59-698: The Norman River is a river in the Gulf Country , Queensland , Australia. The river originates in the Gregory Range , 200 kilometres (120 mi) southeast of Croydon and flows 420 kilometres (260 mi) northwest to the Gulf of Carpentaria . It is joined by three major tributaries , the Carron , Clara and Yappar Rivers. The river flows through Normanton before entering the Gulf of Carpentaria through
118-425: A "mecca" for soaring pilots who surf the giant atmospheric wave in their gliders. Gliding flights of over 500 kilometres (310 mi) have become common. Burketown State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 51 Beames Street ( 17°44′20″S 139°32′52″E / 17.7389°S 139.5478°E / -17.7389; 139.5478 ( Burketown State School ) ). In 2017,
177-399: A population of 238 people. In the 2021 census , the locality of Burketown had a population of 204 people. Burketown has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: Burketown has a semi-arid climate ( Köppen BSh ), though closely bordering on a tropical savanna climate ( Aw ), characterised by hot, humid summers with erratic rainfall and warm, extremely dry winters. December is
236-581: Is an isolated outback town and coastal locality in the Shire of Burke , Queensland , Australia. In the 2021 census , the locality of Burketown had a population of 204 people. It is located 898 kilometres or 558 miles west of Cairns and 227 kilometres or 141 miles west of Normanton on the Albert River and Savannah Way in the area known as the Gulf Savannah . Burketown is located on
295-458: Is at the health centre ( 17°43′57″S 139°32′56″E / 17.7325°S 139.5488°E / -17.7325; 139.5488 ( Burketown Ambulance Station ) ). Burketown Cemetery is on an unnamed road immediately north of the hospital on Truganini Road ( 17°43′14″S 139°32′36″E / 17.7206°S 139.5433°E / -17.7206; 139.5433 ( Burketown Cemetery ) ). The sewage treatment plant
354-530: Is changing both grasslands and wetlands while the woodlands are vulnerable to changing fire regimes. Introduced weeds include the rubber vine . Protected areas include Staaten River National Park , Boodjamulla National Park (formerly Lawn Hill), the World Heritage fossil finds at Riversleigh , Camooweal Caves National Park and Mitchell-Alice Rivers National Park on the Queensland side. However
413-524: Is estimated that Chinese people outnumbered those of European ancestry north of the tropic of Capricorn. Chinese migration into Queensland’s Gulf Country probably peaked in the early 1890s, just before the institution of the Chinese Immigration Restriction Act 1891 (Qld). This law aimed to prevent the arrival of Chinese through the introduction of a £10 poll tax—an amount equivalent to six months’ wages for an average worker at
472-527: Is generally flat and low-lying tropical savannah cut through with rivers that carry the monsoon rains to the gulf and feed coastal mudflats and patches of rainforest. The Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands and the Wellesley Islands lie off the gulf coast. The main settlements in the region include the city of Mount Isa and the towns of Doomadgee , Cloncurry , Camooweal , Kowanyama , Karumba , Normanton and Burketown . The port at Karumba
531-473: Is known as the Barramundi capital of Australia and holds an annual Barramundi Fishing Competition during Easter. Escott Station , which includes a tourist lodge, is about 17 kilometres (11 mi) from Burketown. Burketown is believed to be the basis of “Willstown” (named after Burke's fellow explorer Wills) in the novel A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute . In the novel, the town has little in
590-537: Is off to the north of the Wills Developmental Road ( 17°44′24″S 139°32′04″E / 17.7399°S 139.5344°E / -17.7399; 139.5344 ( sewage treatment plant ) ). The water treatment plant is to the north-west of the sewage treatment plant ( 17°44′21″S 139°32′14″E / 17.7391°S 139.5371°E / -17.7391; 139.5371 ( water treatment plant ) ). These are operated by
649-479: Is on the south-east corner of Musgrave Street and Beames Street ( 17°44′28″S 139°32′54″E / 17.7410°S 139.5482°E / -17.7410; 139.5482 ( Burketown SES Facility ) ). Burketown Primary Health Care Clinic is a small public hospital on Truganini Road ( 17°43′57″S 139°32′56″E / 17.7324°S 139.5490°E / -17.7324; 139.5490 ( health centre ) ). Burketown Ambulance Station
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#1732773013962708-574: Is one of Australia's main live cattle exporting ports. The oldest building in the region is the Burketown Hotel. The climate is hot with a dry season and a monsoon. The dry season lasts from about April until November and is characterized by very dry southeast to east winds, generated by migratory winter high pressure systems to the south. The wet season lasts from December to March and is characterised by humid northerly monsoonal airflows. This wet season can be very erratic: at Burketown , which
