Limmen National Park

Limmen National Park, announced in 2012, is the third largest national park in the Northern Territory, after Judbarra / Gregory National Park, with an area of approximately 9,369 square kilometres (3,617 sq mi).[2] Located about 600 km south-east of Darwin on the Gulf of Carpentaria, the park incorporates wetlands, sandstone structures and numerous rivers, including the Limmen Bight River from which the park takes its name.[3][4]

Limmen National Park
Northern Territory
Limmen National Park map
Nearest town or cityKatherine
Established26 June 2012 (2012-06-26)[1]
Area9,369.26 km2 (3,617.5 sq mi)[1]
Managing authoritiesParks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory
WebsiteLimmen National Park
See alsoProtected areas of the Northern Territory

Controversy and Mining

Limmen National Park was declared in 2012 but approximately 20% of the area originally planned for the park was excluded to allow for Iron Ore exploration and extraction,[5] a decision welcomed by Western Desert Resources, the company developing an Iron Ore mine in the excised region.[6] However, the NT Environment Centre argued that the NT Government had been "unnecessarily generous to miners"[7] and concerns were also raised by the Amateur Fishermen's Association of the Northern Territory and neighbouring pastoral lease holders, upset by Western Desert Resources building a haul road across their property.[8]

Following a decline in the price of Iron Ore, Western Desert Resources went into administration in 2014 and their mining operations ceased.[9] In 2018, the Northern Territory Government approved a new operator to restart the mine,[10] this time operated by Nathan River Resources, a company owned by international shipping and mining company British Marine.

Heritage and attractions

A major attraction in the park are the "Lost Cities"—sandstone rock formations resembling tall apartment blocks.[11]

Rock art

Miniature rock art of the stencilled variety at a rock shelter known as Yilbilinji, in Limmen National Park, is one of only three known examples of such art. Usually stencilled art is life-size, using body parts as the stencil, but the 17 images of designs of human figures, boomerangs, animals such as crabs and long-necked turtles, wavy lines and geometric shapes are very rare. Found in 2017 by archaeologists, the only other recorded examples are at Nielson's Creek in New South Wales and at Kisar Island in Indonesia. It is thought that the designs may have been created by stencils fashioned out of beeswax.[12][13][14]

References
  1. "CAPAD 2012 Northern Territory Summary (see 'DETAIL' tab)". CAPAD 2012. Australian Government - Department of the Environment. 7 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  2. La Canna, Xavier (16 March 2012). "Limmen National Park declared in NT". Ninemsn. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  3. Hancock, David (21 March 2012). "Huge national park declared in Northern Territory". Australian Geographic. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  4. "Limmen National Park fact sheet" (PDF). Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  5. Hancock, David (21 March 2012). "Huge national park declared in Northern Territory". Australian Geographic. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  6. "Roper Bar Iron Ore project excluded from proposed Northern Territory National Park" (PDF). Western Desert Resources. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  7. Hancock, David (21 March 2012). "Huge national park declared in Northern Territory". Australian Geographic. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  8. "Mining the Roper: opinions and landscapes divived". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  9. "Plummeting iron ore price claims third Top End miner". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  10. "Northern Territory Government approves restart of defunct Roper Bar iron ore mine". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  11. La Canna, Xavier (2 August 2012). "NT's Limmen is finally a national park". The Australian. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  12. Zwartz, Henry (27 May 2020). "Indigenous rock art found in the NT one of just three such examples worldwide". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  13. Flinders University (26 May 2020). "Miniature rock art expands horizons". Phys.org. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  14. "Archaeologists reveal rock art's big little secret". Flinders University (News). 27 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.

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