Arkaroola, South Australia
Encyclopedia
Arkaroola Village is the settlement and resort at the hub of a wilderness sanctuary in the Northern Flinders Ranges
in South Australia, adjacent to Gammon Ranges National Park and the Mawson Plateau
.
The Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary is located 700 km north of Adelaide
in South Australia
. The most common way to get there is by car, but a plane can be chartered from Parafield Airport
in northern Adelaide.
The sanctuary is the atmospheric backdrop to the 2002 film The Tracker
.
. One of their dreamtime or creation stories says that Arkaroo, a mythical monster, drank Lake Frome
dry. He then crawled up into the mountains. When he urinated he created the waterholes that are a feature of the area. His movement over the land created Arkaroola Creek.
The first Anglo-Europeans to visit the area was explorer Edward Eyre in 1840 and the surveyor
George Goyder
in 1857. There was a small failed settlement nearby, at the Yudnamutana
copper mine, from 1860 to 1863. The drought of 1863 drove the miners away. Settlement didn't occur again until 1903, when rubies and sapphires were discovered. By 1910 a copper smelter was built at Yudnamutana and uranium
was also discovered nearby by Douglas Mawson
, famous Antarctic explorer.
The land was always marginal and projects failed quickly. Uranium exploration
persisted sporadically and led to the development of good roads by optimistic companies. The Arkaroola property was fenced by 1935 and a process of eradication of pests started. The land was covered with donkeys and camels. There was a failed health project in 1948.
Arkaroola was established by geologist
Reg Sprigg
in 1968 after he purchased the pastoral lease. He had been involved in surveys in the area before that. He purchased the 610 km² pastoral lease and began the conversion to a wildlife sanctuary. It was established on condition by the state government that the feral rabbits, goats and camels would be controlled in the rough terrain. In 1979 he was a trustee of the World Wildlife Fund due to his work in the protection of the Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby
.
; the Adelaide-based mining company Marathon Resources had been prospecting and damaging the area around Mount Gee
. In 2008, Marathon was found guilty of illegally dumping radioactive waste
in a variety of locations throughout the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, and were ordered to suspend drilling operations. In early 2011, the company was allowed to resume exploration in Arkaroola after 'promising to clean up'. On 7 February 2011, the website for South Australian newspaper The Advertiser, AdelaideNow, published an article regarding Marathon Resources being given the green light to recommence exploratory drilling.
The move to allow Marathon to resume exploration resulted in a public outcry. A poll taken in February 2011 showed that 72 per cent of South Australians, and 79 per cent of Labor voters, were opposed to mining in Arkaroola. Following unprecedented public pressure, the South Australian government announced on 22 July 2011 that mining would be banned forever in Arkaroola, with the aim of national and World Heritage listing. Mining companies have since threatened legal action against the government.
(IBA), identified as such by BirdLife International
because it supports a population of the restricted-range Short-tailed Grasswren
as well as populations of the Pied Honeyeater
, Chirruping Wedgebill
and Cinnamon Quail-thrush
.
and the Beverley Uranium Mine
. Siller's Lookout is named after Bill Siller, whose uranium exploration companies constructed the Ridge Top Tour track in the late 1960s; Beverley Uranium Mine, also discovered by Bill Siller's companies, is named after his wife, Beverley. The track was put in by Mr Jim Hodgekinson, an expatriate Canadian.
The Echo Camp Backtrack is also popular and is a very challenging drive. It leads through some wonderful country and then over the hills (rough) and down onto the plains east of the Flinders Ranges. This joins another track back to Arkaroola via Claude’s Pass, Stubb’s Waterhole (including aboriginal cave paintings), Bararranna Gorge (a popular spot for yellow-footed rock wallabies), Welcome Pound and back to main road to the Arkaroola Village.
. Since the weather is usually fine and there is little light pollution, observers can see literally millions of stars with the telescopes.
algal mat that survives the warm temperatures of 62°C and high radioactivity.
activities.
Flinders Ranges
Flinders Ranges is the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts approximately north west of Adelaide. The discontinuous ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna...
in South Australia, adjacent to Gammon Ranges National Park and the Mawson Plateau
Mawson Plateau
thumb|right|230px|Typical Mawson Plateau terrain; rolling hills, with sparse vegetation interspersed with numerous eroded granite boulders.The Mawson Plateau is part of the northern Flinders Ranges, located on the Mount Freeling pastoral lease in South Australia, 140 km east of Lyndhurst and...
