughes: Oh, there‟s that too but the ones that do turn up out there the dingoes clean 

them up. The wallabies in the river country in the scrubs and that they can get away from 

the dingoes but they can‟t out in that country. It‟s too open. 

Reflecting the low numbers referred to above, wallabies were not referred to as a major 

source of food for people living in the area, nor were they a major target for Indigenous 

hunters compared with aquatic species such as fish and turtles. 

2.4 Introduced animals 

When I came the cane toads were already there, and there were no snakes or goannas 

then. Pigs were there. There were also a few brumbies around Alice and Oriners. 

Alan Creek 


77

Major introduced animals at Oriners include cattle, pigs, horses and cane toads. These have 

all been present in the landscape for a long time, with the cane toads being the most recent 

arrival as they were first observed in the 1960s. Comments about each of these animals will 

be considered in turn. 

2.4.1 Cattle 

As described in the introduction, cattle were the reason for human presence at Oriners for 

several decades in the latter half of the 20th century, and although it is no longer used as a 

cattle station, wild cattle remain a significant feature of the contemporary property. The cattle 

are both a potential resource for human consumption and an issue for Indigenous land 

managers, but it has already been noted that the Oriners area is not rich cattle country and is 

largely unfenced, reducing the level of impact that the animals have had on the area. Cecil 

Hughes remembered that, prior to the Hughes family taking the property up formally in 1952, 

it was vacant but used occasionally by cattlemen from Koolatah and Strathleven. Based on 

this casual use prior to 1952 and on strays from stations like Koolatah (established 1912), it 

seems almost certain that there would have been at least some cattle on Oriners from at 

least the 1940s and probably cattle present some decades earlier. However Robert Burns, 

whose experience of it dates back to the 1940s, did not remember large numbers in the early 

years 

Marcus Barber: What about wild cows? Were there any on that country when you first saw 

it? 

Robert Burns: Not really, it was quiet, that country. They had them all up here [at Laura]. 

In discussing soil type at Oriners (2.1.1), Colin Hughes recollected that the Hughes family 

used to run about 1500-1800 head of cattle in the Oriners area in the 1970s and 1980s. Cecil 

Hughes provided independent corroboration of this figure from his own memory of the 1950s 

and 1960s suggesting that there would have been about 500 around Oriners itself, and about 

1500 across the whole area. When the property was sold back to the Kowanyama people, it 

was largely de-stocked. However with the assistance of Dixie station, it was mustered a 

couple of times in the 1990s: 

Marcus Barber: When you first saw it, were there lots of cows up there, or were they 

cleared out? 

Philip Yam: Oh, there were a few heads there, not too much. Maybe just a couple of 

hundred. 

Marcus Barber: What happened with the cows? Were people just leaving them alone to 

breed up or were they mustering them in that early period? 

Philip Yam: We had a couple of times mustering there. We did the muster ourselves, we 

had to work in with Dixie. They used to come in and give us a hand. We just split the cattle 

up with them. They take half the bulls, and we take half, and then they do the selling. Sell 

them off, and just leaves the cows and calves there. 

Marcus Barber: Can you remember how many times you did that? 

Philip Yam: Only twice. 

Philip recalled that Kowanyama people and the Dixie Station owners shared the proceeds of 

the bulls 50:50. The property has not been mustered since that time and wild cattle are 

visible whenever visitors travel through the property. Thinking about the damage that 

introduced animals with hard feet can do to the country, Viv Sinnamon felt that cattle were 

less significant than pigs, but still had an impact on waterholes and lagoons: 


78

I don‟t think the cattle are in high enough numbers to do the damage [pigs do] on those 

sorts of things [wetlands at Oriners]. But certainly on lagoons [they can], where there don‟t 

have to be too many of them to create a cattle pad and do the stuff they do. A place like 

this too [Oriners lagoon], there is clear shelving around the edge where they walk. 

Viv Sinnamon 

David Hughes commented on how cattle have learned to live in that landscape: 

What happened originally in that country out there is that, because there was never many 

cattle out there, cattle did a lot worse 30 or 40 years ago than what they would have 10 

years ago. Because there was no wet weather pads in that country, where cattle go from 

one sand ridge out of a watercourse to another one and down to water. They weren‟t put in, 

they had not got them in, because there weren‟t enough cattle. But in the latter years, 

because they have the wet weather pads which have compacted, they stick to them pads 

and do better. There was a wet weather pad and a dry weather pad. And a wet weather 

pad, if you don‟t know what you doing, it will take you away from water. A dry weather pad 

will take you to water. There has not been any cattle out there now [for a while] but they‟d 

soon pick up. The pads are pretty important coming off those big sand ridges in the wet, 

cattle can bog, even strong cattle can bog, where they will seek water at a certain level, 

and that level is what runs those watercourses. Between those sand ridges, there‟s your 

watercourse, and unless the cattle have got a pad in there, that‟s where they‟ll bog. And 

that‟s why they‟ll starve on those sand ridges because they won‟t go in the bog. 

David Hughes 

There are no plans to restart Oriners as a cattle property, but mustering the existing wild 

cattle may be considered in the future as part of overall management of the property. Further 

comments about pig impacts appear in the section below. 

2.4.2 Pigs 

Comments about pigs at Oriners were consistent across the full range of people interviewed. 

These were that they had been present for a long time, and in high numbers: 

Marcus Barber: When you first saw Sefton and Oriners [in the 1940s], were the pigs 

already there? 

Robert Burns: Pigs? Yeah, pigs around before my time here. 

Michael Ross: Getting more now eh? 

Robert Burns: There was a lot there [then]. 

Cecil Hughes: They‟ve been here for years, since Captain Cook came. I don‟t know much 

about pigs, but I think where there is swamps and water they stick around. 

Marcus Barber: Was the damage they did important? 

Cecil Hughes: The damage was minimal out there. If you got into a better class of country 

they‟d dig more. Along the coast I think they make a mess. Up there [at Oriners] they just 

hang around the swamps. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: Were there always pigs up there? 

Colin Hughes: Yeah, since I‟ve been there. Thousands of them too. 

Marcus Barber: Is it good pig country is it? 


79

Colin Hughes: Oh there‟s just a lot of swamps and that there. And there‟s a fair bit of water, 

like permanent water on Oriners. Specially up the two rivers, the Crosbie and the Alice 

down the bottom. A lot of them big swamps, most years they hold water right through. 

--------------------------------------- 

There‟s always been a lot of pigs in that country because it lends itself to pigs. But when I 

was at Drumduff in 1979, disease went right through that country and wiped out a lot of 

pigs. They just faded away, a lot of boars, the Gulf pigs got poorer and poorer and just 

died. No idea what it was but it was very evident. See, the pigs in that country, the sows 

and suckers, they live on the river, and the boars go out, and they get on the sand ridges, 

and they eat all those nunda nuts 26 , when the nundas come on, that‟s when you find all the 

old boars and the young boars and the barren sows go out there. In the wet season they 

are near the rivers and that‟s when they do all the damage, when it‟s wet, chasing nut 

grass on your frontage. Then as the season turns, all your dry stuff, your boars and your 

dry sows and young boars, they go out and live on the sand ridges. Like there‟s sand 

ridges and sand ridges, some of those sand ridges have a different ecosystem to some 

others, and the ones where you get ridges that have a lot of nunda trees, and they live off 

them and that is where the go. 

David Hughes 

--------------------------------------- 

When I first came here one thing I noticed was that most of those bulguruw (Eliocharis) in 

the swamps near Oriners had been left alone, and it was still really, pretty good. There 

might be the odd hole here and there. This year, and a lot of other years in recent times, it‟s 

been annihilated. They‟re not quite annihilated yet but they‟re looking pretty bloody sad. 

Viv Sinnamon 

Figure 32. Pig damage at Oriners. 

26 Nunda plum nuts (Parinari nonda) 


80

Recalling his first visit to the area in the 1990s, Philip Yam recalled seeing „heaps of pigs‟ 

and that pig damage was evident in the swamps lying downstream from the homestead. 

Some swamps and waterholes were less damaged than others, and Philip was unsure why, 

but speculated that perhaps better feed existed in some waterholes or some soils. Ivan 

Jimmy noted that he had not seen any major changes in pig numbers in the Oriners area 

during the last twenty years of Kowanyama ownership. Limiting feral pig numbers is an 

obligation for the holders of pastoral leases such as Oriners (Queensland Department of 

Employment 2010), but accurately assessing changes in numbers is also difficult. Pigs are 

not a priority for contemporary Indigenous hunters when they visit Oriners (2.5.3) but were 

recalled as being a source of both food and entertainment by the Indigenous cattlemen who 

worked there in the past: 

Marcus Barber: What about pigs? 

Philip Port: Pigs. We were never short of pigs. 

Marcus Barber: Did you have a gun? 

Philip Port: No we‟d just chase them with a horse. You know if you want pig for dinner you 

just kill a pig. 

Marcus Barber: How do you kill a pig from a horse? 

Philip Port: We just come up to it, put your arm out and grab them by the ear, then lift their 

throat up and just cut „em. Big old boar, we used to chase em and pull them down by the 

tail. But you got to be quick. We used to do it just for fun! That‟s how we lived! And we was 

happy! The old people was the ones that teached us, then said „you do it!‟. We had to take 

a knife ourselves. 

Recreational hunting of pigs by non-Indigenous people at both Oriners and on wider 

Kowanyama-owned territory is an ongoing management problem for Kowanyama people 

(2.5.6). The damage that pigs are capable of doing to the landscape, particularly to shallow 

waterholes and swamps, is also a significant issue for Indigenous managers who have 

recently implemented a pig monitoring program at other locations within their estates. Given 

the number of water bodies on Oriners and the fragile soils, understanding the ongoing role 

of pigs in the landscape is an important issue. 

2.4.3 Horses 

Wild horses are not present at Oriners in high numbers, and this was a common and 

consistent response amongst the people interviewed. 

Marcus Barber: What about wild horses? Are there any in that area? 

Cecil Hughes: No. When you get up to Dixie there‟s plenty but there‟s none down below 

Oriners, or at least there wasn‟t in my time. I suppose the old miner people let them go up 

there and they spread about, but they never took to that country down there, at least not in 

my time. They might be there now. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: Are there a lot of brumbies up there or just a few? 

Philip Yam: A few. You‟d probably have a hundred head or so running around. 

Marcus Barber: Is that the same as Dixie, or are there more up there? 

Philip Yam: They are right down through Oriners, right down through Sefton, you get 

brumbies right through there. 

--------------------------------------- 


81

There was never too many [wild horses] there at Oriners, we only had a handful. I don‟t 

know what it is. Like even on the back of Drumduff, that sort of comes in close to Oriners 

and the horses aren‟t there, but you go back further to the east, like on Dixie and into that 

big sandridge country there is just thousands of them. I don‟t know whether it is just too wet 

for them or what. 

Colin Hughes 

--------------------------------------- 

I never seen many wild horses [at Oriners] but that old Nugget he said when he was over 

there, all those horses that far are running bush, they not brumbies, they were his working 

horses. But I never seen brumbies there, maybe 1 or 2 that grew up. But I did not see 

many. They were just his working horses. 

Philip Port 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: What about wild horses? 

Robert Burns: Yeah, they been up there. 

Fred Coleman: Wild brumbies. 

Robert Burns: Ran away from them gold miners and made their place up here. 

Michael Ross: There were some horses up here, long time ago 

Robert Burns: Yeah but no good horses, Horse too small you know. Brumbies. 

Talking about the soil at Oriners, Viv Sinnamon recalled one possible explanation for the 

consistently low numbers of horses observed at Oriners: 

Nugget‟s local knowledge of how boggy it was with the horses was an example of that. We 

were talking about bringing horses over [to Oriners] from Kowanyama and he said: “For 

god‟s sake don‟t bring horses over here unless they‟ve got a coach that knows the country. 

We‟ll have to put my horses with your horses, so that during the wet season they don‟t all 

die. As soon as they put a foot on soft ground, a horse that‟s not forest wise, they‟ll go to a 

place that‟s all hard and they‟ll sit there and die. But if they‟ve got a horse amongst them 

who knows „if we go from here across this here, we can get onto there and then we‟re right‟ 

[then it‟s ok]. [Otherwise] they‟ll just eat out the grass and then just die.” They are the sort 

of indicators of how boggy it can get. There‟s talk of breaking the legs of the pack horses, 

trying to pull them out of bogs. 

Viv Sinnamon 

Based on consistent observations, horses have been present for a long time, but in relatively 

low numbers. The terrain at Oriners appears not to favour them, and in the wet seasons the 

animals either avoid the boggy soils of the area entirely or can become trapped by them and 

starve. Therefore any significant changes in wild horse populations, either a decline to zero 

or a substantial increase, should be investigated as this would not have a strong precedent in 

the living memory of those who know the area. 

2.4.4 Cane toads 

The cane toads differ from the three previous species identified above because their arrival 

can be fairly clearly identified in time as approximately the mid-1960s, and people have clear 

recollections about their impacts: 

Marcus Barber: What about the cane toads? Can you remember the area without toads? 


82

Robert Burns: Cane toads? They started here, Laura in ‟49. A woman… 

Fred Coleman: she brought them up. Put them on her garden. 

Robert Burns: In the 60s… 

Michael Ross: Oh, they walk along the roads, hitchhike them fellers. 

Marcus Barber: So can you remember that country when there was no toads? 

Robert Burns: There was no toads there for years! 

Marcus Barber: Can you remember what year the toads came to Oriners? Was it 40s or 

50s? 

Michael Ross: Sixties. 

Robert Burns: [Inaudible word] down the track in 1966. 

Michael Ross: Well they must have been in that country in the 1960s. 

Robert Burns: They were killing a lot of fish there 

Fred Coleman: Wiping out all the goannas and snakes. Now there‟s plenty around 

Michael Ross: They come back now. 

Robert Burns: They come back, they are coming back now. 

Marcus Barber: So the toads came in around mid sixties. Did anything else die? Did the 

pigs eat the toads or was it just the fish and the goannas and the snakes? 

Michael Ross: Hawk. The hawk he turn them over. 

Robert Burns: Hawk 

Michael Ross: He turn them over and he don‟t take that back 

Fred Coleman: Crow. 

Michael Ross: He eats the poison and everything! He greedy feller he eats the lot! Turn 

them over and eat the inside 

Fred Coleman: [the crow] cracked the code: turn „em over. Snake and goanna they just 

grab them and finished [died]. 

Marcus Barber: So when the goannas and fish died away, did the birds all die off too? 

Fred Coleman: No. 

Michael Ross: They know how to eat him. 

Fred Coleman: They probably die of old age, or get shot or poisoned. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: What about cane toads? 

Cecil Hughes: The cane toads came, not quite sure, somewhere in the 60s. They cleared 

all the snakes out, goannas, killed a lot of fish in the waterholes. In these big lagoons you‟d 

see all the fish floating. When they arrived first is when they did the most damage. I think 

the goannas and the snakes, the brown snakes are coming back now they tell me, but the 

toads certainly cleaned them out for a start. 

Marcus Barber: What about goannas? Did you see them recover by the time you moved off 

the property or were they still low? 

Cecil Hughes: Not really. You never saw…goannas were quite prevalent out there until the 

toads came, then you never saw a goanna for a number of years and they gradually sort of 

come back. 

Marcus Barber: But when you left they were still low? Long after the toads arrived? 


83

Cecil Hughes: Yes, you never saw them. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: Were there still goannas in that country? 

Paddy Yam: Yes. 

Marcus Barber: Because Cecil was talking about the cane toads coming, when the cane 

toads came. 

Paddy Yam: Oh he was still there [when the toads came], that old feller [Cecil Hughes]]. 

You couldn‟t find any goannas. They were killing „em. Young feller comes [to Koolatah], 

David [Hughes]. David said „hey what‟s killing all them goannas?‟ Where? There along the 

ridge there. He chase one and kill one. He was the man, running that place then. 

Marcus Barber: So what else happened when the cane toads came? 

Paddy Yam: Not even a blue tongue. [You] could not see them. Wanguw. 27 [You] could not 

even see where they gone. Now they all gone. Seen a few fish. Same goanna where 

getting away. 

Marcus Barber: Cecil said some of the fish were dying from eating the small ones. 

Paddy Yam: Eating the small ones yeah. [But] they get used to it, them fish, and they know 

that toad, that its poison, so they won‟t touch it. Even the goanna, they won‟t touch it. 

[There are] goannas everywhere now - bluetongue, wanguw. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: Did you see goannas and things around when you were mustering Oriners 

in the 80s? 

Colin Hughes: No. You‟d hardly see any. Even snakes for that matter. Snakes and 

goannas. Probably [for] 6 or 8 years. [Now] the old goannas are back in force. I guess 

they‟ve become immune to them [the toads] or worked out how to eat them. 

Marcus Barber: So from your point of view it is only really in the last ten years or so that 

that recovery has happened? 


There is a clear and consistent pattern in the comments above across both the Indigenous 

and non-Indigenous cattlemen. The toads arrived in the area in the 1960s, dramatically 

decreasing the population of a range of reptile species in such a way that the population 

recovery has only occurred relatively recently. Michael Ross, Robert Burns, and Fred 

Coleman felt that the effect on bird species was less severe as they had learned how to 

avoid the animals, or eat the animals in such a way as to avoid the poison. In 2.2.5 Paddy 

Yam commented that the fish had rapidly learned to avoid juvenile toads after their initial 

arrival had caused mass fish kills. However rather than just a general recovery, Viv 

Sinnamon described the regional increase in reptile numbers as an „explosion‟: 

That cane toad thing, we‟ve always thought of Oriners as having a higher population of 

goannas than Kowanyama. Right now, down on the coast there has been an incredible 

increase. Well generally there has been an increase in goannas, but down on the coast 

there has been an explosion. And there has also been more blue tongue lizards seen in the 

last 3 years than have been seen in the last 20 years. So both lizards are doing pretty well. 

Whether it‟s the cane toads or something else I don‟t know. Cane toads occupy burrows 

whether or not you eat them. They occupy burrows, so how they‟re getting around that 

issue I don‟t know. Because anything that lives inside a burrow with babies is in trouble, 

27 Tree goanna, Varanus tristis 


84

Every bloody burrow has a cane toad in it, that we know of. But there is a rise in [lizard] 

population – sand, tree and water goannas. 28 

Viv Sinnamon 

The comments above are in roughly chronological order, with Robert Burns recalling the 

many years he saw the place prior to the toads, Cecil noting their arrival and initial impacts, 

Paddy Yam recalling the presence of David Hughes at the later time the toads arrived at 

Koolatah, Colin Hughes recalling the long process of recovery by the native reptiles, and Viv 

Sinnamon describing a substantial growth in reptile numbers across the region despite the 

ongoing presence of the toads. Although many fish were killed, people‟s comments about 

aquatic species do not suggest that there is a major difference in their numbers when 

compared with before the toads‟ arrival. The toads appear to have had a very large initial 

impact on reptile species in particular, but the animals at Oriners of interest to working 

cattlemen and Indigenous hunters have largely recovered from that impact. 

2.5 Human activity 

As described in the introduction, the Oriners area has not been heavily occupied in recent 

decades, and even at the height of pastoral activity the number of people living there was 

low. Although the full situation cannot now be known, it seems quite possible that the highest 

residential densities in the area were achieved in the pre-colonial era, an inverse situation 

from many other parts of eastern Australia. The following sections describe some key 

features of human presence in the area. This includes past and present Indigenous hunting 

activity (2.5.1 and 2.5.3 respectively), ongoing challenges with developing access and 

infrastructure (2.5.2), the connections and the emotional satisfaction emerging from cattle 

work (2.5.4), the re-emergence and creation of connections with Oriners (2.5.5), the issues of 

trespassers and tourists in the area (2.5.6), and the difficulties of both living at Oriners and 

managing those issues with the existing resources available. 

2.5.1 Pre-colonial wet season residence and subsistence 

Knowledge of pre-colonial activity in the area is not extensive, but based on past 

conversations with older Indigenous people, Viv Sinnamon was able to provide some 

aspects of human presence in the area during the wet: 

In many cases they didn‟t [stay at Oriners]. They said: „all these places, these creeks, 

there are higher areas [elsewhere].‟ Along the Alice there are a couple of places, and then 

there must be other places with sand ridges that you‟re better off than here. Old Lefty 

[Yam] talked about, have you been down to the junction of the Palmer? There‟s a big sand 

ridge there, and there‟s a photo, our oldest photo was taken by Inspector Galloway, of a 

camp - those stringybark shelters, serious pre-contact structures. They were down on the 

junction. And old Lefty was able to tell us the name of that place, and it sounded like it was 

one of the refuge areas. Because there must have been - like there is on the coast, down 

there on the delta - there‟s big sand ridges like Topsy and the Landing where people 

gravitated to during the wet. So those clans that had salty country, they‟d go back to inlaws 

or traditional connections [for refuge]. 

Viv Sinnamon 

Viv Sinnamon went on to recall how one form of pre-colonial fishing technology associated 

with flooded forest country varied from coastal areas: 

28 Varanus panoptes, Varanus tristis and Varanus mertensis respectively. 


85

And they had special fish traps here that they used to use, that they did not use on the 

coast. Like a bed, did old Lefty tell you that? They‟d make a leaf barrier, like a weir. On the 

coast they‟d use a big fish basket, big traps, like they use in Arnhem Land, but here, they 

made forks and things, and put a bench under the flow over. It was made for the 

topography here, and I still have not got my head around it. I have to catch old Paddy and 

see if he knows much about it, but they‟d put all the leaves on it, make a bench you could 

sleep on, and put all leaves on it. The fish would come over that, fall on that, and they had 

to make the leaves really deep because the bloody birds would come, and they‟d spot the 

fish sitting on this bench. But they were made specifically for this sort of drainage. We had 

one of them make a little model one, you know, to try and work it out, but you wouldn‟t 

know, unless you came out here in the wet and had someone [show you]. 

Viv Sinnamon 

He also noted that the residential shelters used at Oriners were likely to be different from 

those used elsewhere: 

It‟s the same with the shelters. Because the shelters and the way people lived here in the 

wet season wasn‟t like the sand ridges at Kowanyama. Those [Kowanyama] sand ridges, 

they were high; they were not like this soggy place. You wouldn‟t sleep on the ground here. 

People slept on benches under messmate bark roofs. 

Viv Sinnamon 

The requirements for living (and working) on Oriners in pre-colonial times would have 

required specific adaptations to the local conditions and the local country. These conditions 

also have major implications for contemporary access and infrastructure, which is the topic of 

the next section. 

2.5.2 Access, infrastructure and residence 

Infrastructure to allow the development of the cattle station was constructed gradually from 

the 1950s onwards, with much of the work done by Indigenous cattlemen: 

Marcus Barber: Did the station happen quickly after you got the block or was it a while 

away? 

Cecil Hughes: It was a while away. We used to muster it and as time went on the cattle had 

to be looked after out there so we built a hut there and had somebody there. The drafting 

yard and the dip, loading ramp and everything, paddocks, and we carried on there for a 

number of years. 

Marcus Barber: Around the 1950s is that the time you started to put the infrastructure 

there? 

Cecil Hughes: About the 1960s I think was about the time we put the hut out there. I‟m just 

guessing the dates now, it was a long time ago. 

Marcus Barber: Who was the first person out there, do you remember? 

Cecil Hughes: We put a caretaker out there, a feller called Wilmott. He was out there for a 

while. Then Herb and Nola [Hughes] they lived there, while we were getting the place built 

at Dixie. They were there for a couple of years. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: So you worked on the airport there? Was that during the wet or after? 

Ezra Michael: After, when it had stopped raining. 


86

Marcus Barber: Were you building it or fixing it up? 

Ezra Michael: It was there, but we were making it new. We made it bigger and wider. It was 

already there, but we made it a bit wider. We used to get tractor and get hard tyre, wheel, 

wagon wheel, and drag it up and down. I think it was a tractor [that] was there….No no no, 

it wasn‟t a tractor. It was bronco horse. I was riding a bronco horse. 

Marcus Barber: So that airport was already there, and planes could already land there. 

After the wet season, did you see was there damage to the airport from the water? 

Ezra Michael: No, it was all alright. 

Ezra‟s involvement in widening of the airstrip was part of the ongoing work of improvement to 

station facilities. The Hughes family constructed various buildings during the pastoral working 

life of the station, and the low level house adjacent to the lagoon was still present when it 

was sold. However white ants destroyed the structure of the building and it is now gone. The 

decline of the older-pastoral era buildings was offset by the construction of new ones. The 

first was a large workshop shed, which was built by the Oriners Mob themselves, using 

outside supervision and assistance. Louie Native, who was involved in construction, proudly 

recalled that it was supposed to take 3 months, but they completed the job in two and a half 

weeks. Following the shed was the construction of the large purpose-built house which still 

stands at the site. The Oriners Mob were heavily involved in the construction of this building, 

and at times their advice was not heeded when it should have been. Philip Yam recalled the 

construction of the now failed water tanks: 

Yeah that plumber was from here [Kowanyama]. He came up here [to Oriners]. That‟s what 

I was trying to say to him. „Hey mate, that tank stand, I thought it‟s supposed to be a flat 

surface on the bottom for the tank to sit on.‟ And he said „oh no, it‟s better like this‟ [sitting 

on a wooden frame]. Bullshit. When you going to fill it up with water it‟s going to all bulge 

out and bust out inside. That should be on a flat surface, like every other tank in every 

other station got a flat surface. I don‟t know whose idea was this one. [But] He didn‟t listen. 

Philip Yam 

The solar power system was another important element of construction, and once installed, 

people were able to stay during the wet season and maintain communications. Staying 

through the wet enabled another generation to gain firsthand experience of the conditions: 

Philip Yam: We couldn‟t go nowhere! For the first time we stayed up there, well you could 

not go anywhere with the quadbike, because sometimes the quadbike used to get bogged. 

The road was damaged, no good, very soft. Even when you were walking, you‟d hit a soft 

spot. 

Marcus Barber: Did anyone tell you that beforehand? 

Philip Yam: No, but some old fellers said sand ridge country is no good when you are in the 

wet, it gets very boggy. You‟ve got to know where the hard spot is. 

Philip Yam became the mainstay of wet season residence at Oriners, and enjoyed the 

experience: 

Marcus Barber: So Philip, how many wets did you stay there? 

Philip Yam: 3 times. 

Louie Native: I think about 4. 


87

Philip Yam: 3 or 4 times. A few times I had one bloke with me. I think about 3 or 4. I was up 

there with another feller named Jeff, Jeffie Brumby. And a few times with all the boys. 

About 5 of us eh? 

Marcus Barber: All through the wet, even when it was closed down? Was that fun? Or too 

many people in a small space? 

Philip Yam: No it was good fun. We got plenty of fellers to have fun. 

Philip Yam‟s residence and technical skills also meant that he became responsible for 

ongoing maintenance of Oriners. This included maintenance of the airstrip which is now 

badly eroded: 

Philip Yam: But they wanted me, when I went back up [after the wet in the 1990s] I had to 

check the airport out, fix it all up again, so they could fly some people back in the plane. We 

used to get the charter in from Mareeba, air Mareeba. He used to fly, old Angus used to 

bring us, take people back out. I had to go and fix the airport up, mow it. There‟s a slasher 

there. 

Marcus Barber: The airstrip did not have any holes in it that time. Even though there was 

lots of water going through? 

Philip Yam: No. I used to look after that airport, I used to go and patch it up every time. But 

since we‟ve moved away from there, since no one went back up, [there is] nobody there to 

look after it now. And it gets bigger and bigger, the hole, and you can‟t stop it. 

Marcus Barber: Too big? 

Philip Yam: I reckon if you could get a truck and a front end loader up there you could 

probably fix it all up again. Fill it all up, because we, people can get gravel from there, see? 

I used to use dirt. I used to just have tractor and trailer doing it. I used to use that dirt from 

the swamp. Unhook the trailer, put a couple of buckets on there, well that‟s all it could 

carry, take it up there, drop it off, hook the trailer back on again and go and tip it off, then 

go back, get more dirt until you‟ve put enough there, maybe three or four loads, and level it 

all out again. 

Marcus Barber: and you had to do that every year? 

Philip Yam: Do that every year, keep it, keep it going. We used to do some flying doctor 

course up there, the flying doctor used to land there. 


88

Figure 33. Erosion damage at old Oriners airstrip. 

One year Philip Yam stayed in Normanton and there were problems with machine 

maintenance at the station. Philip was asked to return to fix what had gone wrong, and Louie 

Native recognises the crucial role that Philip Yam played in successful Indigenous residence 

at the station: 

That‟s why I‟m saying, if he‟s not up there, it doesn‟t work that way, you know, properly. 

He‟s got to be there because he know how to work things properly, how to set things up. 

Louie Native 

The presence of key individuals at Oriners, particularly Philip Yam, was crucial to the 

successful growth of the homestead during the 1990s. Identifying people who can play 

similar roles in the future of the station will be vital to the future plans. However equally 

important is adequate resourcing and guidelines for supporting people living at Oriners, as 

the next section shows. 

2.5.2.1 Helicopter access and emergencies 


89

Conversations with Philip Yam about Kowanyama Aboriginal Council support and resourcing 

for wet season logistics showed how this was significant to people living there, particularly 

policies and resourcing around use of helicopters: 

Philip Yam: We had to get out of there [Oriners] because council said there was a cyclone 

coming on the east coast there, and it was coming inland, so that had to fly us all out of 

there and bring us back here. 

Marcus Barber: I would have thought you were safer up there weren‟t you, because isn‟t 

that in the high country and that house is strong? Why did they want you back here? 

Philip Yam: I don‟t know, it was just a council idea. We didn‟t feel like moving. 

Marcus Barber: You were ok up there? 

Philip Yam: Yeah. We was saying „ooh, I don‟t think a cyclone going to hit us up here‟. 

Marcus Barber: But they made you come back? 

Philip Yam: Yeah, they made us all come back, and nobody been out there then. They 

ended up flying me back out again. Just nearly wet was over then. We had to come back 

and stay here for a while. 

Marcus Barber: Do you remember what year that was? Was Viv here then? 29 

Philip Yam: I can‟t remember what year. I think they only flew one or two of us back out 

On another occasion, the chopper was required for an emergency but Philip remained, 

spending 3 months at the station on his own. However the chopper was again used to relieve 

him before the roads were negotiable: 

Philip Yam: I was there on my own once. I had a friend named Dave. He got very sick and 

we flew him out, back here. I had to stay there 3 months on my own, until the road was 

dried out a bit, then they flew me back out again. [They] got the chopper in and got me out, 

then they sent a couple of more blokes up there while I was in here [at Kowanyama]. I had 

to come back and see him. 

Marcus Barber: You spent 3 months up there alone. Was it good or was it lonely? 

Philip Yam: It was lonely. I had these two dogs up there with me too. 

Marcus Barber: What did you do? Was it really raining? 

Philip Yam: The river was up, you couldn‟t go nowhere. I couldn‟t go anywhere on me own, 

because I didn‟t want to go anywhere. I might get bitten by snake, because you get taipans 

up on that country too. 

Marcus Barber: So you just stayed around the homestead? 

Philip Yam: Yeah. I just stayed around. [I‟d] go down to the shed, muck around, making 

gates. If I wanted to go fishing, I‟d just go fishing there, right at the waterhole, because it 

was easy to get. 

Difficulties in resourcing helicopters, and in the adequate monitoring of communications back 

at Kowanyama, are two of the reasons regularly cited for the difficulties Oriners experienced 

in the early 2000s. As was noted in section 1, the rapid increase in competition for available 

resources from other outstations closer to Kowanyama during this period was also a 

significant factor in providing support to people staying there. That lack of residence has in 

turn led to neglect of and damage to key infrastructure, including the erosion of the airstrip, 

theft of the solar system and other important fittings from the house, and damage to the large 

equipment shed. 

29 Viv Sinnamon later confirmed that he was not living in Kowanyama at this time. 


90

2.5.3 Bush food at Oriners 

Figure 34. Fish from Oriners Lagoon. 

Bush food has been an important aspect of life at Oriners. Although it was not a „hunting 

destination‟ in the sense that people did not make the long journey from Kowanyama (or 

before that, Koolatah) simply to go hunting there, obtaining bush food was an important part 

of living and working there. Also noticeable from the comments below is that non-introduced 

„bush food‟ such as fish and turtle was usually prioritised over beef and pigs: 

Marcus Barber: When people go up to Oriners, what are the bush foods they look for first? 

What are they thinking about? 

Philip Yam: Fish and turtle. 

Marcus Barber: Is that because they are harder to get from here? 

Philip Yam: They are easy to get [from there compared with Kowanyama]. 

Marcus Barber: What comes after that? What are some other things? 

Philip Yam: Crayfish. We‟ll always be going for red claws. Most of the time, we don‟t bother 

about pigs. If we want to get a pig, we‟ll get one, you know, but, most of the time we don‟t 

worry about it. 

Marcus Barber: You‟d rather get the… 

Philip Yam: Fish and turtle 

Marcus Barber: What about goannas? 

Philip Yam: Yes some, sometime you get them. You got to be good to catch them. 

Marcus Barber: Do people have firearms? I‟ve not see guns up there. 

Philip Yam: Only Michael got a gun. 


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Marcus Barber: so you have to get food you don‟t need a gun for, which means fishing and 

things like that. 

Philip Yam: If I want to get cow, killer, then I have to ring back in and get Michael to come 

back up with his rifle. 

Marcus Barber: Did you do that much in the 1990s? Were you eating killers all the time or 

mostly bush food? 

Philip Yam: No, we never bother, don‟t bother killing because we was better off living off 

the land, we used to get a lot of food off the land. 

Marcus Barber: So the pigs and the cows, you kind of left them? 

Philip Yam: Yeah, we just leave them alone. We only want to get them when we feel like it, 

when we want to have a bit of a change. 

Marcus Barber: And when you had a gun to do it. Was Michael the only one with a gun 

back then? 

Philip Yam: Tim used to own a gun, but that‟s before the gun laws. 

Edwin David recalled eating a lot of bush food whilst doing cattle work in the area: 

Marcus Barber: What food were you eating [during the cattle work]? Killers or bush food? 

Edwin David: We never used to kill [cows] much. We used to live on bush feed. Fish, 

goanna, turtle. We used to live on bush feed all the time. 

Edwin David: We used to eat croc, just freshwater croc. You get a young one and cut the 

tail off, some cap mari. 30 Dig a hole, make a fire and [make] kap mari there. We used to live 

on that. 

Marcus Barber: Did you have flour and rice? 

Edwin David: Yeah. Flour, rice, tea. We used to eat a lot of bush tucker. Eat flying fox. 

Marcus Barber: There are a lot of them up there? 

Edwin David: Yeah, because of the wattle tree. 

Marcus Barber: How do you catch flying fox? 

Edwin David: We used to hit him with the stick. 

Marcus Barber: Did you have to climb the tree? 

Edwin David: Yeah. We used to live on bush tucker out there. We never used to kill much. 

Marcus Barber: What about the white stockman, was he eating that too? 

Edwin David: Yeah, they got to eat what we got to eat see? 

Marcus Barber: So he was eating goanna too? 

Edwin David: Yeah, they got to eat goanna, what[ever] we get they got to eat it see. Fish, 

they got to eat fish. 

Marcus Barber: What about bush fruit or plants? Or was it just the animals? 

Edwin David: Just the animals eh? 

Marcus Barber: What about honey? 

Edwin David: Oh, plenty of honey up there, we used to eat the honey there too. 

Hunting methods can vary with location and number of people: 

30 Local term for a fire pit or ground oven. 


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Marcus Barber: How do you catch the crayfish? Do you use a lot of people? 

Philip Yam: No, 4 people 2 people. A couple of people is plenty. 

Viv Sinnamon: Sometimes you have people on the side, but mostly it‟s just holding the net 

down and pulling them in the net. It‟s one of those little fine mesh nets. 

Philip Yam: At T-Bone waterhole if you want to get a feed you don‟t need a net. You just go 

in there and grab them by hand. 

Viv Sinnamon: The old people used to drag bushes and stuff, or catch them by hand. 

Although there was a preference for bush food, particularly aquatic species, cows were and 

are still a part of the diet for Oriners people. Cows often came in close to the homestead 

during the wet season, but it was still beneficial to have multiple people to transport the meat: 

[In the wet] you can see water, water all through them trees. You could not go anywhere in 

February and March. Couldn‟t go nowhere. Norman and I used to go out for the killer when 

there was no rain. [We‟d] pack bags on pack horse, put some meat in the pack bags. We 

could not go far. Too boggy. 

Ezra Michael 

In more recent times the rain and boggy ground made locating cattle for food easy, but the 

absence of horses made transporting meat more difficult, meaning it was better to use larger 

numbers of people: 

Marcus Barber: Was that fun staying at Oriners in the wet with 5 people? Or too many 

people in a small space? 

Philip Yam: No it was good fun. We got plenty of fellers to have fun. 

Louie Native: And especially you‟ve got plenty of hands, to kill meat. 

Philip Yam: Because sometimes you want meat you‟ve got to walk to get it 

Louie Native: You can‟t drive… 

Philip Yam: Carry it with bag. 

Louie Native: Carry it back home to the homestead. 

Philip Yam: You don‟t have to go too far to get killers. They come right to the homestead. 

Louie Native: Because it‟s high ridge there. 

Bush food is clearly a significant aspect of life at Oriners, and one of the attractions of going 

there. However it has never been the primary motivation for travelling to and living in the area 

during remembered history. Work of various kinds has usually been the priority; pastoral 

work, land management work, and the work associated with establishing and maintaining 

appropriate infrastructure. Paddy Yam commented that during mustering times in the 

pastoral era, time for hunting for food was limited. However based on the comments above it 

is clear that there were significant „down time‟ periods at other times of the pastoral year, 

notably during the main wet season. Although constrained by the boggy ground, these 

periods did provide people with time to access food from the surrounding landscape. More 

recently, the different pace and rhythm of land management work, as well as greater 

numbers of people staying at Oriners for non-work related reasons, had increased 

opportunities for hunting and fishing before the recent decline in residence. Therefore 

hunting for bush food is likely to be a significant feature of life for people should a largely 

permanent presence in the area be re-established in the future. 


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2.5.4 Cattlemen: working connections 

Cattle were the major basis for presence on Oriners for much of its post-colonial history. The 

men who worked the station are proud of what they learned, and they respected those who 

taught them, as David Hughes emphasises when speaking of the Indigenous head stockman 

at Koolatah, George Murray: 

I was lucky to be, George Murray taught me a lot of that [knowledge]. George Murray and 

Cecil, then you find out, you clarify that for yourself. When you go into that country as a 

young feller you want to prove yourself, you‟re a bit like a dog and want to cock your leg at 

every tree and be somebody, but you soon find out by making mistakes. But George 

Murray, he was a very good mentor. 

David Hughes 

David Hughes went on to comment on how it was key members of the Yam family who had 

taught George Murray. The Indigenous men were aware of the respect their knowledge gave 

them, even if the lack of pay that Indigenous stockworkers received for their efforts remains 

an issue. The comments below also show how past cattle work can affect how people like to 

access and experience the country, as well as their approach to contemporary management 

issues: 

We were only there for one thing, so we concentrated on the cattle. When you are out you 

are focused on where the cattle might be. 

Alan Creek 

--------------------------------------- 

Herbie [Hughes] would give you a notebook, and it would say „I‟ll meet you at a certain yard 

at a certain time‟. Well you‟d have it down in the notebook, and every day, we was doing 

our job of mustering every yard, we‟d know that old feller was going to come today. I‟d say 

to the boys „old feller going to be here today. We got make sure to get ready‟. He‟d just 

come and check on us, round up, clean up and we walk all the saleable stuff to the next 

yard. 

Philip Port 

--------------------------------------- 

Paddy Yam: Because I used to move a lot. Never worried about it. Chasing this one here 

[gesturing to nearby cattle] around! Mustering, getting money. I said I‟ll get on the cattle 

mustering. I‟ll do something here. I used to love it. 

Marcus Barber: so you loved the lifestyle? 

Paddy Yam: Oh much better! That‟s why I say to the young fellers here, „oh, you got no life 

you want to be, can‟t even ride a horse, can‟t even cut up tree, yard building. All you‟re 

watching is grog, that‟s all.‟ [Paddy looks over the road at Kowanyama]. The old church is 

there. That‟s where I got married, right there, across the road from here. 

Marcus Barber: So you like the cattle lifestyle. It‟s hard work though? 

Paddy Yam: Oh, it‟s alright when you get going, nothing much! I started working the camp 

here. I used to love this old country, out in the scrub here. All over! Me and the old fellers 

used to camp down at the crossing, all through the wet. Only three blokes was there. We 

used to muster some cattle down there. By this time we‟d been there mucking around all 

day, branding and branding [and got] two paddocks full! I done a lot of work, but this place 

oh, what I done they never give me nothing. 


94

Paddy Yam‟s dissatisfaction about not being paid sufficiently for the work he did is 

counteracted by his sense of achievement, but also concern that the way of life he knows 

has been superseded: 

If I can think quiet, sit down. I think it over, what I done, what I seeking in my life. Who‟s 

ever going to do that sort of thing? But nothing now! It‟s bloody chopper, chopper. Chopper 

mustering, chopper mustering. No good. 

