| Settlement | |
|---|---|
  Location of the Settlement Creekmouth inQueensland | |
| Native name | Wollogorang (Ganggalida) |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| Territory and State | Northern Territory,Queensland |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Calvert Hills |
| • location | north of Jilundarina,Northern Territory |
| • elevation | 303 m (994 ft) |
| Mouth | Gulf of Carpentaria |
• location | Tully Inlet,Queensland |
• coordinates | 16°32′31″S138°08′21″E / 16.54194°S 138.13917°E /-16.54194; 138.13917 |
• elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Length | 142 km (88 mi) |
| Basin size | 15,600 km2 (6,000 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 86.2 m3/s (3,040 cu ft/s) |
| [1] | |
TheSettlement Creek (Ganggalida:Wollogorang[2]) is a creek in theNorthern Territory and thestate ofQueensland, Australia.
The headwaters of the creek rise between Calvert Hills and China Wall in theNorthern Territory and flows in a north easterly direction. It flows through mostly uninhabited plains country throughWollogorang Station then crosses the border into thenorthwest region of Queensland and later discharges into the Tully Inlet and then theGulf of Carpentaria.[1] As it flows through thesavannah country it has carved out several waterholes that are critical habitat for many animals during thedry season.[2]
During thewet season the creek is transformed when the waters breach the banks filling the floodplains create immensewetland areas.
A total of eleventributaries flow into Settlement Creek, including Bullet Creek, Nine Mile Creek, One Mile Creek, Tom (Magira) Creek, Redbank Creek and Camel Creek. The creek also flows through a number of permanent waterholes such as Gudindjina Waterhole, Baladana Waterhole and Dijwalnguna Waterhole. The creek descends 303 metres (994 ft) over its 142-kilometre (88 mi)course.[1]
Thecatchment area occupies a total area of 15,600 square kilometres (6,023 sq mi)[3] of which an area of 5,494 square kilometres (2,121 sq mi) is in the Northern Territory and the rest in Queensland. The watershed is wedged between the watersheds for theCalvert River to the west, theNicholson River to the south and east.[3][4] The population living within the catchment area is less than 100. The catchment area is mostly devoted topastoralism with manycattle stations. Other streams found in the catchment include James, Scrutton and Lagoon Creeks. Important wetlands found in the catchment include Wentworth Aggregation and sections of the Marless Lagoon and Southern Gulf Aggregation.[3]
The creek has a mean annual discharge of 2,720 gigalitres (5.983×1011 imp gal; 7.185×1011 US gal) per annum.[5]
31 species of fish are found in the creek, including the glassfish,barred grunter, silver cobbler, milkfish, fly-specked hardyhead, treadfin silver biddy, golden goby goby,barramundi, oxeye herring, mangrove jack, chequered rainbowfish, bony bream, catfish, Hyrtl's tandan, freshwater longtom,seven-spot archerfish and the gulf grunter.[6]
Thetraditional owners of the area are theGanggalida andGananggallanda peoples, who know the creek asWollogorang, which in their language means "happy running waters".[2]
The creek was later named by George De Lautour in 1873 when he travelled fromTownsville to Port Darwinoverlanding 100 head of cattle. Upon reaching the creek he sent two of his party back toBurketown as he considered them useless in the bush.[7]
The first Europeans to visit the area was theLudwig Leichhardt expedition of 1845 fromQueensland toPort Essington. The firstpastoral leases were granted to settlers in 1881 when the Chisholm family took upWollogorang Station in 1881.[8]
The river is prone to flooding following heavy rain events. In 2006 floodwaters from the creek and its tributaries closed theCarpentaria Highway, part ofHighway One. The dirt road was closed for over a week and required major maintenance following the deluge.[9]
In 2006 the creek was also earmarked by the Queensland government for declaration under thewild rivers legislation. Settlement Creek, Morning Inlet and theGregory andStaaten rivers were all being considered for the extra level of protection with property owners being advised of the plan and given time to comment.[10] By 2007 all the waterways had been declared as wild rivers.[11]
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