| Barkly Tableland Northern Territory | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mitchell grass plains representing the Barkly Tableland proper | |||||||||||||||
| Population | 6,330 (2007)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 0.0198/km2 (0.0512/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 320,000 km2 (123,552.7 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Territory electorate(s) | Barkly | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Lingiari | ||||||||||||||
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TheBarkly Tableland is a region in the Central East of the Northern Territory, extending into Western Queensland. The region was named after SirHenry Barkly. The epithet "Tableland" is inaccurate, since the region is neither elevated relative to adjacent landforms, nor are the boundaries marked by a distinct change in elevation.[2][3]
The Barkly Tableland is a poorly defined region. The name Barkly Tableland properly applies only to the areas of largely treeless, cracking-clay soils supporting grasslands dominated by Mitchell Grass (Astrebla spp.).[4][5]A variety of terms such as "Barkly Tablelands Region", or "Barkly Region" have come into common use, referring to various circumscriptions of the region. All include portions of the Barkly Tablelands proper, along with varying adjoining landforms and vegetation types.
Varying Barkly regions encompass:
An area from Dunmarra south to Barrow Creek, and from the Tanami desert to the Queensland border.[6][7]
The Barkly Tableland proper, the associated Gulf Country, the upper Georgina River basin, and portions of the inland desert country.[8]
From the McArthur River in the north, parallel approximately 100 miles inland from the west coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria to the Queensland border in the east.[9]
TheBarkly Shire local government area.[10]
Barkly locality in Queensland.
Various regions defined by Northern Territory and Australian Commonwealth government departments.[11][12][13][14][15]
In addition, there exists a Barkly Tablelands IBRA subregion which conforms approximately with parts of the Barkly Tablelands proper.[16]
William Landsborough was the first non-Indigenous Australian person to explore the tableland, and named it after SirHenry Barkly, then governor ofVictoria.
In 1877 the overlander,Nathaniel Buchanan andSam Croker crossed the Barkly Tableland and rode on to theOverland Telegraph Line opening new land for settlement. It was not until the introduction of generous leasing arrangements on the Barkly in the late 1870s that the region became more settled.[17]
In 1883,Harry Readford, one of the inspirations for the literary character Captain Starlight, drove a mob of cattle to the Barkly and subsequently establishedBrunette Downs (then called Corella Creek), withoutstations atAnthony Lagoon and Cresswell Creek, for Macdonald, Smith and Co. In 1884, 2,500 cattle were driven to Brunette Downs and in 1885, Readford brought in 1,200 mixed cattle fromBurketown.
Black soil plains cover much of the Barkly Tableland.[18] Rainfall in this inland area is low (350mm per year) and subject to extreme seasonal fluctuations with rains occurring from November to March during the hot (up to 40 °C) summer. Winters are cool and frost may occur, especially in the southern section of the plain in Queensland.
The Barkly Tableland is a distinct physiographic province of the largerWest Australian Shield division. It includes theMueller Plateau andSandover-Pituri Platform physiographic sections between the desert uplands in the west andMount Isa, Queensland in the east. The Tableland drains into theGulf of Carpentaria via theFlinders River while the southwestern plains drain intoLake Eyre via theDiamantina River or into theSimpson Desert via theGeorgina River which has its source on the Tableland. Waterways of the Tableland itself are small as most water drains into the porous limestone, sometimes forming salt lakes.Tarrabool Lake, the largest wooded swamp in tropical Australia, is located in the west of the Tablelands. Other important water sources on the downs are theartesian springs.
Some of the very largecattle stations located on the Tableland includeAlexandria Station,Alroy Downs,Anthony Lagoon,Austral Downs,Avon Downs,Banka Banka,Brunette Downs, Creswell Downs, Eva Downs,Helen Springs,Newcastle Waters andLake Nash Station.
The dominant flora of the Tableland is semi-aridsavanna ofMitchell grass. The grasslands are mostly used for cattle grazing and are home to some threatened species of plants and animals.
Mitchell grass is hardy with long roots so is well adapted to dry soils and periods of drought. The grasslands support other distinctive plants alongside the grasses but there are no areas of thick woodland, onlyacacia trees scattered across the plain, andred river gum along watercourses.[19]
The habitat of the Mitchell Grass Downs is mostly a uniform cover of grassland and therefore does not support a great variety of wildlife.[20] The few mammals include thebrushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) and theAlexandria false antechinus (Pseudantechinus mimulus), a small carnivorous marsupial found only in a number of small, isolated localities in northern Australia, including Alexandria Station on the Barkly Tableland.
There are healthy populations of grassland birds such as theflock bronzewing. The seasonal wetlands of the downs are important habitats, particularly as breeding grounds for waterbirds. These include theLake Woods and Lake Buchanan .
There are also many snakes and other reptiles and amphibians adapted to the clay soils that crack in the long dry season and turn to mud after the rains. These include burrowing frogs that emerge to breed in the mud and thelong-haired rat which erupts in huge numbers after the monsoon and spreads across the grasslands. Endemic reptiles of the downs include thedwarf dtellagecko (Gehyra minuta), some species ofCtenotus andLeristaskinks, anagamid lizard (Pogona henrylawsoni), and amonitor lizard (Spencer's goanna). The snakes include theElapidae;speckled brown snake (Pseudonaja guttata),Ingram's brown snake (Pseudonaja ingrami), andCollett's snake, all of which are venomous. Insects include a number of endemic species of ant, and grasshopper such asEcphantus quadrilobus.[21]
Some of the grassland is protected but most is pasture and although largely unspoilt, it is vulnerable toovergrazing, particularly areas ofQueensland bluebush (Chenopodium auricomum). The downs are home to a number of endangered species and localised habitats that are threatened.
Protected areas that contain Mitchell grassland includeConnells Lagoon Conservation Reserve[22] in the Northern Territory.
with effect from 1 January 2014:
refer 'DETAIL' tab for the IBRA Region code
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19°38′50″S134°11′25″E / 19.64722°S 134.19028°E /-19.64722; 134.19028