Paddy Yam 

Speaking about his own country near Coen, Philip Port noted the tension between his 

perspective as a traditional owner, ex-cattle worker, and horseman, with the objectives, 

methods, and needs of contemporary conservation and National Park management: 

And at those National Park meetings I have an argument with them. „You got $40,000 to do 

fencing or go chase lizards or birds or something?‟ I jump on a horse and take them out. 

Go walkabout you know. I‟m a horse bloke. I love my horseback. And they all pack their 

motor car up, throw their gear on and drive back home. I say: „Righto, I‟ll see you when I 

get back home‟ then I just ride through the country. I love it. That‟s how I enjoy my life. And 

they say „oh we‟d love to go up here and have a look at this country‟. I ask „you been up 

there?‟ and they say „No, we want you to follow us up there and show us.‟ „I don‟t know 

mate, I might do something else today‟. „No, we‟ll pay you to come with us.‟ Do you see? 

And then you got to lose a day by going with them. And you take them up and show them 

around and they say „beautiful this place got everything, beautiful!‟. And they drive around 

taking photos of everything. But to me I gotta come back and say, „ok they giving me the 

right to take them up there, it don‟t give them the right to outdo me!‟ See that country is 

very different. You come out there, and we just go for a little drive and climb a little hill, just 

go for a little walk, come up a little hill and you can look all over. And you take a photo, and 

the GPS, [and more] photo taking. „Beautiful country‟ [they say]. I reckon its beautiful 

country too! I grew up there, all around it! I‟ve been everywhere! And this is the thing now; 

we have this Wild Rivers, National Parks, that‟s the thing now we can‟t work out. Our 

country is like that, it‟s good for [parks], but you won‟t get [conservation] people on 

horseback because they are not like us. [In] our time we were told to go out there, do the 

job and that‟s it. 

Philip Port 

The older cattlemen are proud of their working tradition and of the knowledge, independence, 

and self-respect it gave them. Alan Creek describes how they were focused on the cattle, but 

also aware of the need to consult locally, and understand local variations in conditions. Philip 

Port notes how knowledge and experience of the country has changed with different kinds of 

work, particularly the transition from cattle work to conservation management. Nevertheless, 

the cattle era at Oriners was crucial in people maintaining and establishing connections to 

the area during the colonial and pastoral period. 

2.5.5 Old and new connections 

The younger Kowanyama people resettling Oriners after it was purchased back in 1990 

enjoyed rediscovering evidence of the previous history of residence there, and were reluctant 

to remove or damage it, as Edwin David recalled: 

I used to stay in that old hut there. Sleep in the back shed there. Philip Yam went up there 

and he saw my name in that shed there. He said „you been up there at Oriners there?‟ And 

I said, „yeah, I was up there when I was nineteen‟. He said „that was a long time [ago], your 

name is still there.‟ I was still asking about that shed and they said „no that shed is still 

there‟ and I said „you blokes better knock im down‟! But they said „no, we‟ll keep that‟. 


95

Edwin David 

Most of the older buildings have now been eaten away by termites and weathering, but the 

stockman‟s quarters remain and the Oriners Mob plan to restore and recondition this building 

for both its historic value and for future use. The revived presence of Kowanyama people has 

enabled a new generation to understand and appreciate what Oriners had to offer: 

Marcus Barber: So how did you feel in the wet season? Was it a bit boring when you can't 

go anywhere? 

Louie Native: No it was alright. I loved it there. As long as the rain was coming down,we 

wasn't going anywhere that far. We were just catching fish off the lagoon. 

Marcus Barber: What did you enjoy about it? 

Louie Native: I liked it when, you know, the water was flowing over the ground there, 

flooding all over the place there. Dampening the place up, making it look green. 

Marcus Barber: You like to see that? 

Louie Native: Yeah, especially way out there. 

Marcus Barber: And what did you do with yourselves? Did you just go fishing and relax? Or 

did you have jobs around the house? 

Louie Native: Yeah, we used to do some jobs. Like put some stuff away that is a bit too low 

for them, the water would get there. We would just put it in the shed and pack it away. 

Marcus Barber: But when it was really flooding did you just have to relax and wait until the 

water came back? 

Louie Native: Yeah, we just waited until the water flowed [away]. When it was dropping 

down, we would get time to go to the shed and do things we were going to do. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: How did it feel in the wet? 

Viv Sinnamon: Nice. The first time we came up here...you‟d get up early in the morning and 

all the spider webs had dew on them, it was magic. It really was quite beautiful. Some of 

the area was flooded, I mean the water was quite high, and back areas were flooded, and 

we were actually tracking goannas in the water. You were following them in the grass, so 

you‟d have to track and they‟d go from ant bed to ant bed. And I and Lefty went for a 

couple of interesting walks, but at that time I didn‟t know the place that well and I can‟t 

remember much. It was over the back of the house and out and around you know. And that 

intrigued us all, because it was how you track a goanna in the wet season. 

Marcus Barber: Is that part of what endeared the place to you, seeing it in the wet? 

Viv Sinnamon: Yeah, it was just another face to a beautiful place. And I think that‟s what 

Brolga and the others see too, the difference. The quiet and the isolation they like. They 

like this bush 

Marcus Barber: They like the way it feels? 

Viv Sinnamon: Yeah. 

The new residential and hunting opportunities at Oriners led to new kinds of connections. 

This included naming places for which no previous name was remembered: 

Viv Sinnamon: There‟s places where you can go and grab a crayfish, like T-Bone 

Waterhole. We‟re just being careful because there was a young feller who passed away 

and his nickname was T-Bone. 


96

Philip Yam: That waterhole had no name until he went in and grabbed the crayfish by the 

end (tail), so we named it after his nickname. Because no one knew there was a lot of 

crayfish in there, until he went in. 

Marcus Barber: When was that? 

Philip Yam: When this place first started. That‟s when he went there. 

Viv Sinnamon: So 1998, 1999 

Philip Yam: When Timmy [Malachi] was here running the place, that‟s when he caught it. 

We had no house then, and those old quarters. 

Knowing the names of places and associating them with particular people (past and present) 

is one important way of establishing connections in Indigenous Australia. Another highly 

significant way in which Indigenous people are associated with places comes from being 

„conceived‟ there. This kind of conception, sometimes called „spirit conception‟, happens 

when a spirit manifests itself in some way (such as an unusual event) at that place, or when 

a subsequently recognised biological conception is traced back to an appropriate origin point 

where the spirit conception occurred. For Kowanyama people, the chance to live and work at 

Oriners regularly has provided the chance for spirits from that place to be reborn, and for 

new connections to be generated through that rebirth: 

Louie Native: My kids are from up that area too. That gets me staying up there all the time. 

Marcus Barber: Your kids are from that area? What do you mean? 

Louie Native: He‟s come from Horseshoe there [Lagoon], where that place is, Horseshoe. 

Like the old fellas [ancestors], they gave me the kids. 

Marcus Barber: So your kids, you found them in that place? 

Louie Native: Well, I caught my eldest son; [he] is also a big catfish. I caught him in there. I 

caught the big catfish in the thing there –rib. And that‟s where, the kid there, my son, has 

the birthmark right there [on his rib]. And my daughter, she comes from the homestead, 

there, at Oriners. 

Marcus Barber: And how did you find her? 

Louie Native: The red leg devil there they used to come out there. Little ghosts. He‟s only a 

little short feller, so he come out, bring the babies out. [From the] old people. 

Louie Native‟s understanding of the area comes partly from „a couple of old fellas there 

before‟ who used to tell him of the devils in the area. The spirit conception of Louie's children 

is an example of a regular and important way for Indigenous people to establish and 

understanding connections with places. 31 Louie himself is not directly from the Yam family or 

from others with recognised traditional kin connections to the area, but the time he is 

spending there is increasing his personal emotional attachment to Oriners. It is also 

increasing the opportunities for his family to develop more formal and communallyrecognised 

modes of connection, most notably through his children. The comments above 

show how old and new connections to Oriners are intertwined with one another, and that the 

purchase and resettlement of Oriners has been very important in generating new 

connections. This includes uncovering the memories and evidence of past histories of 

residence, having the chance to spend time at Oriners and appreciate its aesthetic and 

experiential qualities, writing new histories and memories into the landscape through 

processes such as naming, and deepening individual and family spiritual connections 

through direct interactions with ancestors and spirits attached to the land, leading to those 

31 See Strang (2002) for a further discussion of conception and spiritual and ancestral powers 

associated with water bodies in this area. 


97

spirits being reborn in new generations. The form that some of these processes take is 

specific to Indigenous people, but developing attachments to places through such actions as 

working, hunting, recalling past residents and historical events, and naming places are 

widespread amongst human beings. 

2.5.6 Tourists and trespassers 

Figure 35. Philip Yam talks to motorcycle tourists passing through Oriners 

The map of the Cape demonstrates that Oriners lies a considerable distance from 

Kowanyama, but is itself much closer to the main Cape York Development Road and to 

settlements along that road. In effect, Kowanyama is far more „remote‟ than Oriners from 

larger North Queensland towns and cities. Oriners lies on the direct route for „back door‟ 

access from the main Cape road to the Errk Oykangand (Alice-Mitchell) National Park, 

Kowanyama, Pormpuraaw, and to Koolatah Station. It can be difficult for Kowanyama people 

and the Oriners Mob to access the Station by road from the west at times when access from 

the east may be far easier, and the western route is always far shorter in terms of distance. 

These conditions created logistical difficulties for residence by Kowanyama people at the 

same time as it made access easier for people travelling from the central Cape. The lack of 

supervision has led to a range of problems, including criminal damage and arson attempts, 

as well as theft of valuable key infrastructure. The first major sign of difficulties were arson 

attempts on the cattle yards. Philip Yam recalled having to rebuild and repair the cattle dip 

and yards twice, as fires came through and burnt it. The photograph of the yards from the 

time shows evidence of the arson attempt: 


98

Figure 36. Fire damage to Oriners cattle yards in the 1990s. Image © KALNRMO 

Philip Yam and Louie Native comments on seeing this image were: 

Philip Yam: See how it‟s all black. Somebody poured petrol, and light him up. 

Louie Native: They wouldn‟t care who been building that thing, they just lazy bastards. 

In a later conversation, Louie Native recalled their efforts to retain a presence at Oriners, and 

the consequences of not always succeeding: 

Louie Native: Me and the young fella who belonged to Philip there [Philip Yam‟s son, Max], 

we was asking to stay up there through the wet. But like what he [Philip] was saying, they 

had no money to pay for the chopper to go up there. [We wanted to go] so nothing wouldn‟t 

be stolen like that. That it might be stolen up there. 

Marcus Barber: Phillip was talking about that. So they didn't want you to go up unless there 

was money for the chopper? 

Louie Native: Yeah, well they had two, volunteers, that was me and the other young fella, 

Max. 


99

Marcus Barber: Phillip‟s son Max? 

Louie Native: Yeah, we was keen to go up. 

Marcus Barber: But they wouldn't drop you there. 

Louie Native: And we were saying that things were gunna be stolen. So the year after that 

then, bang, everything was stolen. 

Marcus Barber: How did that make you feel? 

Louie Native: I was feeling really bad eh? Especially when we was doing the bloody..... 

the yard. When they [arsonists] was keeping burning [it]. We kept on doing it, repairing it. 

Marcus Barber: You kept on having to build it again? 

Louie Native: Yeah. 

Marcus Barber: Getting frustrated? 

Louie Native: Yeah! We was just about right up to the dip part, to the loading ramp part. 

[Then] they came and burned again. So we couldn't do anything more. 

Marcus Barber: Was that really just accident from fire coming through or they were trying to 

burn.... 

Louie Native: They didn't like blackfellas owning the property like that. 

Marcus Barber: They didn't like the blackfellas owning the station and building it up. So 

they were burning it down? 

Louie Native: Yep. 

Marcus Barber: That‟s too bad. And so you couldn't stay out there. 

Louie Native: Not like, if a white man owned the station, a black fella wouldn't go there and 

go light the matches and burn the grass. No ways, they'd respect it. So we're there and 

they should do the same too. 

Although much of the concerns about criminal damage, theft, and trespass relate to transient 

visitors, significant problems have occurred with some occupants of surrounding stations: 

Wilfred Jimmy: Where‟s that Crosbie Station there? They were the biggest stealin‟ mob 

ever going! They are the lot who burned all the yard up. Back there when Nugget was 

staying at Sefton, he went in the car one year [to town] and got all his supply, what he 

needed. And they went in behind his back when he was down in the paddock, and they 

stole half his feed, poor old bugger! [He] saw quad bike tracks everywhere. 

Marcus Barber: Are they still there now? 

Wilfred Jimmy: I don‟t know! They got raided there one year when I was there at Oriners. 

Marcus Barber: Police? 

Wilfred Jimmy: Yeah, they were growing a big plant of crop. Marijuana. 

2.5.6.1 Pig hunters 

Despite the problems relating to a small number of occupants of other stations, recreational 

pig hunters are the main unwanted presence at Oriners. Significant damage and theft to 

Oriners property was attributed to them, as is the ongoing damage to animals and plants in 

the area. 

Wilfred Jimmy: It‟s lovely country. Then the pig hunters get in there and destroy a lot of 

pigs. They were living around the gorge there one year. How many rounds they were 


100

shooting [at] crocs there! We saw the shells along the Alice River, on the gorge. And [they 

were] using quad bikes to get around, killing pigs for the tusks. Shooting the crocs, that‟s 

wrong. 

Marcus Barber: Is it good to have pigs there? 

Wilfred Jimmy: Pigs are good eating. We got to learn to keep them. They are destroying 

too much. But the pig hunters get in there [and] they got no permit. They‟ve been living in 

the home there [at Oriners] and they took the windows and used it for firewood. It would be 

good to get back there and have someone living there. 

--------------------------------------- 

Philip Yam: [The pig hunters] would tie the meat up with ropes, hang them, maybe just that 

far above the water. 

Marcus Barber: And when the croc comes up for it they‟d shoot it? 

Viv Sinnamon: Oh they‟d come hanging around there because they can smell it. 

Philip Yam: And you find some bullet shells, where they are camping. 

Viv Sinnamon: It was [also] an old traditional way of catching fish. They used to get green 

frogs and warm them up, then bash them a bit and wrap them in bark with grass, and hang 

them above the water. And the drip, the drip would attract the fish, and then men used to 

just stand there with spears and wait, and they‟d wait until the biggest fastest looking fish 

used to come along, and that‟s how they used to catch fish. So it‟s the same idea. Some of 

the other pig shooters may have put meat hooks on the ropes, so when the croc leaps, the 

poor bastard catches on it. I think we‟ve got a photo. Boxhead [Michael Yam] took a photo 

that time they came with us. 

Some stations in the area, such as Strathburn, attempt to use pig hunters as an economic 

opportunity by running a pig hunting safari business venture 

(http://www.strathburnsafaris.com.au/safari.php). Early planning sessions at Oriners did 

discuss potential ecotourism and other low impact tourist ventures, but ecotourism ventures 

are not currently planned for Oriners, with the main emphasis of activity on public and private 

sources of revenue relating to conservation and natural resource management. 

During one research visit to Oriners in the mid-dry season, a number of vehicles were 

observed passing through in both directions in a single morning. The current road passes 

directly past the homestead, making monitoring of passing traffic easy when people are living 

there, but leaving the homestead and station vulnerable when people are not. The impact of 

a new road which re-directs traffic a few kilometres around the homestead is yet to be felt. 

The crucial issue in managing ongoing tourist traffic and trespass through the area is regular 

residence there, particularly in the early dry season when the road from the east may 

become passable before the road west to Kowanyama is. Regular residence requires people 

committed to staying there and resources to support them. The latter issue is considered in 

the next section. 

2.5.7 Resources and funding 

A lack of funding for resources constrains the logistics of supporting Oriners, and therefore 

the ability of people to remain there. That lack of residence has had consequences for the 

care and maintenance for infrastructure at the site, which in turn increases the longer term 

costs of remaining there. Both Louie Native and Philip Yam, who have extensive recent 

experience of living in the area, referred to the chopper costs in the wet season, particularly 

when a larger and more expensive chopper was needed to ferry a number of people or a 

significant amount of supplies from Kowanyama. However cyclone evacuations, which had 

been another basis for chopper flights, were not felt by either of them to have been 


101

necessary at some of the times they were conducted. Other constraints related to the lack of 

appropriate tools for maintenance and/or the consequences for fuel use: 

Marcus Barber: Why has the water dug out the old stockman‟s quarters around the 

foundations? Did you guys ever fill it in? 

Philip Yam: I filled it in a couple of times. Viv wanted me to fill that up again [this year] but I 

said I can‟t do it just with a tractor, I need something like a trailer, a tip trailer. I‟ll be driving 

up and down all day. I need to go and get good dirt, from somewhere else. 

Figure 37. Old stockman‟s quarters with eroding foundations. 

Oriners resource constraints also relate to having the resources to support sufficient 

numbers of people. Louie Native‟s past experience of trying to manage the workload at 

Oriners led him to reflect on the personnel requirements to do the required work effectively: 

Louie Native: I was thinking [about] when the tourists come through there, when me and 

Phillip was out there. And see like I'm doing the, we haven't got any cook you know, like me 

and him. I've gotta be racing up and down, I'm doing the cooking, I gotta do Phillip‟s job 

too, help him along. Then they [the tourists or hunters] come along, [and] we were going to 

go chase them [to investigate]. Then we weren't going to worry about our job, what we was 

doing [already]. See, like we needed to ask for two more blokes there, [so] they help out. 

You know that all the time we needed [more people] there. As we go up there, they are 

there [as well], you know? I know Viv said we can do those kinda things, but we need two 

more blokes, you know what I mean? 

Marcus Barber: So you are feeling tired because you can't stay there all the time? You 

need more people so there's always someone there? 

Louie Native: Like Daniel, he‟s supposed to be up there you know? Like Daniel now, when 

we come back in, he go[es] back up. But I need, like, what I see, I need Daniel there all the 

time. See like, if we're doing the work he can be getting another vehicle and running off and 

chasing these fellers, asking where they're going. Them kinda things. And they're always 


102

telling me they're going down to Koolatah but they‟re not going to down to Koolatah, they 

are taking off to the Sefton road. That‟s the things that was happening to us. 

Marcus Barber: So they were telling you one story but the real story was something else? 

And the problem is you can't keep fixing the station and go chasing after those people? So 

you need three or four blokes there? 

Louie Native: Another two more blokes would be alright, or three yeah. Just to keep us 

going, and get things up and going. 

Marcus Barber: Somebody to cook and then somebody, a couple doing the jobs around the 

station? 

Louie Native: Yes. 

Marcus Barber: And then someone chasing the tourists? 

Louie Native: That‟s it. But that‟s when he [Viv] reckons, [only] when the money build up a 

bit. Then we can get them. But like what I see, that‟s what I need. Another two blokes up 

there. 

Marcus Barber: If you're really looking at the jobs that have to be done. 

Louie Native: Yeah I'm really looking at that kind... 

Marcus Barber: But the problem is getting the money for those jobs. 


Lack of resources for conservation and NRM work remains an issue across the sector, not 

just for Indigenous land managers. There are a range of competing priorities for funding, but 

the absence of adequate financial and human resources for Oriners has led to the 

deterioration and neglect of key infrastructure, as well as greater levels of trespass and 

criminal damage. Repairs for such damage are expensive, particularly when external 

expertise is required in such a remote area. The costs and benefits of residence at Oriners 

need to be carefully evaluated and appropriately managed. If wet season residence is 

intended and sufficiently motivated people are identified, it seems clear that appropriate 

planning, guidelines for chopper use and for recurring risks like cyclones, and contingency 

funds for emergency evacuations are all significant issues to be addressed. 

2.6 Landscape processes and human and animal distributions 

2.6 contains comments about some key landscape-scale processes and relationships at 

Oriners, as well as some of their local effects. Sections include water effects on animal 

distributions (2.6.1), the relationship between cattle distribution and human 

movement/residence (2.6.2), fire regimes (2.6.3) and erosion processes (2.6.4). 

2.6.1 Water and animal distributions 

Animals depend on sufficient water supplies, and so water distribution can drive animal 

distribution, both of terrestrial and aquatic animals. Cecil Hughes commented on the 

significance of the larger waterholes on the Crosbie and other creeks, which enable the 

animals to survive through the dry season in an area where permanent, rather than seasonal 

water supplies are limited. The animals converge on these more permanent sources in the 

later dry season, with pigs being an important example of this: 

Marcus Barber: Are there any animals that show up in the dry season only? That you don‟t 

see in the wet? 

Cecil Hughes: They spread out in the wet, so it‟s hard to tell. 


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Marcus Barber: If it was a really wet year, would that change the number of animals you 

see? 

Cecil Hughes: Well, you take the pigs for instance. If there is water everywhere they spread 

out. If the water dries out, they come back where the main water is. That means in the peak 

season you don‟t see them much, whereas in the dry time you do. They get more 

concentrated. They come back onto the main water. 

However taking Oriners homestead itself as an orienting point, Philip Yam describes how 

hard hoofed horses and cattle move in the opposite pattern, converging on places like the 

high ground adjacent to the homestead in the wet season: 

Philip Yam: When it rains up there, all these wild horses, cattle, they all come back in. 

Right back in close to the homestead, because that must be pretty hard ground for them. 

They don‟t stay out on the ridges. When the rain is gone they go back out. 

Marcus Barber: So they all came around… 

Philip Yam: They come right back in close to the homestead. 

Marcus Barber: And before that they were out and about? 

Philip Yam: yeah, when the wet is not in, they will be out somewhere else. You don‟t see 

them round. But when it rains, they all come back in. 

Marcus Barber: What else did you see moving around once the rain started? 

Philip Yam: Just only cattle and horse, but you won‟t see any other thing. 

Ivan Jimmy made a similar point, that the animals move to higher ground in the wet season, 

onto the high ridges. They then move down onto lower lying areas as the dry season 

progresses. David Hughes noted that it was not just the change of season that was 

important, but also the size of the wet season: 

Marcus Barber: So a big wet is a bad thing from the point of view of a cattle operator? 

David Hughes: Absolutely. You need to have a good wet every four years to get your 

underground water up, a good heavy one, but the ideal wet is early storms, good storms in 

October, then a light wet. A good heavy wet will take you through about 4 years. That 

country is high rainfall anyway. Because if you get, I can remember Drumduff in „77 was a 

really wet year, this time of year, August, we could not ride over those watercourses, it was 

too boggy, and so you could not burn till late, so there was no fresh grass and the cattle get 

low in the wet and then they go into the dry and they have not got any fresh pick [grass] to 

go on to, so they don‟t pick up. They are going into the dry without any good nourishment. 

And if you get another big wet on the end of that one, you get trouble. They get poor, they 

can‟t rear calves. It was nothing to go into that forest country and muster up after a couple 

of bad years, and you wouldn‟t get any old cows. You‟d only get young cow, mainly 

weaners. What those cattle do for survival is they get into calf young. 

Ivan Jimmy thought about the possible implications of changes in rainfall for animal 

distributions: 

Marcus Barber: What happens to the country when the rain is not right? 

Ivan Jimmy: When it don‟t come, it makes all this country around here - the Mitchell and the 

Alice - it mucks „em up and we get no bush tucker and things like that. We depend on them 

water, the rain that comes there. 

Marcus Barber: What about the cattle, the cows? Does it muck them up too? 


104

Ivan Jimmy: They get bogged in the muddy water, the swamps and the little creeks, and 

then they all die away. In the days we worked there, we go around and check every 

waterhole and little creek. With the car from the station, and pull them all out. They get 

bloated and they drink too much water. Then they won‟t get out of the bog. 

Marcus Barber: So you are worried that if there is not enough water, then the bogs happen 

and the cows get caught? 

Ivan Jimmy: Mmm. 

Marcus Barber: What about the bush animals? Does the changing rain affect the goannas? 

Ivan Jimmy: Yes. They need the rain so that they can get, so that they can have bush feed, 

and eat and feed what they want grow, and be a big goanna, and breed, with the female 

partner water goanna. Because they need food too. It‟s a cycle, for each animal, just like 

us, we can hunt them and kill them and they got to look for their food and eat their food. 

And then we come along and kill them and eat them. 

Water is clearly a crucial factor in the abundance and distribution of animals in the 

landscape. Abundant water can drive the dispersal of pigs but also concentrate the presence 

of other large introduced animals such as cattle and horses in higher elevation areas. The 

degree of impact that changing flow patterns have on animal distributions depends on the 

species, but what is also suggested by the material above is that local native animals are 

less affected by regular changes in flow regimes than are the hard-hoofed introduced 

animals. The above comments also emphasise terrestrial animals. Given the significant 

ecological roles played by aquatic animals and their value to human beings, the impact of the 

flow regime on animals like fish, freshwater crocodile and turtles is an important issue to 

address. Key questions include the dispersal of aquatic species during flood periods, the 

duration of connectivity between major permanent pools, and mapping the presence or 

absence of particular species across the water bodies of the station. 

2.6.2 Cattle mustering patterns 

The establishment of Oriners cattle infrastructure and the changing patterns of ownership in 

the stations surrounding it were important in shaping the movement of cattle, and therefore of 

the cattlemen, through the area. In the early decades, Oriners was mustered and managed 

from Koolatah: 

Marcus Barber: So, when you got those cattle, did you take them back to Oriners 

[homestead]? 

Edwin David: Yeah they got the paddock there. 

Marcus Barber: Where did you take them from there? To Dixie or Koolatah? 

Edwin David: We used to bring them back down to Koolatah. 

Marcus Barber: Did you ever take them to Dixie? 

Edwin David: No, not there. We never used to take them up there much. Take them back at 

Koolatah. We used to camp near Jewfish. 

Marcus Barber: Is Mosquito down that way too? 


Marcus Barber: So when you were taking those cows back to Koolatah, was that still 

raining then? 

Edwin David: Oh, it was just getting a bit, a bit after the wet then see. The rain just settle 

down. We used to take them back to Koolatah. When he get a bit dry, we used to do 

mustering there. We used to go out there, camp out there, hobble the horse, go out there, 


105

hobble the horse and camp out there. We used to go to waterholes [like] Horseshoe. We 

get a lot from there, take them back to Oriners. 

Marcus Barber: Did you go to Horseshoe just once or a few times? 

Edwin David: I went there a few times. 

Marcus Barber: Did you come from Koolatah or from Oriners? 

Edwin David: Come from Koolatah, [and] Oriners to Horseshoe. Sometimes we used to go 

to Koolatah, go to Horseshoe, camp there, and muster back here to Emu Yard. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: When you were mustering, did you go as far as Mosquito [Lagoon]? 

Paddy Yam: Mosquito and Horseshoe [Lagoons]. We used to brand them and let the cows 

go and take the bulls back. 

Marcus Barber: Did you ever camp there at the Oriners lagoon when you were mustering? 

Paddy Yam: Yes we used to camp around there. 

Marcus Barber: Was there any shed or anything at Oriners at this time? 

Paddy Yam: No. It was all clear. 

Marcus Barber: Did you have any white foreman with you or were you by yourselves? 

Paddy Yam: By ourselves. 

Marcus Barber: What time was that? Were you burning the country or was it too late? 

Paddy Yam: In June we used to do all that country. [By] October, we used to try to beat the 

rain. Trying to get the cattle gone [by] then. [By] that time you could only pick up a few 

cows and bulls. 

Marcus Barber: So you mustered close to Koolatah first and then would slowly go further 

out? 

Paddy Yam: Walk around yes. Before it‟s getting [too] late. We do early muster around the 

river side. Come down, through Black Gin [Yard], mustering, Kingfish [Yard], down the 

bottom. Around Emu [Yard], muster around Jewfish waterhole, Moon creek, old station, old 

Koolatah. When it‟s dry you know, we‟d burn the grass. It was good country to muster. 

--------------------------------------- 

Those old fellers were smart, we‟d see the cattle track and they‟d say „no, don‟t follow 

them, Feel the wind, they will smell us. They‟ll be there at that swamp.‟ So we‟d go around 

the side way and there they were, where the old fellers said. Nowadays you just wait on the 

fence line and the helicopter brings the cattle to you! At Koolatah we would start in April. 

We‟d be finished around the river by June, Then we‟d do the forest country, then hit the 

river again. The Hughes‟ had it all worked out, They had it worked to a t. 

Robert Murray 

Later, following the purchase of Dixie by the Hughes‟ in the 1960s, Oriners mustering 

became oriented towards Dixie: 

Marcus Barber: When you got the cows from Oriners, did you take them to Koolatah or new 

Dixie, which way were you going? 

Philip Port: We take them back to Dixie. 

Marcus Barber: Were there any wild cattle? 

Philip Port: There were wild cattle. But there were Hereford bulls, and we had them 

shorthorns, where now you still have them but have all these cross now with all these 


106

Brahmins everywhere. That is happening everywhere. That‟s what we used to do, is muster 

them all up and walk them all back. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: What time of year were you mustering that place from Dixie? What time is 

the right time? 

Colin Hughes: Most times you could not get down there until the end of May, June. Pretty 

ordinary sort of a road down there then, but most of it we did with a pack horse anyway. 

May-June through to September-October. Anytime in there. 

Mustering required infrastructure, and when purchased back in 1990, Oriners had a number 

of yards on it in key locations. One was particularly big: 

Philip Yam: We‟ve got an old yard down here [at Oriners], past the airport, and they must 

have used that one before, because that one is still up today. That yard has still got the 

frame in the middle. 

Viv Sinnamon: Still got the frame there. Because this was a bloody big yard for a place like 

this, it was a good sized yard. 

Jeff Shellberg: And they ran all the cows here, from everywhere? This was the main yards? 

Philip Yam: That one there was a pretty big yard, that one there. 

Viv Sinnamon: Not like old Nugget‟s thing there [high quality yards built by Nugget Finch at 

Sefton] and some of the other Koolatah ones that they built, they were smaller. 

--------------------------------------- 

Viv Sinnamon: It was a shared muster. Because in those days it was all owned by the 

same [Hughes] mob, it didn‟t matter. It‟s a different dynamic [from now]. 

Marcus Barber: So they would have known that they needed a big yard here because there 

weren‟t just cows from here for whatever reason… 

Viv Sinnamon: Sefton was taken, excised for Nuggett in the 60s, this one was excised 

1989, 1990. 

Philip Yam: They probably splitting, splitting cattle up between them, from that muster. This 

Hughes will take so much, that Hughes will take so much, you keep this one here, another 

mob going to come back to Koolatah. All that eh? 

Viv Sinnamon: And as you go this way [towards Sefton], there‟s less cattle than say 

somewhere like Dixie and the uplands. Lower carrying capacity. It‟s probably why they let 

Nugget take it in the first place. It wasn‟t particularly valuable, and Nugget was happy with 

it. 

It is clear from the above comments that cattle were mustered and moved on Oriners in 

different directions at different points in its history. In particular, a basic orientation towards 

Koolatah in the 1950s and 1960s, and towards Dixie in the 1970s and 1980s, seems to be 

evident. However there was considerable movement and variation within that overall pattern, 

as well as outside of it: 

Philip Port: I was working for old Herbie Hughes [at Dixie]. And we had this huge area to 

work on, right down to Koolatah. Herb took me down to Moonlight Yard, down near 

Koolatah. We picked the yard up down there. When old Herb was ready to muster we 

picked the yard, paddock up, that was when the wet was finished, like February or March. 

He come and pick us up and we go down and work down there. We stayed down there 3 or 

4 months. Then we come back and have a week‟s break, then we go back and work 

another 3 or 4 months. I was down there for 2 years. 


107

Marcus Barber: So you were moving all that time between Dixie and Koolatah? 

Philip Port: Yeah, moving [between] Dixie, Oriners. Doing all that country. 

Marcus Barber: Was Nugget there at Sefton? 

Philip Port: Old Nugget used to come over, he come over when we used to muster down 

near his boundary, on the Oriners side. He‟d come in and muster with us. When old Herb 

walked me back, come back from down at Koolatah, we went into that station, to see that 

old feller, have a bit of yarn with him and then come out and go to Dixie. 

Marcus Barber: And sometimes you camped at Oriners, is that right? 

Philip Port: Oriners, we were down there for a month or two. Mustering down there, [and] 

on the Alice, right down the Alice. 

Marcus Barber: On this map we‟ve got the Crosbie Creek here, the Alice River here, and 

Koolatah is here… 

Philip Port: We did all that. We will do a muster with them, go right up the Crosbie over to, 

the place there, then come back to Dixie. Then go back to Artemis and come back around 

the road again. I used to work at Strathaven then. 

Marcus Barber: Strathaven. Up on the Coleman. 

Philip Port: We did all that country. Those times you don‟t just spend one week or two 

weeks and then come back to town. We used to spend months. 

Strang (1997:113) describes how mustering patterns depend on local topography and the 

placement of paddocks 32 and reflecting further on his experiences, Philip Port noted that 

mustering on the Coleman required a different strategy from that at Dixie and Oriners: 

Philip Port: The best time on the Coleman River [northwest of Oriners] was mustering in the 

wet. Because the cattle come off the high land and come back to the river [banks]. They 

come off the high country because the sand ridges are boggy, and they come back close to 

the river - those river [banks] are a big island. That‟s why we burn „em out in the dry time, 

for green grass. Then the cattle know to use the river. 

Marcus Barber: So when you burn that area at the right time… 

Philip Port: First storm, when you notice that rain. Then you burn „em and you grab all the 

cattle as they come off [the sand ridges]. The cattle get bogged when there is too much 

rain. If the cattle get away [from the boggy areas] then they come to the river. 

Moving cattle in the wet season at Oriners itself was difficult and required care with use of 

the horses, as Edwin David describes: 

It‟s pretty boggy. We used to walk sometimes. Get on the horse for a while, and then a few 

yards or meters from the house, it‟s pretty boggy, until you get up on the hard ground. We 

used to go and look for cattle, from the paddock. We know where to find cattle see? We 

used to go up on a bit of the high ridge, see if we could get cattle there, move „em out, 

bring „em all together. We used to drive cattle. We used to walk around the cattle 

sometimes, because it was pretty boggy. Coming [down] from a bit of a high ridge and that. 

Edwin David 

32 She describes how, at Koolatah Station, the mustering cycle began close to the river frontage where 

the cattle would congregate during the wet season. This was higher ground close to the station, and 

so was accessible when much of the rest of the station was not. 


108

As a result of such conditions, at Oriners the cattlemen would pursue the opposite strategy 

from one on the Coleman described by Philip (early wet season fires and wet season 

mustering). At Oriners they would burn at the end of the wet season (2.6.3) to encourage 

regrowth and concentrations of cattle in the early dry, the do the main mustering between 

May and October, depending on the season. 

Oriners was largely destocked when it was sold to the Kowanyama people, and aside from 

some mustering activity in the late 1990s, cattle have been allowed to wander and breed 

freely. The current number of cattle on the property is unknown, and an estimate of their 

numbers and/or additional mustering effort may be a useful exercise to undertake in the 

coming years. What is noticeable in the above section is how human residence was heavily 

tied to the seasonal location and presence of cattle on the landscape. This relationship has 

effectively been decoupled since 1990, with cattle no longer being the main priority in human 

presence. Instead, road access is the primary determinant of where human beings are in the 

landscape, and the motivations for that presence include through-traffic, NRM work and 

recreational pig hunting and fishing. 

2.6.3 Fire regimes 

Fire management at Oriners requires careful attention to the timing, location, intensity, and 

purpose of the fire. Many fires are accidentally lit, but fire management by Indigenous people 

is one of the most well known forms of Indigenous land management, and was an important 

part of cattle management and mustering. Strang (1997: 89) describes how Indigenous 

people express concern when country remains unburnt for several years, thereby becoming 

„wild‟ and „dirty‟ and vulnerable to hot bush fires. The following comments relate to both past 

and present fires and uses of fires at Oriners: 

The grass, [when] the grass starts drying up, that‟s it. The wet is nearly over. That is when 

we are supposed to start burning. When it‟s still got a lot of moisture so the grass can grow 

back again. 

Philip Yam 

--------------------------------------- 

Cecil Hughes: The sand ridge country is very poor but if you burn the country at the right 

time you get the regrowth and it takes the cattle through the winter months anyway. 

Marcus Barber: So what is the right time? 

Cecil Hughes: It depends on when the wet finishes. As soon as the country will burn, you 

get out there and burn it. As soon as the fire will do it and you can control your burn, 

because if you do it at the right time, the fires go out at night. So you can burn a certain 

area and know it will go out at night [because] there‟s dew and that country is still half 

green. If a creek goes down there, you burn this side of the creek [and] you know it won‟t 

go across. If you leave it too late it will jump the creek and keep going. 

Marcus Barber: Are there other things that you needed to do each year to keep that country 

going, to keep it healthy? 

Cecil Hughes: The key to it is to burn at the right time, that‟s the main thing. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: Were there still fires burning when you arrived [at Oriners homestead] or 

was it too late for the fires? 

Ezra Michael: Too late for the fires. We could not burn it, the grass was all dry. When I got 

there, sometime in the winter, June or July somewhere around June I think, the grass was 

there. There was burning grass, not round the [station] a long way out. Out on the cattle 

yards where we were mustering- Jewfish yard, Bull yard, Horseshoe, 


109

Marcus Barber: Was the grass still long around there? 

Ezra Michael: It was dry grass but we burned „em all out. 

Marcus Barber: You lit some fires yourself? Or was it too late? 

Ezra Michael: No, no, it been too late. Before I got there, [in] June July, it‟s ok, it‟s a bit 

early. Just after that you can‟t burn „em [in] August September, you can‟t burn „em. You not 

allowed to burn „em then. 

Ezra describes how fires need to be lit before June and July. They may still be burning out in 

the wider landscape in June and July, and the cattlemen might light small fires around the 

mustering yards to clear longer grass, but that was all, and by August and September „you 

can‟t burn „em‟. Fires were lit specifically to concentrate the cattle, and this was an important 

mustering strategy at Oriners. Both Colin Hughes and Edwin David note that at any one 

point it is not the whole country which is burned, but strips or „bits and pieces‟: 

Marcus Barber: So that was the time you burned that place, around May-June. 


Marcus Barber: Was that as soon as you could? 

Colin Hughes: That‟s pretty seasonal too. It depends on when the rain stops and on your 

carryover grass from the year before. 

Marcus Barber: Cec was saying he would burn it as soon as it would burn, is that the same 

for you? 

Colin Hughes: Pretty much, yeah. You tend to get a better response out of it too. If you 

leave it too late, well it just burns day and night and you can‟t stop it. It burns too much. 

How we used to do the mustering back then, we used to use it like a trawling aid, we‟d put 

splits in and then muster along the splits. The cattle would come back on to the fresh feed. 

You pick up 90% of the cattle along the burnt country, where if you never did any burning 

you could ride for days without finding anything. 

Marcus Barber: And you don‟t do that so much today? 

Colin Hughes: No, it‟s all done with helicopters today. I still burn here but mainly for 

firebreaks. May-June-July put strips in for firebreaks. 

Marcus Barber: So the choppers make it easier to chase stuff? 

Colin Hughes: So much easier, so much quicker, but so much more costly. But you would 

not get it all done in a year if you had to do it on horseback. Now we use helicopters, 

motorbikes. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: So did you light fires when you were mustering or just use the horse? 

Edwin David: We used to put in [a] burn line. When the water used to do down, we‟d burn a 

bit of a bushfire, for the fresh grass to grow and do a lot of mustering there. 

Marcus Barber: So you put some burns in there. Did you decide the place? Or did you tell 

the stockman? 

Edwin David: bit of both. 

Marcus Barber: When you were lighting the fires for the cattle, did you do that when the 

grass was a little bit green? 


Marcus Barber: What about later on, when the wet season is over, when there is brown 

grass everywhere? 


110

Edwin David: Oh, we used to burn it in the winter, in the dry season, first winter [early dry 

season]. So that new grass to shoot up. We used to get a lot of cattle there. 

Marcus Barber: Did they burn everything on that country, or just bits and pieces? 

Edwin David: Just bits and pieces. 

David Hughes describes the need to keep the fires patchy by burning the ridges one year 

and the watercourses the next, but he also describes additional effects of fire on eucalyptus, 

and how fire regimes need to take account of where the water is: 

One of the management practices we used was early burning, and that has two effects, it 

gives you a good firebreak for later in the year, and it also brings your cattle together. And if 

you do that properly, you get carryover grass, that‟s what you‟ve got to manage. And one 

year you might go through and burn all your watercourses and leave your ridges. And the 

next year you‟ve got old grass on your ridges, so you go through and burn the ridges and 

leave the watercourses. It‟s a very important part of the management of that country. And 

the other thing it does, and not many people are aware, but if you‟ve got a lot of eucalyptus 

leaves, they are not very palatable to cattle, but if you get a cold fire through, it sucks the 

sap back out of your leaves, and they‟ll eventually fall on the ground and they can eat them 

then. It‟s like putting them in an oven you know, like cooking them. If you burn it early, and 

you get those green shoots coming through. That green shoot, if you do it right and stock it 

right, that will take you through to about October. And then when October comes, a lot of 

your waters are drying up now, getting dirty, and that grass has gone off so the cattle will 

come back onto the main waters, and if you‟ve taken them out there with a burn, they‟ve 

still got lots of soft grass on the good waters. 

