Kununurra

Kununurra is a town in far northern Western Australia located at the eastern extremity of the Kimberley Region approximately 37 kilometres (23 mi) from the border with the Northern Territory. Kununurra was initiated to service the Ord River Irrigation scheme. Kununurra is the largest town in Western Australia north of Broome, with the closest town being Wyndham, 100 kilometres (62 mi) away. Kununurra is 3,040 kilometres (1,889 mi) from Perth via the Great Northern Highway. The town is situated in among the scenic hills and ranges of the far north-east Kimberley Region, having an abundance of fresh water, conserved by the Ord River Diversion dam and the main Ord River Dam. The tropical agriculture crops grown in the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA) have changed over the years. Tourism and mining have also become important to the local economy.

The 2006 census population includes only people in the town site area who called the Kununurra town site their “usual place of residence.” Kununurra has a transient population; if itinerant residents, the outlying farm areas and communities were included in these population figures, numbers would have exceeded 7,000 for 2006. An influx in the dry season (From April to September), of tourists and itinerant farm workers can push up the population to around 10,000 during the dry season.

Kununurra District High School comprises a primary school and high school teaching up to year 10, and up to year 12 via distance education. It also has a number of additional smaller schools including St Joseph’s primary school, the Barramundi School and a Technical and further education (TAFE) college. Kununurra has a local hospital, dentist and leisure centre including a 25 metre pool.

Key farm activities including the growing of melons, mangoes and until recently, sugar cane. Farmers are now turning to a more lucrative (though longer term) crop of Indian Sandalwood. Other crops that have been grown in the Ord are cotton, safflower and rice, which is being trialled once again, having been the first crop planted on the Pilot Farm in 1960. The town has a melon picking season, which attracts migratory farm workers to the area. There is also a thriving tourism industry with most tourist operators capitalising on the scenery of the Ord River, Lake Argyle, Diversion Dam and other local locations, including the relatively nearby Bungle Bungles.

Go swimming, fishing, cruising, canoeing and see amazing wildlife at Lake Kununurra in the East Kimberley.It’s also a popular spot for sailing, rowing and water skiing.Lake Kununurra was formed after the completion of the Diversion Dam in Kununurra. Today it harbours a big variety of wildlife and its wetland areas are internationally recognised for the wonderful range of bird life they support. The 56 kilometre stretch of water from the dam wall at Lake Argyle to the Diversion Dam passes through some of the most scenic countryside in the region.

Take a boat cruise and you’ll travel down Carlton Gorge with its magnificent cliffs and rock overhangs. During the wet season waterfalls are everywhere, cascading into the gorge.You can also hire a canoe and paddle from dam to dam, camping on the riverbank overnight. Lake Kununurra fringes the township of Kununurra and extends to the Lake Argyle dam wall about a 40 minute drive from town.