.
The Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary is located 700 km north of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. The most common way to get there is by car, but a plane can be chartered from Parafield Airport
Parafield Airport
Parafield Airport is on the edge of the residential suburb of Parafield, South Australia, 18 kilometres north of the Adelaide Central business district and adjacent to the Mawson Lakes campus of the University of South Australia. It is Adelaide's second airport and the fifth busiest airport in...
in northern Adelaide.
The sanctuary is the atmospheric backdrop to the 2002 film The Tracker
The Tracker
The Tracker is an Australian drama film produced in 2002. It was directed and written by Rolf de Heer. It is a set in 1922 in outback Australia where a racist white colonial policeman used the tracking ability of an Indigenous Australian tracker to find the murderer of a white woman...
.
History
The area's first people are the AdnyamathanhaAdnyamathanha
The Adnyamathanha or Adynyamathanha are an Indigenous Australian people from the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. Adnyamathanha is also the name of their traditional language....
. One of their dreamtime or creation stories says that Arkaroo, a mythical monster, drank Lake Frome
Lake Frome
Lake Frome is a large endorheic lake in South Australia, east of the Northern Flinders Ranges. It is a large, shallow, unvegetated salt pan, 100 km long and 40 km wide, lying mostly below sea level and having a total surface area of 259,615 hectares...
dry. He then crawled up into the mountains. When he urinated he created the waterholes that are a feature of the area. His movement over the land created Arkaroola Creek.
The first Anglo-Europeans to visit the area was explorer Edward Eyre in 1840 and the surveyor
George Goyder
George Goyder
George Woodroffe Goyder was a surveyor in South Australia during the latter half of the nineteenth century....
in 1857. There was a small failed settlement nearby, at the Yudnamutana
Yudnamutana, South Australia
Yudnamutana is an historic mining valley in the Northern Flinders Ranges, North West of Arkaroola on the edge of the wilderness sanctuary. It is accessible by four-wheel drive from the south. Ancient mining sites give the opportunity for ecologically responsible bush camping, but no supplies are...
copper mine, from 1860 to 1863. The drought of 1863 drove the miners away. Settlement didn't occur again until 1903, when rubies and sapphires were discovered. By 1910 a copper smelter was built at Yudnamutana and uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
was also discovered nearby by Douglas Mawson
Douglas Mawson
Sir Douglas Mawson, OBE, FRS, FAA was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer and Academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Ernest Shackleton, Mawson was a key expedition leader during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.-Early work:He was appointed geologist to an...
, famous Antarctic explorer.
The land was always marginal and projects failed quickly. Uranium exploration
Uranium mining in Australia
Radioactive ores were first extracted at Radium Hill in 1906, and Mount Painter in South Australia in the 1930s, to recover radium for medical use. Several hundred kilograms of uranium were also produced....
persisted sporadically and led to the development of good roads by optimistic companies. The Arkaroola property was fenced by 1935 and a process of eradication of pests started. The land was covered with donkeys and camels. There was a failed health project in 1948.
Arkaroola was established by geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...
Reg Sprigg
Reg Sprigg
Reginald Claude Sprigg, AO, HonDSc ANU, HonDSc Flinders, MSc Adelaide, FTSE was an Australian geologist and conservationist. At age 17 he became the youngest Fellow of the Royal Society of South Australia. In 1946, in the Ediacara Hills, South Australia he discovered the Ediacara biota, an...
in 1968 after he purchased the pastoral lease. He had been involved in surveys in the area before that. He purchased the 610 km² pastoral lease and began the conversion to a wildlife sanctuary. It was established on condition by the state government that the feral rabbits, goats and camels would be controlled in the rough terrain. In 1979 he was a trustee of the World Wildlife Fund due to his work in the protection of the Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby
Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby
The Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby is a member of the macropod family ....
.
Mining
Until mid 2011, Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary was under threat from uranium miningUranium mining
Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. The worldwide production of uranium in 2009 amounted to 50,572 tonnes, of which 27% was mined in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia are the top three producers and together account for 63% of world uranium...
; the Adelaide-based mining company Marathon Resources had been prospecting and damaging the area around Mount Gee
Mount Gee
Mount Gee is located in the northern Flinders Ranges within the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, and is part of the Mount Painter inlier. It was named after a mining warden, Lionel Gee....