David Hughes 

The cattlemen tried to ensure the lighting of fires in the late wet and early dry, and that those 

fires took account of available water. In a longer excerpt below from a conversation about 

fires, Philip Yam described the specific characteristics of the Oriners landscape, and how 

great care needed to be taken with managing fires in the area. This was so as not to 

inconvenience neighbours and/or start fires at inappropriate times and places that would then 

get out of control: 

Marcus Barber: When you were camping up there, did you do that burning after the wet 

season? Did you light the place up in different areas? 

Philip Yam: We used to only do around the homestead. [We] don‟t bother somewhere else, 

because you‟ll only cause a problem, other people don‟t like it. Because when the fire 

spreads, bushfire, there is no way you can stop him. 

Marcus Barber: So even though it was early in the year there and it was still green, you 

were still worrying about the neighbours? 

Philip Yam: Yeah, see you got a lot of that different grass up there, only just a cigarette butt 

can just light that up. You got that other little small grass. Cause when that, [when] you 

drop a match on that, you won‟t stop him. It burns easy. And you can‟t stop it because that 

country got wind every time, every day is blowing. Some big wind you get up there, and 

then you can‟t stop it when the wind is blowing. You got to be very careful what time to 

burn. Maybe early hours of the morning or late, maybe in the night. Wait until the wind is 

easing off a bit. But you got to be very careful, [because] if that wind pick up again it will go; 

the whole grass, the whole country will go up. So that‟s what happened a few times up 

there. We get pig shooters coming in early in the year, and they can‟t get pigs, so they light 

up some places, and then we get the blame for it, from the neighbours. They say „oh, the 

Oriners mob probably dropped that match!‟ 

Marcus Barber: Blame from whom? Koolatah and Drumduff people? 


111

Philip Yam: Drumduff. We got blamed a couple of times for that. Just the fires, somebody 

else lit it and it went right up through Drumduff, all them other places, King Junction, right 

up through there. Dixie. 

Marcus Barber: Does it go north, or does it come towards the Mitchell? 

Philip Yam: The fire, it‟ll work its way back up. 

Marcus Barber: Are there neighbours up there that you talk to, or is it Dixie and Drumduff 

that you will hear from if there is a fire? 

Philip Yam: Yeah, well, they‟ll always be ringing here [Kowanyama]. They‟ll ask this mob, 

and this mob will ask us, and we say „no, we don‟t drop matches, somebody else did it.‟ 

Like this year, another one just went up. 

Marcus Barber: There‟s one around Horseshoe Lagoon I heard about, is that right? 

Philip Yam: Yeah, one came from Horseshoe. I think that one is still going too, when we 

came back [to Kowanyama]. But I did not bother about that one because it won‟t burn the 

[Oriners] homestead, because we already cleared around the homestead. But that‟s how 

fire starts, see, from people from that end dropping matches, and it come all the way to 

Oriners. There‟s one started at the Alice River, way up the top, burnt one side of the Eight 

Mile, right down, right back to the Alice River, to the crossing going back to Koolatah way. 

All that area got burnt, this year. 

Marcus Barber: And that wasn‟t lit by someone from here? 

Philip Yam: No, that fire came from up the top. We was watching that fire coming down, 

coming towards us. So it can‟t be us! Someone else to blame! That manager, old Jim 

Waylan, he know who dropped it, he said. 

Marcus Barber: Why don‟t they like it? What‟s the problem with having the country getting 

burnt like that? 

Philip Yam: Well, you are burning other people‟s country out. Neighbours. Because you 

burn too much grass then you got your horse and cattle, whatever is there, they won‟t eat 

nothing. Food problem for animals, cattle. So that‟s why we‟ve got to be very careful with 

grass. 

Marcus Barber: So even back in the 1990s, with Oriners and lighting fires, you were very 

careful about that, you mostly did not do it? 


Marcus Barber: What about, does the country need to get burned sometimes? 

Philip Yam: Yeah, if you do it early in the year you‟ll be right, then you get the green grass 

back for cattle and horse, wild horses. 

Marcus Barber: Do you know if people used to do it in the past, when they were mustering 

that area, did they light it up then? 

Philip Yam: I don‟t know see, because I never been with them people. But when we did it 

[mustering] with Dixie, we had to burn a few spots, so we can put yards in. We burnt a few 

patches where we were going to put portable panels up for a yard for cattle. 

Marcus Barber: So just small areas… 

Philip Yam: Yeah, just like if there‟s a creek there and maybe another creek here, you know 

that fire won‟t go too far, that the creeks will stop it. 

Marcus Barber: I‟m wondering about what has been happening in the last few years. You 

guys were there in that 1990s era, but even then you weren‟t burning a lot? 

Philip Yam: No. We had one feller there who was a firebug. We had to control him, stop 

him from throwing match. „Don‟t drop match! Don‟t do stupid things!‟ He was being silly. He 

done it a few times with us. We had to go and fight the fire, get it all out again. „Don‟t drop 


112

match!‟ He was told not to drop match! He was still doing it! Until we had to get him out of 

there, we had to get him to stay here [at Kowanyama]. We can‟t have problem like that all 

the time. 

Louie Native: Especially fires burning every time. What are the cattle going to eat out 

there? 

Marcus Barber: Where do the Oriners cattle go when the fire comes? Do they get caught? 

Philip Yam: Cattle they‟ll get away from fire, because they‟ll probably go into the creeks. 

Louie Native: they start smelling the smokes and they move. 

Philip Yam: They know there‟s danger. 

Marcus Barber: What about the other animals? Wallabies and things? 

Philip Yam: They probably go into the creeks, or goannas go in their holes. 

Marcus Barber: If you were going to be living up there now, would you do it the same way? 

Stay off the matches? 

Philip Yam: Yep. You‟ve got to be very very careful with matches. What we do, we just 

clear around the homestead, drop matches around the homestead, that‟s what we do. 

Louie Native: If the fire comes down from the top way, he won‟t be getting in the house. 

Marcus Barber: It‟s the country around I‟m thinking about. Because sometimes the fire 

comes through from somewhere else. 

Philip Yam: Yeah if you are not there. 

Marcus Barber: But not just around the homestead, but down to Jewfish and Mosquito and 

Horseshoe all that. Is that what happens, you just let the fires come from other places? 


Marcus Barber: All you worry about is around the homestead? 

Philip Yam: Yeah, because you can‟t stop a fire up in that country. 

Louie Native: As soon as it comes, it just goes. 

Philip Yam: Got the wind behind it all the time. It‟s not worth it, trying to fight fire in that 

country. You won‟t control it then, because it‟s too dry. 

Louie Native: It‟s on the high ridges and the wind blows and carries it all the way. It carry it 

all the way. 

Philip Yam: You get very, some big, heavy wind up there. 

Marcus Barber: What if you go further down towards the Alice, is it the same? 

Philip Yam: Still the same. 

Louie Native: Same way coming up. See you got some silly piggers going across there 

too, lighting matches, lighting the grass up. 

Philip Yam: You get this big whirlywind, they will pick any bark up, take it to the next spot, 

take it across the river. It can go into Koolatah country. You get some big wind, even now. 

Marcus Barber: Where does the wind come from? 

Philip Yam: From the east. 

Louie Native: East coast he come from. 

Philip Yam: Always he blowing from that way. 

Fire is an important part of land management and cattle mustering activity at Oriners, but the 

flammable grass and high winds common to the area means that the timing, location, and 


113

purpose of fires needs to be very carefully considered. It appears from interviews that a 

mosaic or patchwork of smaller fires in the early dry was a characteristic of Oriners country 

from the 1950s through until the 1980s as a part of cattle mustering. Since that time, fires 

have been occurring less frequently. They have been lit by the wrong people, in 

inappropriate places, and too late in the season, with the consequence that the fires are 

often larger and more destructive, jumping natural containment boundaries such as creeks. It 

is not clear what impacts the changing fire regimes over the past few decades have had on 

the Oriners landscape, but more consistent residence at Oriners by people with appropriate 

skills and knowledge about fire management seems likely to limit the number of larger, 

uncontrolled, late season fires in the area. This would occur in two ways, both by generating 

firebreaks through the appropriate use of fire early in the year, and by reducing the number 

of unwanted visitors lighting fires too late in the year. 

2.6.4 Erosion 

Erosion was one focus of the research, both because of the fragile soils at Oriners (2.1.1) 

and because of the research focus of the scientific author, Jeff Shellberg. In the early days of 

the station, erosion was not perceived to be a significant problem: 

Marcus Barber: What about erosion? 

Cecil Hughes: We didn‟t sort of worry about that out there then [the 1950s-60s]. There 

wasn‟t much erosion anyway, only what the floods would do along the creeks. 

Paddy Yam also commented on the lack of problems with erosion during the early cattle era, 

but then contrasted that with the situation now. He attributes the changes to animal activity, 

to water digging around the roots of the plants, and to the presence of roads: 

Paddy Yam: There was a lot of water then [when Cecil was running Koolatah]. Oriners was 

good country at that time, never been chopped up by the floodwater. [Water] not cutting 

any wall in the creek like that, [making] breakaways. Good country. Now, water cut [it]. 

Cutting, cutting, cutting. The trees, see that Oriners [Lagoon] there now. Burrowed out now, 

burrowed by water. 

Marcus Barber: So Oriners is not the same as it was before? 

Paddy Yam: No! Lot of differences in the country be there. [Before] it was flash country you 

know, flash! Yeah, good country. Now too much flood coming down the river. Raining, 

making breakaways, digging the trees around. Water is cutting them up. You can see 

where the root, the root. Water get around them roots, digging. 

Marcus Barber: Is it raining too much? 

Paddy Yam: Yeah, raining too much. 

Marcus Barber: Or is it because there is cows there breaking up the ground? What is the 

reason? 

Paddy Yam: Dog digging, the dog [digging] around the tree. [Or] pig or bullock there, pigs 

digging [it] up. You can see too many animals now. Old Cecil Hughes, he said the same 

thing about [it]. „See that root‟ he said. „See that tree there, that water, cutting that root 

there. That big water coming around [and] around, digging more holes, that‟s it. Tree 

cutting. Breakaway. Look there, breakaway. Just keep going…Water cut that. You only got 

to find a bit of a hole and the water goes around and around and around.‟ That‟s what old 

Cecil and old David Hughes said. 

Marcus Barber: So if you dig around the trees and the flood comes, or if the animals dig 

around the trees? 

Paddy Yam: Oh yes, animals come along sit down there or he lay down [wallow]. Or 

wallaby, or pigs. He dig it up. You can‟t stop him [the erosion] then. 


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Marcus Barber: So at Oriners there is more chopping up than there used to be? 

Paddy Yam: See all that water cut down the road there, where we come down. See how 

that road cut up, water cutting up that road. 

Marcus Barber: When you were there with your horses, you did not see any of that cutting 

up? 

Paddy Yam: No, it was good country. You could ride anywhere. You could ride over that 

creek, swamp, without cutting any country up. You could ride straight through. 

Marcus Barber: So back then, the animals were still digging the trees, but the trees were 

still ok. So what happened? What has changed? 

Paddy Yam: They made them trees. You see next time you go. Pull up in the waterhole, 

pull up in big rain and you pull up under the tree and you see that rain, droplets going 

down, going down the tree. Then they got to find a hole somewhere in the roots. They dig 

it. The water do that work. Make a hole. 

Marcus Barber: So the water does it itself. Because it is coming through the trees? 

Paddy Yam: Yeah, big rain come through. I think it is that. See where that road [is] there? 

Main road, big main road. Water cuts them away. 

Marcus Barber: And if there was no road, the water would be alright? 

Paddy Yam: Alright. 

David Hughes identified the sodic soil which dissolves easily in water as a major source of 

erosion, particularly in combination with road traffic. A number of people commented on the 

severe erosion around the Oriners lagoon, and its relationship to water flow, roads, sediment 

loads, and so on: 

Michael Ross: That lagoon in front of the house [at Oriners] has all changed eh? 

Robert Burns: Yeah, the mini breakaway there. 

Michael Ross: I was there last year and before that. And I was looking out there and I was 

thinking „bloody hell, is this the right place I am in?‟ That lagoon been changed! 

Robert Burns: This water just goes straight through now. It‟s not holding up there. 

Fred Coleman: Erosion. 

Robert Burns: Probably [down to] that big swamp, that swamp there. 

Fred Coleman: If you think about the Eight Mile, it‟s on the front door. The Eight Mile river. 

And when the floods come down, it brings all the water from around Dixie. 

Robert Burns: All that place [it‟s] running, the water down there 

Fred Coleman: The Eight Mile, when it gets to Oriners, it spreads out then. Even in [the] dry 

season, there‟s water there. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: So the ti tree is growing at the end of the waterhole [in the old photo]. But 

there is also a bit of erosion isn‟t there? 

Philip Yam: It‟s all washed out now. 

Marcus Barber: Why has it changed? 

Philip Yam: I don‟t know, maybe that car track been through there all the time. 

Louie Native: I was thinking about, when the water was flowing over, it keep cutting it. 

Philip Yam: The water flows very strong, very fast through there 


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Marcus Barber: But it‟s been there a long time, so does that mean it‟s the extra thing of the 

road coming through? 

Philip Yam: Because if you look on this side of the waterhole, on the top [upstream end] 

there. See all that sand there and the tree growing there? That water used to been, that 

used to be all water through there, but now you‟ve got that big high sandbank, with all that 

ti tree growing. So that waterhole been likely shrinking back in. 

Louie Native: Gone a bit narrow. 

Marcus Barber: Getting filled in by the sand? 

Louie Native: Filled in yeah. 

Marcus Barber: And where is the sand coming from? 

Philip Yam: Coming from the Eight Mile. 

Louie Native: Up the top this side [upstream], coming down. 

Philip Yam: Because that all goes under water, on the other side where the yard is. It all 

goes under water eh? 

Marcus Barber: So the Eight Mile is moving the sand around? 

Louie Native: Probably upstream further. 

Philip Yam: The narrower the creek is, the faster flow you get too, pushing all that sand 

through. 

From Philip Yam and Louie Native‟s perspective, the faster moving water carries more sand, 

and also digs out the bottom of the channels and lagoons. Wilfred Jimmy provides a 

different, but related interpretation. In his account, the widening of the Eight Mile Creek 

watercourse as a whole has reduced the amount of water backing up in the lagoon area. 

Combined with the erosion on the downstream side of the lagoon, it means that the lagoon 

holds less water, and less water of good quality, than it used to: 

Wilfred Jimmy: Back in those days there was the best rain. Not only that, the creek was 

narrow, the one that stays at the station. It‟s gone, I think, wide now, so that‟s why the 

water does not back up. 

Marcus Barber: It spreads out too much? 

Wilfred Jimmy: Yeah. 

Marcus Barber: So you get less flooding around the station? 

Wilfred Jimmy: Oh yeah. 

Marcus Barber: Why has the river channel got wider? 

Wilfred Jimmy: Water cut it. Plus the Eight Mile Creek got wider now. That‟s why, when the 

flood water comes down, it takes a while to get the water running into Oriners. It‟s only the 

back swamp there - around the back there - that runs into that back road there, [and] that 

fills that water up and makes it [the Lagoon] dirty. You‟ve got to have to get clean water 

from the rain then, water coming from the rain first. 

Marcus Barber: So the Eight Mile Creek is wider, so it does not fill up around to Oriners 

quickly? 

Wilfred Jimmy: Until late, yes. 

Marcus Barber: And when it comes there, the water is dirty? 

Wilfred Jimmy: Yeah, it‟s dirty and it just flows straight through. 

Marcus Barber: Why has the Eight Mile got wider? 


116

Wilfred Jimmy: Too much water. 

Marcus Barber: Does the pigs digging up the ground there, does that wash away the 

channel? 

Wilfred Jimmy: No, not the pigs, just the floodwater. It comes very fast, when it rises up it 

spins around. The water goes around and around in that little curve in the creek. It cuts all 

the ground out, the bank, [and] makes it wider and wider. 

Ivan Jimmy focuses on the impact of water on roads, and that roads in turn can spread sand, 

but also notes when prompted that areas without roads can erode in the floods: 

Marcus Barber: What happens when the water goes everywhere? 

Ivan Jimmy: It mucks up the country, you get erosion. We had a place that was graded and 

you come back next year and if it has flooded, there‟s no road there, there‟s nothing. Sand 

everywhere. 

Marcus Barber: What about where there is no road, where it is just the normal bush. Does 

it get eroded, does it get changed? 

Ivan Jimmy: Yes. It gets changed. When you want, you know that the place where you was 

fishing last time because, it changes with all that flood and rain, it washes it away. 

The cattlemen emphasise the erosion processes occurring in high flow and flooding 

situations, but Viv Sinnamon noted gentler processes occurring as the wet season water 

drains: 

Viv Sinnamon: the erosion [here at Oriners] might be like Sandy Creek. We were watching 

the Coleman Yard there, that year we were there. The erosion, those finger eroded areas, 

and the tunnelling stuff, seems to happen on the drain off. 

Jeff Shellberg: On the draw down, yeah. So it comes up strong, [and then] it‟s drawing 

down, and all the banks are wet, saturated, and the banks start caving in. 

Viv Sinnamon: And these little places, like over there we were watching them, these funny 

little places that you would not really think of. If you looked at them in the dry, you‟d think 

„Oh yeah‟ [it‟s nothing], but [in the wet] they are little waterfalls. 

Viv Sinnamon and Jeff Shellberg also see a relationship between erosion and the roads: 

Viv Sinnamon: You go out to Mosquito [Lagoon] there, and you can feel that sand, feel the 

soil moving under your feet at Mosquito. The places where that water comes up, it is really 

quite funny how those spalds of sand happen. You have not been there? You‟ve been 

down the road there and can see on that box flat, there is a spaldl of sand. They come from 

across the road eh? The road will be running this way, and it will trigger something, and this 

big spald of sand will come out. This high, just like a wave. It‟s triggered by the road but it 

doesn‟t run down the road, it runs off the road, across the road, then comes back out on 

the flat. It‟s another effect, a different one. It‟s not incising as much, it‟s taking the sand out 

of the soil. 

Jeff Shellberg: All these floodways up here, these fingers, these different little drainage 

networks, if you‟ve got a road cutting across them they‟re prone to eroding. The roads 

erode down [due to excess water from roads] and in a sense, head cuts or little waterfalls 

move up these little valleys and can essentially drain them of water. They are originally like 

sponges and then as soon as [gullies] cut down into them, it becomes a leaky sponge, 

essentially. It‟s not holding that soil and water together 

. 


117

Figure 38. Oriners station from the air looking east circa 1990, showing older road networks. 

Image © KALNRMO 

Figure 39. Oriners station and lagoon from the air looking west circa 2012. 


118

Figure 40. Oriners station and building from the air looking east circa 2012. 

Although some erosion processes are slow moving, Viv Sinnamon also noted the speed and 

scale of other changes involving the presence of roads, the volume of traffic, and the 

maintenance schedule: 

Viv Sinnamon: No there‟s some things that aren‟t gradual. Probably the increased traffic 

initially on the road, is what led to, on this [Oriners] part of the road, horrible bloody gullies 

there that would just about bury a Toyota now. 

Marcus Barber: The road going back to Kowanyama you mean? 

Viv Sinnamon: Yeah Jewfish [Lagoon] and out that way there‟s some pretty awful big 

gullies, which is what this one will end up like out here I suppose. That we walked through 

yesterday. And then, having seen that and knowing that when Phillip [Yam] had the grader 

out here, a really simple mechanical grader which the council on a number of occasions 

has threatened to sell and we fought „em off. He was able to manage it, he was able every 

year to give it a touch up here and there, he was very light on that grader and he was able 

to keep the airport there. And the grader was taken into town, and things got worse [the 

road] every year, and in the end we got what we have now. 

Marcus Barber: Which is? 

Viv Sinnamon: No airstrip, a big hole in one end of it. And the other one was to do with the 

road at the other end, the one we brought the house in on, and we had a grader operator 

who knew how to drive a grader, I think that‟s about all you could say of him, and just 

basically made a road that was a short term fix for a house to come in. And seriously 

stuffed the road. 

There is a large new road development at Oriners, with a cleared area much wider than the 

existing track and taking a different route through the landscape. The path for the road was 

partly determined with guidance from Oriners Mob people, but was a government initiative, 


119

and it traverses some areas prone to flooding and/or erosion. It also crosses the main 

watercourse close to the upper end of Jewfish Lagoon, and so has the potential to directly 

affect such things as sediment load and water quality in that water body in the future. 

Figure 41. Cleared zone for new road through Oriners. 

Watercourse erosion impacts by animals are generally considered in terms of terrestrial 

animals, usually introduced ones, affecting the banks and digging up swamps. The erosion 

effects of introduced animals, particularly pigs and cattle, can be substantial. However in 

talking about catching crayfish, some of the people interviewed noted the role of native 

aquatic animals in deepening waterholes, and in changing the water quality with their 

movements. This may be „beneficial erosion‟ in the sense that, if the ideas are correct, they 

increase the holding capacity of the water body, albeit by increasing localised turbidity: 

Marcus Barber: How can you get the crayfish by hand at T-Bone waterhole? Is it just 

because there are lots of them? 

Philip Yam: Yeah, you just walk along until you, you stand on them! You stand on them, 

you hold him down there and just grab them! 

Viv Sinnamon: Or if it‟s shallow enough, just swim along and put a hand out. 

Louie Native: He‟s starting to get deeper eh? 

Philip Yam: Now that waterhole starting to get deeper. 

Louie Native: He starting to get deeper. 

Philip Yam: Because in the middle now, it‟s nearly up to there [chest height], because it‟s 

getting deeper. That‟s why those crayfish go in there. 

Viv Sinnamon: They go for the pools. Particularly if you find a place with prawns, well, any 

crustacean. They‟ll look for the cool [areas]. They don‟t like hot water. [The loss of ] 

oxygen. 

Marcus Barber: Why might it be getting deeper? 

Philip Yam: Sometimes crayfish they dig the place too themselves. If there‟s big mob in 

there, well that waterhole got a big mob, there‟s a hundred in there. They dig it down 

because its cooler down the bottom, because in the dry season later on, maybe in October 

or September it get very hot. And it kills them. Water gets too hot. 


120

Louie Native: that‟s when you see them floating. 

Philip Yam: They got to get in the mud like that just to keep themselves cool. 

Viv Sinnamon: So you‟ve got a temperature and an oxygen thing happening. The oxygen 

starts to go first, makes them, silly, then the heat just... 

Philip Yam: Heat can kill them. 

Louie Native: Crocodile the other one too. 

Philip Yam: Yeah, crocodile gets in there. Something gone in there. They can make a big 

hole. 

Philip Yam: Sometimes you get a big old catfish, come from a waterhole, they make a 

place too. Where they lay, they keep going and going. 

Marcus Barber: Can you see that from the top? Is the water clear? 

Philip Yam: Its muddy, it stays muddy. 

The fragile soils and high water flows of Oriners country mean that it is vulnerable to erosion. 

Roads are one human trigger for erosion, but the comments above also show awareness of 

the role of terrestrial animals in eroding banks and of aquatic animals in excavating 

waterholes. Another relevant factor not discussed in the interviews but significant to future 

management at Oriners are the relationships between weeds, fire management, and erosion 

processes. 

2.7 Additional features of knowledge about Oriners 

The final component of part 2 notes some additional general features of „Working 

Knowledge‟ about Oriners not dealt with explicitly in previous sections. 2.7.1 demonstrates 

that an important aspect of cattlemen‟s knowledge is gained from others and/or from 

elsewhere and then applied to specific situations at Oriners for work purposes. Non- 

Indigenous cattlemen such as the Hughes family, as well as Indigenous cattlemen from other 

parts of the Cape may rely entirely or very heavily on this kind of knowledge. This 

emphasises the importance of knowledge transmission (between families, generations, 

peers, etc) as well as the initiative required to apply that knowledge in new circumstances. 

2.7.2 notes uses linguistic material gathered by Hamilton to highlight the how an 

understanding of language augments and sensitises people to aspects of the environment 

they encounter during direct working experience of the area. Using examples of aquatic 

animals and the specificity of language relating to water, 2.7.2 suggests the significance of 

linguistic classifications and categories in generating environmental understanding. The 

Hughes family have far less access to the kind of cultural and linguistic information appearing 

in 2.7.2, but combine their own direct experiences with knowledge emerging from several 

generations of family engagement in cattle work in the region as well as cultural influences 

and perspectives from Anglo-Celtic Australia (Strang 1997). 

The resulting knowledge of the landscape provides people with some basis for observing and 

for reflecting on connections, correlations and causes in local environmental phenomena 

(2.7.3). Although questions of „why‟ are less commonly asked, and at times providing 

sensible answers may be difficult, there are still occasions when people are willing to 

speculate about the underlying causes for important processes, events and observations. 

Such thoughts may be really important in understanding the present and in planning for the 

future, both in terms of management actions and of whether those actions will be perceived 

as effective or meaningful by local people. Oriners is likely to remain a site for NRM work 

rather than extended residence for the foreseeable future, and this means that identifying 

and understanding causal relationships that may impact on NRM work programs and 

activities (and of perceptions of those activities) is of particular relevance. 


121

2.7.1 Applying „Working Knowledge‟ 

As Alan Creek commented above in 2.5.4, the men who arrived to work at Oriners were 

focused on the cattle. However as Indigenous people arriving in a new place, they would also 

follow the protocols and draw on local expertise to make themselves effective workers as 

rapidly as possible: 

It‟s normal for a stockman, when you arrived [in a new place]. You would talk to the old 

people, [and find out] where are the flat areas and where is the water. Doing that saves a 

lot of horse sweat. It does not take long to pick these things up. 

Alan Creek 

The cattlemen would also draw on their own intelligence and bush knowledge to operate 

effectively. Edwin David recalls how he and Simpson Yam were asked to travel to Horseshoe 

Lagoon and managed to find it with only a general idea of its location: 

Marcus Barber: So that was first time for both of you, you did not know how to get there? 

Edwin David: Yeah. So we came in that waterhole there, that waterhole [at] Horseshoe. 

Marcus Barber: Did you come from Oriners or Koolatah? 

Edwin David: We come from Oriners. We were going to do mustering around that country. 

He [the Oriners manager] said „you think you can find Horseshoe?” and I said „well I might. 

I might find Horseshoe. That waterhole is pretty hard to find.‟ It‟s all clear there [now], but 

you couldn‟t hardly see that waterhole before. There was too many trees there! If you 

missed one watercourse, you get lost quick see? Because they all look the same. Same 

watercourse and all that. I was lucky to find that Horseshoe. 

Marcus Barber: How did you find it, what did you use? 

Edwin David: I just seen a fresh cattle track, „cause all the cattle been there. So I followed 

that. I followed the cattle tracks. They knew where the water was, see? So I reckoned 

[when I found it], „oh, this is a nice waterhole here, so this must be the Horseshoe‟. I 

hobbled our horses there, went looking round, came into the old [cattle] yard see, and 

[then] I thought this must be the Horseshoe. I told Simpson „there‟s an old yard there‟. 

[Then] the manager came around and said „you found Horseshoe‟. They was going by the 

map see? I was just going by all the watercourse and all that, cattle pads. Manager said 

[before we left] „there‟s a Horseshoe there, there‟s a waterhole there. Do you think you can 

find that?‟ I said „well I‟ll try and find it‟. So I found that. 

Not only did Edwin find the location with minimal guidance, in retelling the story he 

mentioned that whilst they were waiting, the two Indigenous cattlemen, both of them young at 

the time, had built a portable yard and rounded up cattle near the waterhole. Working in 

remote areas with minimal supervision required a degree of independence and initiative as 

well as the ability to read the landscape. Alan Creek described his own story of finding 

himself in unfamiliar territory, and finding his way out: 

Oriners has big sand ridges, tall trees, stringybark or messmate. You get bushed easily if 

you are not careful. I got twisted around myself one day. I pulled up and looked at the water 

and the flat hollows. I looked at what side of the trees the rubbish had built up on and knew 

that the water would be flowing west, where the sun was going. Up here [at Kulpa, near 

Coen] the water runs in the east. These things are very important to know because 

sometimes the clouds cover the sun or the moon. 

Alan Creek 


122

Edwin David and Alan Creek‟s recollections both show their ability to apply general 

knowledge about the landscape to the specific work situation on the station. The men were 

focused on getting a particular job done, and the knowledge they gained and then developed 

with experience was focused on that role. Cattle work had a substantial influence on 

currently existing knowledge about Oriners (amongst both Indigenous and non-Indigenous 

people). However the industry relied on workers who also had a much older source of 

knowledge of the landscape. 2.7.2 below reviews some relevant linguistic examples of that 

knowledge. 

2.7.2 Linguistic classifications and categories 

The linguist Philip Hamilton undertook extensive research on the Oykangand and Olkol 

languages, and one major result of that research is an online multimedia dictionary 

(http://www.oocities.org/athens/delphi/2970/index.html). The dictionary contains an 

alphabetical list, as well as words organised into a range of categories, including flora, fauna, 

and material culture. 33 Categorisation and classification has been an important aspect of 

comparative anthropological and linguistic research because of its implications for human 

cognition (Levi-Strauss 1966; Ellen and Reason 1979; Ellen 1993). This is well beyond the 

scope of the current applied study, and the research did not focus on formal categories and 

classifications. Nevertheless in addition to research insights, focus on local classifications 

can also generate resources with a stronger local public and Indigenous community 

orientation (Wightman, Garalnganjak Roberts et al. 1992; Luke, Luke et al. 2011). In effect, 

this short section simply demonstrates another aspect of Indigenous understanding that is 

important to note in a more general and intercultural synthesis, which because of its 

orientation and resource constraints, cannot engage fully with the knowledge suggested by 

linguistic studies from the area. 

The following references taken from the dictionary demonstrate its content through three 

aquatic animal species mentioned in the report: 

Entry 1 

Giant long-armed prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii 

Figure 42. Giant long-armed prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (image: P. Hamilton) 

The giant long-armed prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (family Palaemonidae), also 

commonly called cherabin, is found in permanent freshwater streams and waterholes 

across northern Australia and in brackish water and estuaries. Prawns are similar to 

crayfish but their arms are long with fine claws. 

33 The site also contains information on plant uses, reflecting Hamilton‟s collaboration with Jeff Stewart 

on the unpublished ethnobotany, but the public website contains less detail than the report in 

Kowanyama community archives. 


123

ochen (uy -) 

ojen (uy -) 

mujun (uy -) 

muchun (nga'a -) 

in Uw Oykangand 

in Uw Olkol 

in Uw Ilbmbanhdhiy 

in Pakanh 

Entry 2 

North Queensland yabby or redclaw, Cherax quadricarinatus 

Figure 43. North Queensland yabby or redclaw, Cherax quadricarinatus (Image: P. Hamilton) 

The north Queensland yabby or redclaw, Cherax quadricarinatus (family Parastacidae), is 

a green-brown freshwater crayfish common in rivers and streams west of the Dividing 

Range. The male has a red patch on its claws. 

atanyj (uy -) 

adanyj (uy -) 

konte (nga'a -) 

in Uw Oykangand 

in Uw Olkol 

in Pakanh 

Entry 3 

Northern Saratoga, Scleropages jardini 

The northern saratoga, Scleropages jardini (family Osteoglossidae), is a fish common in 

central Cape York Peninsula lagoons. It is a silver-olive in colour with very large scales. It 

grows to 90 cm. Saratogas aren't the greatest to eat because they are bony, but they taste 

fine, especially when cooked in the capmari. Their bony tongue means they often break 

fishing lines, making them somewhat challenging to land. 

olonggol (uy -) 

nhunga (nga'a -) 


in Uw Oykangand and Uw Olkol 

in Pakanh 

In the avoidance language this fish is named after its habit of rising to the surface to look 

out of the water: 

uy el adniy - in Oykangand „fish eye up‟ ("looking up fish") 

uy abar - in Olkol „fish eye‟ ("eye-fish") 

nga'a me'e kani- in Pakanh „fish eye up‟ ("looking up fish") 

The full word list is extensive, covering many categories of words well beyond the scope of 

this report and in far greater depth. In terms of immediate applications to the current research 

project, one potentially useful extension from Hamilton‟s existing work would be to examine 

the way that the Indigenous languages identify environmental features, descriptors, and 

124

zones. Although such a grouping or categorisation is problematic in some respects, it does 

enable the representation of local Olkol knowledge and Olkol speakers‟ ability to express 

distinctions about the environment beyond the species-based identification of plants and 

animals. It may also provide a useful reference for local managers to stimulate further 

discussion about relevant zones and environmental processes in Olkol lands, including 

Oriners. A preliminary version of this exercise was undertaken, but the results are not 

included here for length reasons. Investigating local hydrological knowledge was a primary 

motivation for this work, and so one further detailed example from Hamilton‟s work will be 

provided here, the definitions associated with water in Oykangand and Olkol: 


125

Oykangand Olkol 

Og Water ok Water 

og (food cl): egng og Tea ok (food cl): egng ok Tea 

og abmb Swamp ok abmb angalang Mirage 

og agngan Water reservoir in 

tree fork, soak, well, 

ok abmba Swamp 

og albmbur Splash, ripples ok acha 

Muddy or brackish 

water 

og alin Water pocket ok agngan 

Water reservoir in 

tree fork, soak, well, 

well water 

og alwir Soak, well, well ok albmbur Splash, ripples in 

water, whirlpool 

water 

og an.ganb Rainbow ok alin Water pocket 

og arrkal Floodwaters ok alwir Whirlpool, soak, 

well, well water 

og arrphar Clean water ok alyul Dew 

og awil Current, rapids ok aral 

Muddy or brackish 

water 

og ednbon Spring, springwater ok arragarr Current, rapids 

og ekar Fresh water ok arrbar Clean water 

og enggar Thirst, Thirsty ok awil Current, rapids 

og eral Muddy or brackish ok aykanb (1) Cyclone; (2) Rain 

water 

bow, Rainbow snake 

og ewephal Froth, scum on water ok ayman Froth or scum on 

water 

og igal Dew ok eban Lightning 

og ilbmb Sea, seawater, flood, 

beer, grog 

ok ednbon Spring, springwater 

og iph Middle or deep part 

of a body of water 

ok egar Fresh water 

og irrchil Spring, waterhole, 

waterfall 

ok egngan Rain 

og iyurndun Fill up, pour ok egnggo Muddy water 

og odnd Running water rapids ok elbmben Lightning 

og ojnyol Body of water ok enggar Thirst, thirsty 

og olbm Water hole ok iba Deep part of water 

og olbon Black water ok ignggul Puddle 

og ugngg Wave ok ikal Dew 

og uland, Sea, sea water, flood ok ilbmbu Sea, seawater,flood 

og urrgawar Puddle ok irrjil Spring, waterhole, 

waterfall 

ok odnd Running water 

ok ojnyol Body of water 

ok olbm Water hole 

ok olmo Lagoon 

ok olong Fresh water 

ok olpon Black water 

ok owaydnbarr Floodwaters 

ok udnamij Fresh water 

ok ugngg Wave 

ok uland Sea, seawater,flood 

ok urrgawar Puddle 


126

It would be inappropriate to make definitive statements about Olkol and Oykangand 

classifications and categories based on the brief examples above. However they are 

suggestive of the detailed level of knowledge of fauna and environmental features existing in 

local languages and therefore held by local people familiar with those languages. In 

particular, the orientation to water is clear, with the language offering the ability to describe 

different aspects of water and at times providing multiple terms for particular phenomena 

(springs, wells, soaks, rapids, seawater). 

One of the greatest challenges for contemporary Indigenous people is knowledge retention 

and transmission, and it was the primary community motivation for this research. Although no 

direct questions were asked about the issue, it is highly probable based on their personal 

histories that few of the Indigenous people interviewed for this study are fluent in the 

traditional languages associated with the Oriners area; most have lived elsewhere for most of 

their lives. Yet knowledge sharing processes with people who are familiar with those 

languages is ongoing, albeit with that sharing processing occurring in other languages (often 

English). Direct experience is augmented by knowledge and lessons with their origins in precolonial 

life. It is that knowledge which is represented by the word lists which appear here, 

even if the examples chosen reflect orientations derived from elsewhere. Human abilities to 

classify their surroundings in particular ways are important to understanding those 

surroundings, and such comparisons and classifications are reflected in the word lists above, 

as well as in the opening sections of Part 2. They are an important component of the 

„Working Knowledge‟ about Oriners. 

2.7.3 Correlations and causes 

Correlations are another important feature of local knowledge in general, and of Oriners 

knowledge in particular. Other than the relationship between rainfall and water levels, the 

most prominent set of correlations in the information gathered for this research were the 

seasonal and weather markers noted in 2.1.4 and Appendix 8.1. These come from 

knowledge received from others and from personal observations over time. Some 

correlations are predictors of weather, as ant movement is a sign that rain will be coming 

soon, and the sight of sea birds inland at Oriners is a sign that a cyclone is on its way: 

Fred Coleman: I think it mightn‟t come all of a sudden, but it‟s just a warning that they 

letting you know, there‟s going to be a big rain. Sometimes you see all them birds from the 

coast flying inland. Cyclone. 

Michael Ross: Oh yes! Up in that sky eh! Look out something coming! They come when the 

big heavy wind comes. Maybe cyclone behind them. 

Fred Coleman: They hang around inland for a few days. 

Michael Ross: Last [time] I seen them birds, over here some, on the Palmer River, down at 

Ben‟s Yard there, when the cyclone hit us, that country been so quiet. No wind, no bird, no 

nothing singing out, just like somebody put a hold on everything. That nice big storm, that 

cyclone come through, flatten all them trees, we been in the tent there and the tree fell on 

the tucker tent. Old Bob been there, Brian. Little rigger tent close to the ground. More room 

for us. Wind coming on eh? Lucky! Last time I seen them little buggers now, them little sea 

birds. They got a little arrow wing. Little white neck. 

Fred Coleman: Looks like a bomber, like a stealth bomber 

Michael Ross: What we call swallows eh? Swallow. 

Fred Coleman: Swallow, that‟s the one. 

Michael Ross: I don‟t know if that is the proper name for them but swallow is what we call 

them. 


127

Other signs mark a broader seasonal change – the call of the storm bird or the appearance 

of the frill neck lizard is a sign the first storms are coming, and the appearance of the 

dragonflies and butterflies is a sign that it is at its end: 

Marcus Barber: If you are out and about, what do you look for to see if rains are coming? 

Colin Hughes: Just mainly the movement of the ants and them old frill necked lizards. 

Normally its 3 days before you get rain if you see them old frill necks out with their frills up. 

That‟s pretty well the only time you seen them, first storm times, like now you see them. 

Once the wet comes you don‟t tend to see them, but then you don‟t get to get around too 

much in the wet either. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: If you are coming into the wet season, how do you know the rain is 

coming? 

Michael Ross: Personally me I take note of what‟s moving. Like the old lizard he out, the 

one with the big ears. He out. He more time out. Rain might be 2 or 3 days. Your bug come 

then. All your night bugs. They come all around. Or they come out of the ant bed... He 

[Robert Burns] was just watching them yesterday. If they are going to start coming, the rain 

is going to come, look out! If you look closer to the ground you see the ants moving, they 

are really busy. They are really moving. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: How can you tell it is the first storm cloud? Does it look different? 

Paddy Yam: It looks different, watery like that. A good bit of rain in the cloud you can see it. 

You know what time it will rain. That old storm bird starts singing out you know rain is 

coming. Bird with a long tail. He was singing out this morning too! [makes bird call]. Too 

late old feller it is already raining! 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: How do you know the rains are going to stop? 

Wilfred Jimmy: These bugs, these little dragonflies. They fly around altogether. They tell 

you the dry season is starting to come back. 

Marcus Barber: Do they have a name? 

Wilfred Jimmy: I don‟t know what they call them in language. They like a war plane. Double 

wings. You see them flying around. 

Marcus Barber: Anything else that tells you wet season is coming to an end? 

Wilfred Jimmy: The butterflies come out. 

Signals correlated with seasons are also correlated with the arrival or maturation of particular 

foods - the ti tree flowers show that the crocodile eggs are ready, and the appearance of the 

red flowers on the Bombax ceiba (Cotton tree) tree down on the delta show that the 

wallabies will be fat. Such signs are also important in deciding what work will be done - the 

moisture in the grass determines what time to burn, and therefore what time to muster cattle. 

Such signs and correlations are a primary means by which people understand what is 

happening now, and what will happen in the immediate future. The reliability of such signals 

is also important, and the most valuable signs are those which correlate strongly, even as the 

environment around them seems to be changing (2.1.4). 

The seasonal indicators described above can be understood as a mixture of correlations and 

causes. In some cases, the connections might be clear, as the activity of the sugar glider, 

which marks the wet season, is directly related to the appearance of the flowers it feeds on: 


128

Michael Ross: That other little feller, [that] move around wet time, storm time too, when you 

know he‟s change, because that‟s when the flower come up. That little possum that fly. 

