WEST KIMBERLEY PLACE REPORT - Department of Sustainability ...

centres. While the beef cattle grazing industry is the major user and manager of the
land, pastoral leases only cover approximately 50 per cent of the region, 20 to 25 per
cent of which are owned by Indigenous landholders (Australian Natural Resources
Atlas Kimberley Profile 2009). The Kimberley region's natural landscapes are also
recognised for their high level of intactness (Australian Natural Resources Atlas
Kimberley Profile 2009).
In relation to the appreciation of the Kimberley there are some distinctive aspects to
note in comparison to the better known areas of southern and south-eastern Australia.
These are presented to provide context for the aesthetic assessment of the area.
The landscape of the Kimberley has many dimensions and is described in detail in this
report's history and description. Of particular note in relation to aesthetic values of the
place under assessment, is the clear expression of geological features which gives the
landscape an ancient, rugged and in parts a dramatic appearance. The Indigenous
cultural landscape also has deep connections to an ancient past and has significant
contemporary Indigenous cultural heritage values. Today the rock art of the region
attracts many non Indigenous visitors and for some these images signify an ancient
land. Further information and evaluation of rock art is included in this place report
under criterion (e).
Common aesthetic characteristics noted for the west Kimberley include the colour in
the landscape (reds, yellows, intensity and variety of hues), the substantially
unmodified nature of the natural landscapes, the experience of remoteness and the
inspirational nature of the landscapes commonly described by words such as majesty,
ancient, remarkable, awesome, endless vistas, jewel like sources of water, wild,
spectacular, magnificent, iconic, scenic splendour, outback and grandeur.
Often referred to as Australia's last frontier, the Kimberley was explored and settled
by Europeans late in the nineteenth century. The diaries and stories of explorers and
settlers are similar to other colonial records in their descriptions of impressions and
perceptions of the landscape. Elements of alienation and growing appreciation are
evident as they are in other commentaries on landscape appreciation from the colonial
periods. More modern commentary about the appreciation of the Kimberley is more
textured, complex and diverse within the Australian community and from visitors
from other countries. Some comments are included here as a snapshot of people's
responses or relationships with Kimberley places.
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'[T]here is little evidence… of a genuine understanding of, or an intuitive sympathy
with the climatic and territorial environments of the North. We were southerners, and
Europeans, and never really got over the sense of being in a somewhat alien and
hostile environment… There was an almost complete disregard for the character and
potential of the natural flora and fauna of the north' (Nugget Coombs 1977.
Commenting in retrospect on his Northern Australia Development Committee (1946-
1948) study of Northern Australia. (Quoted in Woinarski et al. 2007).
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