| Kununurra Western Australia |
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 Kununurra in summer from Hidden Valley National Park lookout |
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  Kununurra
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| Population: | 3,748 (2006) [1] | ||||||
| Established: | 1960s | ||||||
| Postcode: | 6743 | ||||||
| Elevation: | 47 m (154 ft) | ||||||
| Location: | |||||||
| LGA: | Shire of Wyndham-East Kimberley | ||||||
| State District: | Kimberley | ||||||
| Federal Division: | Kalgoorlie | ||||||
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Coordinates: 15°46′25″S 128°44′19″E / 15.7737°S 128.7387°E
Kununurra is a town in far northern Western Australia located at the eastern side of the Kimberley Region approximately 37 kilometres (23 mi) from the Northern Territory. With 3,748 inhabitants, many of whom are Indigenous Australians, it is the largest town in Western Australia north of Broome. It is 3,040 kilometres (1,889 mi) from Perth by road.
Kununurra District High School comprises a primary school and high school teaching up to year 10, and up to year 12 via distance education. It also has a number of additional smaller schools including St Joseph's primary school and the Barramundi School. It has a local hospital, dentist and leisure centre including a 25-metre pool.
Key farm activities including the growing of melons, mangoes and until recently, sugar cane. There is also a thriving tourism industry with most tourist operators capitalising on the scenery of the Ord River, Lake Argyle, Diversion Dam and other local locations, including the relatively nearby Bungle Bungles.
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Etymology
Kununurra comes from the English pronunciation of Gunanurang in the Miriwoong language meaning "Big River".[2]
Geography
The landscape surrounding Kununurra includes features such as Valentine Spring, Black Rock Creek and Middle Springs along with many other waterfalls and swimming holes. Popular fishing spots include Ivanhoe Crossing, The Diversion Dam, Buttons Crossing, and various locations along the Dunham and Ord Rivers.
The town is located close to the confluence of the Ord and the Dunham River. Lake Argyle, Australia's largest artificial lake, over 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi) in size, is 72 km from the town. The town is relatively new and was gazetted in the late 1950s, at the time that the Ord River Irrigation scheme was initiated.
The scheme involved damming the Ord River and building a diversion dam 50 km downstream so that the waters could be directed to irrigate about 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi) of land. By 1966 there were 31 farms on the Ord River plains. By 1972 the second stage of the scheme was completed with the opening of the Lake Argyle Dam.
Climate
Like other areas in the tropics of Western Australia, Kununurra paradoxically experiences a steppe climate (Köppen climate classification BSh).
| Weather data for Kununurra | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 36.0 (97) |
35.0 (95) |
35.7 (96) |
35.4 (96) |
33.0 (91) |
30.3 (87) |
30.5 (87) |
32.5 (91) |
36.5 (98) |
38.8 (102) |
39.0 (102) |
37.1 (99) |
35.0 (95) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 25.1 (77) |
24.8 (77) |
24.2 (76) |
22.0 (72) |
18.9 (66) |
16.1 (61) |
15.1 (59) |
16.1 (61) |
20.3 (69) |
23.8 (75) |
25.4 (78) |
25.5 (78) |
21.5 (71) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 196.5 (7.74) |
208.4 (8.2) |
146.6 (5.77) |
26.0 (1.02) |
5.7 (0.22) |
3.9 (0.15) |
1.8 (0.07) |
0.0 (0) |
3.4 (0.13) |
19.1 (0.75) |
64.1 (2.52) |
37.4 (1.47) |
839.5 (33.05) |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology[3] 20 August 2009 | |||||||||||||
Popular culture
Kununurra has a Celebrity Tree Park with many trees planted by famous people including Rolf Harris, and more recently Baz Luhrmann, after the majority of the filming for his film Australia was conducted just outside of Kununurra. The town has many local attractions, including waterfalls, gorges and ranges. It was voted the second best town to live in Australia for outdoor adventure by Outdoor Australia magazine in the March/April 2007 edition.[citation needed]
Nicole Kidman feels that area water helped her get pregnant while filming in this town stating, "Seven babies were conceived out of this film and only one was a boy. There is something up there in the Kununurra water because we all went swimming in the waterfalls, so we can call it the fertility waters now."[4]
See also
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Kununurra (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=UCL514200&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
- ^ "Gunanurang: (Kununurra) big river.". Department of Environment and Conservation. East Perth, W.A.: Waters and Rivers Commission. http://portal.environment.wa.gov.au/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/DOE_ADMIN/TECH_REPORTS_REPOSITORY/TAB1019688/ABORIGINAL_VALUES.PDF. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
- ^ "Climate statistics for Kununurra". Australian Bureau of Meterology. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_001009.shtml. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
- ^ "Kidman hails 'fertile waterfalls'". BBC NEWS. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7633455.stm. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
External links
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