Fred Coleman: Sugar glider. 

Marcus Barber: Sugar glider? 

Robert Burns: The one that eat the flower 

Michael Ross: Yeah, he in the first storm time when the tree all full of flower. That little 

glider he move around. 

Here the connection between the gliders, the flowers, and the wet season is clear. Even in 

less obvious circumstances, when asked about why things have happened, sometimes a 

possible answer emerges immediately. When observing that the trees were greatly reduced 

at Horseshoe Lagoon from when he was mustering there, Edwin David suggested that 

cyclones might be the cause. In some cases the connection between two observations is not 

clear, yet their occurrence together is reliable. For example, a flower might indicate the 

arrival of crocodile eggs, but most people would not suggest the two are directly linked, or 

would not claim to know how they are: 

Marcus Barber: How do the flowers know the crocodiles are ready? 

Ivan Jimmy: I don‟t know. There must be something there but I don‟t know. I was just told 

by the old people you know? When they were showing us, what connection they have 

between the animals like that. 

Michael Ross identifies the reliability of a signal, but understanding his audience, also 

acknowledges that the connection might be „superstition‟: 

We can hear the call. That feller [bird] he go „cheep cheep‟. Sometime he sing out at night 

time. Look out [for] that little bird singing out – it‟s going to rain. But they might be all 

superstition eh? 

Michael Ross 

When asked another question about causes, Ivan Jimmy again referred to the old people, 

this time speculating that they may have an answer for the newly observed changes in the 

winds: 

Marcus Barber: What about the wind? Is the wind still the same? 

Ivan Jimmy: No. This time of year, well it should have been the wet season now. It should 

be coming this way, from the coast; it should be blowing from that way. [Instead] it‟s coming 

from that way, that way, this way (hand gestures indicating different directions). 

Marcus Barber: What is making the wind change? 

Ivan Jimmy: Well I don‟t know about now, but maybe, if the old people were alive still, they 

would have known why all this weather is gone, where the wind is coming from, what is 

wrong. 

Ivan‟s brother Wilfred Jimmy provides a possible explanation, at the same time 

demonstrating the continuities and connections between local knowledge and knowledge 

coming from elsewhere: 

Marcus Barber: Why do you think the weather has changed? 

Wilfred Jimmy: I think too much big smoke coming out of the city. Changing the season 

[over the] years. Them over there, living a good life. 


129

The two comments from the Jimmy brothers show different facets of local knowledge at 

Kowanyama. One is deference to the „old people‟ in the face of ignorance and uncertainty, 

the other is knowledge of explanations generated elsewhere, in this case global warming and 

climate change. Correlations and causes can be observed at different scales, and the 

„Working Knowledge‟ of the men associated with Oriners is able to answer some questions 

but not others. 

The combination of local observations and local understandings with an awareness of how 

the wider world explains such observations is evident from two previously cited passages 

from interviews with Colin Hughes and Michael Ross (2.2.1). Colin suggested that if it rains 

early in one location, the rain seems to fall again on that location later in the year. He was 

aware that it was likely to be considered „an old wives tale‟ but it seemed to accord with his 

own observations, as well as what older Indigenous people were likely to say. Michael Ross 

attributed the same phenomenon to „story water‟, before going on to comment further about 

the status of his own ideas: 

Michael Ross: Well, I don‟t know scientific, but I think there is some connection there. 

That‟s my belief that there is a connection there. 

Marcus Barber: That‟s fine, I‟m not testing you, I‟m just asking and we are putting together 

all the knowledge and ideas that people have. I‟m interested in everything. 

Michael Ross: Koolburra and Kalinga [two stations east of Oriners]. There are running 

springs up there, down on all that country, walking [flowing] through. „Bang bang‟- rain rain. 

Rain. It‟s [a] theory, you know? [laughs] 

Marcus Barber: That‟s fine, I‟m happy with theory! 

Michael Ross [still chuckling]: I‟m glad you‟ll be happy. In my way of thinking it is some sort 

of spiritual connection with the ground and the rain that draws the rain there. But um, you 

don‟t need to know that one! 

Marcus Barber: No, that‟s alright, you can think of theories! That is part of what knowledge 

is. It‟s about having the idea and thinking about what you‟ve seen that supports that idea. 

That‟s what science is- they have an idea, then they go out and see what happens, see if 

that idea is true or wrong. 

Based on repeated observations, both Colin and Michael suggestthat there seems to be a 

connection between water on the ground and water in the sky. Based on an Indigenous 

worldview (summarised by Strang in 1.5.3), Michael goes on to suggest a possible cause. 

This is that „story water‟, water which is associated with ancestral powers in the landscape, 

may be drawing rain from the sky. Taking the idea one step further, this could be seen as 

that water ensuring its continued survival, replenishing itself by directing the rain to fall in 

particular ways. However both men show their awareness of how the wider world, particularly 

the scientific world, might regard such observations. Colin notes that it could be called „an old 

wives tale‟ and Michael states that he does not purport to know about science, that his idea 

is „theory‟. Nevertheless it also demonstrates the ability to observe closely, and to develop 

explanations for those observations, a characteristic of the sciences. Part 3 will provide a 

scientific perspective about Oriners from one of the authors and a working scientist in the 

catchment, Jeff Shellberg. 


130

3 LOCAL SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE 

3.1 Introduction 

The following sections review the existing scientific information about the Oriners area, 

focusing on physical conditions and to a much smaller extent the biological conditions, which 

will be expanded on in the future as working knowledge improves. In certain cases, data from 

the station area is not available, but proxy data from other adjacent areas on Cape York have 

been located and presented where applicable. Besides more regionalised surveys such as 

Cape York Peninsula Land Use Survey (CYPLUS), this is the first time that a scientific data 

synthesis has been generated for the Oriners area specifically. This collation of data and 

additions over time will be useful for planning NRM and further scientific research for Oriners 

itself, as well as being of some use on adjacent stations. The relationships between the 

scientific data and the local observations presented in Section 2 will be considered further in 

Section 4. In general terms, the archival record confirms the general conditions noted in the 

previous section and familiar to other parts of the Cape. It also provides evidence of the 

distinctiveness and unique value of this area compared with the broader Mitchell catchment. 

3.2 Physical conditions 

3.2.1 Climate 

The climate of the „forest country‟ surrounding Oriners Station 34 is tropical monsoonal and 

strongly seasonal, similar to other wet-dry tropic areas of Cape York and northern Australia 

(Hayden 1988; Stewart 1993; Petheram, McMahon et al. 2008; Ward, Pusey et al. 2011). 

Rainfall records from Oriners Station are brief (1963-1970), but additional rainfall data from 

nearby Dixie Station 55km away (1970-1974; 1988-2004) are useful in piecing to together 

climatic trends. In addition, longer rainfall records exist for nearby Koolatah Station 71 km 

away (1921-2011) and both rainfall and temperature records exist for the Musgrave township 

95 km away (1887-1929; 1948-1978; 1984-2011). From these records, the strongly seasonal 

trends in monthly rainfall and temperature are apparent (Figure 44). Using the combined 

records from Oriners and Dixie Stations, >80% of the mean annual rainfall typically falls 

within the wet season months of December to March inclusive. Monthly mean minimum 

temperatures are usually the highest during the summer wet season and lowest in the winter 

dry, while mean maximum temperatures are usually highest between Oct-Dec during the 

build-up to the wet season (Figure 44). 

34 Much of the data presented in this section refers to a broader area than the boundaries of Oriners 

Station, but Oriners (and to a lesser extent Sefton Station) remain the primary focus. 


131

Average Monthly Rainfall (mm)_ 

450 

400 

350 

300 

250 

200 

150 

100 

50 

0 

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep 

Figure 44. Average monthly rainfall at Oriners Station and nearby stations with longer records 

of rainfall and temperature. 

Daily rainfall totals during major rain events at Oriners typically range between 60 and 120 

mm, but more extreme events can occur (Figure 45). Convective storm rainfall totals, 

intensity, kinetic energy, and erosivity (r-factors) are moderately high for this region of 

Australia (Stewart 1993; Yu 1998; Lu and Yu 2002; Shellberg 2011; Shellberg, Brooks et al. 

2012). These factors are important from both surface soil erosion and floodplain inundation 

perspectives. If soils are bare at the end of the long dry season from either grazing or fire 

burning, the effective kinetic energy for soil erosion can be enhanced during the early wet 

season. Early wet season rains can also result in more soil erosion because new grass 

vegetation is still in its early phases of growth. Major overbank flooding from monsoonal 

runoff usually occurs later in the wet season after considerable seasonal vegetation growth. 

This vegetation protection can result in less soil erosion from direct rainfall and overbank 

sheet flow. However, major floods still can cause substantial bank and gully erosion in 

defined channels, especially along the edges of floodplains and channels where breaks in 

slope and erodible soils can enhance the potential for gully erosion (Shellberg 2011; 

Shellberg, Brooks et al. 2012). 


Oriners (1963-1970) 

Dixie (1970-1974; 1988-2004) 

Oriners and Dixie Combined (1963-1970; 1970-1974; 1988-2004) 

Koolatah (1921-2011) 

Musgrave (1887-1929; 1948-1978; 1984-2011) 

Musgrave Monthly Mean Maximum Temperature 

Musgrave Monthly Mean Minimum Temperature 

45 

40 

35 

30 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

Monthly Mean Temperature (C)_ 

132

Daily Rainfall Total (mm) 

180 

160 

140 

120 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 

Figure 45. Daily rainfall totals at Oriners Station 1963-1970. 

Annual rainfall totals using the combined records from Oriners and Dixie Stations average 

1089 mm and range from 629 to 1832 mm. Longer-term records from nearby Koolatah and 

Musgrave indicate that annual totals can vary between 500 mm at a minimum to over 2000 

mm during the wettest years (Figure 46). In comparison, potential evapotranspiration (ET) for 

the area is 1700 to 2000 mm per year, while actual ET is 600-900 mm per year (Australian 

Bureau of Meteorology (ABOM) 2012). The difference between potential and actual ET is a 

result of a lack of available water to evapotranspire in the late dry season. Large soil 

moisture deficits can occur in the dry season, while soil moisture also can be partially 

depleted between storms and synoptic disturbances within the wet season due to high actual 

evapotranspiration and low infiltration in some soils. 

Inter-annual rainfall totals can be quite variable on Cape York, but not to the extent of other 

regions of Australia due to fairly reliable monsoon rains from the southward movement of the 

Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) in summer. Over the last century, annual rainfall 

patterns at Koolatah and Musgrave have cycled through distinct wet and dry phases (Figure 

46). Several major wet phases have centered around 1911, 1974, and 1999 at Koolatah and 

Musgrave (Figure 46), while additional wet phases have occurred elsewhere in the Mitchell 

catchment centered on 1889, 1955, and 2011 (Shellberg 2011). Dry or neutral phases have 

been interspersed between wet phases. Rainfall anomaly signals are variable across the 

Mitchell catchment, with one example being that the 1911 wet phase was strongest at 

Palmerville Station and weaker at other stations. In contrast, other anomalies were spatially 

widespread in the Mitchell and beyond, such as the 1970‟s wet phase (Shellberg 2011). This 

decadal variability is common but not spatially or temporarily synchronous across 

Queensland (Lough 1991) and elsewhere in Australia (Nicholls and Lavery 1992; Gallant, 

Hennessy et al. 2007). This climatic variability is often correlated to ocean temperature and 

sea-level air pressure influenced by ENSO/IPO cycles (Lough 1991; Heinrich, Weidner et al. 

2008 ; Risbey, Pook et al. 2009). 

Along with the variability in annual and decadal rainfall, the frequency and magnitude of 

extreme events such as cyclones can also vary over time across Cape York and the forest 

country around Oriners. For example, researchers measured proxy rainfall records from 

oxygen isotope ( 18 O/ 16 O) ratios in limestone stalagmites at the Chillagoe Caves in the central 

Mitchell catchment,250 km from Oriners(Nott, Haig et al. 2007). This 800-year proxy record 


Oriners Daily Rainfall 

133

demonstrated that cyclone landing frequency and magnitude were relatively low between AD 

1800-2000, the same period that encompasses the written historical record by Europeans. In 

comparison, there were more frequent and larger cyclone events between AD 1400 and 

1800, which casts doubt on the reliability of our existing records to predict future events such 

as major cyclones. 

Total Annual WY Rainfall (Water Year Oct to Sept) 

2500 

2000 

1500 

1000 

500 

0 

1880 

1885 

1890 

Koolatah 

Musgrave 

5-Year Moving Average of Kooltah and Musgrave Average 

1895 

1900 

1905 

Figure 46. Long-term annual WY rainfall totals and trends at Koolatah and Musgrave. 

3.2.2 Topography and drainage 

The main drainage channels flowing through Oriners and Sefton Stations include Goose, 

Hoodoo, Crosbie, and Eight Mile Creeks to the north and the Alice River and One Mile Creek 

to the south. Their catchments drain west toward the Gulf of Carpentaria from the Great 

Diving Range and Cape York Peninsula Batholith in the center of the Cape. To the east, the 

Morehead River drains into Princess Charlotte Bay and the Coral Sea. The divide between 

the Alice and Morehead catchments averages about 200m above sea level (Shuttle Radar 

Topography Mission (SRTM) 2000), but areas of the range to the south and north reach to 

350m and 250m respectively (Figure 47). The elevation of Oriners and Sefton Stations 

ranges from a high of 120 m behind Oriners to a low of 20 m along the lower Alice River. 

More detail on the topography and nature of the drainage systems is included below in 

Sections 3.2.5 and 3.2.8 and 3.2.10. 


1910 

1915 

1920 

1925 

1930 

1935 

1940 

1945 

1950 

1955 

1960 

1965 

1970 

1975 

Water Year (WY) (October to September) 

1980 

1985 

1990 

1995 

2000 

2005 

2010 

134

Figure 47. Topography and drainage of the catchments surrounding Oriners and Sefton 

Stations. Elevation data derived from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission 30m pixel digital 

elevation model (SRTM 2000). 

3.2.3 Geology 

The geologic evolution of central Cape York Peninsula near Oriners Station is summarized 

by (Willmott 2009). Multiple phases of uplift, erosion, sediment deposition in basins, some 

metamorphosis, additional uplift, igneous intrusion, and re-erosion have occurred on this 

landscape over the last 1.6 billion years. Several major sedimentary basins have formed 

from landscape erosion during this period: Hodgkinson (Silurian-Devonian), Laura and 

Carpentaria (Jurassic), Karumba and Kalpowar (Tertiary). The basins formed before the 

Tertiary have been uplifted, warped, locally metamorphosed, intruded by granites and 

basalts, and re-eroded to feed sediment into the Tertiary basins still largely active today. 

The headwaters of Crosbie Creek, Eight Mile Creek, the Alice River and One Mile Creek 

have a heterogeneous mixture of geologic rock types and lithologies - see Figure 48, 

(Blewett and Wilford 1996). 

Metamorphic basement rock (metasedimentary, siliciclastic, quartzite, slate, schist; 

1.6 to 1.0 billion yrs in age, Mesoproterozoic) 

Intrusive rock (igeneous felsic granite, granodiorite, monzogranite, 440 to 400 

million yrs in age, Silurian to Devonian) 

Sedimentary rock (sandstone, 140 to 170 million yrs in age, Jurassic to Cretaceous; 

siltstone and mudstone, 145 to 65 million yrs in age, Cretaceous) 

The middle and lower sections of the catchments are dominated by younger sedimentary 

rock and unconsolidated sedimentary alluvium - see Figure 48 and (Smart, Grimes et al. 

1980b) 

Sandstone, conglomerate, claystone (65 to 2.6 million yrs in age, Tertiary) 

Sand plains of alluvium (< 65 million yrs in age, Cenozoic) 

Channel and floodplain alluvium (unconsolidated gravel, sand, silt, clay) (< 2.5 

million yrs in age, Quaternary) 


135

Figure 48. Geology of the catchments surrounding Oriners and Sefton Stations. Note locations 

of abandoned mines. 

Within the property boundaries of Oriners and Sefton Stations, the geology and regolith are 

dominated by weathered Tertiary sandstone and conglomerates along the ridges and upland 

plains (Holroyd Plain, Bulimba and Wyaaba Beds), and Quaternary alluvium along the valley 

and creek channels (Alice fan and Quaternary alluvium). These specific formations have 

been described by several authors (Galloway, Gunn et al. 1970; Grimes and Doutch 1978; 

Grimes 1979; Smart, Grimes et al. 1980a; Smart, Grimes et al. 1980a; Smart, Grimes et al. 

1980b; Brooks, Shellberg et al. 2009), and are summarized below. 

Holroyd Plain: The Tertiary Wyaaba Beds together with the Bulimba formation 

(Figure 48) largely make up the Holroyd Plain surface (Grimes and Doutch 1978; 

Grimes 1979) , which extends from south of the Gilbert River to north of the Holroyd 

River. This plain was a depositional feature from eroded outwash material off the 

Great Diving Range (metamorphic, intrusive and sedimentary rock mentioned above) 

and Einasleigh Uplands. 

o Bulimba Formation: The oldest Tertiary sedimentary formation in the area, 

which consists of “white to pale grey or reddish brown, poorly indurated, 

clayey quartzose to feldspathic sandstone, poorly sorted granule to (locally) 

pebble conglomerate and sandy claystone; commonly ferruginised” (Smart, 

Grimes et al. 1980a). Palaeocene to Eocene in age (65 to 36 million yrs) 

(Grimes 1979). On Oriners Station south of Eight Mile Creek, the Bulimba 

formation is capped by 2 to 4 meters (max 6 m) of residual sand (Darby 1993). 

Below this, the top 20-30m of the Bulimba formation consists of moderately to 

strongly indurated (cemented) sandstone, conglomerate, and sandy clay 

layers of fluvial (alluvial) origin. Heavy minerals (rutile, leucoxene, ilmenite, 

zircon) are present in low concentrations in sands and to a greater degree in 

indurated lateritic layers, but mining for these minerals was proven to be far 

from economical ((Darby 1993). 


136

o Wyaaba Beds: The most widespread sedimentary formation in the area, 

which consists of “clayey quartzose sand and sandstone, granule to (locally) 

pebble gravel, conglomerate; interbedded sandy clay and calcareous 

mudstone” (Smart, Grimes et al. 1980a; Smart, Grimes et al. 1980a). Miocene 

in age (23 to 5 million yrs) (Grimes 1979). These formations are highly 

weathered from seasonal wet-dry cycles, which have formed thick deposits of 

weathered sands on ridgelines (interfluves) in addition to local zones of 

mottling, ferruginous nodules, and cemented ferruginous and siliceous 

duricrusts (Grimes and Doutch 1978; Grimes 1979). The induration and 

cementation of some layers by movement and re-deposition of solutes (iron, 

manganese, silica, etc(Goudie 1973; McFarlane 1976; Goudie 1984) has 

partly protected these formations from further erosion (Grimes 1979), and has 

resulted in places an inverted landscape (alluvium once deposited in valleys 

now cemented as capping ridgelines (Ollier 1991; Pain and Ollier 1992). 

Alice and Mitchell Fluvial Megafans: The Quaternary alluvium (gravel, sand, silt, 

clay) of the Alice River and its tributaries (Eight Mile, Crosbie) forms the northern 

edge of the Mitchell River fluvial megafan (Grimes and Doutch 1978; Brooks, 

Shellberg et al. 2009) , which overall has an area of 31 000 km 2 and is the largest 

such feature in Australia. The fluvial megafan has distinct, shallow fan units that have 

deposited from the Pliocene to Holocene (Grimes and Doutch 1978) . Over this 

period, sea level and climate change have resulted in at least five cycles of fan 

building, with nested fan-in-fan forms developing as fluvial megafan units coalesced 

and prograded toward the current Mitchell estuary and delta in the Gulf of 

Carpentaria. This resulted in a unique assemblage of geomorphic units and process 

zones that vary both longitudinally and transversely across the megafans (Galloway, 

Gunn et al. 1970) . The Alice fan initially started to build in the Pliocene, and has 

largely continued to this day (Grimes and Doutch 1978) . Due to greater sediment 

supply to the Mitchell River from its headwaters, compared to Alice (Rustomji, 

Shellberg et al. 2010), the Mitchell fan had more dynamic phases of fan building and 

has dominated the infilling of the Karumba sedimentary basin that the Alice and 

Mitchell flow into (Grimes and Doutch 1978). This sedimentation from the Mitchell has 

likely influenced the Alice fan and its tributaries, by raising local base levels and 

causing the Alice and its tributaries to backfill their valleys with Quaternary alluvium, 

up to locations such as Oriners, Sefton and Crosbie Stations (Figure 48). However 

the low gradient nature of these valleys and local sediment supply also influence 

sedimentation. 

o Quaternary Alluvium (Channels and Floodplains): Quaternary alluvium 

(gravel, sand, silt, clay) dominates the valley, floodplains and channels of 

drainage lines in the area. The wide valleys (> 2 km) of Eight Mile and Crosbie 

Creeks and the Alice River typically have multiple, interconnected anabranch 

channels with predominantly sand beds. The floodplains in between channels 

are dominated by overbank silt/clay deposits and local sand splays. Where 

anabranch channels abut hillslopes or other resistant features, they have 

scoured deep pools into local bedrock or older indurated alluvium and created 

large lagoons. Around scour pools and lagoons, it is common to find older 

indurated alluvium or “creek rock” where iron or silica solutes washed from 

higher points of the landscape have accumulated and cemented alluvium in 

the lower parts of the landscape, enhanced by the extreme seasonal wetting 

and drying cycles on Cape York (Pain and Ollier 1992; Pain, Wilford et al. 

1998). This type of deposition and induration process can occur quite rapidly, 

as indicated by luminescence, Ur/Th, and carbon dating of similar deposits in 

north Queensland that formed during the Holocene (< 12,000 yrs) or late 

Pleistocene (

3.2.4 Soils 

The soils of the “forest county” around Oriners and Sefton have been mapped and described 

using field reconnaissance, distributed but generally sparse soil sampling at reference 

locations, and a considerable amount of air photo interpretation at 1:1,000,000 (Isbell, Webb 

et al. 1968; Galloway, Gunn et al. 1970; Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS) 1991) and 

1:900,000 (Biggs and Philip 1995a; Biggs and Philip 1995b). The soil distribution patterns of 

this forest country largely follow similar patterns to the underlying geology and parent 

material that the soils are derived from (contrast Figure 48 and Figure 49). The major soil 

types are as follows: 

Alluvial Plain Soils (Quaternary Alluvium along Major Creeks/Rivers) 

o Ab Antbed (CYPLUS): Ferric or Sodic Sodosolic or Dermosolic Redoxic 

Hydrosol. Very deep gradational or occasionally duplex sodic mottled grey 

soils formed on alluvial plains. Landform: Level to gently undulating alluvial 

plains. Geology: Quaternary alluvium (Qa). Vegetation: M. viridiflora low open 

woodlands. Surface condition: Hardsetting poorly drained, regularly 

inundated, erodible (Biggs and Philip 1995a; Biggs and Philip 1995b) . 

o TM1 (Atlas of Australian Soils): Alluvial plains and broad drainage 

depressions; occasional low sandy rises and old sand-filled channels may 

occur throughout: dominant soils are sandy or loamy bleached grey earths 

(massive and structured earths). Closely associated in lower sites and 

adjacent to stream channels are loamy grey duplex soils (yellow and yellowgrey 

duplex soils). The occasional low sandy rises and sand-filled channels 

have deep sands and sandy earths. Data are fairly limited. (Figure 49; (Isbell, 

Webb et al. 1968; Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS) 1991).. 

Tertiary Sand, Sandstone, Conglomerate (Holroyd Plain) 

o Drainage Depressions or Dambos (CYPLUS): 


Hn Hann (CYPLUS): Sodic Sodosolic Redoxic Hydrosol; Bleached- 

Ferric Chromosolic Redoxic Hydrosol. Deep bleached duplex soils of 

footslopes and drainage depressions in residual sands. Landform: 

Footslopes on gently undulating plains or undulating rises. Geology: 

Tertiary and Quaternary colluvial sands (TQs). Vegetation: M. 

viridiflora low open woodlands. Surface condition: Firm to hardsetting. 

Poorly drained, frequently inundated, erodible (Biggs and Philip 1995a; 

Biggs and Philip 1995b). 

o Ridgelines and Plains (CYPLUS): 

Cr Clark (CYPLUS): Bleached or Bleached-Mottled or Bleached-Ferric 

Mesotrophic Kandosol. Deep bleached Gradational yellow massive 

soils formed on residual sands. Landform: Gently undulating plains to 

undulating rises. Geology: Tertiary and Quaternary colluvial sands 

(TQs). Vegetation: E. tetrodonta woodlands. Surface condition: Firm to 

hardsetting. Moderately well drained and stable (Biggs and Philip 

1995a; Biggs and Philip 1995b). 

Kb Kimba (CYPLUS): Haplic Mesotrophic or Eutrophic Red Kandosol. 

Very deep Gradational red massive soils formed on residual sands. 

Landform: Gently undulating plains to undulating rises. Geology: 

Tertiary and Quaternary colluvial sands (TQs). Vegetation: E. 

tetrodonta woodlands and tall woodlands. Surface condition: Loose to 

138


firm, occasionally hardsetting. Well drained, highly permeable, stable 

(Biggs and Philip 1995a; Biggs and Philip 1995b). 

o Combined: Depressions, Ridgelines, Plains (Atlas of Australian Soils): 

Mr11 (Atlas of Australian Soils): Gently undulating plains consisting 

of low very broad sandy rises (interfluves) and many sharply defined 

shallow drainage depressions (dambos) that become less prominent in 

the northern parts of the unit. Well-defined swamps (pans) are also a 

feature. The dominant soils of the rises are sandy yellow earths 

(massive and structured earths). Other sandy earths are commonly 

associated. Some soils have ironstone nodules at depth. On higher 

ridges there may be areas of sandy red earths or deep sands. On 

some lower slopes adjacent to the drainage depressions deep sandy 

duplex soils (yellow and yellow-grey duplex soils) or deep bleached 

sands occur. The drainage depressions have sandy to loamy grey 

duplex soils and bleached grey. (Figure 49 (Isbell, Webb et al. 1968; 

Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS) 1991). 

Ca39 (Atlas of Australian Soils): Undulating to gently undulating 

plains with prominent shallow drainage depressions: dominant soils 

are deep mottled bleached sands, with other deep sands also 

occurring. Associated are deep sandy yellow earths (massive and 

structured earths). Sandy or loamy bleached grey earths and loamy 

mottled duplex soils (yellow and yellow-grey duplex soils occur in the 

shallow drainage depressions. Data are fairly limited (Isbell, Webb et 

al. 1968; Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS) 1991). 

MT12 (Atlas of Australian Soils): Gently undulating plains consisting 

of low sandy rises (interfluves) and broad shallow drainage 

depressions (dambos); small isolated dissected sandstone or lateritic 

mesas occur in parts of the unit: dominant soils of the rises are sandy 

bleached mottled grey earths (massive and structured earths), with 

associated sandy grey earths, sandy yellow earths and bleached 

sands. Most of these soils are underlain by weathered sandstone at 

moderate depths. Occasional higher rises have sandy red earths. The 

shallow drainage depressions (dambos) have loamy bleached grey 

earths and loamy duplex soils (yellow and yellow-grey duplex soils). 

Adjacent to larger streams are small levees of loamy or sandy red 

earths. The small dissected mesas are remnants of unit Bz17. (Figure 

49 (Isbell, Webb et al. 1968; Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS) 1991). 

Of interest to note in many of these soils is the common presence of soft mottles and hard 

pisoliths (nodules) due to solute accumulation during wetting and drying cycles. Mottles often 

harden into nodules (ferricrete, calcrete, silcrete) once permanently oxidized by atmospheric 

exposure due to either a lowering of the water table and/or exposure through sheet or gully 

erosion. The side slopes of shallow depressions or gully scarps and floors are preferential 

zones of accumulation of cations (e.g., iron, manganese, calcium, silca) through local soil 

development processes (relative accumulation (McFarlane 1991)) and lateral groundwater 

input (absolute accumulation (McFarlane 1976)) or both (Goudie 1973; Goudie 1984). The 

relatively recent formation (hardening) of ferricrete nodules can be seen in many deep gullies 

that formed over the last 100-yrs as a partial result of land use disturbance. The rapid 

exposure of massive alluvial soils after gully erosion promotes the oxidation of soil mottles 

and hardening into nodules of ferricrete and calcrete, which form surface lags of coarse 

gravels on gully scarps, floors, and other eroded or stripped surfaces (Grimes 1979; Pain 

and Ollier 1992; Shellberg 2011). 

139

Figure 49. Soils of Oriners and Sefton Stations based on the original “Atlas of Australian Soils” 

(Isbell et al. 1968; BRS 1991). 35 

3.2.5 Land systems 

In the 1960‟s, CSIRO scientists used reconnaissance-scale field mapping of geology, soils, 

and vegetation, along with air photo analysis, to delineate “land systems” across Australia, 

which were relatively homogenous units locally. Four main land systems have been mapped 

on Oriners and Sefton Stations: Balurga, Mottle, Annaly, Cumbulla (Figure 50; (Galloway, 

Gunn et al. 1970). These land systems bring together the earlier described geology, soils, 

topography, and drainage of the area, along with woodland canopy and grassland vegetation 

conditions. 

Figure 50. Land system of the forest country around Oriners/Sefton Stations. Balurga (Ba); 

Mottle (Mo); Annaly (A); Cumbulla (C) (extracted from Galloway et al. 1970). 

35 Note DERM sample locations for soil reference profiles from CYPLUS surveys (Biggs and Philip 

1995a; 1995b), but additional reference profile sites from Isbell et al. (1968) also likely exist. 


140

Balurga (Ba) Land System 

Extensive plains on weathered terrestrial sediment; sandy red and yellow earths and 

uniform sandy soils; bloodwood-stringybark woodland, and some paperbark 

woodland (Figure 50; Figure 51; Figure 52; Galloway et al. 1970). 


Dominant land system on the Holroyd Plain 

Numerous dendritic depressions (dambos), channels and valleys cut 

into the Holroyd Plain, with small oval wetland depressions (pans) 

common on the ridgelines and interfluves (Figure 51; Figure 52;). 

Geology: Wyaaba Beds and Bulimba (Grimes and Doutch 1978; 

Grimes 1979; Smart, Grimes et al. 1980a; Smart, Grimes et al. 1980a). 

Soils (CYPLUS): Hann (Hn), Clark (Cr) Kimba (Kb) (Biggs and Philip 

1995a; Biggs and Philip 1995b). 

Soils (Atlas of Australian Soils): Mr11, Ca39, MT12 (Isbell, Webb et al. 

1968; Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS) 1991) 

Figure 51. Balurga (Ba) land system. Extensive plains on weather terrestrial sediment; sandy 

red and yellow earths and uniform sandy soils; bloodwood-stringybark woodland, and some 

paperbark woodland. (Galloway et al. 1970). 

141

Figure 52. RAAF oblique photograph from 1943 of the Balurga (Ba) land system near Sefton 

and Oriners Stations. 


142

Mottle (Mo) Land System 

Extensive plains on weathered terrestrial sediments, siltstone, and alluvium; massive 

earths; paperbark or bloodwood-stringybark woodland (Figure 50; Figure 53; 

(Galloway, Gunn et al. 1970). 


Sub-dominant land system on the Holroyd Plain 

Geology: Wyaaba Beds and Quaternary Alluvium (Grimes and Doutch 

1978; Grimes 1979) (Smart, Grimes et al. 1980a; Smart, Grimes et al. 

1980b) 

Soils (CYPLUS): Hann (Hn), Antbed (Ab) (Biggs and Philip 1995a; 

Biggs and Philip 1995b). 

Soils (Atlas of Australian Soils): TM1, MR11 (Isbell, Webb et al. 1968; 


Figure 53. Mottle (Mo) land system. Extensive plains on weathered terrestrial sediments, 

siltstone, and alluvium; massive earths; paperbark or bloodwood-stringybark woodland 

(Galloway et al. 1970). 

143

Annaly (A) Land System 

Lowlands on partially dissected terrestrial sediment over shale massive earths and 

texture-contrast soils; paperbark or bloodwood-stringybark woodland (Figure 50; 

Figure 54; Galloway et al. 1970). 


Sub-dominant land system on the Holroyd Plain (mainly 

Geology: Bulimba Formation (Grimes and Doutch 1978; Grimes 1979; 

Smart, Grimes et al. 1980a; Smart, Grimes et al. 1980a; Smart, 

Grimes et al. 1980b) 

Soils (CYPLUS): Kimba (Kb) (Biggs and Philip 1995a; Biggs and Philip 

1995b). 

Soils (Atlas of Australian Soils): MT12 (Isbell, Webb et al. 1968; 


Figure 54. Annaly (A) land system. Lowlands on partially dissected terrestrial sediment over 

shale massive earths and texture-contrast soils; paperbark or bloodwood-stringybark 

woodland. (Galloway et al. 1970). 

144

Cumbulla (C) Land System 

Alluvial plains in part actively forming and largely flooded in the wet season; texturecontrast 

soils; paperbark woodland (Figure 50; Figure 55; Galloway et al. 1970). 


Dominant land system on low alluvial valleys. Land units 2, 3, and 6 

(Figure 55) dominant along Eight Mile Creek and Alice River near 

Oriners] 

Geology: Quaternary Alluvium (Grimes and Doutch 1978; Grimes 

1979; Smart, Grimes et al. 1980a; Smart, Grimes et al. 1980a; Smart, 

Grimes et al. 1980b) 

Soils (CYPLUS): Antbed (Ab) (Biggs and Philip 1995a; Biggs and 

Philip 1995b) . 

Soils (Atlas of Australian Soils): TM1 (Jackson 2004) (Bureau of Rural 

Sciences (BRS) 1991). 

Figure 55. Cumbulla (C) land system. Alluvial plains in part actively forming and largely flooded 

in the wet season; texture-contrast soils; paperbark woodland (Galloway et al. 1970). 

145

3.2.6 Soil erosion 

Soil erosion can take place through a variety of forms and processes and into a variety of 

regolith from solid rock to unconsolidated soil or alluvium. On Oriners and Sefton Stations, 

soil erosion is dominated by water erosion by direct rainfall and water runoff. Water erosion 

can be classified as: 

Splash Erosion of soil particles by direct rainfall impacts on exposed soil. 

Sheet Erosion of soil particles by shallow overland flow moving down slopes in broad 

sheets. 

Rill Erosion in small, ephemeral, concentrated channels on hillslopes usually parallel 

to the hillslope and < 30cm deep. 

Gully Erosion in deeper, ephemeral, unstable channels > 30cm deep. 

Channel Erosion of the banks or bed of pre-existing channels of small creeks to large 

rivers. 

The full distribution and magnitude of all of these water erosion processes in Oriners and 

Sefton Stations are unknown. However, examples are easy to find and all have been 

reported by reconnaissance surveys, with each type of erosion typically confined to specific 

location on the landscape (Galloway, Gunn et al. 1970; Biggs and Philip 1995a; Biggs and 

Philip 1995b) . For example, Galloway et al. (1970) noted that sheet erosion was widespread 

on the level plains, interfluves (shallow ridgelines), and hillslopes of the Balurga and Annaly 

land systems (Figure 51; Figure 54) where duricrusts and hardpans reduce rainfall infiltration 

and promote overland flow. In contrast, gully erosion is dominant on the side slopes of 

shallow valleys (Balurga; Figure 51), on the lower colluvial slopes of rock outcrops (Annaly; 

Figure 54), and along silty alluvium floodplains of major creeks and rivers (Cumbulla; Figure 

55). 

Soil type and properties (texture, porosity, chemistry) can highly influence the potential for 

soil erosion. For example, silty soils along floodplains of creeks in this area typically have low 

cohesion (binding), making them prone to gully and channel erosion if the vegetation 

resistance is changed by land use (Shellberg 2011). Furthermore, many of the soils along 

floodplains and drainage channels are textural contrast or duplex soils that are alkaline at 

depth (TM1, Isbell et al. 1968, BRS 1991; Antbed, Ab and Hann, Hn, Biggs and Philip 1995a; 

1995b). These soils usually have silty or loamy top soils that overlay clay loam subsoils. The 

alkaline (i.e., high pH) soils typically have high levels of exchangeable sodium on the cation 

exchange complexes of clay particles (hence the Sodic Sodosolic soil type), in contrast to 

other preferred cations like calcium, magnesium and potassium. Due to sodium‟s weak 

single bond and affinity for water, soils with high sodium levels easily disperse in the 

presence of water and are highly prone to gully erosion. Gully erosion will be addressed in 

more detail in Section 3.2.11, along with bank erosion in Section 3.2.10. 

3.2.7 Catchment land use 

The traditional Indigenous land use of the Oriners and Sefton areas in both the past and 

present is highlighted throughout this document. On top of this traditional management 

template, a new system of European-style management to extract resources (grazing, mining 

etc.) was also initiated in the Mitchell catchment in the 1880s and has continued to various 

degrees until today (Cotter 1995; Strang 2001; Strang 2004; Shellberg 2011) . 

In the Alice River catchment around Oriners and,Sefton the recent past and contemporary 

land use was cattle grazing (both managed and wild herds) across forest country, savanna 

woodlands and unimproved grasslands (Cotter 1995; Strang 2001). These savanna 

vegetation communities(Neldner, Stanton et al. 1997; Crowley and Garnett 1998) are 

dynamic over space and time and are strongly controlled by disturbance regimes (fire, flood, 

grazing, erosion). These disturbance regimes have changed in the Oriners area following 

European settlement (Crowley and Garnett 1998; Crowley and Garnett 2000). During the 

long dry season, cattle grazing intensity and impacts are heavily concentrated along 


146

“waterway frontages” or riparian zones of main rivers and tributaries. Access to in-channel 

pools and lagoons has allowed for the continuous stocking of cattle near waterbodies 

throughout the year (Tothill, Nix et al. 1985). Many of the alluvial gullies along riparian zones 

in the Mitchell-Alice catchment were initiated after European settlement, during the period 

from the 1880s onwards when cattle numbers increased significantly (Shellberg, Brooks et 

al. 2010; Shellberg 2011). Gully initiation points were located at relatively steep river banks 

or within un-channelled floodplain-hollows, where cattle impacts such as overgrazing and soil 

disturbance were the greatest. Other feral animals such as pigs also tend to concentrate in 

riparian zones and wetland areas, causing considerable damage to soils and native 

vegetation (Doupe, Schaffer et al. 2009; Doupe, Mitchell et al. 2010; Mitchell 2010; Pettit, 

Jardine et al. 2012). 

Road development across the Mitchell-Alice catchment increased dramatically after the 

1950s and was associated with opening of land for cattle grazing (Strang 2001) , mining 

(Strang 2004) and tourism development (Strang 1996)(Figure 56). The first road to Oriners 

was created in the 1950s by following Indigenous tracks, horse trails and stock routes 

(Figure 67). Today in the entire Mitchell catchment, there are at least 10,500 kms of unpaved 

dirt roads and 800 km of paved road as references (Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 

2008; Rustomji, Shellberg et al. 2010) and figures (Figure 56) demonstrate. There are also 

thousands of additional kilometres of unmapped dirt tracks in the catchment. 

Mining development and associated infrastructure is also significant in the Mitchell 

catchment. There are at least 3142 abandoned mines (predominantly in the upper half of the 

catchment), 24 larger operating mines and at least 708 additional mining claims (Figure 56) 

and (McDonald and Dawson 2004; Queensland Department of Employment Economic 

Development and Innovation (QDEEDI) 2010; Rustomji, Shellberg et al. 2010). The pollution 

impacts from these mines can be significant environmentally and culturally (Bartareau, Barry 

et al. 1998; Strang 2004). In the Alice catchment, locally significant areas of alluvial and hard 

rock mining have occurred in the past, with 16 abandoned mines and 1 active mine (see 

Figure 48 map of abandoned mine locations; McDonald and Dawson 2004; QDEEDI 2010; 

Rustomji et al. 2010). However, relative to the rest of the Mitchell catchment, mining in the 

Alice catchment has been relatively minor in the past (Figure 56; QDEEDI 2010). Despite 

this, interest in and exploration for future hard rock mining areas has expanded in recent 

years in the headwaters of the Alice River catchment, especially the upper catchments of 

Crosbie and Eight Mile Creeks near Dixie and Wulpan Stations. 

Known mining exploration at Oriners Station is limited to a moderate effort in 1992 by BHP in 

searching for heavy minerals (rutile, leucoxene, ilmenite, zircon) in sands of the Bulimba 

Formation (Darby 1993). Their exploration consisted of a drilling program on Oriners Station 

south of Eight Mile Creek and north of the Alice River. After collecting 27 shallow samples 

from reconnaissance surveys, they later drilled 38 holes (800m total; average depth 21m) 

along numerous transects and hillslope catenas. No major signs of economical heavy 

mineral deposits were found, but they did find locally increased heavy mineral grades in 

lateritic zones. Drilling revealed 2 to 4 meters (max 6 m) of residual sand on top of the 

Bulimba formation. The Bulimba formation was found to be moderately to strongly indurated 

(cemented) sandstone, conglomerate, and sandy clay layers of fluvial (alluvial) origin (Darby 

1993). Exploration efforts on Oriners cessed due to poor economic prospects. 


