Gulf Country
Region
North West Queensland is also referred to as the Gulf Country
Country	Australia
State	Queensland
LGA	Burke,Carpentaria,Cloncurry,Croydon,Flinders,McKinlay,Mount Isa,Richmond
Government
• State electorate	Traeger,Cook
• Federal division	Kennedy
Area
• Total	186,000 km2 (72,000 sq mi)

TheGulf Country orNorth West Queensland is the region of woodland andsavanna grassland surrounding theGulf of Carpentaria in north westernQueensland and easternNorthern Territory on the north coast of Australia. The region is also called theGulf Savannah. The Gulf Country is crossed by theSavannah Way highway.

The flat, savannah land has a dry season and a monsoon, containing the largest areas of native grassland in Australia. It is used for raising cattle and mining. It contains large reserves of zinc, lead and silver. The area is home to a number of endangered species and is crossed by a number of major rivers. The first known European explorer of the region wasWillem Janszoon.

The Gulf Country is a block of dry savanna between the wetter areas ofArnhem Land and theTop End of the Northern territory to the west and theCape York Peninsula ofFar North Queensland to the east, while to the south and east lie upland plains ofMitchell grasses and theEinasleigh Uplands. The Northern Territory side of the area is the Gulf Fall area of sandstone slopes and gorges draining the interior uplands into the gulf. The main land uses in the Gulf Country arebeef cattle and mining.

The region covers an area of 186,000 km² (72,000 sq mi).^[1] The landscape is generally flat and low-lying tropicalsavannah cut through with rivers that carry the monsoon rains to the gulf and feed coastal mudflats and patches of rainforest. TheSir Edward Pellew Group of Islands and theWellesley Islands lie off the gulf coast.

The main settlements in the region include the city ofMount Isa and the towns ofDoomadgee,Cloncurry,Camooweal,Kowanyama,Karumba,Normanton andBurketown. The port at Karumba is one of Australia's main live cattle exporting ports.^[2] The oldest building in the region is the Burketown Hotel.^[3]

The climate is hot with a dry season and a monsoon. The dry season lasts from about April until November and is characterized by very dry southeast to east winds, generated by migratory winter high pressure systems to the south. The wet season lasts from December to March and is characterised by humid northerly monsoonal airflows. This wet season can be very erratic: atBurketown, which is typical of the region, the rainfall of various wet seasons has ranged from as little as 150 millimetres (5.9 in) to as much as 2,000 millimetres (79 in). Overall rainfall is low (from 750 mm on the coast to 500 mm inland) but if the wet season is at all strong, low-lying areas are flooded and even the few sealed roads are cut. The Gulf is also a breeding ground forcyclones during the period between November and April.

In September and October theMorning Glory Cloud appears in the Southern Gulf. The best vantage point to see this phenomenon is in the Burketown area shortly after dawn.

Jirandali (also known asYirandali,Warungu, andYirandhali) is anAustralian Aboriginal language of the Gulf Country, particularly theHughenden area. The language region includes the local government area of theShire of Flinders, includingDutton River,Flinders River, Mount Sturgeon,Caledonia,Richmond,Corfield,Winton, Torrens, Tower Hill, Landsborough Creek, Lammermoor Station, Hughenden, andTangorin.^[4]

Waanyi (also known asWanyi,Wanyee,Wanee,Waangyee,Wonyee,Garawa, andWanji) is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Gulf Country. The language region includes the western parts ofLawn Hill Creek andNicholson River, from about the boundary between theNorthern Territory and Queensland, westwards towardsAlexandria station,Doomadgee, and Nicholson River. It includes the local government area of theAboriginal Shire of Doomadgee.^[5]

Wanamarra (also known asMaykulan andWunumura is an Australian Aboriginal language in North West Queensland. The language region includes areas within theShire of McKinlay,Shire of Cloncurry andShire of Richmond, including theFlinders River area, and the towns ofKynuna andRichmond.^[6]

Yukulta (also known asGanggalida) is anAustralian Aboriginal language of the Gulf Country. The Yukulta language region includes the local government areas of theAboriginal Shire of Doomadgee andShire of Mornington.^[7]

The first knownEuropean explorer to visit the region was the DutchWillem Janszoon (whose name is also written asJansz) inhis 1605–6 voyage. His fellow countrymanJan Carstenszoon (orCarstensz) visited in 1623 and named the gulf in honour ofPieter de Carpentier, at that time theGovernor-General of the Dutch East Indies.Abel Tasman also explored the coast in 1644. The region was later explored and charted byMatthew Flinders in 1802 and 1803.

