The landscape that we observe today is a result of the many dramatic changes that have occurred over the last 500,000 years. Not only has the landscape changed, but so too have the climate, the flora and the fauna, with the most significant change being the arrival of human populations over the last 50,000/60,000 years.
500,000BP (before present) The flooded Murray-Darling basin or Lake Bungunnia was drying as a result of a world climate change with the east-west linear dunes forming and sculptured by the prevailing winds. One such dune can still to be found behind the Kinchega woolshed. Rivers crossed the western areas of what will become NSW, depositing their sediments to form vast floodplains, visible today.
50,000BP Saw the onset of the last glacial period, resulting from a cool but very wet climate causing massive water flow along broad, shallow rivers. Some of the lakes we see today formed as overflow lakes; other areas which were then low lying would develop into overflow lakes later. There were megafauna present with paleontological evidence in the Sunset Strip near Lake Mungo. Evidence of aboriginal occupation has been dated (50,000BP) for the Lake Mungo area but none has been established for the Menindee Lakes area.
30,000/20,000BP SE Australia was cold and becoming drier; the Lakes Menindee and Cawndilla had formed as overflow lakes, fed by a tributary from the River Darling. The Tandou lunette and lake was alternately flooded or drying. When dry, sand and clay would be wind deposited forming soil. When flooded, there were Aboriginals living on the lunette, with evidence of the remains of fish, shells, kangaroo and other small animals in many of the middens still to be found.
|  Above :Lake Pamamaroo Left: Lake Wetherall |
20,000/10,000BP Saw the peak of the aridity and cold in Australia when the world was at the glacial maximum (18,000 BP). The reliable river flows in the Murray-Darling system would have been vital for the survival of the Aboriginal population who camped, fished, hunted and conducted burials there. Many of the overflow lakes became dry early in this period, however later the climate of SE Australia became warmer and wetter. Rivers flowed more strongly carrying more silt which would be deposited to block the Lachlan River in about 14,000BP. The Willandra system became stranded and dunes were formed along the river channels by the prevailing high winds. There were extensive Aboriginal campsites along the rivers and upon the high dunes, leaving behind large middens and many burials. The glacial period ended around 10,000BP.
10,000/5,000/200BP The climate of SE Australia remained warm and wet for another 2,000 years and then changed becoming warmer but drier. The Menindee-Cawndilla and the Willandra lake systems were altered by the changing river channels. The abundant food enabled the Aboriginal settlements to disperse still making use of the aquatic resources to be found in the lakes and rivers. The degree of sophistication in the fashioning of stone tools and flint developed to a higher level of skill. Soft seeds were ground on slabs, with the hard seeds being pounded in mortars. At the end of this period only the Menindee Lakes functioned as overflow water bodies in the Murray-Darling system.
200BP In the 1830's when Mitchell visited the area there were many Aboriginals with abundant food; the same peoples were there in the 1840's when Sturt came by. This can imply that these people may have been sedentary following the food supplies in a limited area. Maps of the tribal areas showed many tribes were centred on the Menindee Lakes system and such a bountiful landscape proved very attractive for European settlers too. In fact, pastoral leases had been granted when Burke and Wills left for their outback odyssey from the Menindee pub!
Pastoral properties 'thrived', with intensive over grazing breaking down the biocrust. Rabbits and other pests destroyed the landscape rapidly: degradation worse than that of the last glacial maximum - there is NO intact soil profile left in the Murray-Darling system. Our dust is to found in New Zealand glaciers, with up to 50cm of top soil torn away. Burial sites are exposed; regulation of waters has made worse the situation by killing off many fine stands of river gums. In all, this massive destruction of the natural landscape is the most significant change in the Paakantji culture for 5000years.
 Lake Menindee Inlet |  Searching for water |
What can be done for our water supply? Hard decisions have to be taken now, not later to ensure that the situation does not worsen any further. Associate Professor, David Mitchell of Charles Sturt University, in an address suggested 5 such decisions that need to be taken.
The article by Dr Dan Witter "Menindee Lakes: Chronology" provided background information for the above history.
Terry
The Darling catchment extends well up into Queensland tapping snow melt waters from the Great Dividing Range and monsoonal deluges. It has always been an intermittent river and problems with salt and algal blooms have been known since the times of the early explorers.
The uncertainty of flow was one of the main reasons for the demise of the river trade for getting wool and other produce out of the area. Rail and trucks have taken over. However, when the floods were up and bullocks bogged down, the river boats and barges had their heyday, starting with William Randell's pioneering trip up the the Darling in the Gemini in 1859.
The great floods of the lower Murray occur when Darling and Murray peaks coincide. Having witnessed the slow rise of the Murray to 25ft 3in above lock pool level at Waikerie as our property was gradually submerged, and heard and seen the rushing waters for weeks, I predict another "fifty-sixer" is inevitable.
The Barkindji people thrived in the lower Darling and its Anabranch to the Murray for thousands of years before their unfortunate encounters with Mitchell's party. overlanders and settlers. Brock's account of the Huly 11th 1835 incident, as related by a Barkindji witness called Tou-pa contrasts starkly with Major Mitchell's official version. See:
Mitchell's party was forced to retreat on 12/7/1835 from the vicinity of what is now Menindee (called Laidley's Ponds by Mitchell), Mitchell explored the lower Darling in 1836, turning back towards the Murray 0n 2/6/1836.