147

Figure 56. Land use map of the Mitchell catchment showing a) operating mines, abandoned 

mines, mine claims, proposed mines, b) distribution of major alluvial gullies, c) major paved 

and unpaved roads, d) existing and proposed water resource development, e) agricultural 

development near Dimbulah (green outline). Note the relatively sparse development in and 

around Oriners and Sefton Stations. 

3.2.8 Surface hydrology 

The surface hydrology of water flow and discharge (magnitude, frequency, duration, timing, 

rate change) down creeks and depressions around the forest country of Oriners and Sefton 

has not been studied in detail in the field „on country‟. This is also the case for small, shallow, 

oval wetlands (pans) and drainage depressions (dambos) on the Holroyd Plain and larger 

lagoons in Quaternary alluvium, which are common in the area. It is likely that the timing and 

volume of runoff and water storage along these drainage networks are closely linked to the 

monsoon rainfall at the daily, seasonal and decadal scales (Figure 44; Figure 45; Figure 46). 

Horn (1995) reviewed the surface water hydrology of the Cape York Peninsula, but there are 

few data applicable to the Oriners area. No historic or current stream gauge stations exist in 

the Oriners region or Alice River catchment. CSIRO has developed water budgets (rainfallrunoff 

modelling) for the entire Mitchell-Alice catchment (Commonwealth Scientific and 

Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) 2009) and well as sediment budgets (Rustomji, 

Shellberg et al. 2010). However, these modelling efforts are also hampered by a lack local 

gauge data and specific detail in the Alice catchment that are needed to validate and drive 

model efforts. Modelling results are also not detailed enough to infer local hydrological 

processes from, beyond basic climate data reviewed in Section 3.2.1. 

Due to the remoteness of the area and lack of local field data, satellite images and remote 

sensing have been used to understand the seasonal flood inundation patterns of the area 

(Ward, Pusey et al. 2011). Ward et al. (2012) analysed Moderate Resolution Imaging 

Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery (2003-2009) to estimate the visual inundation 

patterns and frequency of different parts of the Mitchell-Alice fluvial megafan. These data 

covered over a dozen flood events not obstructed by cloud cover. They provide minimum 


148

inundation frequency estimates due to image availability, 250 m pixel size and mixed spectral 

signals, masking by dense riparian vegetation cover > 30%, and other issues detecting 

episodic shallow inundation from local rainfall or floods. However, they do provide a first 

order minimum look at landscape flooding patterns (Figure 57). 

The mapped flood inundation for lower valleys of Crosbie and Eight Mile Creeks and the 

Alice River on Oriners Station clearly show that these floodplain valleys are regularly 

inundated, on average every two years (Figure 57). This matches local observations of flood 

frequency (Section 2.1.2 and 2.2.2). The period of measurement (2003- 2009) had average 

rainfall conditions for the period of record (Figure 46), and thus is likely typical. However, 

wetter or dryer cycles at the decadal scale could increase or decrease the frequency of 

flooding. 

Figure 57. Minimum flood inundation frequency data for Oriners and Sefton Stations and part 

of the Mitchell fluvial megafan (MODIS satellite imagery, number of times inundated between 

2003 and 2009; Ward et al. 2012). Major permanent water body locations and typical dry-season 

water clarity estimates from Landsat satellite data (1986 and 2005) are also shown (Lymburner 

and Burrows 2008), as are the locations of smaller intermittent palustrine wetlands are also 

shown in black (Queensland Department of Natural Resources (QDERM) 2010). 

Once floodwaters rise above the banks of anabranch channels along these low-gradient 

floodplain valleys (Quaternary alluvium, Figure 48; Cumbulla land system, Figure 50, Figure 

55), water easily spreads across the entire valley floor and can reach the edges of adjacent 

shallow hillslopes. Flood water at Oriners Station on Eight Mile Creek can reach 2 km across, 

since the creek is still partially confined there. Further downstream near the Crosbie/Eight 

Mile confluence, floodwater can extent over 7 km across the wider valley (Figure 57). Near 

the unconfined floodplains of the Crosbie/Alice confluence, flood water can reach tens of kms 

in either direction during floods. 

In contrast, runoff and flood water on Sefton Station and the Balurga land system (Figure 50; 

Figure 51; Figure 52) are typically confined to the dendritic drainage depressions (dambos) 

and valleys (generally < 0.5 km wide), which are carved into the Holroyd Plain. However, the 


149

larger valleys of Hoodoo and Sellars Creeks can become fully inundated to 1-2 km in width. 

The higher plains, ridgelines and small oval wetlands (pans) on interfluves of the Balurga 

land system might become saturated and filled from local rainfall, but they appear to be 

rarely inundated by actual flood water from creeks. However, these remote sensing data are 

also masked by forest cover > 30% in these areas (Figure 57). 

The remotely-sensed distribution of floodwater was also compared to the remotely-sensed 

distribution and dry-season visual clarity of both large “lacustrine” lagoons with permanent 

water (billabong, oxbows, lakes) and smaller “palustrine” wetlands with intermittent to 

permanent water (pans, depressions, swamps, bogs, marshes). The distribution (but not 

clarity) of small palustrine wetlands > 0.2 ha was mapped by DERM (Queensland 

Department of Natural Resources (QDERM) 2010). For more permanent wetlands, 

(Lymburner and Burrows 2008) analysed Landsat TM satellite imagery between 1986 and 

2005 across the Northern Gulf area. They mapped the distribution of both lacustrine lagoons 

and larger palustrine wetlands (in-channel and off-channel) that contained open water and 

typically do not dry out in the dry season. During each dry season year for the period, they 

estimated the visual clarity (via colour) of the water body using the green-band digital number 

from Landsat, correlated to some secchi depth measurements of light penetration and water 

clarity. They classified clarity along a range between very clear and always turbid (Figure 

57). 

Comparing the distribution of flood waters to the distribution of lacustrine and palustrine 

wetlands demonstrates that most of the wetlands located along major creek and river valleys 

in Quaternary alluvium are regularly inundated (Figure 57). This is in contrast to the 

numerous palustrine wetlands on ridgelines, interfluves, and higher plains of the area that 

are not frequently flooded by creeks, but rather filled locally by rainwater and perhaps 

groundwater. 

Wet season water clarity, turbidity, or sediment concentrations measurements (or even 

remotely sensed estimates) are not available for the area, and should be a priority in future 

wet-season data collection. Comparisons of available dry-season clarity data (remotely 

sensed) to wet-season flood distributions suggest that wetland waterbodies along major flood 

paths in Quaternary alluvium are “usually turbid” during the dry season (Figure 57). This is 

likely due to 1) the abundance of silts and clays transported in the wet season along these 

paths that stay in suspension into the dry season (colloidal clays), 2) the re-suspension of 

silts and clays in the dry season due to wind or local animal disturbance (cattle, pigs) 

concentrated along the banks of water bodies, and/or 3) the greater availability of nutrients 

for primary production (algae phytoplankton) along major watercourses, which all reduce 

water clarity. In contrast, wetland water bodies that are adjacent to or outside of major flood 

paths are typically “clear to turbid”, “usually clear”, or “always clear”, such as toward the edge 

of Quaternary valleys or on higher elevation terraces or tertiary sediments. Sediment and 

nutrient delivery to these wetlands may be lower or local hydrogeologic factors may influence 

the delivery or filtration of sediment and nutrients. For example, sand bars lying along the 

main Alice and Mitchell River channels filter out finer particulate matter during the dry 

season base discharge, keeping in-channel pools clear in the dry season that become turbid 

in the wet season (Figure 57). 

On Oriners Station, locally important lagoons (Figure 4) such as Mosquito Lagoon along 

Eight Mile Creek were mapped as “usually turbid”. In addition, Horseshoe Lagoon lying along 

a tributary next to Crosbie Creek was classified as “usually clear”, despite this location being 

inundated by floods 4 times out of 7 years. Oriners Lagoon unfortunately was not mapped or 

classified, due to omissions or errors. These important errors and omissions in the remotely 

sensed data indicate the need for ground validation and cross-referencing with data from 

knowledgeable local people. Improvements in the understanding and management of these 

important wetlands requires the combination of local knowledge and data with appropriate 

field hydrology techniques, as well as the data provided by new scientific tools such as 

remote sensing. 


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3.2.9 Hydrogeology 

The groundwater hydrogeology of the Oriners/Sefton area of the Holroyd Plain has not been 

studied in detail, with limited data to draw any inferences from in terms of groundwater 

recharge or discharge, surface connectivity, and wetland, spring, and stream maintenance. 

There is a review of the groundwater hydrogeology and aquifers of the Cape York Peninsula 

(Horn, Derrington et al. 1995), but there few data directly applicable to the Oriners area. 

Previous research (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) 

2009) also reviews the hydrogeology of the Mitchell catchment and provides some 

preliminary modelling analysis, but again the level of detail applicable to Oriners is limited. 

Most of the groundwater information for the Oriners region is derived from earlier geological 

investigations, limited bore hole data, and preliminary field reconnaissance, which will be 

reviewed below. 

The geologic structure of the sedimentary beds underlying the Holroyd Plain is dominated by 

the Tertiary Wyaaba Beds and the Bulimba Formation, which are in turn underlain by the 

deeper Wallumbilla Formation, which are all part of the Karumba Basin and Aquifer (Gibson, 

Powell et al. 1973; Grimes and Doutch 1978; Grimes 1979)- see section 3.2.3. The units are 

covered by layers of Quaternary Alluvium along major creek and river valleys, which contains 

shallow groundwater aquifers well connected to stream channels. Beneath the Tertiary 

Karumba Basin is the Mesozoic Carpentaria Basin, which is the northern equivalent of the 

Great Artesian Basin (Smart, Grimes et al. 1980a)(Smart et al., 1980a). A sandstone aquifer 

(the Gilbert River Formation) occurs at the base of the sequence, and is overlain by marine 

mudstones (Rolling Downs Group), which confines the groundwater within the sandstone 

and produce artesian pressure. 

The structure and stratigraphy of the Karumba Basin below Oriners were analysed by limited 

bore holes across the Holroyd Plain. Aquifer pump tests were not performed on these bore 

holes to determine water availability. However at a 165m deep bore hole 7 km west of 

Oriners through the Bulimba Formation into the Wallumbilla, Gibson et al. (1973) observed 

artesian water (under pressure) rising up to the surface, but not flowing out of the bore hole 

after drilling. At water bore holes into the Bulimba Formation at Dunbar, Rutland Plains, the 

Palmer/Mitchell Rivers confluence, and later Kowanyama, artesian water has been found at 

100 to 200m depth flowing at 40,000 to > 135,000 litres per hour (Grimes 1972) . 

Undoubtedly there are conductive lenses for water movement in the sedimentary rock within 

these formations, with at least some of the water under artesian pressure. The past and 

current recharge and discharge locations for these aquifers are unknown, as is the water 

residence times (age). However, where these units outcrop onto the landscape surface, or 

are interrupted by faults, groundwater could emerge onto the surface as springs or as 

gaining water to creeks, rivers, or lagoons. Oriners Station and homestead area is situated 

on the transition between the Bulimba Formation and Wyaaba Beds on the surface, and 

could be an important area for the recharge of these aquifers. However this does not, 

discount the local potential for additional groundwater discharge outflow into springs or creek 

systems at contact zones. 

The small oval wetlands (pans) that are abundant on interfluves of the Balurga land system 

of the Holroyd Plain (Figure 51; Figure 52) offer some clues toward the connectivity between 

surface water and groundwater systems. Doutch (1976) originally hypothesized that these 

shallow wetlands or pans were from wind deflation that eroded surface sediment locally 

during the drier Pleistocene. However, Grimes (1979) in contrast hypothesized that these 

features were good examples of lateritic karst or pseudokarst in non-carbonate materials 

(Grimes 1975; Grimes 1997; Grimes and Spate 2008). The interfluve ridgelines of the 

Holroyd Plain can be indurated and cemented by ferricrete (iron oxide) and silcrete (silica 

oxide), occasionally forming a hard cap duricrust on the surface. More often the interfluve 

ridgelines are dominated by sandy soils (deeply weathered sandstone), possibly with 

indurated ferricrete at depth or just exposed at outcrops at erosional scarps. Where these 

indurated layers are thin and weak they can subside into sinkholes (pseudokarst), especially 

if under pressure from groundwater below or where groundwater flow erodes sediment and 


151

solutes from subsurface sedimentary layers forming pipes leading to roof collapse. However, 

no local data exist to confirm that these wetlands (pans) are connected to the deeper 

groundwater processes below (i.e., beds of the Wyaaba and Bulimba Formations). More 

likely, they are mainly fed by rainfall and local runoff into semi-sealed depressions, with 

shallow groundwater movement into weathered sandstone soils that flows downslope toward 

the shallow, swampy valleys (dambos) that dominate the dendritic channel pattern of the 

Holroyd Plain. 

Spring systems across the Holroyd Plain also suggest the importance of groundwater to the 

local wetland ecosystems. Numerous “mound”, “mud” or “soda” springs” in the area (e.g., 

Oriners and Crosbie Stations) have been utilized for thousands of years by Indigenous 

people for many cultural and subsistence reasons, and remains an essential part of the 

traditional story lines across the Holroyd Plain (Section 2). These spring systems have not 

been analysed in detail by Western scientists, in terms of regional distribution, 

geomorphology, hydrogeology, chemistry, mineralogy, or ecology. Occasionally mound 

springs can be seen in air photographs as white patches across the landscape (Figure 58). 

However not all white patches across the Holroyd Plain are mound springs, as numerous 

shallow erosional areas (scalds) and sand deposits are located on the lower portions of 

slopes that transition between low ridgelines (interfluves) and dendritic depressions (pans) 

cut into the Holroyd Plain (Figure 51; Figure 52). At confirmed mound springs, the white 

areas on air photographs represent bare of vegetation with pebbly surface lags of gravels 

and ferricrete from the Wyaaba Beds. Underneath this surface lag layer at mound springs 

are fluid muds and water that ooze to the surface creating “boggy” or “spongy” country and 

broad mounds up to 1.5 m high (Figure 59abc). During the wet season, these springs may be 

inundated by floodwater in valleys (Figure 57). Frequent sheet wash from groundwater 

outflow, rainfall-runoff, or floodwater are indicated by small lines of vegetation debris on 

mound surfaces (Figure 59d), with the sheet wash promoting the removal of fine muds but 

the retention of pebbly gravel lags. 

It is currently unknown whether these “mound” springs are connected to deeper artesian 

groundwater via faults (i.e., the Mesozoic sandstone aquifer of the Great Artesian Basin) or 

whether they are connected to shallower groundwater flow paths via a hillslope catena from 

the interfluves/ridgelines and psuedokarst wetlands on the Holroyd Plain to the shallow 

valleys (dambos). A collaborative research project has been initiated between the Olkola 

Indigenous owners/managers at nearby Crosbie Station and several hydro-geological 

scientists (Shellberg and Grimes) with the goal of understanding and managing these 

important systems wetlands systems in more detail from cultural, geologic, and ecological 

perspectives. 

Figure 58. Air photograph of a mound spring (white) areas on Oriners Station. 


152


a) b) 

c) d) 

Figure 59.Photographs of a mound spring on western Oriners Station with a) water seeping to 

the surface, b) fluid muds oozing to the surface under pressure, c) the pebble lags of gravel 

and ferricrete nodules on the spring surface, and d) sheet wash deposit on top of the spring 

following wet season rain-fall runoff or groundwater discharge. 

3.2.10 Fluvial geomorphology of the Eight Mile Creek near Oriners Lagoon 

3.2.10.1 Background on Anabranching Rivers 

The river system of the Eight Mile Creek reach near Oriners is an anabranching floodplain 

river with multiple, sinuous but generally stable, sand-bed channels that bifurcate and rejoin 

around large floodplain islands (clay, silt, and sand), smaller in-channel sand ridges and 

large woody debris (LWD) jams (Figure 60; Figure 64; Figure 65; Figure 67; Figure 68). 

Anabranching rivers are common along floodplain reaches in Australia and the world with a 

variety of fluvial forms and processes (Nanson and Knighton 1996) . Floodplain river 

channels often form anabranching patterns in response to the need to efficiently transport the 

water and sediment supplied to a reach without altering its slope or sinuosity. For a given 

channel slope and total stream power, the sediment transport efficiency for a given reach can 

be maintained by splitting the flow into multiple narrow channels, rather than one wide 

channel (Jansen and Nanson 2004; Huang and Nanson 2007) . In floodplains and channels 

dominated by non-cohesive sands, riparian vegetation plays an important role in maintaining 

bank strength and the stability of multiple narrow, deep channels essential for maximum 

sediment transport efficiency (Tooth and Nanson 2000; Tooth, Jansen et al. 2008) . Large 

woody debris (LWD) from dead riparian vegetation also serve to stabilize channel beds and 

banks, and regulate water diversions into anabranch channels around floodplain islands. 

153

3.2.10.2 Eight Mile valley near Oriners 

Above Oriners, Eight Mile Creek is confined to a narrower Quaternary valley where it 

predominantly has one major channel and occasionally a few anabranches. Just above 

Oriners, the valley and floodplain widens dramatically and the main channel splits into 

numerous anabranches distributing water and sediment across the valley (Figure 60; Figure 

61). The valley width changes from < 2 km wide upstream of Oriners to 3-4 km near Oriners 

(Figure 61; Figure 62). This floodplain segment at Oriners is the first major floodplain pocket 

on Eight Mile Creek flowing in the downstream direction. It is typically the most upstream 

location where floodwaters are regularly detected in MODIS satellite imagery (Figure 57). 

Oriners Lagoon is also the last large permanent lagoon moving in the upstream direction. 

The valley narrows slightly again downstream of Oriners, but then generally continues to 

widen downstream towards Crosbie Creek, all the while retaining its anabranching 

characteristics with multiple channels, floodplain islands, and occasional large in-channel 

lagoons. 

According to the relatively coarse SRTM topography data, the average valley slope through 

the Oriners reach is 0.0007 m/m or 0.07%, which is typical of anabranching rivers. Besides 

the reach ~ 10 km upstream having a slightly reduced valley gradient according to SRTM 

data (Figure 63), there appears to be no major break in slope near the Oriners segment. 

More detail topographic data from airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) surveys will 

be needed to analyse more subtle slope and valley width variations in relation to river pattern 

and behaviour. 

Oriners Station and Lagoon are situated on the northern boundary of this large floodplain 

pocket (Figure 61; Figure 62). Oriners Lagoon is the lowest point along the cross-section (B- 

B‟) and in the valley (Figure 61; Figure 62). The station infrastructure is situated between this 

lagoon low point and the critical water it provides in the dry season, and the higher terrain 

just to the north of the station (Figure 61; Figure 62) consisting of Tertiary sediments of the 

Bulimba and Wyaaba formations (Figure 48; Figure 49; Figure 50). 

Figure 60. False colour satellite image (ASTER) of the river segment and landscape 

surrounding Oriners Station and Eight Mile Creek. Note bright red colour is riparian vegetation 

(mainly Melaleuca spp.) growing along Eight Mile Creek. Inset box refers to air photographs in 

Figure 64 and Figure 65. 


154

Figure 61. Digital elevation model of the river segment and landscape surrounding Oriners 

Station and Eight Mile Creek using the 30m pixel data from the Shuttle Radar Topography 

Mission (SRTM 2000). Inset box refers to air photographs in Figure 64 and Figure 65. Crosssection 

lines refer to data in Figure 62. 

Elevation (m) 

120 

110 

100 

90 

80 

70 

60 

A 

B 

0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 9,000 10,000 

Figure 62. Elevation cross-sections across the Eight Mile Creek Valley at Oriners, derived from 

the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission 30m pixel digital elevation model (SRTM 2000). Crosssection 

locations are mapped in Figure 61. Note that 2 to 5 m fluctuations in elevation could be 

errors from vegetation artefacts in the data. 


Valley Width at A-A' 

Valley Width at B-B' 

Oriners 

Lagoon 

Distance from Left (South) Side of Eight Mile Valley (m) 

A 

B 

B' 

A' 

155

Elevation (m) 

180 

160 

140 

120 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

Oriners Segmemt 

Average Valley Slope 

0.0007 m/m 

Crosbie 

Creek 

Confluence 

0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 

Figure 63. Longitudinal profile of the Eight Mile Creek Valley from the confluence of Crosbie 

Creek to the headwaters derived from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission 30m pixel digital 

elevation model (SRTM 2000). The Oriners segment of Eight Mile Creek is also mapped in 

Figure 61. 

3.2.10.3 8 Mile Creek reach near Oriners 

The 6 km river reach around Oriners Lagoon has several major anabranch channels with 

highly mobile sand beds, generally stable banks, LWD jams, and numerous other smaller 

anabranch channels that are active only during flood conditions as water spreads from valley 

wall to wall (Figure 64). Numerous additional small tributaries also flow off the Holroyd Plain 

into this Quaternary valley in the reach, especially north of Oriners. 

Near where the valley widens into the Oriners floodplain pocket, several anabranches 

diverge from the main channel (Figure 66ab) and feed water and sediment into Oriners 

Lagoon (Figure 64). The most upstream northern anabranch is smaller and is predominantly 

a flood overflow channel bringing water in a circuitous path down to Oriners Lagoon (Figure 

66d). The second southern anabranch is a main secondary channel of Eight Mile Creek and 

brings large volumes of water and sediment straight down to Oriners Lagoon (Figure 66c). 

Oriners Lagoon is a convergence point for these anabranch channels, as it is a major low 

elevation point on the landscape (Figure 61; Figure 62). Below Oriners Lagoon, water again 

diverges into multiple anabranches (Figure 64). The main anabranch below Oriners Lagoon 

flows down toward another major swamp and is joined by several additional anabranches 

from the main channel of Eight Mile Creek. The northern most anabranch below Oriners 

Lagoon flows along a circuitous and fairly non-distinct floodplain path toward the airplane 

strip and “Aerodrome Plain” along the northern valley wall. Eventually, the 6+ anabranch 

channels of this reach reconverge into 2-3 main channels downstream (far left of Figure 64). 

Air photographs from 1955 and 2004 can be used to compare changes in the Eight Mile 

Creek river reach over time. Over this period, the locations of major anabranches have 

remained stable at the reach scale. No major or widespread channel migration through bank 

erosion has occurred, despite the existence of local bank erosion and channel widening and 

narrowing discussed further below. Furthermore, no major channel avulsions have occurred, 

which are “sudden and major shifts in the position of the channel to a new part of the 


Eight Mile Creek Valley Floor 

Oriners Segment 

Linear (Oriners Segment) 

Distance Upstream From Crosbie Creek (m) 

Eight Mile Creek 

Headwaters 

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floodplain (first-order avulsion) or sudden reoccupation of an old channel on the floodplain 

(second-order avulsion)” (Nanson and Knighton 1996) . Channel avulsion is the primary way 

that anabranch channels migrate to maintain the efficient transport of water and sediment. 

The existing channels of Eight Mile Creek were formed via avulsions sometime in the past. 

The lack of evidence of channel avulsions between 1955 and 2004 suggests that either 1) 

the frequency of these channel changing events is greater than 1:50 years, and/or 2) 

perhaps the climate, hydrology or sediment transport regimes in the deeper past were more 

conducive to channel migration through avulsion. 

In contrast to channel planform stability, human infrastructure changes can be seen between 

the 1955 and 2004 photographs. In 1955, only one small track/road was present leading to 

Oriners from the east (Figure 64; Figure 67). By 2004, numerous dirt roads can be seen 

along with fence lines and the airplane landing strip (Figure 65; Figure 68). These roads have 

undoubtedly changed local water flow paths and caused local erosion, but the degree to 

which they have altered the movement of water across the entire floodplain during flood 

events remains less clear. Several examples do exist where roads parallel to the valley and 

Eight Mile Creek channels have collected and concentrated overbank flood water and 

funnelled water into erosion hotspots, essentially creating new anabranch channels (see 

Section 3.2.11 on gully erosion below). Construction of a new “bypass” road around Oriners 

was initiated in 2010 via tree clearing with a bulldozer (Figure 65), but construction of the 

road base has not commenced circa 2012. This new road will take traffic and pressure off 

Oriners Station itself, but also may cause additional problems such as erosion and weed 

spreading along the new route (see Section 3.2.11 on gully erosion below). Another major 

change that can be seen between the 1955 and 2004 photographs is major woodland tree 

thickening along the grassy islands of the alluvial floodplain (Figure 64; Figure 65; Figure 67; 

Figure 68). These changes will be discussed in more detail in Section 3.3.4 about fire. 


157


Lagoon. See Figure 67 for detail of inset box. 


Lagoon, showing existing (pre-2004) and new road (2010) infrastructure, air strip and gully 

erosion problem areas. See Figure 68 for detail of inset box. 


158


a) b) 

c) d) 

Figure 66. Ground photos during July 2011 of a) Eight Mile Creek looking upstream near the 

main anabranch bifurcation that feeds Oriners Lagoon, note major sand bar deposits that 

influence channel divergence and anabranching, b) Eight Mile Creek looking upstream below 

the main anabranch bifurcation that feeds Oriners Lagoon, c) the main anabranch channel 

looking downstream that feeds Oriners Lagoon, and d) the smaller, most upstream, anabranch 

channel looking downstream that feeds Oriners Lagoon. 

3.2.10.4 Oriners Lagoon creation 

Oriners Lagoon and the other major deep lagoons (e.g. Mosquito, Jewfish, and Horseshoe; 

Figure 4) cut into Quaternary alluvium along Eight Mile and Crosbie Creeks. They are 

anomalous with respect to the wider landscape, especially as compared to the fairly frequent 

and regular smaller pools within individual anabranch channels or on floodplains as 

palustrine seasonal wetlands (Figure 57; Figure 60). Under the current climate, hydrology or 

sediment transport regimes, deep lagoon pools like these are not actively being created 

across the alluvial landscape by fluvial processes (Figure 64; Figure 65). However, they are 

actively being maintained by regular water and sediment flushing, despite a tendency toward 

sediment infilling during recent times (Figure 69; see Section 3.2.11 below). Their 

uniqueness and relative stability over long periods of time has made them important cultural 

sites for both traditional story lines and subsistence resources. They are critical dry-season 

water refugia for a variety of terrestrial and aquatic animals, including humans, 

The apparent antiquity of large lagoons (Oriners, Mosquito, Jewfish, Horseshoe) leaves room 

for both traditional creation stories and conventional science explanations of past fluvial 

processes. A possible science explanation for the presence of these lagoons is that they are 

relict paleo-channel features that were created during more active phases of fluvial activity 

during the Pleistocene, when the climate, hydrology or sediment transport regimes were 

different (Kershaw 1978; Nanson, Price et al. 1992; Kershaw and Nanson 1993) . Deep 

159

pools like these are typically carved into alluvium as a result of intense scour and turbulence 

during large floods. Something common to Oriners, Mosquito, and Horseshoe lagoons is that 

they are located directly adjacent to Tertiary hillslopes, which act as hard points during flood 

and concentrate water energy locally into the bed and form pools. Features like these may 

have been more common in the past across these Quaternary floodplains, but sediment 

deposition and infilling may have erased much of the surface evidence for their presence. It 

is perhaps a matter of chance or strategic position that these large lagoons still persist today. 

All receive regular sediment flushing and maintenance by floods but are located along 

secondary anabranches rather than the main anabranch channels, with the latter carrying the 

bulk of the sand bed load that could infill these lagoons. It appears that partial but not full 

connectivity is a key attribute. Air photos near Oriners do reveal numerous smaller paleochannels 

that are present but mostly infilled on the floodplains. Scientific tools such as optical 

stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sediment layer ages and ground penetrating radar 

(GPR) analysis of sub-surface sedimentary layers could help shed light on the age and form 

of paleo-channels and lagoon creation and infilling over time. 

3.2.10.5 Oriners Lagoon maintenance and preservation 

Like all lagoons in active fluvial floodplain environments, Oriners Lagoon exists because of 

the local balance of both erosional forces (water turbulence and sediment scour during flood 

flushing events) and depositional forces (sand deposition from bedload during flood or silt 

deposition during settling) over the short-term (decades to centuries). Over the long-term 

(millennia to Ages) erosional or depositional forces may win out. 

Flood water and energy into Oriners Lagoon is provided by two main inlet channels, one 

major anabranch channel that feeds water directly into the lagoon from Eight Mile Creek 

(Figure 66c; Figure 67), and another anabranch channel that operates mostly during flood 

through a circuitous path (Figure 66d; Figure 67), with the latter also being fed by numerous 

tributaries and gullies off the Tertiary Holroyd Plain (Figure 64). Below Oriners Lagoon, water 

again diverges into multiple anabranches (Figure 67), one major and several minor. 

Sediment input to Oriners Lagoon consists of silts and clays suspended in the water during 

flow events, and sand transported along the bed of channels as bedload. Due to its size, the 

main anabranch channel from Eight Mile Creek supplies the bulk of suspended silt/clay and 

bedload sand to Oriners Lagoon (Figure 68; Figure 69). Bank erosion and sand bedload 

transport along the main anabranch feeding Oriners has brought large quantities of sand 

toward the lagoon during recent times (Figure 69ab). It is unknown whether the bank erosion 

is the main source of sand material, or whether increased sand bed waves moving through 

the anabranch have exacerbated bank erosion, or some combination of both. Regardless, 

large bars of sand have recently accumulated in the lagoon (Figure 69cd), which previously 

were not as evident in either the 2004 (Figure 68) or especially the 1955 (Figure 67) 

photographs. It is unknown whether this infilling and these features will persist over time, or 

whether the lagoon will be flushed of this sediment by subsequent larger floods. However, 

Melaleuca trees colonizing these sand bars could inhibit future flushing of this material. Local 

monitoring of this erosion and sedimentation will be key for future management plans and for 

determining if intervention is necessary. 

According to local observations over the last decade, gully erosion along small tributaries 

and the main road to Oriners from the east have increased sediment loads to the eastern, 

upstream anabranch feeding into the top of Oriners Lagoon (Figure 68; see Section 3.2.11 

on gully erosion below). This gully erosion is largely a result of uncontrolled road use of a 

primitive track, little road maintenance, and cumulative land use impacts on duplex soils 

prone to erosion. The road crossing at the top of the lagoon has gouged into the inlet 

channel, lowered the local base level, and induced gullying upstream (Figure 69ef). 

Additional erosion and gullying along the new “bypass” road around Oriners (Figure 65) 

could also increase sediment loads to Oriners Lagoon via tributaries, unless erosion is 

mitigated by careful road design and implementation of abundant Best Management 

Practices (BMPs) (i.e., frequently spaced diversion drains). 


160

Downstream controls on the depth and volume of Oriners Lagoon include the height of the 

outlet sill (or invert) of the lagoon, the density and roughness of vegetation growing on the sill 

and along the outlet channels, and the accumulation of LWD that adds to roughness and 

contributes to backwater. The sill height or invert is the minimum elevation water needs to 

reach before spilling out of the lagoon. Local observations and photographs suggest that the 

conditions of the lagoon outlet and sill have changed over time. First, a road has historically 

crossed the outlet just immediately downstream of the sill (Figure 70a), which has promoted 

the erosion of the sill in several locations (Figure 70d) and initiated gully erosion on the bank 

of the southern outlet channel. Second, Melaleuca trees colonized the sill several years 

before 1997 (Figure 70a) and by 2011 had developed into a thick woodland (Figure 70b). 

This increased the roughness of the outlet (Figure 70c), possibly backing up more water 

during flood, but the trees and LWD also concentrated flood water at the outlet, possibly 

inducing local scour and reducing the effective sill height (Figure 70def). Air photo evidence 

suggest that vegetation at the outlet changed from open grassy woodland conditions in 1955 

(Figure 67) to a more closed woodland in 2004 (Figure 68). 

The net effects of these changes at the lagoon outlet sill are unknown. Erosion into the sill 

remains a significant threat to the potential water volume of the lagoon. However, sediment 

deposition into the lagoon from upstream sources also poses a threat to potential water 

volume, and the downstream sill height is a major control on the ability of sand to be flushed 

through the system. Given the significance of Oriners Lagoon to human habitation as well as 

the local ecology, future investigations, monitoring, and perhaps intervention may be needed. 


161

Figure 67. 1955 Aerial Photograph Oriners Station and Lagoon. Note new road in 1955. 

Figure 68. 2004 Aerial Photograph of Oriners Station and Lagoon, showing existing road 

infrastructure and gully erosion problem areas. 


162


a) b) 

c) d) 

e) f) 

Figure 69. Ground photos during July 2011 of a) a sand bar infilling the top end of Oriners 

Lagoon, b) the same sand bar at distance with colonizing vegetation, c), bank erosion and 

adjacent sand bar along the main anabranch channel above Oriners Lagoon, d) similar 

anabranch bank erosion and sand splay onto the floodplain above Oriners Lagoon, e) general 

sheet and gully erosion along the road crossing the upper anabranch inlet to Oriners Lagoon, 

and f) the same eroded anabranch channel looking upstream from the road. 

163


\ 

a) b) 

c) d) 

e) f) 

Figure 70. Ground photos of the Oriners Lagoon outlet a) in 1997 looking north with active road 

across outlet and sparse woodlands and emergent Melaleuca trees on sill, b) in July 2011 

looking south with denser stands of Melaleuca trees, c) in July 2011 looking upstream at 

eroded cut through the sill on the southern outlet, d) in July 2011 looking upstream at the 

southern outlet channel eroding upstream toward the sill and cut, e) in ~1990 looking upstream 

at the sill on the northern outlet, and f) in July 2011 looking upstream at an incipient cut that 

will eventually erode through the sill on the northern outlet; note same tire hanging from tree in 

e and f. 

164

3.2.10.6 Summary of Water and Sediment Processes at Oriners Lagoon 

The size and volume of Oriners, its importance for residential purposes and the complexity of 

the controls on water and sediment inputs and outputs, meant that a conceptual model was 

created to visualize the major factors and their interactions (see Figure 86 in Part 4). The 

main independent controller on the water volume of Oriners is the climatic input of rainfall 

and resultant runoff. Rainfall can vary annually, seasonally and daily (Figure 44; Figure 45; 

Figure 46) and influence rainfall-runoff patterns and vegetation cover, with the latter in turn 

mediating runoff from rainfall. Land use impacts such as grazing, fire, weed invasions and 

roads can also influence vegetation cover, which in turn mitigate water and sediment runoff 

volumes in response to rainfall. The main inputs of water for Oriners Lagoon are from the 

Eight Mile Creek anabranches (Figure 64; Figure 66), small tributaries and gullies off the 

Holroyd Plain, and combined baseflow and groundwater (GW) input. The main sediment 

sources to Oriners Lagoon are also Eight Mile Creek anabranches (Figure 68; Figure 69), but 

sediment sources from gully and road erosion are increasing due to local land use impacts 

(Figure 69ef; see Section 3.2.11 on gully erosion below). 

Downstream factors also influence the water volume and storage of Oriners Lagoon by 

controlling the outputs of water. Evaporation and transpiration (combined as 

evapotranspiration, ET) are key natural processes that slowly draw down the water volume in 

the lagoon over the dry season. Evaporation likely dominates total ET, but the transpiration 

of lagoon water by trees into the atmosphere could also be locally significant. Additional 

pumping withdrawals are made by the human use of Oriners station. At present these 

withdrawals are minuscule, but could increase in the future with more development. The 

height of the outlet sill of the lagoon (Figure 70) is the key factor that controls the total water 

storage volume of the reservoir, in addition to the volume of floodwater and baseflow output. 

Different types of vegetation growing on the sill, in addition to LWD, can influence the sill 

roughness and stability. Native perennial grass is likely being a better stabilizer of soil across 

the entire sill, rather than trees that funnel water into discrete scour locations. Human land 

use of the local area around the lagoon outlet can have significant impacts on the erosion or 

deposition of sediment on the sill, specifically roads, gullying, and vegetation changes 

(Figure 70), which again in turn influence lagoon water volume. A big unknown is the degree 

that the sill height influences the flushing of sediment from the lagoon during floods, such as 

sand bedload. A lower sill height could allow for easier passage of sand, but a low sill high 

could also reduce water depth, turbulence and shear stress in the lagoon during flood, which 

promote local scour of the lagoon bottom. 

3.2.11 Gully erosion 

3.2.11.1 Background on gully erosion 

Gully erosion is the process by which running water cuts new unstable channels into erodible 

soils and regolith. Gullies are larger than rills, which can be ploughed or easily crossed, but 

smaller than streams, creeks, arroyos, or river channels. Gullying causes severe land 

degradation, is a major component of contemporary sediment budgets, and is a major source 

of sediment pollution to aquatic ecosystems. Two types of gully erosion are typically found in 

Australia, including Oriners and Sefton Stations: 1) hillslope or colluvial gully erosion, and 2) 

alluvial or floodplain gully erosion (Brooks, Shellberg et al. 2009). 

Hillslope gullies are generally located in headwater settings, where they erode into colluvium 

(or alluvium mixtures), saprolite, weak sedimentary rock, or other weathered rock, and have 

also been defined as valley-side or valley-head gullies. Their length is much typically greater 

than their width and their erosion mechanism is typically overland flow in which excess shear 

stress exceeds resisting forces (Brooks, Shellberg et al. 2009). 

Alluvial gullies are incisional features entrenched into floodplain or terrace alluvium typically 

not previously incised since initial deposition. They are often located adjacent to rivers or 

floodplain water bodies in the Mitchell-Alice catchment (Brooks, Shellberg et al. 2009; 

Shellberg 2011; Shellberg, Brooks et al. 2012) . They are locally called “breakaways”, or 


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have also been defined as valley-bottom gullies and bank gullies. They are often as wide or 

wider than they are long forming large gully complexes and “breakaway” scarps, due to the 

lack of structural control on their lateral expansion (Brooks, Shellberg et al. 2009). 

Gullying is a natural process, but can also be greatly accelerated by human land use factors. 

Natural factors influencing gully erosion include the driving forces in erosion and sediment 

transport (topography, slope, relative relief (height) and potential energy, kinetic energy from 

rainfall-runoff and flood water) and resisting forces (soil texture, chemistry and erodibility, 

vegetation cover) (Brooks, Shellberg et al. 2009; Shellberg, Brooks et al. 2012) . Human 

impacts from land use such as grazing and changes in the fire regime can change the 

vegetative resistance to surface erosion, and subsequently accelerate gully erosion (Graf 

1979; Prosser and Slade 1994). Linear cattle pads (tracks) and vehicle roads can also 

concentrate overland flow and increased the local shear stress needed to erode gullies 

(Brooks, Shellberg et al. 2009; Shellberg, Brooks et al. 2010; Shellberg 2011). 

As a local example in the lower Mitchell catchment, cattle grazing intensity and impacts are 

heavily concentrated along “waterway frontages” or riparian zones of main rivers and 

tributaries during the long dry season. Many alluvial gullies across the lower Mitchell initiated 

post-European settlement, when traditional Indigenous management was suppressed and 

cattle numbers increased significantly from the 1880s onwards (Shellberg, Brooks et al. 

2010; Shellberg 2011). Gully initiation points were located at relatively steep river banks or 

within un-channelled floodplain-hollows, where cattle impacts such as overgrazing, soil 

disturbance, and concentration of water along cattle pads were the greatest. The long-term 

evolution of the landscape created the template for gully erosion potential (relief, climate, soil 

chemistry, etc.), while shorter-term changes in vegetative cover and soil erosion resistance 

pushed the landscape across a stability threshold. 

3.2.11.2 Gully erosion at Oriners and Sefton Stations 

At Oriners and Sefton Stations, hillslope or colluvial gullies can also be found eroding into 

shallow hillslopes and colluvium/alluvium mixtures across the Tertiary sediments of the 

Holroyd Plain (Balurga and Mottle, Annaly land systems) (Galloway et al. 1970). The 

“breakaways” referred to by Galloway et al. (1970) in the Annaly land system are actually 

weathered bedrock breaks in slope or shallow escapements in Tertiary sediments, rather 

than more typical alluvial “breakaways” and gullies found on Quaternary floodplains in the 

Mitchell (Brooks, Shellberg et al. 2009). Besides initial field reconnaissance surveys for soil 

and geological mapping (Isbell, Webb et al. 1968; Galloway, Gunn et al. 1970; Grimes and 

Doutch 1978; Grimes 1979; Smart, Grimes et al. 1980a; Smart, Grimes et al. 1980a; Smart, 

Grimes et al. 1980b; Biggs and Philip 1995a; Biggs and Philip 1995b), no data or detailed 

observations exist for the condition of soil or gully erosion across much of the remote Holroyd 

Plain away from roads and valleys, which includes most of Oriners and Sefton Stations. 