767-480: Is source of great mineral wealth such as copper, zinc, lead and silver. Mount Isa Mines includes a number of copper, lead, zinc and silver mines in Mount Isa where production began in 1931. Century Mine , Australia's largest zinc mine began operations near Mount Isa in 1997 and is expected to be exhausted by 2016. Other mines in the region include George Fisher mine , Cannington Mine and Hilton Mine . Due to
826-530: Is the region of woodland and savanna grassland surrounding the Gulf of Carpentaria in north western Queensland and eastern Northern Territory on the north coast of Australia. The region is also called the Gulf Savannah . The Gulf Country is crossed by the Savannah Way highway. The flat, savannah land has a dry season and a monsoon, containing the largest areas of native grassland in Australia. It
885-408: Is typical of the region, the rainfall of various wet seasons has ranged from as little as 150 millimetres (5.9 in) to as much as 2,000 millimetres (79 in). Overall rainfall is low (from 750 mm on the coast to 500 mm inland) but if the wet season is at all strong, low-lying areas are flooded and even the few sealed roads are cut. The Gulf is also a breeding ground for cyclones during
944-514: Is used for raising cattle and mining. It contains large reserves of zinc, lead and silver. The area is home to a number of endangered species and is crossed by a number of major rivers. The first known European explorer of the region was Willem Janszoon . The Gulf Country is a block of dry savanna between the wetter areas of Arnhem Land and the Top End of the Northern territory to the west and
1003-426: The Albert River 2,115 kilometres (1,314 mi) to the north west of the state capital, Brisbane , with the nearest larger town being Normanton , 227 kilometres (141 mi) to the east, and the nearest city being Mount Isa , 425 kilometres (264 mi) to the south. The town is roughly 30 kilometres (19 mi) inland from the Gulf of Carpentaria . It is located 898 kilometres (558 mi) west of Cairns via
1062-698: The Burketown Airport which has a regular passenger service from Regional Express Airlines and is also the primary base of Savannah Aviation, which provides aircraft charter services throughout the Gulf, far north/western Queensland and the Northern Territory. Burketown Police Station is in Gregory Street ( 17°44′36″S 139°32′50″E / 17.7432°S 139.5473°E / -17.7432; 139.5473 ( Burketown Police Station ) ). Burketown SES Facility
1121-714: The Cape York Peninsula of Far North Queensland to the east, while to the south and east lie upland plains of Mitchell grasses and the Einasleigh Uplands . The Northern Territory side of the area is the Gulf Fall area of sandstone slopes and gorges draining the interior uplands into the gulf. The main land uses in the Gulf Country are beef cattle and mining. The region covers an area of 186,000 km (72,000 sq mi). The landscape
1180-506: The Northern Territory coastline. At first, hopes the town would develop into a major settlement in north-western Queensland were high. However, from 1866 tropical diseases ravaged the population. The vessel "Margaret and Mary" from Sydney came into port rife with "Gulf Fever" (never properly identified, but thought to be either malaria or typhoid ). Estimates of the numbers who died vary from 25 to 100 people. The majority of
1239-475: The Savannah Way passing through the area known as the Gulf Savannah . The town is the administrative centre of the Burke Shire Council . Aboriginal Australian peoples had inhabited the region for millennia before European explorers travelled the area. Archeologists and linguists pinpoint the area surrounding Burketown as the urheimat of Pama–Nyungan languages spoken across almost all of
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#17327730139621298-560: The Shire of McKinlay , Shire of Cloncurry and Shire of Richmond , including the Flinders River area, and the towns of Kynuna and Richmond . Yukulta (also known as Ganggalida ) is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Gulf Country. The Yukulta language region includes the local government areas of the Aboriginal Shire of Doomadgee and Shire of Mornington . The first known European explorer to visit
1357-399: The lead production in the town, Mount Isa has one of the most intensive air quality monitoring systems in Australia. Concerns have been raised over childhood lead contamination and air pollution within the region. In the Gulf Country there are no mountains to restrict rainfall to the coastal band and the transition from the coastal mangroves through Acacia stenophylla woodlands to
1416-474: The 'Plains of Promise' or 'Province of Albert' after Prince Albert, the Queen's Consort in 1841. Burketown, or "Burke Town", was named in honour of explorer Robert O'Hara Burke , who died shortly after making the first recorded successful south-north crossing of the continent in 1860-1. The first European settlers arrived in the local region not long after Burke and partner William John Wills ' expedition . By
1475-469: The 1840s. This route, some 1780 kilometres from Darwin to Burketown, is estimated to have taken about three months to traverse. Many of those who attempted it were arrested as soon as they arrived in Queensland, near Burketown and kept in the Burketown Gaol for a time. However, others managed to evade arrest and remain in the Gulf Country at this time, and for a long time thereafter, coming to live on