Brock was disturbed by the obvious decline of the tribes since Sturt's first encounter on the Murray in the summer of 1829-30. They had been reduced by 2/3rd in the Western Division of New South Wales by 1870 ( Barnes, M. & Wise, G. Celebrating 100 Years of Natural Resource Progress in the Western Division of NSW (2003), page 50.)
I have come across three definitions of of "anabranch" that I repeat here -
Like many others, the Darling River Action Group is concerned about maintaining sufficient flow in the Darling to meet competing needs, including those of irrigators, townships, industries and the riverine ecosystem (including various wetlands). 2002 was a bad drought year and no cotton was planted at Tandou. (25,700 hectares were sown in 2000-01 : Barnes & Wise, page 44.) The idea of planting more cotton up-river and holding their water allowance in lakes is not popular because of the high evaporation rates as well as the direct decrease of river flows.
A Darling man who befriended Brock and was of particular help to Sturt's party as they made their way up the Anabranch and across to and up the Darling to Cawndilla was called Tuan-do (Toonda : Sturt). I wonder whether Tandou is a curruption of that?
Brian
HISTORY
Kinchega NP is part of the old Kinchega - Kars pastoral lease held by the Hughes family since 1870. At its peak, the property extended from Menindee to Broken Hill, occupying 800,000 hectares and was stocked with 485,000 sheep. In common with all the early stations, it had its own mini town accommodating approximately 800 people; some were station hands, others were support staff e.g. blacksmiths, bakers, storemen etc. There was also a post office and itinerant shearers no doubt increased the population. Kinchega was the largest sheep station in the British Empire.
The explorers Bourke and Wills camped on the station and William Wright, the station Manager joined the party; he was blamed for the demise of Bourke and Will. Charles Sturt's party a1so spent time camped here.
The boiler from the Paddle Steamer Providence lies on the river bank near where the vessel exploded in 1872 killing all the crew, who are buried in the Kinchega Cemetery. The boiler was winched from the river as it had become a navigational hazard.
In 1894 in a swamp near Moorara on the River Darling, between Pooncarrie and Kinchega, the P.S. Rodney, carrying scab labour, was attacked and burnt by striking shearers. Historical accounts seem to suggest that some of the culprits were larrikins who had joined the shearer's camps; there was no loss of life.
THE PARK
In 1967 the Kinchega section of the then Kars lease was dedicated as a National Park covering approximately 44,000 hectares. The sixth millionth sheep was shorn as part of the dedication ceremony.
Most of the soil in the park is material deposited by flooding and is called "black soil" which becomes impassable when wet; red sand dunes constitute areas of higher land. Evidence of the damage caused by Carp can be seen by the exposed tree roots on the edge of the river bank which ultimately causes trees to fall into the river. When the water level is high, the Carp which are 'bottom feeders' suck the earth from between the roots leaving them without support.
Kangaroos, 'Big Reds', 'Blue Flyers', Eastern Greys' and Emus were sighted.
Harry
Arid climates are generally defined as below 250mm (10 inches) annual rainfall. Other factors frequently associated with aridity are distance from a marine environment, planetary winds and latitude. Aridity is a climatic condition not a soil fertility problem.
In the story one adds water and the desert blooms.
This is true but there is more to it than that.
The Australian continent is the driest on earth and over millennia the biota has evolved to cope with the prevailing conditions: the soils, the weather, the cycle of drought and flooding rains.
Due to the survival of the fittest, indigenous species of plant and animal life are fully adapted to the Australian environment.
The arrival of Europeans with farm animals, methods and plants from a different environment put the Australian ecosystem under pressure. Within decades of grazing being established in the Broken Hill area, over grazing was a problem due to the government requiring farmers to overstock. Then the discovery of ore bodies led to the mining industry with its huge appetite for wood to fire steam machinery and make pit props. At the same time paddle steamer trade was also demanding wood for engines. The result is that all trees were cut down within a few days travel of the Broken Hill site. Today the treeless plains stretch for kilometres. In the same area the early explorers had reported such heavy vegetation that men had to walk their horses as it was too closely wooded to ride on them. Today it is treeless. After the loss of the trees with the stabilising properties of their roots, soil was subject to winds and floods. Quickly it was swept away.
Now the arid climate comes into the equation. The low annual rainfall means that for many years there is not enough water to establish seedlings. Generally the plants have good survival techniques which allow them to profit from any available moisture but if there is shallow soil cover and voracious animals such as sheep and rabbits, plants cannot re-establish.
Australian plants evolved with the cycle of droughts and flooding rains. They became dependent on this cycle. Their seed germination is stimulated by flooding. Annual plants go through the life cycle quickly to take advantage of the moisture. Dormant tree seeds revive with the flood. Similarly the Australian fauna fish, frogs, marsupials and birds respond to the abundant water to reproduce and maximise their genes survival.
And so before settlement Australian plants and animals were in balance with the climate. European settlement disrupted the system and because the climate is arid regeneration will possibly take a couple of hundred years.
Beverley