More commonly at Oriners and Sefton Stations, alluvial gullies can be found along the 

Quaternary floodplains, creeks and lagoon banks of Eight Mile Creek, Crosbie Creek, and 

other smaller tributary valleys. Alluvial gullies are especially widespread along the mainstem 

of the Alice River (Brooks, Shellberg et al. 2009). For this section, alluvial gully erosion along 

creek and lagoon banks and roads near Oriners Station and Lagoon will be focused on, due 

to the few available observations here and some pressing management issues. 

At Oriners Lagoon (and others like Jewfish), amphitheatre-shaped alluvial gullies into lagoon 

banks do exist (Figure 71ab), similar to elsewhere in the Mitchell (Brooks, Shellberg et al. 

2009; Shellberg 2011). Often these gullies are created by grazing impacts like cattle pads to 

access water. However in the case of Oriners, which has been occupied recently by 

dispersed wild cattle in relatively low numbers, these impacts are not severe. More 

commonly in the Oriners area, these bank gullies are caused by vehicle roads and tracks 

(Figure 71cd) that funnel water along the floodplain and concentrate the runoff over banks 

into lagoons. 


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Most of the major gully erosion along the floodplains of Eight Mile Creek near Oriners is 

created and accelerated by vehicle roads and tracks. When primate tracks have light traffic, 

are covered well by grass, and are driven by cautious and attentive drivers, they can be quite 

stable and produce less sediment than larger more developed dirt roads. However when 

small tracks are driven during wetter periods by aggressive drivers and/or during periods of 

low vegetation cover after fires, they can begin to erode in sensitive areas such as creek 

crossings, inclines, boggy areas, and sandy areas. The mechanical breakdown of alluvial 

soils into “bull-dust” in the dry season can also initiate gullying when this material is easily 

washed away in the wet season. Often initially small road disturbances can concentrate 

overbank floodwater and through positive feedbacks then erode into large gullies. Roads 

parallel to the flood flow in alluvial valleys (Figure 57) are very prone to linear gullying and 

can even facilitate the creation of new anabranches (Figure 73a). Whereas road crossings 

through creeks can accelerate local water delivery and the creation of bank gullies (Figure 

88). 

Examples of initially small road disturbances creating large linear gullies into alluvium are 

widespread along Eight Mile Creek, such as along the western access road to Oriners 

(Figure 73a), the eastern access road (Figure 73bcd), or the airplane landing strip (Figure 

73ef). Severe road damage at the upstream end of Oriners Lagoon has reduced the local 

base level and triggered massive gully erosion into shallow drainage ways (dambos) 

upstream (Figure 72). Most of these gullies have formed in the last 20 years, but were a 

consequence of earlier settlement patterns and road placement (Figure 38). Small scale 

regular maintenance and seasonal touch-up of primate tracks with small equipment like a 

tractor is key to longevity, and could have stopped many of these gullies issues before they 

got to this stage. In contrast, careless large-scale machine work using bulldozers and 

graders can actually accelerate gully erosion by scouring into highly erodible soils, removing 

protective grass cover and concentrating larger volumes of water. The fragile nature of the 

Oriners landscape means that major road works need to follow strict Best Management 

Practices, consulting local knowledge holders, building up road prisms with imported 

material, and conducting regular maintenance. 

The newly cleared bypass road around Oriners homestead (circa 2010; Figure 74ab) and 

plans for major upgrades of the road through Oriners Station (circa 2012/2013) could 

improve access and road drivability, but also could have significant unintended 

consequences (e.g., erosion, sedimentation, weed spread). They could accelerate soil and 

gully erosion and sediment delivery to major residential and cultural sites such as Oriners 

and Jewfish Lagoons. Examples already exist of gullying into swampy valleys and drainage 

ways (dambos) from excess water delivery (Figure 74cd), as these valleys are highly prone 

to disturbance. It is likely that the new road construction will increase the water and sediment 

delivery to these dambo valleys via road runoff, which could destabilize them and lead to 

further gully incision (Figure 74ef). It is essential that roads are properly designed to match 

the topographic and erodible soils. Water runoff and sediment delivery must be carefully 

mitigated through the implementation of abundant Best Management Practices (BMPs) such 

as frequently spaced and abundant diversion drains (i.e., < 20m spacing onto safe dispersal 

sites). Unfortunately, existing completed road designs in the area are far from adequate to 

reduce or eliminate excess water and sediment delivery to aquatic systems (Figure 74f). 


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a) b) 

c) d) 

Figure 71. Examples of alluvial gullies on lagoon banks at a) Oriners Lagoon, b) Jewfish 

Lagoon, c) road/track at Jewfish Lagoons feeding water into a gully, which is the same as d) 

next to Jewfish Lagoon. 

Figure 72. A large gully upstream of Oriners Lagoon triggered by the road crossing the lagoons 

inlet drainage ways. 

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a) b) 

c) d) 

e) f) 

Figure 73. Examples of roads/tracks that have cut into the Eight Mile floodplain creating linear 

alluvial gullies: a) the western road entrance to Oriners, b) the eastern entrance to Oriners, c) 

an intact road segment on the eastern road, d) a gullied road segment downstream of c on the 

eastern road, e) the gullied airplane strip at Oriners from the ground, and f) the gullied airplane 

strip and adjacent road/fenceline at Oriners from the air. 

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a) b) 

c) d) 

e) f) 

Figure 74. Examples of potential impacts from new road construction through Oriners Station 

and bypassing the Oriners homestead: a) the new cleared bypass viewed from the air, b) the 

new cleared bypass crossing an intact swampy drainage way (dambo) viewed from the air, c) 

the same intact swampy drainage way (dambo) viewed from the ground, d) a similar nearby 

drainage way that has been gullied from excess road runoff, e) the new bypass road clearing 

and initial gully erosion by subsequent wet seasons, and f) a new constructed road prism with 

continued delivery of road ditch sediment and concentrated water to a local creek, in addition 

to the spread of grader grass and other weeds. 

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3.3 Biological conditions 

3.3.1 Forest cover 

As described in other sections of this report, some important ethnobotanical work has been 

completed for the Oriners area (Stewart, Hamilton et al. 1996). In terms of wider regional 

studies, forest cover, community types, and dominant vegetation species distributions have 

been mapped for the area around Oriners and Sefton Stations by numerous government 

programs, including CSIRO Land Systems (Galloway, Gunn et al. 1970), CYPLUS (Cape 

York Peninsula Land Use Strategy) (Neldner and Clarkson 1995; Clarkson and Neldner 1995 

in prep; Neldner and Clarkson 1995 in prep) , SLATS (Statewide Landcover and Trees 

Study), and more recent updated vegetation mapping by the Queensland Herbarium. Using 

DERM‟s Wildlife Online Database and geographic coordinates for Oriners and Sefton 

Stations, a plant species list was obtained for the area (Appendix, Section 8.4). This list 

includes both trees and grasses. It is based on field observations in the area by scientists, 

including those of CYPLUS surveys. This list should be seen as an absolute minimum for 

plants inhabiting the area historically, currently or in the future. A brief summary of the main 

forest conditions of Oriners and Sefton Stations is provided below, but this needs to be 

updated with the latest mapping and data from the Queensland Government. 

Neldner and Clarkson (1995) classified the forest vegetation communities around Oriners 

and Sefton Stations as predominantly low-open-woodlands. They mapped a diversity of 

vegetation and forest community types in the area as summarized below. 

BVG 6: Gallery closed-forests and Melaleuca spp. dominated open-forests on 

alluvium. 

BVG 8: Woodlands and open-woodlands dominated by Corymbia clarksoniana 

(Clarkson‟s Bloodwood), Corymbia novoguinensis (Bloodwood) or Corymbia 

polycarpa (Long-fruited Bloodwood). 

BVG 17: Woodlands dominated by Eucalyptus tetrodonta (Messmate or Darwin 

Stringybark) on erosional surfaces and residual sands 

BVG 18: Low open-woodlands and low woodlands dominated by Melaleuca viridiflora 

(Broad-leaved Ti tree) on depositional plains. 

BVG 19: Open-forests and low open-forests dominated by Melaleuca spp. in 

seasonally inundated swamps 

BVG 20. Low open-woodlands and tall shrublands dominated by Melaleuca 

stenostachya, Melaleuca citrolens, or other Melaleuca spp. 

BVG 23: Tussock grasslands on longitudinal drainage depressions 

BVG 27: Sedgelands, lakes and lagoons 

BVG 30. Miscellaneous vegetation group dominated by Acacia spp. such as 

Lancewood (Acacia shirleyi) on rocky rises (or ridgelines), or members of the 

Myrtaceae family occurring on a variety of landforms. 

Clarkson (Clarkson 2009) also identified several other species of Eucalyptus in the area of 

Oriners and Sefton including: 

Corymbia setosa subsp pedicellaris (Rough-leaved Bloodwood) in an isolated 

location near Sefton. 

Corymbia stockeri (Gum-topped bloodwood) on sand ridges and sand plain 

Eucalyptus camaldulensis var. obtuse (River red gum) on sandy river banks. 

Eucalyptus chlorophylla (Shiney-leaved Box) on undulating plains. 


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Eucalyptus leptophleba (Mollow Red Box) on sandy undulating plains or river levees. 

Eucalyptus megasepala (Messmate) on sandstone ridges and outcrops and 

undulating sandy plains. 

SLATS data for Cape York in general from the 1980‟s to present (Queensland Department of 

Environment and Resource Management (QDERM) 2009) indicate that forest clearing by 

man has been relatively low compared to the rest of the state. This is especially true for 

Oriners and Sefton Stations. However local tree clearing has been conducted around the 

homesteads and yards, and more recently by large scale clearing along roadways for major 

upgrade and development purposes (Figure 41; Figure 74). 

3.3.2 Grass cover 

Grass cover, community types, and dominant grass species distributions have been mapped 

for the area around Oriners and Sefton Stations by government programs such as CYPLUS 

(Neldner and Clarkson 1995; Clarkson and Neldner 1995 in prep; Neldner and Clarkson 

1995 in prep; Neldner, Stanton et al. 1997; Clarkson 2009) and more recent vegetation 

mapping by the Queensland Herbarium. A grass species list was also obtained for the area 

(Appendix, Section 8.4) using DERM‟s Wildlife Online Database. A brief summary of the 

main grassland conditions of Oriners and Sefton Stations is provided below, but this needs to 

be updated with the latest mapping and data from the Queensland Government. 

Around Oriners and Sefton Stations, Neldner and Clarkson (1995) mapped the grassland of 

Oriners and Sefton Stations as tussock grasslands on longitudinal drainage depressions 

(BVG 23). Neldner et al (1997) refined the maps of the grassland communities across the 

Holroyd Plain (map unit 180) and described the grasslands as either dominant or 

subdominant in comparison to other vegetation communities like woodland trees. Both exist 

in the area. The subdominant grasslands coexist beneath woodland tree canopies. The 

dominant pure grasslands at Oriners are located the Aerodrome Plain extending downstream 

along Eight-Mile Creek and Crosby Creek to the Alice River. The dominant grassland 

communities are tussock to closed-tussock grasslands (0.2 to 0.6 m tall) with the following 

plant genera: 

Eriachne spp. (wanderrie grass) 

Aristida spp. (three-awned speargrass) 

Eragrostis spp. (lovegrass) 

Fimbristylis spp. (sedge) 

Typically Eriachne burkittii and Eriachne obtusa (Wanderrie) dominate the pure grasslands, 

while scattered trees of Melaleuca viridiflora (broad leaved ti tree) are also common. 

Eriachne spp. (Wanderrie) can be short-lived annuals or perennials, whereas Aristida spp., 

Eragrostis spp, and Fimbristylis spp. are typically perennial. Neldner et al (1997) described 

the ecology of these grasslands across the Holroyd Plain (unit 180) as occurring “extensively 

in the longitudinal drainage depressions [dambos],… [where] sites are waterlogged for much 

of the wet season, and receive water seepage from the adjacent sand ridges in the early dry 

season. They dry out very rapidly after seepage ceases and the predominantly ephemeral 

herbs complete their life cycle and die. The soils are predominantly Sodosolic or Dermosolic 

Redoxic Hydrosols”. 

3.3.3 Weeds 

Over the last 60 years of European settlement in the Oriners and Sefton area, low levels of 

human presence and through traffic have kept Oriners mostly weed-free compared to other 

sections of Cape York. However, introduced plants are present in the area, and have been 

increasing over the last decade according to local observation. Some species like Mintweed 

(Hyptis suaveolens) and Noogoora burr (Xanthium occidentale), have been slowly invading 

over decades. Others destructive invaders such as Rubber vine (Cyptostegia grandiflora) are 

widespread along the Mitchell River mainstem, but not currently present on Oriners and 

Sefton Stations. Other relatively new and very aggressive weed species have been identified 


172

at Oriners recently, including Sicklepod (Senna obtusifolia), Grader grass (Themeda 

quadrivalis) and other unidentified burr species. Neldner et al. (1997) noted that Sicklepod 

was the most serious exotic weed threatening grassland communities on Cape York, while 

Grader grass was also rapidly invading roadsides and other areas disturbed by clearing or 

overgrazing. 

It is most likely that increased vehicle traffic associated with station access, pig hunting, new 

road construction, road maintenance and grading, and tourism have increased the spread of 

weeds onto Oriners and Sefton Stations. For example, at Oriners Station observations of 

Sicklepod, Grader grass, and other herbaceous weeds immediately around the homestead 

have been brought in by vehicles and equipment used by both Indigenous and European 

people. New weeds have also been recently observed along the newly bulldozed and 

enlarged road through Oriners. Additional weed dispersal also can occur down river and 

stream channels from upstream source areas, especially during flood. Feral animals such as 

pig and wild cattle are also known to spread weed species across Cape York. 

Undoubtable, the new road and increased traffic through Oriners generally means that 

weeds may require more significant management action in the future to prevent invasion and 

spread. Local weed surveys on Oriners and Sefton Stations are critically needed to plan for 

future management and address critical weed hotspots. 

3.3.4 Fire timing, frequency, and distribution 

Fire regimes are defined by the magnitude, frequency, duration, timing, and spatial patterns 

of fires through vegetation of grasslands and woodlands. Since European settlement and the 

introduction of cattle grazing on Cape York, traditional Indigenous fire regimes have been 

replaced by regimes that are tailored toward the production of cattle (Crowley 1995; Neldner, 

Stanton et al. 1997; Crowley and Garnett 1998; Crowley and Garnett 2000). These regimes 

either reduce fire frequency by restricting burning, focus on burning fire breaks in the earlydry 

season to protect remaining feed and control cattle movement, and/or burn in the earlywet 

season (storm burns) to clear out old vegetation and residual weed biomass (Crowley 

1995; Crowley and Garnett 2000) . These fire regimes are different than those traditionally 

used by Indigenous people of Cape York, who utilized fire year round in a mosaic pattern 

across the landscape for game and vegetation management, but focused their fire burning 

efforts across large areas in the early dry season or winter periods (Fensham 1997; Crowley 

and Garnett 2000). 

On nearby cattle stations to the east of Oriners and Sefton (Artemis, Dixie, Musgrave, etc.) 

on central Cape York, Crowley and Garnett (Crowley and Garnett 1998; Crowley and Garnett 

2000) documented that changes in fire regimes or reduced burning between the 1960s and 

1990s resulted in woodland thickening as Melaleuca viridiflora (ti-tree) invaded previously 

open grasslands of wet meadows. Cattle grazing also shifted the dominance of grass 

species from preferred kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra) to black spear grass 

(Heteropogon contortus), along with other changes to preferred native grasses and invasion 

of exotic grasses and weeds. The combined influence of fire regime changes and intensive 

grazing pressure on grass species dominance and fuel load resulted in a net reduction 

grassland area by 10% between the 1960s and 1990s. The degree that similar changes have 

occurred at Oriners and Sefton is unknown, but both currently and historically cattle numbers 

were less on Oriners and Sefton compared to stations further east and west. 

At Oriners and Sefton Stations, the current fire regime for the last 15 years has been 

dominated by frequent fires at least every other year (Figure 75) and hot late-dry season fires 

between September and December (Figure 76). The ignition source of these fires is 

unknown, but many appear to be unmanaged fires from either lightening strikes in the latedry 

season onto high fuel loads in largely un-grazed county, or fires mistakenly or 

deliberately lit by people living or travelling through the area for various reasons (e.g., pig 

hunters). This area is somewhat anomalous compared to the rest of Cape York, where fire is 

managed more intensively in the late-dry season to eliminate fire completely or control fire 

using fire breaks or grazing management of fuel loads. Undoubtedly this fire regime is 

different than a traditional Indigenous regime that would have utilized early-dry season fires 


173

to manage vegetation and game, or from the fire regime in the main pastoral period when 

smaller mosaic fires were lit as soon as the country would burn in order to concentrate cattle 

on the regrowth, and when access by non-pastoralists was extremely rare. The lack of 

permanent Indigenous and pastoral presence on and access to the country around Oriners 

and Sefton over the last 15 years, especially in the early-dry season, could have influenced 

the dominance of these uncontrolled late-dry season fires. 

A thorough investigation into vegetation changes over the last 50-100 years at Oriners and 

Sefton is needed to understand the ecosystem changes associated with altered fire regimes 

and the changes in Indigenous presence on the landscape. The earliest air photographs for 

the area are from 1955, and these photos serve as an important historical baseline for 

woodland vegetation conditions. As a preliminary example near the Oriners Station 

homestead, the 1955 woodland vegetation (Figure 77) on the Eight Mile Creek floodplain 

was much more open and grass dominated compared to the 2004 photograph (Figure 78). 

The exact causes of this thickening are unknown, but are likely related to fire regime 

changes, changes in human management following European settlement especially since 

1955, the dynamics of tree and grass competition, and the frequency and magnitude of 

flooding. The presence and influence of traditional Aboriginal groups in the remote 

Oriners/Sefton forest country like declined dramatically following the 1920‟s, with subsequent 

changes to the fire regime and slow adjustments in vegetation community dynamics. More 

detailed analysis is needed at this and other locations and habitat types in the Oriners area. 

In 2012, a major joint effort between the Oriners mob (Kowanyama Rangers), the 

Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS), and Cape York Sustainable Futures (CYSF) 

has resulted in dramatic change in the recent typical fire regime at Oriners. During June and 

July and August 2012 (predominantly July), over one-half of Oriners and Sefton Station were 

proactively burnt using cool-winter burns ignited by ground crews based at Oriners and aerial 

incendiary crews from QFRS on fixed wing aircraft (Figure 79). These early burns have reinstated 

more traditional burning times and will provide major fire breaks to prevent hot, lateseason 

fires from migrating across large expanses of the western Cape (Figure 75; Figure 

76). Future efforts will be need to maintain, fund and expand these efforts for the decades to 

come, along with detail field monitoring of vegetation, soil erosion, and biodiversity outcomes 

in order to inform an adaptive management program to create appropriate fire regimes for 

the region. 


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Figure 75. Annual fire frequency of all seasonal fires for the Oriners/Sefton area between 1997 

and 2010. Dark red to purple area represent frequent fires occurring 10 year out of 14 total. 

Data are from the Northern Australia Fire Information (NAFI) website (www.firenorth.org.au). 

Figure 76. Annual fire frequency of late-season fires for the Oriners/Sefton area between 1997 

and 2010. Dark red to purple area represent frequent late-season fires occurring 10 year out of 

14 total, with a similar pattern and frequency to all fires in Figure 75. Data are from the Northern 

Australia Fire Information (NAFI) website (www.firenorth.org.au). 


175

Figure 77. 1955 aerial photograph of the Eight Mile Creek floodplain and grassy woodlands 

1000m south of the Oriners Station Air Strip. Compare to Figure 78. 

Figure 78. 2004 air photograph of the Eight Mile Creek floodplain and grassy woodlands 1000m 

south of the Oriners Station Airstrip. Note woodland thickening around vegetation corridors 

compared to 1955, but also note that not all dark areas in the southwest (bottom right) part of 

the photograph are trees, as this areas was partially burnt grassland along the road. Compare 

to Figure 77. 


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Figure 79. Early-dry season fire scars during 2012 for the Oriners/Sefton area, with all fires lit 

by humans in a coordinated ground and air based traditional fire regime program. Data are 

from the Northern Australia Fire Information (NAFI) website (www.firenorth.org.au). 

3.3.5 Feral animals and stock 

Since European settlement of Australia, numerous exotic animals have been introduced 

deliberately or indirectly to the Australian landscape (Cotter 1995; Mitchell and Hardwick 

1995) . In the area around Oriners and Sefton on Cape York, the main exotic and/or feral 

animals are domestic and wild cattle (Bos spp.), wild pigs (Sus scrofa), and feral cats (Felis 

catus). Naturalized wild dogs (Canis lupis dingo) are also present. Current population 

estimates for these animals are currently unknown for the Oriners and Sefton areas. 

Since Oriners and Sefton Stations are largely unfenced and unmanaged for cattle 

production, both domestic cattle from adjacent stations and wild cattle populations have 

relatively easy access to the properties. However, current cattle populations are likely fairly 

low and only locally concentrated, and future muster efforts will be needed to assess current 

populations. However during 2012, early dry-season fires (Figure 79) brought many wild 

cattle onto Eight Mile Creek frontage country and new green pick, indicating that wild cattle 

across the landscape might be more numerous than thought. Mustering programs by 

adjacent station regularly retrieve stray domestic animals. However domestic cattle are 

occasionally missed and unrecovered, possibly contributing to the already existing wild cattle 

herds from earlier utilized breeds and grazing practices. 

The ecosystem impacts of unmanaged wild and domestic cattle herds on Oriners and Sefton 

stations could include: 1) the direct consumption of native grasslands, 2) competition for feed 

with native animals (wallabies, kangaroos, termites etc), 3) alteration of grass fuel loads for 

specific preferred fire regimes, 4) spread of exotic weeds, 5) spread of disease to domestic 

cattle and other animals, 6) altering the vegetation (macrophyte) habitat and water quality of 

waterholes used for watering points (Pettit et al. 2012 in press), 7) direct surface erosion 

through soil disturbance, and 8) initiation of gullying along alluvial banks of rivers, creeks, 

and waterholes from cattle pads and localized overgrazing (Shellberg et al. 2010; Shellberg 

2011). However these potential impacts are scalded by herd size and an assessment of 

animal numbers will be the only way to directly assess their potential impact at the landscape 

level. 

Wild pigs are relatively abundant on Oriners and Sefton Stations, similar to other properties 

on central Cape York. Government funded population control and eradication programs for 

wild pigs using poison baits and aerial shooting are widespread across Cape York, but efforts 

are spatially and temporally variable and at times inconsistently managed and funded. 


177

Overall pig populations are poorly monitored, as are eradication and control success. 

Specific pig control programs have not been instated on Oriners and Sefton for many years. 

Local hunting by indigenous owners does occur. More commonly, outside hunting 

enthusiasts and pig hunters regularly trespass on Oriners and Sefton Stations without 

permission from Indigenous owners, in order to find prime pig hunting opportunities. This 

uncontrolled access is extremely problematic, as pig hunters often: 1) spread weeds with 

vehicles and dogs, 2) contribute to road and track erosion attempting to access remote 

areas, 3) deliberately or unintentionally light fires at inappropriate locations and seasons, 4) 

litter the landscape with trash, and 5) occasionally steal equipment or vandalize private 

property. These human impacts are not necessarily a good trade-off for pig population 

control. 

Wild pigs have major direct impacts on ecosystem function and integrity. Similar to cattle, 

pigs also tend to concentrate in riparian zones and wetland areas in search of food and water 

(Figure 32). Several studies on Cape York to both the east and west of Oriners have 

demonstrated the significant damage pigs cause to riparian soils, roots and bulbs of native 

vegetation, riparian vegetation and aquatic macrophytes, water quality of lagoons and 

creeks, and the freshwater habitat for aquatic invertebrates, fish, turtles, and other native 

species (Doupe, Schaffer et al. 2009; Doupe, Mitchell et al. 2010; Mitchell 2010; Pettit, 

Jardine et al. 2012) . Furthermore, wild pigs directly prey on aquatic animals important for 

indigenous flood and culture, such as eating freshwater turtle eggs and crustaceans. Similar 

to wild cattle, wild pigs can also be major vectors for the spread of weeds and disease. 

Observations of feral cats are also increasing in the lower Mitchell-Alice catchment. 

However, no local data exist for cat numbers or distribution across Oriners and Sefton 

Stations. In other locations in north-eastern Queensland, feral cats can have significant 

impacts on native animal populations, especially small mammals and birds (Kutt 2011; Kutt 

2012). The influence of wild dog diets (Brook and Kutt 2011) on cat populations is unknown 

locally in the Oriners area. 

3.3.6 Native terrestrial animals 

This section is a placeholder for future detailed literature and database review and field 

investigations of the native terrestrial animals and wildlife of the Oriners and Sefton Areas. 

Brief descriptions of potential data and information are reviewed below. Data on native 

terrestrial animals were collected during 1990s CYPLUS surveys in the Oriners area (Winter 

and Lethbridge 1995). Additional field investigations into the native animals of the Oriners 

and Sefton areas also could have occurred by other researchers and government agencies, 

but this is currently unknown. Using DERM‟s Wildlife Online Database and geographic 

coordinates for Oriners and Sefton Stations, a wildlife species list was obtained for the area 

(Appendix, Section 8.3). This list includes mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and birds, but 

does not include fish vertebrates. It is based on field observations in the area by scientists, 


wildlife inhabiting the area historically, currently or in the future. 

One particular noteworthy finding from the 1990‟s CYPLUS fieldwork was the recording of a 

Squirrel Glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) at Mosquito Waterhole at Oriners Station during 

February 1993 (Winter and Lethbridge 1995). This was the first recording of a Squirrel Glider 

on the Cape York Peninsula, but with subsequent sightings on surrounding stations such as 

Dixie and Kimba, and additional sighting on Oriners. This February 1993 wet-season survey 

via helicopter access to Mosquito Waterhole (Ognol Ampunk) at Oriners was a joint effort by 

CYPLUS scientists, KALNRMO staff and Oriners Traditional Owners. The wet saturated 

ground around Mosquito Waterhole also provided good conditions for frog identification 

(Appendix, Section 8.3). Subsequent dry-season CYPLUS surveys in August 1993 by 4x4 to 

Oriners returned less noteworthy results, indicating the importance of both wet and dry 

season surveys. 

Additional research should be conducted to locate and collate all existing native terrestrial 

animal data for the Oriners area. This includes the original CYPLUS field notes and other 

research notes and data. Additional field research will also undoubtably be needed to update 


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and complement earlier research. Future efforts should build upon and collaborate with the 

local indigenous ecological knowledge of the Oriners area, as presented in Section 2. 

3.3.7 Native birds 


investigations of the native bird wildlife of the Oriners and Sefton Areas. Brief descriptions of 

potential data and information are reviewed below. CYPLUS documents do review the 

distribution, habitat, and status of birds on Cape York (Abrahams, Mulvaney et al. 1995; 

Garnett and Crowley 1995; Winter and Lethbridge 1995). However, most research efforts 

have not focused on the Oriners area specifically. Additional field investigations into the 

native birds of the Oriners and Sefton areas also likely have occurred by other researchers 

and government agencies (Taplin 1993) . Using DERM‟s Wildlife Online Database and 

geographic coordinates for Oriners and Sefton Stations, a bird species list was obtained for 

the area (Appendix, Section 8.3). It is based on field observations in the area by scientists, 


birds inhabiting the area historically, currently or in the future. 

The golden shouldered parrot (psephotus chrysopterygius) is one endangered bird of 

regional and national significance that is known inhabit areas just to the east of Oriners and 

Sefton Stations (Crowley 1995; Garnett and Crowley 1995; Crowley and Garnett 1998; 

Crowley and Garnett 1999; Crowley and Garnett 2000; Crowley and Garnett 2001) . 

Historically the parrot had a much wider distribution across Cape York, including likely 

Oriners and Sefton Stations (Garnett and Crowley 1995). The current status of golden 

shouldered parrots on Oriners and Sefton Stations is unknown. Causes of the decline of the 

golden shouldered parrot are multi-factorial, but changes in preferred nesting and feeding 

habitat (termite mounds on open grassy plains) due to changes in fire regime, woodland 

thickening, weed invasion and cattle grazing are major factors (Crowley 1995; Garnett and 

Crowley 1995; Crowley and Garnett 1998; Crowley and Garnett 1999; Crowley and Garnett 

2000; Crowley and Garnett 2001) . Oriners and Sefton Station likely contain suitable intact 

habitat for the golden shouldered parrot, especially along the swampy alluvial valleys cut into 

the Holroyd Plain where termite mounds and preferred grasses are known to exist. This 

habitat creates the possibility that the parrot could naturally expand its range out of the core 

habitat around Artemis Station, or be relocated there through conservation efforts. 

Additional research should be conducted to locate and collate all existing native bird data for 

the Oriners area. Additional field research will also undoubtably be needed to update and 

complement earlier research. Future efforts should build upon and collaborate with the local 

indigenous ecological knowledge of the Oriners area, as presented in Section 2. 

3.3.8 Native aquatic animals 


investigations of the native aquatic animals of the Oriners and Sefton Areas. Brief 

descriptions of potential data and information are reviewed below. Data on freshwater fish 

resources were collected during 1990s CYPLUS surveys of Cape York (Abrahams, 

Mulvaney et al. 1995; Herbert, Peeters et al. 1995) . However, surveys of creeks and rivers 

of the Alice catchment of Oriners and Sefton Stations were not included conducted for the 

project. Only the nearby Coleman and Palmer Rivers were surveyed, and these data likely 

provide an approximation of the species likely to be present in the Alice River catchment 

(Abrahams, Mulvaney et al. 1995; Herbert, Peeters et al. 1995) . Additional field 

investigations into the aquatic animals of the Oriners and Sefton areas also likely have 

occurred by other researchers and government agencies. Using DERM‟s Wildlife Online 

Database and geographic coordinates for Oriners and Sefton Stations, a species list of 

amphibians and reptiles of the Oriners/Sefton area was obtained (Appendix, Section 8.3). 

However it does not include aquatic fish, freshwater turtle, or aquatic invertebrate species. 

This list should be seen as an absolute minimum for aquatic animals inhabiting the area 

historically, currently or in the future. Species lists for fish and other animals from the Oriners 


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area can be obtained from the Queensland Museum for a modest fee, but similarly will only 

be a partial list of potential species. 

Scientific researchers participating in the recent northern Australia TRaCK program have 

continued to advance the understanding of aquatic species distribution, ecology and habitat 

requirements across Cape York (Cook, Kennard et al. 2011), building off earlier research 

(Herbert, Peeters et al. 1995) . While the general hydroecological and aquatic biodiversity 

principles and regionalised data outlined in Cook et al. (2011) are directly applicable to 

Oriners and Sefton Station, local data underpinning a more detailed understanding are 

lacking in this area. TRaCK researchers have collaborated with KALNRMO staff to conduct 

fish and aquatic species surveys in the lower Alice and Mitchell Rivers and several 

associated wetlands during 2009-2011. However these scientific surveys only produced a 

minimum species list for the area, as KALNRMO staff and local TO‟s have collected and 

identified many other aquatic species in the area over many decades. Unfortunately, some of 

these efforts have not always resulted in proper species-presence data in government 

databases useful for both local and regional management, despite a rich local understanding 

of species distribution (Section 2). 

Additional research should be conducted to locate and collate all existing native aquatic 

animal data for the Oriners/Sefton area. This includes the original CYPLUS field notes and 

other research notes and data (e.g., Queensland Department of Primary Industries; Griffith 

University and TRaCK researchers, etc.). Additional systematic field research will also 

undoubtedly be needed to update and complement earlier aquatic species surveys. Future 

efforts should build upon and collaborate with the local indigenous ecological knowledge of 

the Oriners area, as presented in Section 2. For example, a recent 2012 fish survey has 

been conducted on nearby Crosbie Station as a collaborative effort between the Olkola and 

local scientists. 

3.4 Oriners and Forest Country – a brief personal perspective 

Several years ago, I was travelling along the roadless north bank of the Alice River with 

some traditional owners and elders from Kowanyama and several science colleagues. I 

decided to ask an open-ended and perhaps rather naive question: „what is the story of the 

land to the north of us?‟ I subsequently realised that my question could have been 

interpreted a number of ways: „who are the traditional and current owners?‟; ‟what is up 

there?‟; ‟do you go there often?‟; „can we go there with you?‟; ‟does anyone else go up there, 

and how?‟; ‟how is the land managed?‟; „what is it used for?‟; „are there interesting creeks, 

wetlands, forests and creatures?‟; ‟what are the cultural stories and connections associated 

with the landscape?‟; „what do you want to do with the land in the future?‟ and ‟how do you 

want it to look in 100 years?‟. In the days (and then years) that followed I was told and shown 

answers to these underlying questions, and to others I had not thought of, but perhaps would 

have benefitted from asking. 

On that trip, the elders began with explanations of different cultural groups and traditional 

ownership, then continued with stories of the traditional and historical access to this remote 

forested plain for hunting or cattle grazing. At unique mound springs, one elder told us that a 

series of springs like this one „go all the way up‟ in a complex and connected cultural story 

line. Humbled I pondered, all the way up to where? And what stories and features were there 

along the way? Sometimes, the answers to my initial question were left unspoken but were 

clearly evident, like when I got the ute fully bogged while crossing one of the many swampy 

channels dissecting the alluvial plain. Or like the elder who kept „dropping matches‟ to „clean‟ 

the country‟ with fires which were carried away behind us by the cool, gentle southeast winds 

of tropical winter. Or when we were told to „turn here at this tree‟ which was standing 

amongst thousands of similar trees - we had sceptically complied while looking at our GPS 

and onboard computer mapping system, only to find out 30km away that the turn had been 

essential to navigate through dense woodland to a beautiful and productive waterway. A later 

check of the GPS tracklog confirmed our route as not just the best route, but the only one. 


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Some answers were just spooky, such as the one to the question I asked about the single 

human bare foot print found dried in a mud plain. As a well-trained field geomorphologist, I 

could interpret the surrounding erosional and depositional patterns and processes and the 

water level signs from the last wet season, but the footprint had me seriously puzzled. Why 

only one? „That‟s my ancestor‟s‟ the elder answered, quietly mumbling that he did not get 

much sleep the night before because of all the movement and noise the ancestors had 

made. I had slept like a baby under the stars and heard nothing. 

My initial impressions and observations of Oriners and Sefton left me with an overall sense 

that this „forest country‟ and its cultural landscapes were truly unique - not just compared to 

the rest of the Mitchell catchment, which I know well, but also on a national and even 

international level. This region is not a human-free wilderness in the traditional sense of that 

term as it emerged in the 19 th century (Langton 1996) . Nor is it the kind of wilderness 

envisaged by the Queensland „Wild River‟ legislation, which has to my mind alienated 

Indigenous peoples‟ rights and histories of care whilst being ineffective in addressing or 

curtailing the true management needs and threats. Rather, Oriners (and Sefton) are an 

integral part of a relatively „wild‟ area where natural processes still dominate with the help 

and guidance of direct low-impact actions of humans that are deeply connected to place and 

landscape through rich traditional customs and laws. David Hughes‟ description of Oriners as 

„a piece of the way Cape York used to be‟ is fitting, and is supported by both scientific 

assessments (Abrahams, Mulvaney et al. 1995; Whisson and Young 1995), and by my own 

impressions. 

Having shown me the beauty and value of the landscape, the elders‟ multifaceted answers to 

my initial naive question came to an end with a discussion of the current challenges of how to 

manage and maintain the integrity of large tracts of Indigenous land under the modern 

pressures for development. My own personal observations over the years indicate that this 

landscape is under threat physically, biologically, and culturally. Some language and cultural 

knowledge has been lost, and thresholds of degradation have been crossed with respect to 

altered fire regimes and woodland thickening, weed and feral animal invasions, and the 

erosion effects caused by these factors and others such as cattle and roads. The elders were 

aware of these problems, as well as the need for money to combat them and the difficulty in 

engaging young people about traditional land management and bush living when the young 

have so many new challenges, distractions, and comforts back in town. 

Yet during my early visits it was already clear that some solutions to the contemporary 

management challenges had emerged, most obviously the elders and youth just „getting out 

there and doing it‟. This seemed to have been particularly evident in the 1990s after the 

Kowanyama community regained control and modern ownership rights over their traditional 

country around Oriners and Sefton. But the relatively small size of these properties have 

hampered efforts to fully re-instate indigenous management, control and self-governance 

over the wider landscape, particularly with respect to appropriately scaled fire and weed 

management. Paradoxically, the relatively large sizes of these properties, the access issues, 

and the low levels of human presence have also hampered the implementation of indigenous 

management techniques and restoration opportunities. What seems to be needed is that the 

wider group of indigenous people who have rights to this „forest county‟, including those living 

beyond Kowanyama, work together under the principle of „strength in numbers‟. Cumulative 

actions moving towards regional control and management of additional traditional lands to 

north and east would enable holistic ecosystem management as well as the maintenance of 

cultural connections, story lines, and wider community well-being. At the time I certainly did 

not know, and perhaps nor did the elders with me, that the potential for larger scale 

indigenous ownership and management of the „forest country‟ would become a real 

possibility thanks to the political struggles and perseverance of this wider group. 

Despite the invasive impacts and the management challenges, a majority of the cultural, 

physical, and biological landscapes in and around Oriners and Sefton are still healthy and 

intact over large areas. Since degradation pathways are not too severe, restoration actions 

can bring cultural, physical, and biological conditions and processes back toward a pre- 

European and/or pre-disturbance condition, or at a minimum prevent or reduce future 


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degradation. Genuine restoration opportunities of this nature are increasingly rare in 

Australia, especially at the scale which now appears possible. This region will be an 

important location for innovative and alternative thinking, cooperation, management, and 

governance. Bold leadership and motivated young people will be paramount to future 

success. 


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4 SYNTHESIS: PROCESS AND RELATIONSHIP MODELS 

Part 4 summarises and synthesises ideas and information from Parts 1-3 in combination with 

interpretation from the authors, particularly Barber and Shellberg. The approach taken in Part 

4 partly reflects the funding source, which was CSIRO resources allocated to modelling local 

(particularly Indigenous) hydrological and ecological knowledge. The term „model‟ has a 

number of meanings depending on the context, and as it is understood in contemporary 

scientific and technical circles, it usually requires synthesis, generalisation, and abstraction 

from the original observed data to produce a simplified and systemic version or 

representation. Such simplified versions can often be represented diagrammatically. Models 

can have an additional layer of depth and complexity when they contain clearly (and often 

numerically) defined relationships between the different elements in the model. Such models 

can be manipulated by changing individual elements (or variables) to see how the overall 

system responds to such changes in one or more of its parts. 

However a frequent comment about models is that they are only as good as the data on 

which they are based, and/or that the level of specificity of the model needs to reflect the 

specificity of the underlying data. The approach taken in this research was to consider broadscale 

hydrological, ecological, and landscape processes over an area of considerable size, 

and where existing scientific data are sparse. An equally important aim was community 

knowledge recording and recovery, and the most appropriate means for achieving this aim 

was a combination of interviews with local Indigenous and non-Indigenous cattlemen and site 

visits. This kind of research yields qualitative statements and broad estimates rather than 

specific numbers and quantities, and any modelling based on such work needs to reflect this. 

Most importantly, the research here is intended to supporting current and future work in 

Indigenous land and natural resource management, and so any kind of generalisation, 

synthesis, or modelling needs to be oriented towards that work. 

The sections which follow contain diagrams interpreted from the knowledge appearing in the 

sections above and/or the knowledge held by the four authors. It is crucial to note that they 

are materialist in their orientation. They focus on key processes at work in the Oriners 

landscape: water, seasons, animal movements and distributions, human activities, weeds, 

fire, and erosion. These processes are important to the current state and future health of 

Oriners, and therefore to the Oriners Mob managers who are responsible for it. Converting 

such complex and interactive processes into simple diagrams necessarily involves many 

omissions and simplifications. However this kind of simplification process can also focus 

attention on critically important elements, processes, and relationships, at least from the 

perspective of those constructing the diagram. That in turn can lead to new thinking about 

how to allocate scarce existing resources, or about what should be new priorities in the 

search for and allocation of new resources. 

An additional and important facet of this research was to collate, compare and combine the 

perspectives of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people who worked or still work in the 

area. In terms of Indigenous people, this includes those with longstanding traditional 

connections, older people from elsewhere who may have worked there as cattlemen for a 

few years, and younger people who are focused on the future of Oriners. In terms of non- 

Indigenous people, it includes local cattlemen, a natural resource manager, and a 

hydrological/geomorphological scientist, as well as the CSIRO social scientists on the 

authorial team. The models below represent simplifications, syntheses, and models 

extrapolated and interpreted from genuinely local knowledge from a range of local workers 

and their collaborators. They are focused on key processes that might require future 

management action; water, erosion, and the activity of people and animals, as well as on key 

locations, notably Oriners and Jewfish Lagoons. In that sense they represent „Working 

Knowledge‟ at Oriners. 


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Section 4.1 contains models of interactions occurring across the Oriners landscape broken 

up into 3 broad seasonal categories – the wet season, the early dry season, and the late dry 

season. They are hierarchical and directional, showing how seasonal conditions drive 

particular kinds of animal and human activity, as well as specific processes (notably erosion). 

