WEST KIMBERLEY PLACE REPORT - Department of Sustainability ...

Kimberley pearl shell's (Pinctada maxima) correlation with water and its
universal value as the 'emblem of life' has made it the most widely distributed
item in Aboriginal Australia. Modified pearl shell has been traded across two
thirds of the Australian continent and continues to be traded today by
Aboriginal people.
Pearl shell beds at a number of identified sites from Bidyadanga to Cape
Londonderry, where in Aboriginal law and culture the shell is believed to have been
created by Dreamtime Beings and is collected by Traditional Owners, have
outstanding heritage value to the nation under criterion (a) as the source of the
item most widely distributed by Aboriginal people in the course of Australia's
cultural history.
Pastoralism
The beef cattle grazing industry in the Kimberley is the major user and manager of the
land. Pastoral leases cover approximately 50 per cent of this region, 20 to 25 per cent
of which are owned by Indigenous landholders (Australian Natural Resources Atlas
Kimberley Profile 2009). Regions across Northern Australia have a similar pattern of
landuse and a distinctive heritage associated with cattle and living in the outback
(Woinarski et al 2007).
The Kimberley pastoral industry is based on rangeland production of beef cattle.
Cattle turnover from the region was about $42.7 million in 1996–97. In 1997 the
cattle population was estimated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to be 489,000
head, 25.6 per cent of the Western Australian herd. While the area previously had a
number of abbatoirs, there are currently no meat processing plants in the Kimberley
area, and cattle are exported live or sold as stores (Northern Australia Information
Resource 2010).
While the cattle industry is dominant today, until the 1960s sheep farming was an
important industry in the Kimberley.
Course and pattern of pastoralism
A national thematic study of pastoralism (Pearson and Lennon 2008) was used as the
primary source for the identification of potential National Heritage values for
European pastoral history. Aboriginal participation in the Kimberley pastoral industry
and droving were also identified as important elements. These latter aspects are
addressed elsewhere in the place analysis.
The thematic study's analysis was undertaken at a national level for course and pattern
of Australia's history. The findings of the study shows that pastoralism in Australia is
a meta-narrative which encompasses the length of Australia's history from first
settlement to 2000. In the course and pattern of this history there are also many
intersecting themes. It is noted that in response to this complexity only the major
trends and national stories have been identified in the Pearson and Lennon thematic
study.
In addition to the thematic study, further review of literature associated with
pastoralism within the Kimberley was undertaken to support the historical thematic
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