Borroloola, Northern Territory

A small settlement near the Gulf of Carpentaria which sits on either side of McArthur River like two interdependent towns, 50 km from the estuary. It survives on tourism (particularly fishing) and servicing the needs of the surrounding cattle stations and the local people. Borroloola is the home of a number of very different Aboriginal cultures. The Yanyuwa and Mara peoples (referred to as 'saltwater people' and are associated with the Sir Edward Pellew Islands and the lower reaches of the McArthur and Wearyan Rivers) and the Karawa and Kurdanji peoples (classed as 'mainland people' and are associated with land to the south and east of the present township) all live around the town.
Location: 954 km south-east of Darwin; 380 km from the Stuart Highway.
Origin of name: The origin and meaning of the name is obscure. Some sources have suggested that it means 'tea-tree', others suggest that it translates as 'place of the paperbarks', still others believe it means 'fresh or running water'. Yet others simply say that it is the Aboriginal name for the locality.
Brief history: In 1643, Dutch navigator Abel Tasman examined the coastline of the Gulf of Carpentaria near where Borroloola stands today to determine if there was a seaway through to the Pacific. Limmen Bight is named after one of Tasman's three ships (the others were the Zeemeeu and Braq). Explorer Ludwig Leichhardt passed through the area in 1845 on his way from the Darling Downs, in Queensland, to Port Essington on Cobourg Peninsula. Leichhardt named the McArthur River although it is unclear whom he was honouring. In 1856, Sir Augustus Charles Gregory explored the Victoria River district and the area south-west of present-day Borroloola and pastoralists soon followed.
The principal stock route through the Northern Territory and Kimberley was opened up in 1872 when Dillon Cox drove 400 head of cattle from Queensland to a telegraph supply depot on the Roper River. The establishment of the stock route led to the establishments of supply points and towns on the way, one of which was Borroloola. By the turn of the century Borroloola had gained a fierce reputation as a frontier town, a reputation it only lost when the town became a virtual ghost town in the 1930s. Over the years Borroloola has been a haven for eccentrics, a fact immortalised in the bush song about the town recorded by Rolf Harris.
Natural features: Gulf of Carpentaria; Lost City formation, Cape Crawford; Poppy's Pools; Caranbirini Nature Reserve; Limmen National Park (proposed); McArthur River; Sir Edward Pellew Group.
Built features: Borroloola Hotel; Lynotts Lookout; MacArthur River Zinc Mine
Heritage features: Borroloola History and Museum (Old police Station).