What these models do not display well are feedback loops and cumulative effects across 

seasons and years, an issue that is noted in Section 4.1.4. However despite the landscape 

scale, this does mean that the seasonal models can be clearly followed, with elements at 

higher levels causing (or at least having an influence on) elements at lower levels. 

The models in Section 4.2 reduce the geographic focus to key lagoons and are constructed 

in a slightly different way. The timeframe of these models is generic and atemporal rather 

than seasonal, and they show inputs and outputs affecting ecologically and culturally 

significant lagoons. Section 4.2.2 is focused on Oriners Lagoon, which as the main water 

supply for the homestead, is critical to the long-term viability of human residence and 

therefore of NRM work on the station. Section 4.2.3 considers the applicability of the Oriners 

Model to other major lagoons, notably Jewfish, which has recently had additional road 

development at its upstream end. Section 4.3 briefly considers the issue of water quality at 

the key lagoons, noting inputs, their consequences, and management actions. 

Despite the major simplifications of scale and time and the strong materialist focus on 

physical processes, the diagrams remain relatively complex. A multitude of potentially 

interacting factors require radical simplifications for them to be represented in diagram form 

at all, even at the reduced scale of a local lagoon and when omitting everything bar water 

and sediment coming in and out. Modelling conceptual or numerical complex reality is hard, 

and in some respects impossible. Yet the need remains to „get things done‟ at Oriners, and 

for that work to be based on reflection about issues, priorities, and opportunities, both 

currently and into the future. The focus on water, sediment, and erosion processes in key 

locations in what follows results from key characteristics of „flooded forest country‟, from the 

expertise of the research team, and from the research funding source. Nevertheless, it 

remains important to bear in mind what is left out in such model generation exercises (e.g., 

ecological and cultural processes), as well as what is included. 

4.1 Models of landscape-scale ecological, hydrological, and 

geomorphological relations at Oriners Station 

The models in Section 4.1 are the broadest scale models in the report. They are initially 

separated by season to reflect the dramatic differences in wet and dry season conditions, 

and the impacts these differences have on human and animal activity in the area. In this 

sense they are seasonal models. The dry season model is further separated into models for 

the early and late dry seasons to reflect some different characteristics at those times, 

particularly in relation to animal movements, human activity and fire. The three models are 

then compared and the issue of interacting and cumulative effects across seasons and 

across years is further discussed (Section 4.1.4). Finally, Section 4.1.5 considers the issue of 

Oriners Mob residence in the area, and the early dry season model is then redrawn with 

additional Oriners Mob residence at the Oriners homestead (and consequent monitoring and 

management action). The changes in these models compared with Section 4.1.2 and Section 

4.1.3 highlights the significance of that residential presence for key processes on the country. 

4.1.1 Wet season 

Figure 80 is a model of major landscape processes at Oriners during the wet season. 

Research participants commented that during the wet season the water rises, road access is 

cut, and/or the ground becomes very boggy. This has a number of implications. Firstly, 

access for human beings is difficult – anyone living at the homestead must stay close by or 

walk along ridgelines, and no outside access is possible except by chopper. As Oriners has 


184

een uninhabited during the wet season during recent times, people are not present in this 

model. 

A second major feature of this model relates to the movement of animals, as the water has 

different impacts on different species. The animals are classified according to two categories, 

whether they are native or introduced, in addition to the level of significance water has for 

their movement and distribution. Although not comprehensive or always accurate, this 

generates four useful working categories at the height of the wet season: 

Aquatic animals – these are able to move and migrate freely up and down 

watercourses during the wet season. Therefore movement is highly enabled by 

abundant surface water. 

Cattle and horses – Although initially able to take advantage of fresh feed and more 

abundant water at the start of the wet season, these large, heavy, hard-footed, 

introduced animals must avoid boggy ground. Therefore at the height of the wet they 

must leave the area or remain on high ridges, including the homestead site. 

Therefore movement is heavily constrained by boggy ground. 

Other introduced land animals – this category is primarily oriented to pigs, which are 

less constrained by boggy ground than cattle and horses above, but nevertheless 

have a landscape impact. It also includes adult cane toads 36 and cats. Movement by 

these animals can be mildly restricted by boggy or flooded ground and/or mildly 

enabled by abundant surface water depending on the circumstances. 

Native land animals – primary focus of this category is animals like kangaroos, 

goannas, dingoes and birds. This group is separated from category three because of 

category three are non-natives and may have consequent negative effects. In terms 

of movement, this category is similar to the other land animal category - movement is 

mildly restricted by boggy or flooded ground and/or mildly enabled by abundant 

surface water. 

This model suggests patterns and relationships between animals and water at the most 

general and functional level. The onset of the wet season sparks an initial dispersal of all 

terrestrial animals, but then the boggy ground has particular implications for some introduced 

species; they are re-concentrated on high ground or leave the area completely. Physically 

lighter and/or more water tolerant species have different patterns of movement, having a less 

constrained and distinct pattern (and in some cases, no major discernible change at all). In 

terms of erosion processes, rainfall and surface runoff are the main source of soil erosion, 

but the presence of animals, particularly cattle, pigs, and horses, can initiate erosion or 

increase its effects during the wet season, and this process is incorporated into the model. 

Other factors contributing to soil erosion (inappropriate fires, road use, weed dispersal, etc.) 

are incorporated more fully the dry season models of subsequent sections. 

36 No grouping system can be entirely adequate, and it should be noted that juvenile cane toads in 

particular are aquatic animals and may be transported during high flow periods. Foxes are an 

important introduced predator in many areas of Australia, but dislike boggy ground. Rabbits are also 

not found in significant numbers. 


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Figure 80. Model of Oriners landscape interactions in the wet season 

4.1.2 Early dry season 

Following on from the wet season model, Figure 81 is a model of some important features of 

the early dry season. In that period, a number of temporary water sources are still available, 

and food is also abundant. In the cattle era, the early dry season was also the time when the 

cattlemen deliberately lit fires to burn the drying grass and attract cattle to the regrowth that 

followed the burn. This has happened far less in recent years, as mustering no longer occurs 

and Oriners Mob presence in the late wet/early dry is very rare. Section 2.6.3 also detailed 

Oriners Mob concerns about controlling the fire and the impacts on the neighbours of a fire 

getting out of control. Human residence is now dependent on vehicle access, and the 

majority of the roads from Kowanyama are still impassable at the point of the season when 

such fires were lit in the past by men on horseback (and people on foot in the pre-colonial 

era). However the road from east may be passable more quickly than the road to 

Kowanyama, providing pig hunters with uncontrolled access. Aquatic animals would begin to 

contract their distribution as the water recedes, but the major consequence for animal 

distributions is the increased dispersal of cattle and horses as boggy areas reduce. 

Therefore, the early dry season model (Figure 81) describes water, animal movements, the 

presence of people, and erosion processes at this time. 


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Figure 81. Early dry season diagram 

Figure 82. Road erosion leading into Oriners Lagoon. 


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4.1.3 Late dry season 

Two key differences between the early dry season and the late dry season are water 

availability and human access. These affect animal distributions, fire regimes, and erosion 

processes. This model describes the current circumstances, which is that the Oriners Mob 

and Kowanyama people are able to access the area and will be present at times, but are not 

residing regularly at Oriners or undertaking fire management activities other than protective 

burning around the homestead infrastructure. Therefore they will not significantly affect 

access by tourists and hunters, as the public road through the property will be passable to all 

traffic. This increases use of the road and the chances of hot, destructive fires late in the 

season lit by careless or uninformed people. Also noteworthy from this model is the 

concentration of animals in and around permanent water. This attracts people, both local 

Indigenous people and also hunters and tourists, with implications for weeds, fire regimes, 

erosion, etc. 

Figure 83. Late dry season diagram 

4.1.4 Comparisons and interactions across seasons 

A qualitative comparison of the three previous models shows a range of features – patterns 

of land and animal movements, the seasonal presence of access by human beings from 

(south) east and west, and the role of particular animals and human activity in erosion 

processes. However, this last feature highlights the need to understand that actions, events 

and changes taking place in one season may have their biggest impact on the landscape in 

subsequent seasons. One way of representing this would be to place the existing models 

from the three time periods in either a cascading sequence or alongside one another with 

appropriate links between them. However, this would result in a highly complex diagram of 

limited worth. Interactions and impacts also occur cumulatively across individual years, rather 

than simply within one year. Three notable examples of this are: 


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Fire regimes - unburned fuel loads can increase both during a year and across years. 

Erosion - primarily occurs in the wet season but can be triggered or worsened by 

events taking place in the dry season. Erosion is also cumulative across years. 

Weed propagation, growth and distribution – can be shaped by a range of variables 

depending on the species and the local conditions. Fire regimes, human and animal 

movements and water flows can all affect weed propagation and distribution. Weeds 

in turn can affect erosion, fire, and grazing animal distribution. 

Models for each of these interactions will not be attempted here. However understanding the 

potential interactions within and across years is crucial in interpreting the models in 4.1. 

4.1.5 Impact of Oriners Mob residence 

A central issue for the KALNRMO in the past and for the future is maintaining a consistent 

presence and regular NRM schedule at Oriners. At times this has been successfully 

achieved, but more recently it has been difficult for the Kowanyama community to sustain. 

The reasons for this and the impacts on station infrastructure have already been discussed, 

but it is also worth considering the ecological and landscape consequences of Oriners Mob 

presence. As was noted in Section 4.1.1, human presence in the wet season has been 

sporadic, but it is also highly constrained by the conditions if and when it does occur – Philip 

Yam and others commented that it is not easy to go anywhere. Therefore main impact of 

human presence in the area occurs in the dry season. Figure 84 is a model containing 

residence by Oriners Mob people in the early dry season. This has implications for road and 

track use, weeds, fire regimes, the presence of other people, and relations with neighbours. 

Figure 84. Early dry season diagram- Oriners Mob residence 

Comparing Figure 84 and earlier Figure 81 highlights the potential significance of maintaining 

Oriners Mob presence in the landscape during the early dry season. The impact of Oriners 

Mob residence in the later dry season is less pronounced, as they are already considered in 

the previous model (Figure 83). A more consistent presence in the late dry season may 

increase or augment certain characteristics (for example, increased road use), but does not 


189

eshape the elements in the same way as including Oriners Mob residence in the early dry 

season. 

4.2 Models of processes affecting Oriners and Jewfish Lagoons 

Figure 85. Erosion channel upstream from Oriners Lagoon. 

4.2.1 Model Introduction 

The models of Section 4.1 attempted to generalise across the flooded forest country of 

Oriners, although they were informed and oriented by observations made around the 

homestead. However even without considering the clear cultural, affective, and spiritual 

components of Indigenous relations with country, those models also highlighted the 

importance of Oriners Mob residence to the appropriate management of the station. That 

residence relies on homestead infrastructure, but also on the existence and ongoing health 

of the adjacent Oriners Lagoon to provide water and food. The lagoon is one of 4 substantial 

permanent lagoons which are of particular ecological, historical and cultural significance (and 

potentially of future economic significance). The others are Jewfish, Mosquito, and 

Horseshoe - see Section 1.5.3 and Figure 4. These are two major reasons for considering 

Oriners Lagoon in more detail – it is crucial to Oriners Mob residence and it provides a guide 

to and proxy for potential relationships and issues regarding the other major lagoons on the 

station. 

As noted earlier, the models below draw heavily on the scientific account of landscape 

processes in Part 3. It is a materialist model of physical processes, rather than purporting to 

represent significant sociocultural and spiritual processes. It is therefore constrained in the 

way that Strang has identified wider catchment management processes in the Mitchell often 

are (Strang 2005). However the purpose of focusing on Oriners Lagoon is that it underpins 

human residence in the area, and residence in turn enables the development and 

appropriate management of sociocultural, spiritual, and affective ties. The key element for 

supporting human residence is that the lagoon retains sufficient volume and water quality at 


190

the end of the dry season. 37 However that capacity is dependent on factors operating at other 

times of year, and cumulatively between years, and, as was noted in the introduction, the 

models in Section 4.2 are not specified in time in the same way as the broader hierarchical 

seasonal models in Section 4.1. Those broader models contain human activities, animal 

behaviours, and landscape processes that are significant to lagoon volumes, but are 

condensed and summarised into just a few elements in the models which follow. 

4.2.2 Oriners Lagoon 

Figure 86 below is a conceptual model of the complexities of water and sediment inputs and 

outputs at Oriners Lagoon, which builds off analyses in Sections 3.2.10.5 and 3.2.10.6. The 

model contains inputs and outputs, and the thickest lines represent the strongest linkages. 

The direction of the arrows represents the dominant direction of influence, and most linkages 

could be either positive or negative influences if the controlling factor is increased or 

decreased. Rainfall and resultant runoff is the main independent control on Oriners water 

volume, but that rainfall can vary annually, seasonally and daily, and the amount that flows 

into the lagoon is affected by a range of factors, notably land use and vegetation cover 

influences on the runoff of rain that does fall. The flows from the Eight Mile Creek dominate 

both water and sediment inflow, but sediment from additional sources such as road and local 

gully erosion are becoming increasingly significant. The height of the downstream sill plays a 

significant role in determining the water storage volume of the reservoir (but it may have 

multiple effects – see Section 3.2.10.6) and evaporation and transpiration are major natural 

processes lowering the water level over the dry season. 

Figure 86. Model of factors affecting water volume and storage capacity at Oriners Lagoon. 

37 This is particularly important given the design flaws and therefore failure of the water tank system of 

storage attached to the house (1.6.5). 


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Evidence from Section 2.6.4 and 3.2.10.5 as well as other comments during fieldwork visits 

indicates that the sill heights and sand bars of Oriners Lagoon have altered significantly in 

recent years, with negative effects on lagoon volume. Rainfall and flood levels are 

uncontrollable by human managers and major influence over the course of the Eight Mile 

Creek would require large scale interventions that are both impractical and undesirable. 

Taking this into account, Figure 86 and other information in the report suggests that human 

management attention may be best directed towards minimising road sediment inputs, 

investigating the significance of downstream sill height and sill vegetation in maintaining and 

improving lagoon volume, and improving land use (minimising grazing, undertaking 

appropriate fire regimes, and managing weeds). Currently, human water use at the station is 

not a significant factor in overall volumes, but this may change if residential use increases 

significantly in the years to come. However, appropriate management actions by human 

residents may more than offset the increased domestic water usage that such residence 

would require. 

4.2.3 Jewfish Lagoon 

Jewfish Lagoon lies 25 km downstream from the Oriners Homestead, along the course of a 

large anabranch of Eight Mile Creek, but not the largest anabranch 500m to the north that 

transports more sand bedload. Mosquito, another of these significant permanent lagoons, 

lies 4 km upstream of Jewfish along the same secondary anabranch channel. Although not a 

homestead site with direct human residential usage, Jewfish has considerable historical, 

cultural, and subsistence importance to Oriners Mob people who utilize it seasonally (see 

1.5.3). 

Figure 87. Jewfish Lagoon looking upstream. 

While direct human impacts on water quantity and quality at Jewfish are less than Oriners 

due to lack of residential use, other human impacts such as roads and enhanced gully 

erosion do impact Jewfish. The main dirt road/track along the Eight Mile valley through the 

Oriners property crosses the creek immediately upstream of Jewfish lagoon. Recently this 

road been widened in preparations of development upgrades in 2012/2013 and is already 


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showing signs of substantial erosion (Figure 88). This erosion is likely to increase as traffic 

and maintenance by machinery on the new road increase as expected, unless major soil 

stabilization measures are taken at the crossing by implementing road Best Management 

Practices. 

A conceptual model outline of the main factors influencing the water volume of Jewfish 

lagoon is displayed in Figure 90. While most of the key inputs and outputs of water and 

sediment to Jewfish are generally similar to Oriners lagoon, there are a few key differences. 

First, there is the lack of major human water withdrawals. Second, there are no direct 

impacts of human roads or actions on the downstream sill height of the outlet channel(s) of 

Jewfish. However, there are major differences between the outlet channels of Oriners and 

Jewfish lagoons. Jewfish also has two major outlet channel flow paths (Figure 89ab), but 

these channel have lower sill or invert heights controlling the water level height in Jewfish 

during wet-season flow. This is possibly due to major flood and erosion events that have 

eroded out these past downstream controls, as Jewfish is situated along a more substantial 

anabranch channel than Oriners. However, past outlet channel configurations are not known, 

and Jewfish might have always had greater throughputs of water and sediment. In addition, 

these outlet channels at Jewfish have substantial amounts of vegetation roughness from inchannel 

Melaleuca trees and large wood debris (LWD) that function to slow water down and 

back water up into Jewfish during flow or flood conditions. 

Figure 88. The recently widened and already eroding road crossing immediately upstream of 

Jewfish Lagoon. 


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a) b) 

Figure 89. The outlet sills and channels of Jewfish Lagoon looking downstream at a) the left 

outlet channel and b) the right outlet channel. 

Figure 90. Model of factors affecting water volume and storage capacity at Jewfish Lagoon. 

4.2.4 Other major lagoons – Mosquito and Horseshoe 

Mosquito Lagoon (Figure 91) lies upstream of Jewfish along the same secondary anabranch 

channel (Figure 4). It is situated adjacent and parallel to the road up the Eight Mile valley, 

rather than being immediately affected by a vehicle crossing. Therefore the factors affecting 

its water volume are likely to be similar to Jewfish, with again no direct human residence but 

with a lesser role played by sediment from road erosion. However since Mosquito has easy 

access from the road (Figure 4), it is likely visited more frequently by travellers and tourists 

than Jewfish or Oriners. This fact makes factors like weed invasion and overfishing more 

significant. In addition, it is a major location for water withdrawal for road construction crews 

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in the area. These water withdrawals are likely cumulatively insignificant on lagoon volume, 

but associated weed dispersal and gully erosion could be significant factors in the health of 

the lagoon. Both Mosquito and Horseshoe show signs or accelerated gully erosion, possibly 

due to the combined influence of cattle tracks and water access over steep banks, and 

erosion during heavy rainfall and flood runoff. 

Horseshoe Lagoon (Figure 5; Figure 92) lies off the main channel of the Crosbie Creek and 

is located some distance from the other three lagoons in the Eight Mile valley (Figure 4). It 

was visited during the research by individuals during separate trips with little detailed 

investigation or group discussion, and so there is insufficient data to produce a qualitative 

model for Horseshoe. However its geographic and geomorphic location means that the 

process influences in any model may be somewhat different from the other three major 

Oriners lagoons. This is especially true since Horseshoe has a different geologic signature, 

with rock banks in locations consisting of ferricrete (iron stone), which is common at a few 

other lagoons and in-channel pools situated close to valley margins in the area. 

Figure 91. Mosquito Lagoon looking upstream. 


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Figure 92. Oblique air photos of Horseshoe Lagoon looking East. 

4.3 Water quality 

Section 4.1 discussed human and animal activity and distribution, and Section 4.2 focused 

on processes affecting water volume and sediment load in key lagoons. Both of these issues 

are potentially significant to station water quality in general, and to water quality in those key 

lagoons in particular. Information in Section 2.2.5 and elsewhere suggests that water quality 

is impacted by a range of factors including: 

Increased sediment loads in water caused by landscape processes (erosion, fire, 

grazing, etc.) 

Turbidity caused by animal activity directly in or adjacent to water (including large 

terrestrial animals like pigs and cattle, as well as naturally occurring turbidity caused 

by aquatics); 

Larger dead animals in or adjacent to the water (either naturally occurring or 

deliberately shot); 

Sediment or chemical inputs from human activities (most significant for the 

homestead, cattle yards, roads close to lagoon banks or inlet or outlet channels, etc.); 

Oriners cattlemen referred to Oriners Lagoon water being „milky‟ in the past, particularly in 

the late dry season (but that floodwater ran clear in the wet). Clearly there is a natural 

sediment load in the system, but seasonal increases in this load do not render lagoon water 

undrinkable (or pose immediate risks to aquatic species). This „milky‟ appearance late in the 

dry season is likely a result of the suspension of small clay particles (colloidal clays with 

electric charge) that do not readily settle out. This is largely a natural phenomenon, but could 

be enhanced by excess clay sediment delivered to the lagoon from land-use impacts. More 

significant water quality risks to the major lagoons lie from inputs by humans and larger 

animals. More frequent and extended residence at Oriners increases the need for adequate 

water quality, but also increases the chance that the immediate risks to quality can be better 

managed. A model for water quality will not be produced here, but it remains a relevant issue 

in a synthesis focused on the implications of greater human residence and on the volume 

and status of key permanent lagoons. 


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5 WORKING KNOWLEDGE: CONCLUSIONS AND 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

5.1 Introduction 

For the people of Kowanyama, and for the Oriners Mob in particular, Oriners is a special 

place. Its distance from Kowanyama makes travelling to, living and working there logistically 

difficult and expensive, even in the dry season when vehicle access is possible. In the wet 

season, the impassable Mitchell River and the unique „flooded forest‟ terrain make air travel, 

which is vastly more expensive, the main modern option to get in and out. However, 

traditional story lines used to navigate the forest country, water bodies and ridgelines during 

the wet and dry season were designed for walking, and in the time when many Indigenous 

families were settled at Koolatah, walking back to the Oriners area was still common (Strang 

2001). While walking into and out of Oriners is still practical and possible, this has become 

much less common in recent times, and travel by horse is similarly unusual. The most 

practicable modern solution for management of the Oriners Station year-round is dry season 

access by vehicle to stock supplies for permanent residence and management, and isolated 

wet-season residence at the Oriners homestead by a smaller group of people. From the 

Oriners homestead base, access to the surrounding country during the wet season and early 

dry season for management and cultural purposes (i.e. fire, fishing, ceremony) can be by 

walking, and by quadbike when bogging and erosion risks are not too great. Wet season 

emergency access and resupply would still need to be by helicopter, unless an all weather 

air strip can be developed. 

The isolation of Oriners also gives the area its character, and has resulted in it retaining 

considerable ecological value in a landscape where other parts of the Mitchell catchment are 

severely degraded (Strang 2004). As Viv Sinnamon recalled (1.6.5 ), David Hughes said at 

the time of the Kowanyama purchase that Oriners was „a piece of the way Cape York used to 

be.‟ For the Hughes family as a whole, Oriners represents one stage in an ongoing 

relationship with the country of the Mitchell catchment that now stretches back 100 years – 

Cecil Hughes first saw it in the 1950s, Colin Hughes spent his infancy there and mustered it 

as a teenager with his brother Brian, and David Hughes negotiated the sale to Kowanyama 

in the early 1990s. As Strang describes, the relationship between the Hughes‟ and the Yam 

family (which has the strongest traditional association with Oriners in the present day), is 

similarly extensive, stretching back several generations to the early years of Koolatah Station 

(Strang 1997). 

However, Strang‟s detailed anthropological work with both white cattlemen and Indigenous 

people in the Mitchell also emphasises a level of incommensurability of perspectives 

between the two groups. The consequences of cultural differences and intertwined but very 

different histories impedes communication and understanding in a range of ways, not least in 

the sphere of wider catchment management in the Mitchell (Strang 2004). Strang‟s own work 

successfully identifies the underlying bases of the differences, an act which can sometimes 

have the effect of reinforcing them. However, when such analysis is done well, it more often 

enables the bridging of such differences, or at least provides the opportunity to avoid their 

most negative consequences. Despite this project‟s apparent differences in approach and its 

limited scope, it relies significantly on foundations and relationships which were facilitated by 

that previous successful research effort. 

„Working Knowledge‟ was developed here as the term best able to summarise the kind of 

knowledge recovered and recorded in a project focused on Indigenous and non-Indigenous 

cattlemen operating in a remote location. To use the language of Strang‟s primary account, it 

focuses on the „common ground‟ of a range of men familiar with the area. As described in 

1.1, „Working Knowledge‟ simultaneously describes: 


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The primary contexts for learning knowledge about a place that has not been a major 

residential site in living memory; 

The purposes for undertaking the project – Indigenous NRM in the future; and 

The provisional quality of what was recorded. 

From an Indigenous standpoint, the scope of „Working Knowledge‟ is constrained – 

functional and materialist rather than holistic and culturally comprehensive. From a scientific 

perspective, some or much of it may lack rigor and appropriate empirical foundations. 

However, as a source of fine-grained, detailed information about local ecosystem patterns 

and process, Indigenous knowledge is increasingly considered to be of value to natural 

resource assessments, especially in those areas where scientific knowledge is poor or nonexistent 

(Fabricius, Scholes et al. 2006) and where extant systems of customary resource 

management prevail. From a non-Indigenous pastoralist perspective some of the knowledge 

described here may be unreliable and/or unnecessary. Yet focusing on observations and 

insights from a (sometimes shared) history of work enables collation and combination of the 

knowledge emerging from these different sources. It also establishes some degree of 

equivalence between different knowledge bases. For example, labouring in a cash economy 

is not normally emphasised as the key context for acquiring „Indigenous Knowledge‟, nor as 

the primary basis by which scientific knowledge is generated, yet here that emphasis can 

function as a useful „levelling device‟ that accurately describes the local context. 

Oriners is ecologically distinctive and valuable, is scientifically under-studied, and lies at the 

heart of a growing assemblage of properties in the area moving to a combination of 

Indigenous, NRM and/or low intensity pastoral regimes. However, the fact that Oriners was 

purchased from its original settler inhabitants using community funds, and purchased as a 

commercial pastoral lease on the open market also makes it locally distinctive, increasing the 

power of local Indigenous managers to act autonomously. The successes and failures of 

attempts by the Oriners Mob to reside in and manage a remote and inaccessible area over a 

twenty year period provide important lessons for future attempts, both at Oriners and at the 

stations surrounding it which are planned to revert to Indigenous residence and/or control in 

the years to come. It demonstrates the need for sustained funding sources and for 

government agencies to support the long term vision of local Indigenous managers. This 

study is timely for Oriners and the Oriners Mob as they develop a new management plan for 

the Oriners area, but also for other nearby stations and the extended family of „Forest 

People‟ who are connected to them. 

5.2 Flooded forest country – key characteristics 

The data from the interviews in Part 2 demonstrate key characteristics about Oriners country 

and also about the Indigenous and non-Indigenous cattlemen who have worked there. Some 

key characteristics of Oriners country apparent from the interviews in Part 2 are: 

Different plant species and numerous trees giving a „forest‟ look when 

compared with areas further down on the delta; 

Fragile, easily erodible soils which become boggy in the wet season 

A large area of higher but distinctly vegetated sand ridges; 

The availability of stone, including for stone tools; 

Fluctuating water turbidity for much of the year around Oriners Lagoon, due to 

turbid flood waters, clear early-dry season baseflow, and again turbid water in 

the late-dry season due to desiccation, animal disturbance, and suspended 

clays; 

Fast flowing flood waters along the centre of watercourses, particularly the 

Eight Mile Creek; 

Slower flowing floods across low lying areas, insufficient to knock down 

fences. 


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Water levels across the homestead area to a maximum of about 3-4 feet. 

Once the water reaches that level it spreads over a wider area and rises no 

further; 

Occasional repeated flood events within a year, with limited flooding other 

years, depending on rainfall on Oriners and further up the Eight Mile 

catchment on Dixie Station; 

Large lagoons holding water well, suggesting replenishment counterbalancing 

dry season loss despite no observable inflow in some cases; 

Logistical and access issues associated with the wet season rain and flood 

regimes; 

Logistical and social issues associated with permanent residence at Oriners 

through the wet season; 

Abundant aquatic animals, with fish, turtles, freshwater crocodiles, and 

crustaceans being popular target species; 

A range of bird species, notably fish hawks and egrets; 

Relative few wallabies, other than along the creeks; 

Dingoes in variable numbers; 

Pigs, cattle and horses all present for a long period (probably early 20 th 

century). Horses not present in large numbers due to more favourable country 

upstream; 

Cane toads arriving during the mid-1960s, with a dramatic decline in goanna 

and snake populations. These have recovered in the last ten years; 

Possible seasonal residence in the pre-colonial period due to flood regimes; 

Permanent but low-level pastoral residence by the 1950s, moving back to 

seasonal residence in the 1970s; 

Low stocking rates, both in the past and today, and minimal fencing. This has 

resulted in less cattle damage to the landscape than elsewhere; 

Variable mustering patterns over time, with cattle mustered to Koolatah or 

Dixie, depending on the period of Oriners history; 

Clear patterns of seasonal distribution of animals, particularly for aquatic 

species (which expand their range in the wet season) and heavy, hard-hoofed 

introduced animals (which contract their range in the wet season or leave 

entirely); 

Patchy, early season burns used to muster cattle during the active pastoral 

period; 

Larger scale, uncontrolled fires happening later in the dry season during more 

recent times; 

Significant erosion problems, particularly at Oriners Lagoon and the 

immediate Eight Mile Creek watercourse; 

Road development and usage, inappropriate fire regimes, animal damage 

and/or weed introduction are the primary causes of erosion; 

Significant problems with increasing human traffic, both tourists on public 

roads, trespassers (often hunting pigs) on the wider lease, and weed invasion 

by all travellers including road crews. 

Part 3 of the report reviewed the scientific data available and confirmed a number of the 

above characteristics and issues. Significant points emerging from the scientific data include: 

A general lack of local scientific data on Oriners and Sefton Stations. 

A reliance on regional reconnaissance surveys conducted across Cape York, 

in addition to patchy local spot observations, to synthesize scientific 

information about Oriners and Sefton. 

A reliance on historic air photographs, modern satellite remote sensing and 

computer mapping to develop broad-scale maps and data across Oriners and 

Sefton. 


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Despite data limitation, there is enough basic information for a variety of 

sources to describe the unique physical and biological attributes of Oriners 

and Sefton. 

Variable but predictable tropical monsoon climate, with short intense wet 

seasons and long desiccated dry seasons. 

A unique and subtle topography of a dissected alluvial plain and dendritic 

channels draining from the Great Dividing Range. 

Weathered sedimentary geology, distinct geochemistry, and land systems of 

an old alluvial plain creating distinct geo-sites of indurated ridgelines, wetland 

sink holes, swampy valleys, mound and soda springs, intertwined anabranch 

channels, and large lagoons. 

Alluvial derived soils that vary from indurated rock on ridgelines to 

unconsolidated sands in channels to highly erodible sodic silts along alluvial 

floodplains. 

Historic and current land use dominated by domestic and wild cattle grazing, 

minimal mining, road development, altered fire regimes, and the invasion of 

feral animal and weed plants. 

Creeks and wetland hydrology dominated by seasonally intense monsoon 

rains and flood inputs, soil saturation and boggy conditions, valley inundation, 

wetland water storage, turbid water conditions in lagoons, and a long 

drawdown of surface water into the late dry season. 

Groundwater hydrogeology dominated by shallow subsurface flow from 

indurated or sandy ridgelines to shallow valleys, with occasional deeper 

artesian water emerging at soda or mound springs and possibly into deep 

lagoons. 

Mainstem creek channel networks defined by numerous anabranching 

channels, occasional pools and deep lagoons, floodplain islands, shallow 

channel-less floodways, dense riparian vegetation of Melaleuca, large woody 

debris (LWD), eroding banks and gully areas, and indurated rock pools. 

Alluvial soils along river and lagoon banks that are highly prone to accelerated 

soil and gully erosion by land use such as cattle grazing and road 

development. 

A diverse forest and grass vegetation community dominated by open 

Eucalyptus and Melaleuca woodlands, Acacia (lancewood) dominated 

ridgelines, Melaleuca lined creek channels, denser Eucalyptus woodlands on 

floodplain islands, grass and sedge dominated swampy drainage channels, 

and open plains of pure native grasslands. 

Invasion of exotic grasses (grader) and weeds (sicklepod) are serious threats 

to the integrity and sustainability of vegetation communities and habitat on 

Oriners. Vehicle traffic and road development are major cause of the spread 

of these weeds. 

Altered fire regime dominated by late-dry season hot fires, in contrast to a 

mosaic of early-dry season cool fires and less frequent late-dry season hot 

fires. 

Feral animals such as wild pigs and cattle are impacting the health of riparian 

and aquatic habitat and native species, while uncontrolled access by pig 

hunters results in weed spread, erosion on vehicle tracks, and vandalism. 

Native animal populations (particularly reptiles, birds, aquatic species) are 

generally abundant and in good health, but their numbers and habitat are 

threatened by the invasion of feral animals, exotic weeds, and human 

development such as roads and uncontrolled tourism. Small native marsupial 

populations are generally on the decline (John Winter, personal 

communication). 

The synthesis and qualitative models of Part 4 provided some further focus to the information 

emerging from the previous Parts 1-3. In particular, Part 4 emphasised: 


200

The strong seasonality shaping key interactions at Oriners, particularly the 

effects of water in the landscape on human and animal movement 

The ecological value of Oriners Mob residence and associated management 

activity such as fire, particularly in the early dry season. This emphasises the 

importance of finding solutions to the logistical, infrastructure, and resourcing 

limitations currently hampering management efforts 

The significance of the 4 named permanent lagoons and of Oriners Lagoon in 

particular as a key foundation for human residence. 

The need to understand processes and interactions which impact on the 

ongoing water volume, quality, and general health of these lagoons 

The lagoons as a key focus for future management 

The summary above contains many elements that would be familiar to the Oriners Mob 

people and the KALNRMO. However it also contains new information and this report is the 

most comprehensive summary to date of material related to Oriners Station. The sections 

below consider comments and ideas for the future. 

5.3 Future plans and aspirations 

As previous documents from the KALNRMO archive have shown, a significant amount of 

thought and planning has already been undertaken in relation to possible futures for Oriners. 

At present, the task is one of rebuilding, but rebuilding in the knowledge that past successes 

have been considerable, before a recent period of neglect. Oriners has long been 

understood to be strategically positioned in relation to the Errk Oykangand National Park, 

which is a relatively small park in a large area of land controlled by Indigenous people. 

However, changes in local pastoral station tenure along other Oriners Station boundaries 

may increase its significance into the future. It appears likely to become a crucial central part 

of a growing assemblage of Indigenous-managed territory in the region. Discussions 

between the Kowanyama Aboriginal Council and the KALNRMO about the future are 

ongoing, and enthusiasm for the area from younger members of the Oriners Mob remains 

strong: 

Louie Native: And that‟s why I love it up there, [why] I like to go back up there. 

Marcus Barber: You‟d like to build it up? 

Louie Native: Yeah, build it up. It‟s only for us, you know? It‟s for the kids, for generation 

after generation. 

Marcus Barber: Now it seems to be starting up again a little bit. How does that make you 

feel about the future? 

Louie Native: I'm feeling alright, [need to] get back up there to look after the place. Look 

after the country. Because that‟s a big mob of good country there that‟s going to go for 

waste. 

Marcus Barber: What do you think about using that country? Is it just you let it be, or should 

they try and do something else? 

Louie Native: I reckon, [we] should just look after the countryside real good you know? 

Louie suggests that land management is the primary goal at present. Whilst it is not 

envisaged that Oriners will operate solely as a commercially viable pastoral station, 

managing cattle on the property will be an ongoing task and this may provide some cash 

revenue at times. However the changing nature of the Cape and of local circumstances also 

means that people are thinking about other possibilities: 


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Marcus Barber: If you were to think ahead, ten years time, what would you like to see 

happening at Oriners? 

Louie Native: I would like to see different changes up there, like a roadhouse going through 

there. That‟s the main thing that we can make money through because a lot of tourists they 

go through that way. And we got no fuel things there and a shop like that. 

Marcus Barber: So that‟s one idea that you've thought about is that because the public 

roads going through, to have a shop or roadhouse there. Is that alongside the land 

management too? So you keep going with the rangers and the land managers and have 

the shop as well? 

Louie Native: Something like that, yeah. 

--------------------------------------- 

Marcus Barber: Where would you like to see the place in 10 years? 

Viv Sinnamon: People living here happily with some kind of income with a nice diverse little 

economy happening, something modest that keeps them....2 or 3 couples doing well. 

Often the difficulties of living at Oriners are at the forefront of people‟s minds, but Viv 

Sinnamon noted that the Yam family and the Oriners Mob had been happy with a basic 

standard of living, and that solar power, hot water and a cool comfortable house had been 

very sufficient. Amongst younger people, the willingness to live there remains, and the 

advantages of doing so are also well understood: 

Marcus Barber: And if you could, would you live up there all the time? 


Marcus Barber: You wouldn't get bored with no TV and all of that missing? 

Louie Native: No, because I've got used to them. Just listening to the birds singing in the 

morning. 

Marcus Barber: That's your kind of place? 


This document is a knowledge recovery report to aid future planning, rather than 

investigating what future plans are appropriate. But before identifying some future steps 

based on this work in particular, it is useful to note the wider aspirations and activities above 

within which such steps might need to take place. 

5.4 Recommendations for further research 

The primary recommendations made from this project relate to potential areas of further 

research and/or management planning and action. One important issue to address in a 

subsequent work is the matter of women‟s knowledge of Oriners, and in particular the 

documentation of the knowledge held by senior Indigenous women familiar with the area. 

Womens‟ knowledge and labour was integral to pastoral life and pastoral work patterns, and 

Indigenous women carry a range of gender-specific and general knowledge about country, 

as well as being heavily involved in ongoing land management decisions at Oriners. An 

appropriately structured study of women‟s knowledge would be a necessary and important 

addition to this current study. This project was also focused on Oriners Station itself, rather 

than on research and other developments occurring on adjacent relevant stations. This limits 

the degree to which regional scale recommendations can be considered. Also evident from 

this research is the value of Oriners Mob residence in the area and the need to address 

resourcing and logistical constraints to enable this to occur more often. However further 


202

ecommendations of this nature are beyond the boundaries of a knowledge recovery project 

such as this one. However, based on analysis of the previous material, research which may 

be valuable for the Oriners Mob and the KALNRMO to pursue can be grouped 

geographically, with the acknowledgement that there are clear overlaps in this kind of 

separation: 

Lagoon scale 

Photo-points: systematic repeatable photo-points at key lagoons to track changes 

through time 

Erosion Rehabilitation: test small scale gully, channel, and road erosion mitigation 

methods, particularly around Oriners Lagoon, the air strip, and the new bypass road. 

Erosion Mitigation: identify ways of minimising road sediment inputs to lagoons and 

local creeks, and the responsibilities for building appropriate public roads and creek 

crossings to mitigate impacts, particularly on Oriners Lagoon and Jewfish Lagoon. 

Lagoon Volume: investigate the factors affecting lagoon sill height (flow rates, 

appropriate vegetation, etc.), the impact of sill height on lagoon volume, and the 

degree that sedimentation affects water volume. 

Lagoon Sediment Sources: Investigation sediment sources and causes and volumes 

infilling Oriners lagoon and others. 

Groundwater: investigate the role of groundwater/subsurface base flow in sustaining 

permanent lagoons. 

Fencing Lagoons: tests the impacts of fencing banks of permanent lagoons to limit 

the number of access points for large animals and human vehicle access. 

Station scale 

Women‟s Knowledge: Investigate and document the knowledge held by women 

familiar with the area, and/or women keen to be involved in future planning for 

Oriners. 

Aquatic Animals: Investigate aquatic animal distribution and connectivity - the 

presence and absence of particular species in particular places, the degree of 

migration between permanent water sources during the wet season, etc. 

Wild Cattle and Feral Pigs: stock assessment of feral animal numbers on Oriners and 

Sefton properties and how they can best be managed. 

Fire Regimes: given the historical changes, establish what appropriate contemporary 

fire regimes might be and how they can be best implemented given the logistical and 

resourcing constraints at Oriners. 

Seasonal Indicators: identify seasonal indicators and/or a specific seasonal calendar 

for Oriners and record the timing of seasonal changes to generate a baseline for 

subsequent monitoring. 

Hydrogeomorphic Study: a more detailed analysis is needed on the existing water 

resources, creek and lagoon distributions, hydrologic and geomorphic processes 

maintaining aquatic habitat, and changes over time across Oriners. 

Botanical Study: a wider more detailed botanical study of the station is needed that 

improves the scale of mapping of native species distribution, and incorporates new 

weed distributions and appropriate strategies to controls further weed spread. 

Consider further development of the existing ethnobotanical material gathered by 

Stewart and Hamilton. 

Animal Study: a wider more detailed study of native terrestrial animals on the station 

is needed that improves the scale of species presence/absence information and 

mapping of species distribution. 

Station Management Plan: Continue development of a comprehensive station 

management plan that focuses on the key sections of natural resource management, 

and indigenous livelihoods and sustainability. 


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Regional scale 

Neighbouring Station Management: evaluate impacts of condition and management 

regime of surrounding stations (e.g., fire, weeds, cattle, feral animals, tourists) on the 

ability to implement successful management strategies at Oriners. 

Expand „Working Knowledge‟ to Neighbouring Stations: examine the value of 

undertaking similar „Working Knowledge‟ studies of other properties in the area, using 

this longer and deeper study as a foundation. 

A range of other important research topics could be listed, but 5.4 provides a basic list from 

which to prioritise scarce time and resources. 

