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

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
Working Knowledge at Oriners Station, Cape York
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