For information on indiginous artists of the area click here.

Paruku Indigenous Protected Area

Paruku Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) covers 434 600 hectares, including an internationally significant wetland system, south of Halls Creek in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It was the first IPA declared in WA and the 15th declared in Australia.

The IPA program is part of a broader national objective to establish a comprehensive, adequate and representative National Reserve System.

Declaring Paruku an Indigenous Protected Area provides an opportunity for the Aboriginal Traditional Owners to protect their places of cultural significance, to develop an ecologically sustainable pastoral enterprise, and to conserve the Paruku wetlands.

The Kimberley Land Council worked with the Traditional Owners over several years to organise the declaration of the IPA. The Paruku IPA is part of the area recognised by the Federal Court in August 2001 as the Tjurabalan native title determination area.

The Traditional Owners of Paruku comprise several language groups such as Walmajarri, Jaru and Kukatja. They reside in several towns and communities, in particular, Halls Creek, Ringer Soak, Billiluna, Mulan, and Balgo. They are among the Tjurabalan native titleholders who have maintained a connection with the land for thousands of years.

The land covered by the Paruku IPA is under two pastoral leases held by the Aboriginal Lands Trust and managed by the Tjurabalan Pastoral Company.

Cultural Values

Paruku, also known as Lake Gregory, is of enormous spiritual significance to the Traditional Owners of the country. Paruku is the Walmajarri name for Lake Gregory. Paruku is also the name used by Traditional Owners to describe the system of lakes at the end of Sturt Creek.

Paruku is at the terminal end of a long Dreaming track that binds together a large number of people living across a wide area. Mulan Lake itself is of intense spiritual significance as several other Dreaming tracks also terminate within the lake.

Jurapalan Tingarri Law governs the Traditional Owners' management of the lands and waters, including the placement of fences, bores, living camps or any other activity. It also binds the Traditional Owners together and expresses their communal ownership of native title.

Bush food is gathered regularly and is an important component of the diet of Aboriginal people living on the IPA. Foods include bush onions, potatoes, seaweed, tomatoes, bush turkey (Australian bustard) and goannas. Residents of Mulan, Billiluna and Halls Creek are exploring the development of a tourism venture that would permit tourists to visit some Dreaming sites.

Ecological Values

Paruku is about 200 m above sea level and contains a diversity of land systems. The Mulan district comprises undulating red sand plains, salt pans and occasional dunes with stunted eucalyptus and acacias and soft Spinifex pastures. The Lake Gregory system is surrounded by country subject to natural flooding and contains short grasses and low shrubs. The Sturt Creek drainage system includes drainage lines and depressions, alluvial plains and sand rises. Vegetation is mainly Eucalyptus, Melaleuca, Eremophila and Acacia shrublands with Eragrostis and ribbon grass pastures.

Sturt Creek, which forms a delta-like system as it enters Paruku, is believed to form the headwaters of a large ancient river that once flowed westwards across the Canning Basin, entering the Indian Ocean 150 km south of Broome. The most frequent area of the lakes, 387 km², is about one-twelfth of the extent of an ancient lake that existed more than 30 000 years ago.

The lakes and waterholes support at least 73 species of waterbird, 21 of which are listed under international treaties to conserve waterbirds, and 175 species of aquatic invertebrates.

The area is a stopover for 16 migrant shorebirds, including the oriental plover, the sharp-tailed sandpiper and the long-toed stint. More than 100 000 birds occur regularly at Mulan Lake and as many as 650 000 have been estimated at the lake at one time.

Paruku is also one of Australia's most important inland wetlands and a major drought refuge for waterfowl. It supports the largest breeding colony of Little Black Cormorant in Australia and is an isolated breeding locality for the great crested grebe, the Australian pelican, the magpie goose, rufous night heron and whiskered tern. Fifty-three reptile species and 13 native mammal species are found in the area.

Aboriginal Land Management

Billiluna and Lake Gregory stations have been grazed since 1920 although grazing levels have fluctuated radically in the past 40 years. The cattle on the station represent an important part of the diet of the people of Mulan and Billiluna while the pastoral business provides part-time employment.

Large numbers of wild horses are found on the pastoral leases, along with wild dogs and a few camels, donkeys, mules and cats. Feral animals cause problems by taking or injuring stock, grazing extensively in competition with cattle, and may be responsible for declines in bird and flora species, although widespread vegetation death due to flooding occurs naturally.

Paruku IPA has been divided into two management zones, which accord with International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categories.

Zone 1 comprises the prime water bird habitat on the southern, eastern and northern sides of Paruku Lake and around Lera Lake. It will be managed primarily for cultural heritage, ecosystem protection and recreation, similar to a national park. Where monitoring indicates that grazing is causing a decline in wildlife values then wildlife values will take precedence.

Zone 2 incorporates the rest of the Billiluna and Lake Gregory pastoral leases. It will be managed to maintain biodiversity while enabling the sustainable grazing of cattle and other enterprises to meet community needs.

For more information about the Indigenous Protected Area program, contact Environment Australia's Community Information Unit on 1800 803 772 or by email at ciu@ea.gov.au, or visit the web site at:
http://www.ea.gov.au/indigenous/ipa

September 2001© Commonwealth Of Australia

back to treks