. In 2008, Marathon was found guilty of illegally dumping radioactive waste
Radioactive waste
Radioactive wastes are wastes that contain radioactive material. Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine...
in a variety of locations throughout the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, and were ordered to suspend drilling operations. In early 2011, the company was allowed to resume exploration in Arkaroola after 'promising to clean up'. On 7 February 2011, the website for South Australian newspaper The Advertiser, AdelaideNow, published an article regarding Marathon Resources being given the green light to recommence exploratory drilling.
The move to allow Marathon to resume exploration resulted in a public outcry. A poll taken in February 2011 showed that 72 per cent of South Australians, and 79 per cent of Labor voters, were opposed to mining in Arkaroola. Following unprecedented public pressure, the South Australian government announced on 22 July 2011 that mining would be banned forever in Arkaroola, with the aim of national and World Heritage listing. Mining companies have since threatened legal action against the government.
Birds
The sanctuary is part of the 1890 km2 Gammon Ranges and Arkaroola Important Bird AreaImportant Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
(IBA), identified as such by BirdLife International
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global Partnership of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources...
because it supports a population of the restricted-range Short-tailed Grasswren
Short-tailed Grasswren
The Short-tailed Grasswren is a species of bird in the Maluridae family. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate shrubland and rocky areas.-References:...
as well as populations of the Pied Honeyeater
Pied Honeyeater
The Pied Honeyeater is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....
, Chirruping Wedgebill
Chirruping Wedgebill
The Chirruping Wedgebill is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 27 July 2007....
and Cinnamon Quail-thrush
Cinnamon Quail-thrush
The Cinnamon Quail-thrush is a species of bird in the Cinclosomatidae family.It is endemic to Australia.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 25 July 2007....
.
Attractions
Road loops and 4WD tracks
There are many self drive tracks for 2-wheel drives and 4-wheel drives, ranging from beginner to advanced in difficulty. A popular attraction of Arkaroola is the organised Ridge Top Tour, which is a four-hour trip along the ridge top track with three lookouts that end at Siller's Lookout, providing a panoramic view across the plains towards Lake FromeLake Frome
Lake Frome is a large endorheic lake in South Australia, east of the Northern Flinders Ranges. It is a large, shallow, unvegetated salt pan, 100 km long and 40 km wide, lying mostly below sea level and having a total surface area of 259,615 hectares...
and the Beverley Uranium Mine
Beverley Uranium Mine
The Beverley Mine is Australia's third uranium mine and Australia's first operating in-situ recovery mine. It is located 35 km from Lake Frome at the northern end of the Flinders Ranges in South Australia and opened in 2001...
. Siller's Lookout is named after Bill Siller, whose uranium exploration companies constructed the Ridge Top Tour track in the late 1960s; Beverley Uranium Mine, also discovered by Bill Siller's companies, is named after his wife, Beverley. The track was put in by Mr Jim Hodgekinson, an expatriate Canadian.
The Echo Camp Backtrack is also popular and is a very challenging drive. It leads through some wonderful country and then over the hills (rough) and down onto the plains east of the Flinders Ranges. This joins another track back to Arkaroola via Claude’s Pass, Stubb’s Waterhole (including aboriginal cave paintings), Bararranna Gorge (a popular spot for yellow-footed rock wallabies), Welcome Pound and back to main road to the Arkaroola Village.
Astronomy
Arkaroola has two 14-inch telescopes, which are some of the largest privately owned telescopes in the Southern hemisphereSouthern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
. Since the weather is usually fine and there is little light pollution, observers can see literally millions of stars with the telescopes.
Paralana radioactive springs
The geothermal waters of Paralana hot springs, located at Wooltana, North of Arkaroola, issue from major earth crustal fractures in this vicinity that date back one billion years. These geological faults which once produced forth large quantities of lava, now facilitate continental geological movement of the surrounding mountain region. These waters are heated by hot rock at shallow depths, and by radioactive mineral decay. Carbon dioxide, nitrogen, radon and helium bubble forth continuously. Because the Paralana springs contain small amounts of naturally occurring radioactive elements, swimming in or drinking the water constitutes a health hazard. Living on the floor of the springs is an extremophileExtremophile
An extremophile is an organism that thrives in physically or geochemically extreme conditions that are detrimental to most life on Earth. In contrast, organisms that live in more moderate environments may be termed mesophiles or neutrophiles...
algal mat that survives the warm temperatures of 62°C and high radioactivity.
The pinnacle
The mountain summit called under this name is of volcanic origin and gives a great occasion to climb it. The basalt is solid material for rock climbingRock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
activities.