The Kimberley for kids | National Museum of Australia

The Kimberley, 1990

Join us on a time-travelling adventure to the Kimberley region of Western Australia. This distinctive and unique landscape has a rich Aboriginal history that goes back tens of thousands of years and continues today. Click on the images below for photos, videos and more information. Suitable for years 3 to 6.

Landscape

An ancient land

The oldest rocks in Western Australia's Kimberley region formed more than 2 billion years ago. The region has spectacular mountain ranges, gorges with towering cliffs and waterfalls.

The Kimberley coastline includes large bays and peninsulas, sandy beaches, mangrove forests, coral reefs, and thousands of islands. It attracts tourists from across Australia and the world.

Colour photograph taken from a height and showing a dirt road winding through low, flat scrubland, with hills rising in the distance. - click to view larger image — Kimberley landscape

Colour photograph of a small, low river with sandy flats extending to a tree-lined bank. - click to view larger image — Fitzroy River

Colour photograph showing dramatic cliffs rising above a waterway. - click to view larger image — Geikie Gorge

Colour photograph showing a broad stretch of beach with water and smooth sand stretching to low dunes. - click to view larger image — Eighty Mile Beach

Colour photographs showing reddish rock formations overlooking the ocean. - click to view larger image — Gantheaume Point

Did you know?

The Kimberley has a tropical monsoon climate, with a dry season and a wet season?

Plants and animals

Flora and fauna

The Kimberley is home to many birds, mammals, reptiles and fish and the coastline is a major breeding grounds for humpback whales. It is also one of the few places in the world where boab trees grow naturally.

Animals introduced from overseas have had a negative impact on the landscape.

Colour photograph of six boab trees on a grassy plain. - click to view larger image — Boab trees

Crocodiles

Colour photograph of a dugong grazing on sea grass. Several small fish are also visible. - click to view larger image — Dugongs

Colour photograph of six cows grazing in scrub. - click to view larger image — Introduced species

Did you know?

The saltwater crocodile is the world’s largest reptile? It can grow up to five-metres long and weigh up to a tonne.

Aboriginal culture

Connection to land

The Aboriginal communities of the Kimberley have a deep and continuing connection to the land and sea that goes back thousands of years. They are guardians of stories handed down over countless generations, and have a deep understanding of the region's landscape, plants and animals. Today, as traditional owners, many Aboriginal people are employed in roles that allow them to continue to care for their country.

Colour photograph showing the steep walls of a gorge rising above calm water. A crocodile lies in shallow water in the foreground. - click to view larger image — Windjana Gorge (Bandilngan)

Spearhead flaked on both sides with serrated edges, rounded base and a sharp point at the opposite end. - click to view larger image — Kimberley point spearhead

Colour photograph showing Aboriginal art on a rock wall. Numerous faces with oversized eyes and no mouth are depicted on the rock, in shades of yellow, red, black and white. - click to view larger image — Rock art

Black and white photograph of a man sitting on a raft on a body of water. - click to view larger image — Mangrove raft

Jandamarra's story

War of resistance

Jandamarra's story is of great significance to the people of the Kimberley. Jandamarra was a Bunuba man born in 1873. He worked as a police tracker before he began a war of resistance against the white settlers who had invaded his people’s lands.

Jandamarra earned a reputation for superhuman powers after avoiding capture by the police for more than two years. Eventually he was tracked and shot dead on 1 April 1897.

Colour illustration showing a young Aboriginal boy standing on a cliff, with an Aboriginal man standing beside him. - click to view larger image — Bunuba born

Colour illustration of an Aboriginal man wearing white pants, a red headband and no shirt. Cows graze in the distance. - click to view larger image — Jandamarra

Colour illustration showing nine Aboriginal men chained at the neck, walking in single file. They wear white loin cloths and headbands. Two European policeman on horseback are to the right of the men. - click to view larger image — Conflict

An illustration of a group of men behind a wire fence. Jandamarra stands outside the fence, looking at the men. - click to view larger image — Resistance

Colour photograph of a man, sitting cross-legged on a stage. The man wears short pants and no shirt and is looking to the sky. - click to view larger image — Enduring story

A stage with lights, set in a rocky landscape. - click to view larger image — Windjana play

Did you know?

Jandamarra's story is kept alive in songs, dances, books and plays? He is now recognised by many as an Aboriginal hero.

Agriculture

Black and white photograph of many sheep crowded into a stock yard. - click to view larger image — Sheep

A stone building, in disrepair. - click to view larger image — Conflict

Black and white photograph showing an Aboriginal man and woman standing with a donkey in front of a heavily-laden wagon. The man wears a hat and the woman smokes a pipe. - click to view larger image — Employment

Black and white photograph showing two Aboriginal stockmen on horses. The horses drink from a long water trough, where many cattle are also drinking and milling about. - click to view larger image — Stockmen

Colour photograph showing five animals in long grass. Two, with horns, are facing the camera. - click to view larger image — Cattle

Cattle country

The Kimberley was one of the last regions where European people settled in Australia. Its rugged landscape and extreme weather conditions made it a difficult place to survive. Sheep and cattle were introduced from the 1800s and despite causing conflict between Indigenous people and settlers, agriculture remains important in the Kimberley. Today, some stations are owned and run by Aboriginal people on their traditional lands.

Quiz

How much do you know about the Kimberley region? Check out the images and captions above, then see how many answers you can get right!

Start the Kimberley online quiz

Download The Kimberley quiz questions and answers 100.0 kb pdf [ PDF | 100.0 kb ]

Watch the videos

Experience the rugged beauty and diverse wildlife of Western Australia’s remote Kimberley region.

Beauty of the Kimberley 3:06

Australian Geographic Society

'The old stockman days' on the ABC Kimberley website
Indigenous artist Mervyn Street revisits Louisa Downs station, near Fitzroy Crossing. Duration: 6:09.

'Jandamarra story set for Sydney Opera House debut' on ABC News website
7.30 story with Bunuba man Emmanuel James Brown and playwright Steve Hawke at Windjina Gorge. Duration: 5:39.

'Bunuba Country' on YouTube
Kimberley Tourism video with Bunuba man Dillon Andrews introducing significant local sites. Duration: 5:46.

'Geikie Gorge (Darngku)' on YouTube
Indigenous ranger Anthony Aiken tours Geikie Gorge, explaining its importance to Bunuba people. Duration: 3:12.

Additional resources

Primary source study: Kimberley point spearhead

Artworks from the Kimberley region, in our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art collection

Bark paintings from the Kimberley region in our collection

Aboriginal warrior Pemulwuy leads resistance against Sydney colonists

Online features

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Royal Adelaide Show

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