1534-629: The Albert River. The goods were eventually landed on the present site of Burketown. Towns, a prominent Sydney pastoralist and financier, also established Townsville in the same year. By September 1865 the population was about 40 and by October a store and a hotel were under construction, the balance of buildings were humpies . Rations and grog were plentiful but already one evil was noted: prices for goods were so high that some intended settlers could not stay. The town grew; however currency, both notes and coins, were so short in early Burketown that
1593-506: The Burke Shire Council. The Burke Shire Council operates a public library at Lot 65, Musgrave Street. There is a barge/boat ramp with jetty and pontoon on Truganina Road on the north bank of the Albert River ( 17°44′00″S 139°35′33″E / 17.7333°S 139.5925°E / -17.7333; 139.5925 ( Truganini Road barge/boat ramp ) ). It is managed by the Burke Shire Council . Burketown
1652-467: The Chinese skills in vegetable production were well employed. This source of fresh food was very important in countering scurvy, the scourge of remote places as well as ships at sea. The garden supplied Burketown and exported some produce to Thursday Island. No details are known of the names of the producers or of the volume of their export trade, but it seems likely that they could have been associated with
1711-582: The Gulf Country is one of the largest areas of native grassland in Australia. The sandstone gorges of the Gulf Fall are home to a specific wildlife. Finally the Pellew Islands have retained original mangroves and thick woodland.. The area is home to a number of endangered species including an endemic rodent, the Carpentarian rock rat (Zyzomys palatalis) and endemic reptiles such as the Carpentarian lerista skink . The mudflats and saltpans on
1770-743: The Gulf Country, which led to the deaths of at least 600 Aboriginal people. The book won the State Records – John and Patricia Ward History Prize in the New South Wales Premier's History Awards ; the Australian Historical Association 's WK Hancock Prize ; and the Chief Minister's Northern Territory Book History Award . The 1964 Mount Isa Mines Strike was a prolonged strike between miners and management at Mount Isa Mines. The region
1829-665: The area was the Prussian Ludwig Leichhardt who traversed the area in 1844 and 1845. He was followed by Augustus Gregory of the North Australian Expedition in 1856, and then Burke and Wills in 1861. John McKinlay , Frederick Walker and William Landsborough lead separate search parties into the Gulf looking for Burke and Wills in 1861 and 1862. As pastoralists settled in the area there were significant clashes with local Aboriginal populations. Historian Tony Roberts has described
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1888-597: The arid scrubs of central Australia is gradual. There are up to nineteen important areas for bird migration in rivermouths along the gulf coast including the Gregory River - Nicholson River estuary and the Roper River in Limmen Bight . The patches of rainforest habitat occur in parts that are less vulnerable to the grassland fires. On the savanna dicanthium bluegrass grows tall after the monsoon rains as
1947-489: The business people issued their own currency, dubbed "shinplaster" or "calabashers". These were in the form of IOU's hand printed on tissue paper so that they had as short a life as possible. In February 1866 Lieutenant Wentworth D'Arcy UHR with 8 troopers and accompanied by William Landsborough , the first Police Magistrate, rode into Burketown where everyone carried a pistol and where a successful shop keeper could ride well, shoot well and be an able pugilist. The pioneer spirit
2006-409: The coast are home to waterbirds such as the magpie goose . One endemic grassland bird, the Carpentarian grasswren , is suffering as changing fire regimes (the way grasses are systematically burnt and allowed to renew) are reducing their habitat. The region is a hotspot for birdwatching . Much of the area is unspoilt vegetation but overgrazing of cattle and the introduction of feed grass species
2065-435: The coastal wetlands are little protected. Lawn Hill crater , an impact crater with a ring of limestone hills, is also located in the Gulf Country. Finally Barranyi (North Island) National Park is one of the Pellew Islands. 17°52′22.33″S 140°10′28.36″E / 17.8728694°S 140.1745444°E / -17.8728694; 140.1745444 Burketown, Queensland Download coordinates as: Burketown
2124-610: The continent. The Yukulta / Gangalidda and Garawa peoples are recognised as the traditional owners of the Burketown area. Native title was recognised on 1 April 2015. A mission was established in 1930 at Burketown by Len and Dorothy Akehurst, who were members of the Christian Brethren . In 1932–33 the Akehursts moved the mission to Bayley Point , near Doomadgee , about 100 kilometres (62 mi) away, at