The first overland explorer in the area was the PrussianLudwig Leichhardt who traversed the area in 1844 and 1845. He was followed byAugustus Gregory of the North Australian Expedition in 1856, and thenBurke and Wills in 1861.John McKinlay,Frederick Walker andWilliam Landsborough lead separate search parties into the Gulf looking for Burke and Wills in 1861 and 1862.

Aspastoralists settled in the area there were significant clashes with localAboriginal populations. HistorianTony Roberts has described the nature of massacres and violent encounters in the Gulf Country (part of theAustralian frontier wars) in his book titledFrontier Justice: A History of the Gulf Country to 1900 (2005). His research showed that senior colonial politicians, including formerSouth Australian colonial premiersSir John Colton andSir John Downer, along with South Australian police, "masterminded, condoned or concealed... atrocities" in the Gulf Country, which led to the deaths of at least 600 Aboriginal people.^{[8][9][10][11]} The book won theState Records – John and Patricia Ward History Prize in theNew South Wales Premier's History Awards; theAustralian Historical Association'sWK Hancock Prize;^[12] and theChief Minister's Northern Territory Book History Award.^[13]

The1964 Mount Isa Mines Strike was a prolonged strike between miners and management at Mount Isa Mines.

The region is source of great mineral wealth such as copper, zinc, lead and silver.Mount Isa Mines includes a number of copper, lead, zinc and silver mines in Mount Isa where production began in 1931.Century Mine, Australia's largest zinc mine began operations near Mount Isa in 1997 and is expected to be exhausted by 2016.^[14] Other mines in the region includeGeorge Fisher mine,Cannington Mine andHilton Mine.

Due to thelead production in the town, Mount Isa has one of the most intensiveair quality monitoring systems in Australia.^[15] Concerns have been raised over childhoodlead contamination and air pollution within the region.^[16][17]

In the Gulf Country there are no mountains to restrict rainfall to the coastal band and the transition from the coastalmangroves throughAcacia stenophylla woodlands to the arid scrubs of central Australia is gradual. There are up to nineteen important areas for bird migration in rivermouths along the gulf coast^[18] including theGregory River-Nicholson River estuary and theRoper River inLimmen Bight. The patches of rainforest habitat occur in parts that are less vulnerable to the grassland fires. On the savannadicanthium bluegrass grows tall after the monsoon rains as the Gulf Country is one of the largest areas of native grassland in Australia.^[19] The sandstone gorges of the Gulf Fall are home to a specific wildlife. Finally the Pellew Islands have retained original mangroves and thick woodland..

The area is home to a number of endangered species including an endemic rodent, theCarpentarian rock rat(Zyzomys palatalis) and endemic reptiles such as theCarpentarian leristaskink . The mudflats and saltpans on the coast are home to waterbirds such as themagpie goose. One endemic grassland bird, theCarpentarian grasswren, is suffering as changingfire regimes (the way grasses are systematically burnt and allowed to renew) are reducing their habitat. The region is a hotspot forbirdwatching.^[20]

Much of the area is unspoilt vegetation butovergrazing of cattle and the introduction of feed grass species is changing both grasslands and wetlands while the woodlands are vulnerable to changing fire regimes. Introduced weeds include therubber vine. Protected areas includeStaaten River National Park,Boodjamulla National Park (formerly Lawn Hill), theWorld Heritage fossil finds atRiversleigh,Camooweal Caves National Park andMitchell-Alice Rivers National Park on the Queensland side. However the coastal wetlands are little protected.Lawn Hill crater, animpact crater with a ring oflimestone hills, is also located in the Gulf Country. FinallyBarranyi (North Island) National Park is one of the Pellew Islands.^[21]

Top End

• Roper River
• Wilton River

Gulf Country

• Cox River
• Calvert River
• Gilbert River
• Flinders River
• Leichhardt River
• McArthur River
• Norman River

Cape York Peninsula

• Archer River
• Mission River
• Mitchell River
  • Alice River
• Smithburne River
• Staaten River
• Wenlock River

• Regions of Queensland

• Grazing in the Gulf Country Savanna Explorer

17°52′22.33″S140°10′28.36″E / 17.8728694°S 140.1745444°E /-17.8728694; 140.1745444

• Gulf of Carpentaria
• North West Queensland
• Tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands

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