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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.
Working Knowledge at Oriners Station, Cape York
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