2183-537: The crew and passengers of ship including the captain's wife died. Many of the dead were buried in a mass grave in Burketown Cemetery. Landsborough evacuated the survivors to Sweers Island for a period of 18 months, where a further two died and were buried on the island. At the first land sales in the town on 14 August 1867, 75 allotments were sold. The town was devastated by a tropical cyclone on 5 March 1887 which flooded almost all of Burketown. Only
2242-400: The district is delighted with the wholesale slaughter dealt out by the native police". The newspaper paid "thanks" to those involved in "ridding the district of fifty-nine (59) myalls" or local Aboriginal people. Burketown was used by explorer Francis Cadell as a staging point for refitting and refuelling the steamer Eagle and collecting mail and fresh supplies during his 1867–68 survey of
2301-419: The fringes of Burketown at Woods Lake and Hookeys Lagoon, as well as on stations and around mines. While living separately from other Australians, many of these men became close to Aboriginal people, conceiving children with Aboriginal wives and many people in the area today have Chinese heritage. Records show that Woods Lake with its excellent water supply was then the site of a flourishing market garden, where
2360-675: The highest part of town, near where the Council Office is currently located, escaped the waters from the Gulf of Carpentaria. A copy of a 1918 report to the Queensland Parliament from the Department of Harbours and Rivers Engineers refers to the sea rising to 5.5 metres above the highest spring tide level at the Albert River Heads. This level is about 8 metres above Australian Height Datum. Seven people of
2419-572: The horses of the settlers. Retribution by the settlers was enacted under Sub Inspector Uhr and was assisted by the arrival of the Queensland Native Police . A massacre of 30 Aboriginal people took place after 12 horses were killed. A further 29 Aboriginal people were murdered shortly afterwards by shooting and bludgeoning. As the Burketown correspondent of the Port Dennison Times reported on 4 June 1868, "everybody in
Norman River - Misplaced Pages Continue
2478-408: The hottest month, with average maximum temperatures rising to 35.4 °C (95.7 °F). Rainfall is minimal from April to November, but from December to March monthly rainfalls of over 500 millimetres (20 in) and daily falls over 250 millimetres (10 in) are not rare. Flooding, often associated with the passage of a tropical cyclone, often isolates the community for months, whilst failure of
2537-437: The local government area of the Shire of Flinders , including Dutton River , Flinders River , Mount Sturgeon, Caledonia , Richmond , Corfield , Winton , Torrens, Tower Hill, Landsborough Creek, Lammermoor Station, Hughenden, and Tangorin . Waanyi (also known as Wanyi , Wanyee , Wanee , Waangyee , Wonyee , Garawa , and Wanji) is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Gulf Country. The language region includes
2596-818: The major fishing port of Karumba . The mouth of the river lies in the Gulf Plains Important Bird Area . The record flood of the river occurred in 1974, cresting at 8.8 metres (29 ft) in Normanton and causing the inundation of the town. The river's catchment area covers 50,445 square kilometres (19,477 sq mi). There are two water storage facilities along the river, Belmore Creek Dam and Glenore Weir , totaling 4,350 megalitres (154 × 10 ^ cu ft) in capacity. 17°28′S 140°49′E / 17.467°S 140.817°E / -17.467; 140.817 Gulf Country The Gulf Country or North West Queensland
2655-473: The mid-1860s, several cattle stations - including Gregory Downs, Floraville, and Donors Hill - had been founded inland from the present site of Burketown. Burketown was formally established in 1865 by Robert Towns , chiefly to serve as a port and supply centre for his extensive properties in the Gulf country. Towns chartered a small vessel the Jacmel Packet and on 12 June 1865 it arrived off the mouth of
2714-494: The nature of massacres and violent encounters in the Gulf Country (part of the Australian frontier wars ) in his book titled Frontier Justice: A History of the Gulf Country to 1900 (2005). His research showed that senior colonial politicians, including former South Australian colonial premiers Sir John Colton and Sir John Downer , along with South Australian police , "masterminded, condoned or concealed... atrocities" in
2773-598: The period between November and April. In September and October the Morning Glory Cloud appears in the Southern Gulf. The best vantage point to see this phenomenon is in the Burketown area shortly after dawn. Jirandali (also known as Yirandali , Warungu , and Yirandhali ) is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Gulf Country, particularly the Hughenden area. The language region includes
2832-487: The population of 138 died in the cyclone. Burketown State School opened on 26 April 1888. Large numbers of Chinese men and others from a wide variety of backgrounds also came to the Gulf Country after colonisation. The came to northern Australia following the discovery of gold around the Palmer River in northeast Queensland and at Pine Creek in the Northern Territory in the 1870s. By the late nineteenth century, it
