Fitzroy Crossing

Fitzroy Crossing
State :  Australia State : Western Australia Founded : 1903
Coordinates : 18 ° 12 ′  S , 125 ° 34 ′  E Coordinates: 18 ° 12 ′  S , 125 ° 34 ′  E Height : 114  m
Residents : 1,141 (2016)
Time zone : AWST (UTC + 8) Postal code : 6765 LGA : Shire of Derby-West Kimberley
Fitzroy Crossing

Fitzroy Crossing is a village in the Kimberleys / Western Australia , about 400 km east of Broome and 300 km west of Halls Creek . The place where the Great Northern Highway crosses the Fitzroy River is about 114  m . In 2006 Fitzroy Crossing had about 1,200 inhabitants (90% Aborigines ).

Fitzroy Crossing
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     156   38 25th     212   36 25th     130   36 24     35   36 21st     5.3   33 16     12   30th 13     3.6   31 12     0.4   33 14th     0.2   37 19th     15th   40 23     28   41 26th     111   39 26th Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: Bureau of Meteorology, Australia, data: 1997–2006

In addition to tourism, mining and cattle ranching are also important industries of the Kimberley.

history

At the time of its discovery by Europeans, the country belonged to the Aboriginal tribe of the Bunuba , whose territory stretched northwest of the Fitzroy River from the limestone formation of a Devonian reef ( Napier Range ) to the edge of the geologically older Kimberley Plateau ( King Leopold Ranges ).

East of the Fitzroy River - around the farms Fossil Downs and Louisa Downs  - lived the Gooniyandi , the Nyigina and further south, on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert , the Whale Macarri .

One of the first Europeans to come to the Fitzroy River near the mouth of the Margaret River was Alexander Forrest in 1879. For the expedition teams exploring the country from west to east, the Fitzroy River proved to be an impassable barrier during the rainy season . In 1886 the first cattle  ranch - Fossil Downs - was built by WNM (Bill) MacDonald. In 1897 the first hostel - the Crossing Inn  - is documented.

The place has appeared on maps since 1903. The first concrete river crossing was created in 1935 at the site of a natural ford. But it was not until the Highway Bridge , completed in 1974, that the Fitzroy River could be crossed all year round. The place was not officially surveyed until 1975.

On June 19, 1987 , the 26-year-old German tourist Joseph Schwab was killed after a rampage across the Northern Territory and Western Australia from June 9 to 14, 1987 with 5 Australians shot from ambush near the 32 km southwest of Fitzroy Crossing on the right bank of the Cunninghame River , Jubilee Downs Station ( location ) was found by a tactical task force of the Western Australian Police and killed after an exchange of fire.

Infrastructure and tourism

On the connection between the tourist centers of Broome and Kununurra along the southern edge of the Kimberleys, Fitzroy Crossing is an important stopover on the Great Northern Highway for travelers.

The main attraction about 20 kilometers to the north is the Geikie Gorge National Park with its Fitzroy River Canyon cut deep into the soft limestone and accessible by boat.

Fitzroy Crossing has all the necessary utilities (gas station, hospital, shops, police station) and a combined motel and camping area ( Fitzroy River Lodge ).

literature

• Günther, Janine / Mohr, Jens: West Australia and the Top End, 1st edition 2005, ISBN 3-9809763-0-0 , p. 317 f.

Web links

• Private website with photos

Individual evidence

1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics : Fitzroy Crossing (Urban Center / Locality) ( English ) In: 2016 Census QuickStats . June 27, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
2. ↑ Bureau of Meteorology, Australia: Klimeinformationen Fitzroy Crossing. World Meteorological Organization, accessed April 6, 2012 . 
3. ↑ Anthony Dennis, Michael Perry: Outback terror ends in morgue. The Age , June 22, 1987, accessed August 18, 2014 .