5.5 Conclusion 

As the title implies, this document is intended to be a provisional information source to aid 

further planning, rather than a definitive account. This report is now the best available 

synthesis from multiple perspectives of what is known about this area of the central Cape, 

and provides an example for future research of this kind to follow. Further analysis and 

implications of the approach taken here will be developed in subsequent publication(s) in the 

research literature, but the central argument is that „Working Knowledge‟ provides a useful 

heuristic for summarising and engaging with the diverse knowledge base about Oriners, a 

place that the majority of the research participants experienced as part of their working lives, 

rather than as a long term residential home. The Oriners Mob contains people with far 

deeper personal, affective, kin and cultural connections with the area, but that perspective 

regarding the Mitchell catchment in general (Strang 1997) and sites at Oriners in particular 

(Strang 2001) has been very effectively documented in greater detail elsewhere. 

Strang has also emphasised the incommensurability of perspective between Indigenous 

people and non-Indigenous pastoralists in the catchment, and in this sense the current 

project both relies on Strang‟s foundations and suggests a counterexample to them. If that 

counterexample succeeds, it succeeds because it synthesises knowledge and perspectives 

from particular subsets of the groups Strang defines: the non-Indigenous pastoralists 

involved have a century of family history in the Mitchell; some Indigenous participants spent 

only a short time in the area rather than living their lives there as traditional owners; and a 

scientific perspective from a locally embedded researcher with extensive „on the ground‟ field 

experience. The research emphasis is functional and ecological, focusing on empirical 

observations of natural phenomena, and in this way it is constrained, particularly so from an 

Indigenous perspective. Yet that constraint also facilitates collation and synthesis without 

misrepresentation and/or misunderstanding about the level of commonality involved. Rather 

than negating Strang‟s argument for major differences in perspectives within Cape 

communities, this project demonstrates the kind of conditions required for such differences to 

be overcome, albeit temporarily. It also demonstrates that conditions on the Cape continue to 

evolve, and that the conceptual frameworks used to meet those conditions will need to be 

similarly adaptable. Oriners was a valuable property when it was purchased in the early 

1990s, and it is considerably more valuable now. Maintaining and enhancing that value in all 

its forms will require similarly diverse forms of work, the resources to support that work, and 

appropriate alignments between that activity and those occurring elsewhere in the region. 


204

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7 GLOSSARY 38 

Alkaline- having the properties of an alkali (a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal) with a pH greater than 

7. For alkaline water, this infers that soluble bases such as bicarbonate, hydroxide, etc. are dissolved 

in the water of pH greater than 7. 

Alluvium- sediment deposited in a streambed, floodplain, delta, mountain base or other bottomland 

feature during comparatively recent geologic time. 

Anabranch- a separate semi-permanent stream channel that has diverged from the main channel and 

rejoins the stream at some downstream location. Floodplain islands are typically located between 

adjacent and parallel anabranches. 

Aquifer- any rock body or geologic deposit containing or conducting ground water, especially one that 

supplies the water for wells, springs, etc. 

Aquatic- relating to water, living in or near water, or taking place in water. 

Artesian Aquifer – an aquifer that is poorly connected to the land surface due to an impermeable 

layer separating it from the land surface, and typically under pressure beyond atmospheric-pressure 

conditions. Once the water is tapped by a well or at a spring, the water may flow freely at the land 

surface due to pressure release. 

ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer)- a sensor on the 

Terra satellite in launched in1999 that collects images of the Earth in 15 electromagnetic spectrum 

bands with a resolution between 15 to 90 meters. 

Avulsion- sudden and major shifts in the position of a stream channel to a new part of the floodplain 

(first-order avulsion) or sudden reoccupation of an old channel on the floodplain (second-order 

avulsion. 

Bank Erosion- the detachment and transport of stream bank material such as sediment grains, 

aggregates or blocks as a result of flowing water, water seepage and/or gravity. 

Bore Hole- a narrow shaft bored or drilled in the ground, either vertically or horizontally, used for 

geologic investigation, water extraction, petroleum or gas extraction, mineral exploration, etc. 

Basalt- the dark, dense igneous rock of a lava flow or minor intrusion, composed essentially of 

labradorite and pyroxene and often displaying a columnar structure. 

Baseflow- is sustained, low, or fair-weather flow of a stream, generally derived from ground-water 

inputs to the stream channel. 

Batholith- a large body of intrusive igneous rock crystallized at a considerable depth below the earth's 

surface; 

Bedload – the mass per unit time of sand, gravel, boulders, or other debris transported by rolling or 

sliding along the bottom of a stream. 

BMPs (Best Management Practices)- are land management practices that are supported by 

scientific principles and demonstrated to eliminate, reduce or mitigate the environmental impacts of a 

given activity. 

Calcium- a silver-white divalent metal, occurring combined in limestone, chalk, gypsum, etc., 

occurring also in vertebrates and other animals, as a component of bone, skeletal mass, shell, etc., 

Calcrete- a bed of sand or clay in arid regions cemented by calcium carbonate, sodium chloride, and 

other soluble minerals (also called duricrust). 

Catena- a sequence of soils of about the same age, derived from similar parent material or source 

rocks, and occurring under similar climatic conditions, but having different characteristics because of 

their position on a slope, variations in relief, or different drainage patterns. 

38 The definitions in this glossary are included to aid comprehension by non-specialist readers, rather 

than providing comprehensive scientific definitions. 


212

Cenozoic (aka, Cainozoic) - geologic age from the present era to 65 million years ago, characterized 

by the ascendancy of mammals. 

Channel- a natural or constructed passageway or depression of perceptible linear extent containing 

continuously or periodically flowing water and sediment, or a connecting link between two bodies of 

water. 

Colluvial- a surface layer of unconsolidated, poorly sorted soil material and rock fragments deposited 

on the lower parts of hillslopes underlain by bedrock through the action of gravity (soil creep, mass 

wasting, bioturbation, frost action) and sheet erosion by un-concentrated surface runoff. 

Conglomerate- a sedimentary rock consisting of individual rounded clasts (>2 mm) within a finergrained 

matrix that have become cemented together. 

Convective Storm- an atmospheric storm generated by the heating of the earth, deep moisture 

convection (lift), and instability. 

Cretaceous- geologic age from 140 million to 65 million years ago, characterized by the greatest 

development and subsequent extinction of dinosaurs and the advent of flowering plants and modern 

insects. 

Crustacean- a large group of arthropods with an exoskeleton such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, 

shrimp, krill and barnacles. 

Dambo- a shallow swampy valley, more precisely: seasonally waterlogged, predominantly grasscovered, 

shallow, linear depressions, commonly without a marked stream channel, that occur at the 

upper ends of a drainage system. 

Devonian- geologic age from 405 to 345 million years ago, characterized by the dominance of fishes 

and the advent of amphibians and ammonites. 

Discharge- as a water term, the movement downstream of a volume of water per unit length of 

channel per unit time, typically cubic meters per second (m 3 / s -1 ). As a sediment term, the movement 

of a mass of sediment per unit length of channel per unit time in a specified time interval. 

Duricrust- an accumulation of mineral precipitates at or near the land surface of generally semiarid 

areas. See calcrete, silcrete, ferricrete. 

Erosion- the process by which the surface of the earth is worn away by the action of rainfall, water 

runoff, glaciers, winds, waves, etc. See bank, gully, rill, sheet, and slash erosion in this glossary. 

Erosivity- the capacity of rainfall to detach particles from a soil surface and initiate the erosion 

process 

Erodibility- the susceptibility of a surface to the erosion by rainsplash, surface flow, or wind. 

Evapotranspiration- the process of transferring water from the earth to the atmosphere by the 

combined processes of evaporation of water and transpiration from plants. Actual evapotranspiration, 

is the actual rate of water loss to the atmosphere, whereas potential evapotranspiration is a theoretical 

water loss under conditions of continuous water availability. 

Ferricrete- iron-rich duricrust, an indurated, or hardened, layer in or on a soil. Soil particles are 

cemented together by iron oxides (such as Fe2O3) precipitated from the groundwater to form an 

erosion-resistant layer. Often the soil covering is eroded from the surface of the ferricrete layer, which 

is exposed as a rock surface. 

Floodplain- a strip of relatively smooth land bordering a stream, built of sediment carried by the 

stream and dropped in slower water beyond the influence of the swift current of the channel. 

Floodplain Island- a discrete floodplain unit that rises above and is surrounded and separated by 

adjacent and parallel anabranch channels, which persists a sufficient time so that vegetation can 

develop. . 

Fluid Muds- silt and clay size material that behaves and flows like a fluid. 

Fluvial- refers to or pertains to streams, stream processes, stream landforms, and biota living in and 

near stream channels. 


213

Fluvial Megafan- a large (10 3 -10 5 km 2 ), fan-shaped (in plan view) mass of clastic sediment deposited 

by a laterally mobile river system that emanates from the outlet point of a large mountainous drainage 

network. 

Geologic age- time periods in geology (see Holocene, Pleistocene, Pliocene, Quaternary; Tertiary, 

Cenozoic, Cretaceous, Jurassic, Silurian, Devonian) 

Holocene- geologic age in the second and most recent epoch of the Quaternary period, which began 

10,000 years ago at the end of the Pleistocene 

Jurassic- geologic age from 190 to 140 million years ago and characterized by an abundance of 

dinosaurs and the advent of birds and mammals. 

Granite- A usually light-colored, coarse-grained igneous rock consisting mostly of quartz, orthoclase 

feldspar, feldspar, and micas. Granite is one of the most common rocks in the crust of continents, and 

is formed by the slow, underground cooling of magma. 

GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar)- a measurement technique that uses radar (radio waves) to map 

below surface sedimentary structures and landforms in detailed two or three-dimensions. 

Groundwater- water in the subsurface that saturates the rocks and sediment in which it occurs; the 

upper surface of ground-water saturation is commonly termed the water table. 

Gully- a small channel or ravine worn in earth or unconsolidated material, such as on into colluvium 

on a hillslope or into alluvium on a floodplain, by running water and through which water runs only 

after rainfall. It is larger than a rill and smaller than a stream channel. Can be classified as either 

colluvial/hillslope gullies or alluvial gullies. 

Gully erosion- is the displacement of soil or soft rock particles by running water that forms distinct 

small channels that are larger and deeper than rills and that usually carry water only during and 

immediately after precipitation. 

Hillslope- an inclined landform unit with a slope angle larger than adjacent plains and higher than 

vertical walls like cliffs or overhangs. Hillslope are typically associated with adjacent valleys. Gravity 

plays a dominant role in hydrologic and geomorphologic processes on hillslopes. 

Hydrogeology- the branch of science dealing with the waters below the earth's surface and with the 

geological aspects of surface waters. 

Hydrology- the branch of science dealing with the occurrence, circulation, distribution, and properties 

of the waters of the earth and its atmosphere. 

Igneous- rock produced under conditions involving intense heat, as rocks of volcanic origin or rocks 

crystallized from molten magma. 

Induration- hardening of unconsolidated sediments or rock by chemical precipitation, heat or 

pressure. 

Infiltration- the seepage of precipitation or surface water into soil or rock. 

Interfluve- the higher ground between adjoining valleys or watercourses, especially in a dissected 

upland. 

Invertebrate- is an animal without a vertebral column. 

Isotope- different forms of a chemical element with the same atomic number or number of protons, 

but different numbers of neutrons 

Kinetic Energy- energy possessed by an object such as water as a result of its motion. 

Lacustrine- refers to any feature formed or caused by the processes of a lake. 

LANDSAT (Land Satellite or Land Remote-Sensing Satellite)- a long running satellite program 

(since 1972) for acquiring moderate-resolution satellite imagery using multiple bands and wavelengths 

from numerous instruments and satellites over the years. Resolutions range from 15 to 60 meters; the 

temporal resolution is ~16 days. 

Laterite- A type of deep weathering profile in which the dominant cement of the duricrust is iron 

oxides. The term is also used in a broader sence for all deep weathering profiles. 


214

Lateritic Karst – karst-like or pseudokarst features found in deep weathered sediments (laterites or 

duricrusts such as ferricrete or silcrete) where solution weathering and piping produce cavities in the 

rock, often forming caves, sinkholes (see pans), and wetland pans. 

LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)- a topographic survey techniques that uses laser scanning 

from aircraft or ground equipment to survey in detail the shape and elevation of the land surface. 

Lithification- the process or processes by which unconsolidated materials are converted into 

coherent solid rock, as by compaction or cementation. 

LWD (Large Woody Debris)- the wood of dead trees truck, roots and branches of riparian vegetation 

that are transported by flood waters, deposited locally in wood jams, help stabilize channel banks and 

beds, and regulate water flow into anabranch channels. 

Macrophyte- an aquatic plant that grows in or near water and is either emergent, submergent, or 

floating. 

Manganese- hard, brittle, grayish white metal element. 

Magnesium- a light, ductile, silver-white, metallic element that burns with a dazzling white light, used 

in lightweight alloys, flares, fireworks, in the manufacture of flashbulbs, optical mirrors, and precision 

equipment. 

Mesoproterozoic- geologic age that occurred between 1600 Ma and 1000 Ma (million years ago), 

which was the first period of Earth's history with a respectable geological record. 

Mesozoic- geologic age that occurred between 250 Ma and 65 Ma (million years ago), which is often 

referred to as the age of dinosaurs. 

Metamorphic- rock altered considerably from their original structure and mineralogy by pressure and 

heat. 

MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer)- a scientific instrument on a specific 

space satellite that captures spectral data and images in 36 bands and different wavelengths every 1 

to 2 days across the Earth. 

Mound Spring- see spring. A spring that has built up a mound of sediment or mineral material 

Mud Spring- see spring. A spring that produces very muddy water or a mud slurry, and which may 

build up a mound. 

OSL (Optical Stimulated Luminescence)- a sediment dating method for measuring doses from 

ionizing radiation, by measuring accumulated electrons trapped over time in rocks such as quartz and 

feldspar. 

Oxbow- a horseshoe- or bow-shaped length of stream channel. Oxbow lakes (aka billabongs) are 

typically created by an abandoned meander loop or oxbow of a channel on a floodplain. 

Paleo-channel- an old or ancient channel on a floodplain, often abandended by channel avulsion and 

partially or fully infilled by floodplain sedimentation. 

Palustrine- Relating to a system of inland, non-tidal wetlands characterized by the presence of trees, 

shrubs, and emergent vegetation (vegetation that is rooted below water but grows above the surface). 

Palustrine wetlands range from permanently saturated or flooded land (as in marshes, swamps, and 

lake shores) to land that is wet only seasonally (as in vernal pools). 

Pan- a shallow, seasonally flooded, swampy closed depression found on a sandy interfluve. 

Pisoliths- pea-sized nodules or concretions of indurated calcium carbonate (calcrete), iron oxides 

(ferricrete), or other materials. 

pH- measure of how acid or alkaline a substance is by the amount of hydrogen ions, from a scale of 

1(highly alkaline) to 7 (highly acidic). 

Pleistocene- geologic age forming the earlier half of the Quaternary Period, beginning about 2 million 

years ago and ending 10,000 years ago, characterized by widespread glacial ice and the advent of 

modern humans. 

Pliocene- geological age from 10 to 2 million years ago, characterized by increased size and numbers 

of mammals, by the growth of mountains, and by global climatic cooling. 


215

Potential Energy- the stored energy from the position or configuration of a body or mass in space. 

Pseudokarst- karst-like landform features (caves, sinkholes, etc) formed in non-carbonate rocks (e.g. 

ferricrete, silcrete) by mechanical erosion such as piping (in contrast to true karst which results from 

chemical weathering by dissolution of carbonate rocks). 

Quaternary- geologic age noting or pertaining to the present period of earth history, forming the latter 

part of the Cenozoic Era, originating about 2 million years ago and including the Recent and 

Pleistocene Epochs. 

Regolith- the layer or mantle of loose unconsolidated material covering the bedrock of the earth 

comprising soil, sand, rock fragments, volcanic ash, glacial drift, etc. 

Remote Sensing- collection of information about an object or phenomenon, without making physical 

contact, such as with using sensors on satellites to detect and classify objects on Earth. See MODIS. 

Rill erosion- the development of numerous closely spaced streamlets (less than about 30 mm deep) 

in soil or soft rock by concentrated flowing water. It is an intermediate process between erosion by 

overland flow and gully erosion. 

Riparian Vegetation- plants growing along river banks and on floodplains that take advantage of 

subsurface ground water, baseflow and floodwater for enhanced growing conditions. 

Sand Splay- a low ridge of sand to fine gravel deposited on a flood plain during flood, often outside 

meander bends or downstream of obstacles like trees. 

Sandstone- a sedimentary rock consisting of sand, usually quartz, cemented together by various 

substances, as silica, calcium carbonate, iron oxide, or clay. 

Scour- the erosive force of moving water by removing debris. 

Secchi Disk/Depth- a circular disk used to measure water transparency in water. The depth at which 

the pattern on the disk is no longer visible is taken as a measure of the transparency or turbidity of the 

water. 

Sediment Transport Efficiency- the degree to which river sediment (gravel, sand, silt, clay) is moved 

down river through the effective utilization of the available stream power and energy. 

Sedimentary- formed by the deposition of sediment, as with certain rocks. 

Sheet erosion- the transport of loosened soil particles by surface runoff that is flowing downhill in thin 

sheets. 

Silcrete- silica-rich duricrust, an indurated, or hardened, layer in or on a soil. It generally occurs in a 

hot, arid climate where infrequent waterlogging causes silica to dissolve and be redeposited to cement 

soil grains together. Silcrete is extremely hard and resistant to weathering and erosion. 

Silica- Silicon combine with oxygen, SiO2, occurring especially as quartz sand, flint, and agate: 

Silurian- geologic age from 425 to 405 million years ago, notable for the advent of air-breathing 

animals and terrestrial plants. 

Sinuosity- degree of bend, twist, or intricacy (as in river course) 

Sodic Soil- a soil containing high levels of sodium (element) compared to other elements like calcium 

or magnesium. Sodic alkaline soils have high levels of Sodium Carbonate, whereas sodic saline soils 

have excess Sodium Chloride. 

Sodium- a soft, silver-white, metallic element that oxidizes rapidly in moist air, occurring in 

nature only in the combined state. 

Solutes- chemical elements or compounds dissolved in water or solution. 

Splash erosion- soil erosion caused by the splash of falling raindrops or other water on soil. 

Spring- any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground. A spring 

is a site where the aquifer surface meets the ground surface. 

SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission)- a mission of the USA Space Shuttle that collected 

topographic elevational data of the Earth surface using radar from space in 2000. 


216

Stalactite- a deposit, usually of calcium carbonate, shaped like an icicle, hanging from the roof of a 

cave or the like, and formed by the dripping of percolating calcareous water. 

Stalagmite- a deposit, usually of calcium carbonate, more or less resembling an inverted stalactite, 

formed on the floor of a cave or the like by the dripping of percolating calcareous water. 

Stratigraphy- the branch of science which studies rock or sediment layers and layering (stratification). 

Stream Power- the ability of flowing water to accomplish work such as sediment transport or erosion, 

defined as the product of discharge and water-surface slope. 

Suspended Sediment Load- the mass per unit time of fine sediment (sand, silt, clay) transported 

down river in suspension in water and maintained in suspension by turbulent current or colloidal 

suspension. 

Terrestrial- refers to anything related to land, such as a plant or animal that lives on land rather than 

in water. 

Tertiary- geologic age noting or pertaining to the period forming the earlier part of the Cenozoic Era, 

occurring from 65 million to 2 million years ago, characterized by the development and proliferation of 

mammals. 

Topography- the surface land forms, shapes and features of a region, especially the relief or terrain. 

Turbidity- level of clarity or opaqueness of a fluid, caused by suspended, colloidal, and organic matter 

and dissolved solids, which cause light to be scattered, absorbed, and diffracted rather than being 

transmitted directly through the water. 

Turbulence - the haphazard secondary motion caused by eddies within a moving fluid, such as water. 

Unconfined Aquifer- a relatively shallow unconfined aquifer controlled by near-surface gravitational 

and atmospheric-pressure conditions. 


217

8 APPENDICES 

8.1 Informed Consent Form 

ENVIRONMENTAL MEMORIES AT ORINERS STATION 

PRINCIPAL 

INVESTIGATORS 


Dr Marcus Barber and Dr Sue Jackson, 

Tropical and Arid Ecosystems, CSIRO, Darwin 

PROJECT TITLE: Environmental Memories at Oriners and Sefton Stations 

CONTACT DETAILS Marcus Barber: 08 8944 8420 (w) 0407 867 445 (m) 

Marcus.Barber@csiro.au 

Sue Jackson: 08 8944 8415 (w), 0438 890 254 (m) 

Sue.Jackson@csiro.au 

The research project that Marcus is undertaking involves bringing together all of the knowledge 

that currently exists about the country at Oriners (and Sefton) Stations. Marcus works for the 

government research agency called the CSIRO and the Kowanyama Land and Natural 

Resource Management Office (KLNRMO) has asked Marcus to do this research following 

consultation with Kowanyama people. This form gives Marcus permission to interview people 

about what they know of the Oriners and Sefton areas. Marcus will combine the interview 

material with information obtained from government and community archives to build up a 

picture of how Oriners and Sefton have changed over time. This will help the KLNRMO 

manage the properties properly in the future. 

Marcus will put the information together in a digital database and write a report for the 

KLNRMO. CSIRO will also want Marcus and his supervisor Sue to publish academic articles 

about the project if possible. These will be based on the material in the database and report. 

This is the first step in a longer research, planning and management process about the Oriners 

and Sefton area, so other outcomes from the research may also be created. The CSIRO has 

given Sue and Marcus permission to do this research. If you sign this form it shows that you 

have given your permission for Sue and Marcus to speak to you and that they can use what 

you say in the report. 

The aims of this study have been clearly explained to me and I understand what is wanted of 

me. I understand that it is my choice to take part and that I can stop at any time. I understand 

that any information I give will not be shared without my permission. 

Name: (printed) 

Signature: Date: 

We may want to identify you as the source of some information you give, particularly if it is 

unusual or important. If you give us permission for your name to be written down in the report 

tick the box below marked „Yes‟. If you do not want your name recorded in the report, tick the 

box marked „No‟. This permission can be changed at any time until the report is published. 

Yes, I give permission for my name to be recorded in the report. 

No, I do not want my name recorded next to my comments. 

218

8.2 Seasonal indicator observations 

Indicator Observation Season Purpose Informant Location 

Wattle flower Blooming Crocodile eggs Croc eggs ready Ivan Jimmy Kowanyama 

Storm bird calling Calling Early wet Rain predictor Ivan Jimmy, Kowanyama 

Goannas fat, good Wet and just after Meat Wilfred Jimmy Kowanyama 

Vine Flower Fishing season Fish have eggs Wilfred Jimmy Kowanyama 

Frog Croak Wet coming Rain predictor Wilfred Jimmy Kowanyama 

Dragonflies, Butterflies Flying around Wet ending Dry season predictor Wilfred Jimmy Kowanyama 

Ants Moving Wet starting Rain predictor Colin Hughes Highbury 

Night bugs, ants, termites Come out 3 days from first rain Rain predictor Michael Ross Laura 

Colin Hughes Highbury 

Frill necked lizards out and visible with frills up Wet starting Rain predictor Michael Ross 

Michael Ross 

Laura 

Bush turkey Scratching, making nests Wet coming Rain predictor Fred Coleman Laura 

White apple trees Fruiting Wet coming Rain predictor Fred Coleman Laura 

Dollar bird, white pigeon 

Birds calls (eep-eep, 

Present in landscape Wet coming Rain predictor Robert Burns Laura 

Djoop-djoop) Heard inland Wet coming Rain predictor Michael Ross 

Fred Coleman 

Laura 

Coastal birds -swallows flying inland Cyclone coming 

Michael Ross Laura 

Grass seeds Falling down Wet ending Robert Burns Laura 

Crows Outnumber wet season birds Wet ending Robert Burns Laura 

Cooktown orchid Flower Rain has ended Michael Ross Cooktown 

Sugar glider Feeding on flowers First storm time Michael Ross Laura 

Ti trees blossom Crocodiles fat Ivan Jimmy Kowanyama 


219

8.3 Wildlife Animal Species List for the Oriners and Sefton Area 

Based on information from the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) Wildlife Online Database 

(http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/wildlife-ecosystems/wildlife/wildlife_online/index.html). The status codes are Introduced to Queensland and Naturalised 

(Y), Extinct in the Wild (PE), Endangered (E), Vulnerable (V), Near Threatened (NT), Least Concern (C) or Not Protected ( ). 

Class Family Genus Species Common Name Status Notes 

Amphibians Bufonidae Rhinella marina cane toad Y 

Amphibians Hylidae Litoria inermis bumpy rocketfrog C 

Amphibians Hylidae Litoria rubella ruddy treefrog C 

Amphibians Hylidae Litoria caerulea common green treefrog C 

Amphibians Hylidae Cyclorana brevipes superb collared frog C 

Amphibians Hylidae Cyclorana alboguttata greenstripe frog C 

Amphibians Hylidae Litoria bicolor northern sedgefrog C 

Amphibians Hylidae Cyclorana novaehollandiae eastern snapping frog C 

Amphibians Limnodynastidae Notaden melanoscaphus brown shovelfoot C 

Amphibians Limnodynastidae Platyplectrum ornatum ornate burrowing frog C 

Amphibians Limnodynastidae Limnodynastes convexiusculus marbled frog C 

Amphibians Myobatrachidae Crinia deserticola chirping froglet C 

Amphibians Myobatrachidae Uperoleia lithomoda stonemason gungan C 

Birds Acanthizidae Smicrornis brevirostris weebill C 

Birds Acanthizidae Gerygone albogularis white-throated gerygone C 

Birds Accipitridae Haliastur sphenurus whistling kite C 

Birds Accipitridae Milvus migrans black kite C 


220

Birds Anatidae Nettapus pulchellus green pygmy-goose C 

Birds Anatidae Anas superciliosa Pacific black duck C 

Birds Anatidae Tadorna radjah radjah shelduck NT 

Birds Anhingidae Anhinga novaehollandiae Australasian darter C 

Birds Ardeidae Nycticorax caledonicus Nankeen night-heron C 

Birds Ardeidae Egretta garzetta little egret C 

Birds Ardeidae Ardea intermedia intermediate egret C 

Birds Ardeidae Ardea pacifica white-necked heron C 

Birds Ardeidae Ardea modesta eastern great egret C 

Birds Ardeidae Ixobrychus flavicollis black bittern C 

Birds Artamidae Cracticus nigrogularis pied butcherbird C 

Birds Artamidae Artamus cinereus black-faced woodswallow C 

Birds Artamidae Cracticus tibicen Australian magpie C 

Birds Cacatuidae Eolophus roseicapillus galah C 

Birds Cacatuidae Cacatua galerita sulphur-crested cockatoo C 

Birds Campephagidae Lalage leucomela varied triller C 

Birds Campephagidae Coracina papuensis white-bellied cuckoo-shrike C 

Birds Campephagidae Coracina novaehollandiae black-faced cuckoo-shrike C 

Birds 

Charadriidae Vanellus miles miles masked lapwing C 

Birds Columbidae Geopelia humeralis bar-shouldered dove C 

Birds Columbidae Geopelia striata peaceful dove C 

Birds Columbidae Geophaps scripta squatter pigeon C 


(northern 

subspecies) 

221

Birds Coraciidae Eurystomus orientalis dollarbird C 

Birds Corcoracidae Struthidea cinerea apostlebird C 

Birds Corvidae Corvus orru Torresian crow C 

Birds Cuculidae Cacomantis variolosus brush cuckoo C 

Birds Cuculidae Centropus phasianinus pheasant coucal C 

Birds 

Estrildidae Poephila cincta 


atropygialis black-throated finch (blackrumped) 

C 

Birds Estrildidae Taeniopygia bichenovii double-barred finch C 

Birds Estrildidae Poephila personata masked finch C 

Birds Gruidae Grus antigone sarus crane C 

Birds Gruidae Grus rubicunda brolga C 

Birds Halcyonidae Dacelo leachii blue-winged kookaburra C 

Birds Halcyonidae Dacelo novaeguineae laughing kookaburra C 

Birds Jacanidae Irediparra gallinacea comb-crested jacana C 

Birds Maluridae Malurus melanocephalus red-backed fairy-wren C 

Birds Meliphagidae Melithreptus albogularis white-throated honeyeater C 

Birds Meliphagidae Philemon corniculatus noisy friarbird C 

Birds Meliphagidae Ramsayornis modestus brown-backed honeyeater C 

Birds Meliphagidae Philemon citreogularis little friarbird C 

Birds Meliphagidae Stomiopera flavus yellow honeyeater C 

Birds Meliphagidae Entomyzon cyanotis blue-faced honeyeater C 

Birds Meliphagidae Lichmera indistincta brown honeyeater C 

Birds Meropidae Merops ornatus rainbow bee-eater C 

222

Birds Monarchidae Grallina cyanoleuca magpie-lark C 

Birds Nectariniidae Dicaeum hirundinaceum mistletoebird C 

Birds Pachycephalidae Pachycephala rufiventris rufous whistler C 

Birds Pardalotidae Pardalotus striatus striated pardalote C 

Birds Pardalotidae Pardalotus rubricatus red-browed pardalote C 

Birds Phalacrocoracidae Microcarbo melanoleucos little pied cormorant C 

Birds Podargidae Podargus strigoides tawny frogmouth C 

Birds Pomatostomidae Pomatostomus temporalis grey-crowned babbler C 

Birds Psittacidae Trichoglossus haematodus moluccanus rainbow lorikeet C 

Birds Psittacidae Aprosmictus erythropterus red-winged parrot C 

Birds Psittacidae Psitteuteles versicolor varied lorikeet C 

Birds Psittacidae Platycercus adscitus pale-headed rosella C 

Birds Ptilonorhynchidae Ptilonorhynchus nuchalis great bowerbird C 

Birds Scolopacidae Calidris acuminata sharp-tailed sandpiper C 

Birds Scolopacidae Tringa stagnatilis marsh sandpiper C 

Birds Strigidae Ninox boobook southern boobook C 

Birds Threskiornithidae Threskiornis spinicollis straw-necked ibis C 

Birds Threskiornithidae Plegadis falcinellus glossy ibis C 

Birds Threskiornithidae Threskiornis molucca Australian white ibis C 

Birds Bovidae Bos taurus European cattle Y 

Birds Macropodidae Macropus agilis agile wallaby C 

Birds Petauridae Petaurus norfolcensis squirrel glider C 

Reptiles Agamidae Diporiphora bilineata two-lined dragon C 


223

Reptiles Crocodylidae Crocodylus johnstoni Australian freshwater crocodile C 

Reptiles Diplodactylidae Oedura castelnaui northern velvet gecko C 

Reptiles Diplodactylidae Amolosia rhombifer zig-zag gecko C 

Reptiles Diplodactylidae Lucasium steindachneri Steindachner's gecko C 

Reptiles Elapidae Furina ornata orange-naped snake C 

Reptiles Gekkonidae Heteronotia binoei gecko C 

Reptiles Gekkonidae Gehyra dubia dubious gecko; tree gecko C 

Reptiles Pygopodidae Delma tincta excitable delma C 

Reptiles Scincidae Cryptoblepharus metallicus metallic snake-eyed skink C 

Reptiles Scincidae Carlia munda shaded-litter rainbow-skink C 

Reptiles Scincidae Ctenotus sp. C 

Reptiles Scincidae Ctenotus brevipes short-footed ctenotus C 

Reptiles Scincidae Ctenotus spaldingi straight-browed ctenotus C 

Reptiles Scincidae Cryptoblepharus pannosus ragged snake-eyed skink C 

Reptiles Scincidae Morethia taeniopleura fire-tailed skink C 

Reptiles Typhlopidae Ramphotyphlops unguirostris claw-snouted blind snake C 

Reptiles Varanidae Varanus sp. goanna C 

Reptiles Varanidae Varanus gouldii sand monitor C 

Reptiles Varanidae Varanus tristis black-tailed monitor C 

Reptiles Varanidae Varanus panoptes yellow-spotted monitor C 


224

8.4 Plant Species List for the Oriners and Sefton Area 

Based on information from the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) Wildlife Online Database 

(http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/wildlife-ecosystems/wildlife/wildlife_online/index.html). The status codes are Introduced to Queensland and Naturalised 

(Y), Extinct in the Wild (PE), Endangered (E), Vulnerable (V), Near Threatened (NT), Least Concern (C) or Not Protected ( ). 

Plant Class Family Genus Species Common Name Status Notes 

Dicots Acanthaceae Nelsonia campestris C 

Dicots Amaranthaceae Gomphrena flaccida Gomphrena C 

Dicots Bignoniaceae Dolichandrone heterophylla Lemon Wood C 

Dicots Burseraceae Canarium australianum Melville Island White Beech C 

Dicots Caesalpiniaceae Erythrophleum chlorostachys Cooktown Ironwood C 

Dicots Chrysobalanaceae Parinari nonda Nonda Plum, Nonda Tree C 

Dicots Combretaceae Terminalia subacroptera C 

Dicots Combretaceae Terminalia platyphylla Wild plum C 

Dicots Convolvulaceae Xenostegia tridentata African morning vine C 

Dicots Convolvulaceae Polymeria sp. Polymeria C 

Dicots Convolvulaceae Ipomoea sp. Morning glories C 

Dicots Droseraceae Drosera petiolaris Sundew C 

Dicots Erythroxylaceae Erythroxylum sp. C Cholmondely Creek (J.R.Clarkson 9367) 

Dicots Erythroxylaceae Erythroxylum ellipticum Brown plum C 

Dicots Euphorbiaceae Euphorbia sp. Spurges C 

Dicots Euphorbiaceae Calycopeplus casuarinoides C 


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Dicots Fabaceae Crotalaria montana Fuzzy or woolly rattlepod C 

Dicots Fabaceae Desmodium sp. C 

Dicots Fabaceae Bossiaea armitii C 

Dicots Fabaceae Dendrolobium umbellatum Horse bush C var. umbellatum 

Dicots Fabaceae Jacksonia thesioides Broombush C 

Dicots Lamiaceae Vitex acuminata Black plum; scrub vitex C 

Dicots Lecythidaceae Planchonia careya Cockatoo apple C 

Dicots Lentibulariaceae Utricularia sp. Bladderwort C 

Dicots Loganiaceae Mitrasacme laricifolia C 

Dicots Malvaceae Hibiscus meraukensis Merauke hibiscus C 

Dicots Menyanthaceae Nymphoides crenata Wavy marshwort C 

Dicots Menyanthaceae Nymphoides indica Water snowflake C 

Dicots Menyanthaceae Nymphoides elliptica C 

Dicots Mimosaceae Acacia rothii Tooroo C 

Dicots 


Mimosaceae Acacia torulosa 

Deep gold wattle; Torulosa 

wattle C 

Dicots Mimosaceae Acacia leptocarpa North coast wattle C 

Dicots Mimosaceae Acacia leptostachya Townsville wattle C 

Dicots Mimosaceae Acacia holosericea Silver leaf wattle C 

Dicots Mimosaceae Adenanthera abrosperma Giddy Giddy C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Melaleuca nervosa Paperbark C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Melaleuca saligna White or willow bottlebrush C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Melaleuca argentea Silver tea-tree C 

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Dicots Myrtaceae Melaleuca citrolens Honey-myrtle C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Melaleuca foliolosa C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Melaleuca acacioides C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Melaleuca clarksonii C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Melaleuca leucadendra Broad-leaved tea-tree C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Melaleuca viridiflora Broad-leaved paperbark C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Melaleuca stenostachya C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Corymbia setosa Rough-leaved bloodwood C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Corymbia papuana Ghost gum C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Corymbia hylandii Hyland's bloodwood C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Corymbia confertiflora Cabbage gum C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Corymbia setosa Rough-leaved bloodwood C subsp.pedicellaris 

Dicots 


Myrtaceae Corymbia clarksoniana 

Clarkson‟s bloodwood; grey 

bloodwood C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Eucalyptus microtheca Coolibah C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Eucalyptus tetrodonta Darwin stringybark C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Eucalyptus camaldulensis River red gum C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Eucalyptus chlorophylla Greenleaf box C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Thryptomene oligandra C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Neofabricia mjoebergii C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Syzygium eucalyptoides Native apple C 

Dicots 

Myrtaceae Syzygium suborbiculare 

Rolypoly satinash; Red Bush 

apple; Watergum; C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Leptospermum amboinense C 

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Dicots Myrtaceae Neofabricia sericisepala C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Asteromyrtus symphyocarpa Liniment tree C 

Dicots Myrtaceae Syzygium eucalyptoides C subsp.eucalyptoides 

Dicots Phyllanthaceae Sauropus ochrophyllus C 

Dicots Picrodendraceae Petalostigma pubescens Quinine tree C 

Dicots Picrodendraceae Petalostigma banksii Quinine bush C 

Dicots Polygalaceae Polygala pycnophylla Milkwort NT 

Dicots Proteaceae Xylomelum scottianum Native pear C 

Dicots Proteaceae Grevillea pteridifolia Golden parrot tree C 

Dicots Proteaceae Grevillea parallela Beefwood; Silver oak C 

Dicots Proteaceae Hakea pedunculata C 

Dicots Proteaceae Grevillea glauca Bushy's clothes peg C 

Dicots Proteaceae Banksia dentata Tropical banksia C 

Dicots Rhamnaceae Alphitonia pomaderroides C 

Dicots Rubiaceae Gardenia sp. C 

Dicots Rubiaceae Spermacoce sp. C 

Dicots Rubiaceae Oldenlandia sp. C 

Dicots Rubiaceae Pogonolobus reticulatus Medicine bush C 

Dicots Rubiaceae Nauclea orientalis Leichhardt tree C 

Dicots Simaroubaceae Samadera sp. C 

Dicots 


Sparrmanniaceae Grewia retusifolia 

Dogs nuts; Emu berry; 

Dysentery bush C 

Dicots Sterculiaceae Brachychiton sp. C 

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Dicots Sterculiaceae Brachychiton diversifolius Northern kurrajong C 

Dicots Violaceae Hybanthus enneaspermus Spade flower, Pink ladies slipper C 

Monocots Commelinaceae Cartonema baileyi C 

Monocots Cyperaceae Rhynchospora heterochaeta C 

Monocots Cyperaceae Rhynchospora pterochaeta C 

Monocots Cyperaceae Fimbristylis sp. C 

Monocots Eriocaulaceae Eriocaulon sp. C 

Monocots Eriocaulaceae Eriocaulon carpentariae Pipewort C 

Monocots Orchidaceae Dendrobium canaliculatum Antelope orchid; Tea-tree orchid C 

Monocots Pandanaceae Pandanus sp. Pandanus C 

Monocots Poaceae Dactyloctenium sp. C 

Monocots Poaceae Sarga plumosum Plum sorghum C 

Monocots Poaceae Thaumastochloa sp. 

Monocots Poaceae Oryza rufipogon Red rice C 

Monocots Poaceae Setaria surgens Pigeon grass C 

Monocots Poaceae Themeda arguens Christmas grass C 

Monocots Poaceae Themeda triandra kangaroo grass C 

Monocots Poaceae Eriachne armitii Long-awn wanderrie grass C 

Monocots Poaceae Eriachne obtusa Northern wanderrie grass C 

Monocots Poaceae Eriachne ciliata Slender wanderrie grass C 

Monocots Poaceae Eriachne stipacea Wanderrie grass C 

Monocots Poaceae Eriachne burkittii Wanderrie grass C 

Monocots Poaceae Eriachne squarrosa Wanderrie grass C 


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Monocots Poaceae Eriachne sp. C 

Monocots Poaceae Ectrosia leporina Hare's foot grass C 

Monocots Poaceae Ectrosia scabrida Hare's foot grass C 

Monocots Poaceae Ectrosia nervilemma C 

Monocots Poaceae Heterachne abortiva C 

Monocots Poaceae Heterachne gulliveri C 

Monocots Poaceae Thaumastochloa major C 

Monocots Poaceae Elytrophorus spicatus Spikegrass C 

Monocots Poaceae Heteropogon contortus Black speargrass C 

Monocots Poaceae Heteropogon triticeus Giant speargrass C 

Monocots Poaceae Schizachyrium dolosum C 

Monocots Poaceae Schizachyrium fragile Firegrass C 

Monocots Poaceae Schizachyrium pachyarthron C 

Monocots Poaceae Schizachyrium sp. C 

Monocots Poaceae Thaumastochloa brassii C 

Monocots Poaceae Thaumastochloa rariflora C 

Monocots Poaceae Mnesithea rottboellioides C 

Monocots Poaceae Dichanthium sp. C 

Monocots Poaceae Arundinella sp. C 

Monocots Poaceae Eragrostis sp. C 

Monocots Poaceae Aristida sp. C 

Monocots Poaceae Panicum sp. C 

Monocots Poaceae Poaceae sp. C 


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Monocots Poaceae Sorghum sp. C 

Monocots Restionaceae Leptocarpus sp. C 

Monocots Restionaceae Baloskion tetraphyllum Plume rush; Australian Reed C subsp.meiostachyum 

Monocots Xyridaceae Xyris indica Indian- or tall-yellow eyed grass C 


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