2891-668: The region was the Dutch Willem Janszoon (whose name is also written as Jansz ) in his 1605–6 voyage . His fellow countryman Jan Carstenszoon (or Carstensz ) visited in 1623 and named the gulf in honour of Pieter de Carpentier , at that time the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies . Abel Tasman also explored the coast in 1644. The region was later explored and charted by Matthew Flinders in 1802 and 1803. The first overland explorer in
2950-576: The request of the Aboriginal people, creating Dumaji, or the Old Doomadgee Mission. Prior to the establishment of Doomadgee Mission , many Aboriginal children in the Gulf region were removed to Mornington Island Mission and other missions and Aboriginal reserves further south. Queensland Government records indicate that over 160 people were removed from Burketown between 1900 and 1974. On 2 August 1841, Captain J. Lort Stokes
3009-463: The school had an enrolment of 23 students with 3 teachers and 5 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 27 students with 3 teachers and 7 non-teaching staff (4 full-time equivalent). There are no secondary schools in Burketown. The closest secondary schools are in Normanton , 227 kilometres (141 mi) to the east and Mount Isa , 425 kilometres (264 mi) to
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#17327730139623068-574: The south. There are also opportunities for students to complete their education by way of boarding school or via the Mt Isa School of Distance Education . Burketown has a post office, council office, service station, small general stores/ take-away shops, bakery and butcher caravan park, outpost hospital and a hotel. It is serviced by the Royal Flying Doctor Service from Mount Isa Base. The Burke Shire Council operate
3127-455: The summer rains can be extreme — for instance in the 1901/1902 wet season no more than 172 millimetres (6.77 in) fell and the drought caused the death of millions of cattle. From the months of August to November, a rare meteorological phenomenon known as " Morning Glory " - long, tubular clouds, some up to 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) in length - is often observed in the skies above Burketown. The Morning Glory has become something of
3186-420: The time. For a Chinese person to legally emigrate from the Northern Territory to Queensland in this period, it would have cost this tax in addition to the cost of a steamer from Darwin to Townsville, which was £5 in 1898—a prohibitive expense. To avoid this cost, many Chinese attempted to walk overland to Queensland, mostly following the coastal track through the southern Gulf Country that Leichhardt pioneered in
3245-468: The two Chinese, Lee Gee and Jimmy Ah Fin who were the local bakers in Burketown at the time. The Burketown Hotel, established in 1920 in a building originally used as the customs bond store, was destroyed by fire in 2012. The Albert Hotel building, originally the Burketown customs house is believed to date from the 1860s. Another famous Burketown Hotel, the Commonwealth, was built in around 1926, but
3304-522: The western parts of Lawn Hill Creek and Nicholson River , from about the boundary between the Northern Territory and Queensland, westwards towards Alexandria station , Doomadgee , and Nicholson River. It includes the local government area of the Aboriginal Shire of Doomadgee . Wanamarra (also known as Maykulan and Wunumura is an Australian Aboriginal language in North West Queensland. The language region includes areas within
3363-417: Was also destroyed by fire in 1954. Burketown's population peaked at 265 in 1911. On 22 March 2012, the 92-year-old pub was destroyed in an early morning fire. The pub was subsequently rebuilt. In the 2006 census , the town of Burketown had a population of 173 people. In the 2011 census , the locality of Burketown had a population of 201 people. In the 2016 census , the locality of Burketown had
3422-484: Was indomitable and the first official race meeting was held 25 July 1866 with prize money at $ 200 (sic). In October 1868 Towns and Co traded wool, tallow, hides and skins between Sweers Island and Batavia . Burketown Post Office opened on 1 July 1866, closed in 1871 and reopened in 1883. In the same year, settlement of the region heavily impacted upon the sovereign Indigenous peoples . With their lands stolen and hunting grounds denied, local Aboriginal peoples hunted
3481-409: Was the first European to discover the mouth of a river, which he named the "Albert" after Albert, Prince Consort . Stokes' party ascended the river for a distance of 50 river miles in a long boat in a search of fresh water. Having followed a bumper wet season Stokes was greeted by endless grassy plains, which he named "The Plains of Promise" after a day of exploration. The area was originally named for
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