| Finke | |
|---|---|
 The Finke River after rain,Northern Territory | |
 Map of theLake Eyre Basin showing the Finke River | |
| Etymology | William Finke |
| Native name | Lara Beinta (Western Arrarnta) ("Salt River") |
| Location | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Northern Territory,South Australia |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Length | 750 km (470 mi) |
| Basin features | |
| River system | Lake Eyre Basin |
| National parks | West MacDonnell;Finke Gorge |
| [1] | |
TheFinke River, orLarapinta in the IndigenousArrernte language, is a river incentral Australia, whose bed courses through theNorthern Territory and the state ofSouth Australia. It is one of the four main rivers ofLake Eyre Basin and is thought to be the oldest riverbed in the world. It flows for only a few days a year. When this happens, its water usually disappears into the sands of theSimpson Desert, rarely if ever reachingLake Eyre.
The source of the Finke River is in the Northern Territory'sMacDonnell Ranges, which flows through central Australia. The name is first applied at the confluence of the Davenport and Ormiston Creeks, just north ofMount Zeil.[2] From here, the river meanders for about 600 km (370 mi) to the western edge of theSimpson Desert in northern South Australia.[3] It flows through theWest MacDonnell andFinke Gorge National Parks.[citation needed]
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Usually the river is a string of waterholes, but it can become a raging torrent during rare flood events, fed by tropical rains upstream. In extreme instances, water from the Finke River flows into theMacumba River, which empties into Lake Eyre – a total distance from headwater streams of about 750 km (470 mi). Major tributaries include Ellery Creek, and the Palmer and Hugh Rivers.[citation needed]
Wangkangurru is anAustralian Aboriginal language spoken onWangkangurru country. It is closely related toArabana language of South Australia. The Wangkangurru language region was traditionally in the South Australian-Queensland border region, taking inBirdsville and extending south towardsInnamincka and Lake Eyre, including thelocal government areas of theShire of Diamantina and theOutback Communities Authority of South Australia.[4]
After several bridges on the now-closedCentral Australia Railway were washed away by floods, rails were laid permanently on the bed of the river. In February 1953, after two days waiting atFinke township nearby, the river level was low enough for a steam-hauled train –The Ghan – to proceed slowly across.[citation needed]
The Finke River was named byJohn McDouall Stuart in 1860 after anAdelaide man,William Finke, who was one of the promoters of his expedition.[5]
TheAboriginal name for the river in parts of the Northern Territory, usually taken asLarapinta, may have been incorrectly translated by its first transcriber, the explorerErnest Giles. In August 1872, while camped atCharlotte Waters Telegraph Station, Giles was the first "outsider" to record the Arrernte name for the Finke River. He incorrectly deduced from his conversations withSouthern Arrernte that the name was derived from the gigantic mythological snake (known as theRainbow Serpent) which was believed to have created the river, and thought thatlarapinta meant snake in the local language. However in July 1876, Rev. Georg A. Heidenreich, the Superintendent of theFinke River Mission Station (Hermannsburg),[6][7] appears to have been the first to have confirmed the Western Arrernte name of the river, which was actually "Lara Beinta", which means "Salt River". This translation is now widely accepted because the Finke contains certain waterholes that are constantly salty (one of which is named "Salt Hole" in English). The legend of its derivation from the serpent is nonetheless held by the local people.[8]
The original spelling was a deliberate choice used for the main exit road west fromAlice Springs, Larapinta Drive, as it leads to the Finke River atHermannsburg;[6][9] the name was also used foran Alice Springs suburb and theLarapinta Trail. (Larapinta, Queensland may have a different derivation.)
The Finke River is frequently cited asthe oldest river in the world.[10][11] Its age has been deduced from observation and analysis of various factors in thegeology of the area. In places such as the James Range, the Finke flows through deeplyincised meanders.[12][13] Because meanders only form on flat plains, the river must be anantecedent stream, and have formed before the ranges were pushed up; this happened in amountain building event referred to as theAlice Springs Orogeny which peaked between 400 and 300 million years ago (Devonian toCarboniferous Periods, both within thePaleozoic Era).[14][15]
It is not possible to say with absolute confidence that it is the very oldest river, but it is certainly one of the oldest rivers in the world.[16] However, southern parts of its course must be much younger, because the areas where the Finke now flows near the southern edge of the Northern Territory, and further south, were under the sea during theMesozoic Era,[14] part of theGreat Artesian Basin.
The antiquity of the Finke River is not unique, but applies equally to other large mountain-sourced river systems in central Australia, such as theTodd andHale Rivers and many others, because most of the central Australian mountain belts formed at around the same time.[17] There are other eroded mountain ranges of equal or greater age to the MacDonnell Ranges, both in Australia and on other continents, so present rivers in those areas may have evolved from ancestral streams of equal or greater antiquity than the Finke.[citation needed]
The 2023 six-part documentary seriesLarapinta looks at the people, stories, and science of the Finke River. Created byArrernte andLuritja woman Talia Liddle, the series features historians, scientists, andtraditional owners, who share their stories and knowledge.Songlines and stories fromThe Dreaming add to academic data about the river and surrounds. Cinematography is by Torstein Dyrting. The series aired onNITV from 19 August 2023, as well as being available onSBS On Demand.[18][19]
This Wikipedia article incorporatesCC BY 4.0licensed text from:"Wangkangurru".Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map.State Library of Queensland. Retrieved23 January 2020.24°08′39.55″S132°52′20.76″E / 24.1443194°S 132.8724333°E /-24.1443194; 132.8724333
