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Willandra Lakes Region
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Willandra Lakes Region
The Willandra Lakes Region is a World Heritage Site in the Far West region of New South Wales, Australia. The Willandra Lakes Region is the traditional meeting place of the Muthi Muthi, Ngiyampaa and Paakantyi Aboriginal peoples. The 2,400-square-kilometre (930 sq mi) area was inscribed on the World Heritage List at the 5th Session of the World Heritage Committee in 1981.
The Region contains important natural and cultural features including exceptional examples of past human civilization including the world's oldest evidence of cremation. A small section of the region is protected by the Mungo National Park.
The World Heritage status of the region was created and negotiated in 1981. The site was gazetted on the Australian National Heritage List on 21 May 2007 under the Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1), 2003 (Cth). The region is also listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register.
Willandra Lakes has formed over the last 2 million years. The ancient shorelines are stratified into three major layers of sediments that were deposited at different stages in the lakes' history.
The earliest sediments are more than 50,000 years old and are orange-red in colour. Above are clay, clean quartz sand and soil that were deposited along the lakes' edge when the lakes were full of deep relatively fresh water between 50,000 and 19,000 years ago. The top layer is composed largely of wind blown clay particles heaped up on the lunettes during periods of fluctuating water levels, before the lakes finally dried up.
Aboriginal people lived on the shores of the Willandra Lakes from 40,000 to 35,000 years ago. It is one of the oldest known human occupation sites in Australia. There is abundant evidence of Aboriginal occupation over the last 10,000 years.
European exploration of the area was largely left to the anonymous pastoralists who followed renowned explorers. Captain Charles Sturt is the one who had most influence in arousing interest in the area. He came upon the upper reaches of the Darling River in 1829 and named it after the Governor, Ralph Darling. He was again in the area in 1844 during his attempt to explore the interior of the continent.
Surveyor George Boyle White explored the Darling in 1833 in the region from the Peel River junction to the region of Fort Bourke and was followed two years later by Major Thomas Mitchell, the Surveyor-General of New South Wales, who was intent on showing whether or not the Darling entered the Murray as Sturt had surmised. Mitchell failed to befriend the Aboriginal people, however, and after proceeding south as far as Laidley's Ponds he thought it best to retreat after one of his party had shot and killed an Aboriginal. Mitchell went into the area again in 1836, although this time he traveled down the Murrumbidgee with the intention of exploring the Darling from its junction with the Murray. However, satisfied that Sturt was correct he followed the Darling upstream only a few kilometres before turning his attention elsewhere.
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Willandra Lakes Region AI simulator
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Willandra Lakes Region
The Willandra Lakes Region is a World Heritage Site in the Far West region of New South Wales, Australia. The Willandra Lakes Region is the traditional meeting place of the Muthi Muthi, Ngiyampaa and Paakantyi Aboriginal peoples. The 2,400-square-kilometre (930 sq mi) area was inscribed on the World Heritage List at the 5th Session of the World Heritage Committee in 1981.
The Region contains important natural and cultural features including exceptional examples of past human civilization including the world's oldest evidence of cremation. A small section of the region is protected by the Mungo National Park.
The World Heritage status of the region was created and negotiated in 1981. The site was gazetted on the Australian National Heritage List on 21 May 2007 under the Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1), 2003 (Cth). The region is also listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register.
Willandra Lakes has formed over the last 2 million years. The ancient shorelines are stratified into three major layers of sediments that were deposited at different stages in the lakes' history.
The earliest sediments are more than 50,000 years old and are orange-red in colour. Above are clay, clean quartz sand and soil that were deposited along the lakes' edge when the lakes were full of deep relatively fresh water between 50,000 and 19,000 years ago. The top layer is composed largely of wind blown clay particles heaped up on the lunettes during periods of fluctuating water levels, before the lakes finally dried up.
Aboriginal people lived on the shores of the Willandra Lakes from 40,000 to 35,000 years ago. It is one of the oldest known human occupation sites in Australia. There is abundant evidence of Aboriginal occupation over the last 10,000 years.
European exploration of the area was largely left to the anonymous pastoralists who followed renowned explorers. Captain Charles Sturt is the one who had most influence in arousing interest in the area. He came upon the upper reaches of the Darling River in 1829 and named it after the Governor, Ralph Darling. He was again in the area in 1844 during his attempt to explore the interior of the continent.
Surveyor George Boyle White explored the Darling in 1833 in the region from the Peel River junction to the region of Fort Bourke and was followed two years later by Major Thomas Mitchell, the Surveyor-General of New South Wales, who was intent on showing whether or not the Darling entered the Murray as Sturt had surmised. Mitchell failed to befriend the Aboriginal people, however, and after proceeding south as far as Laidley's Ponds he thought it best to retreat after one of his party had shot and killed an Aboriginal. Mitchell went into the area again in 1836, although this time he traveled down the Murrumbidgee with the intention of exploring the Darling from its junction with the Murray. However, satisfied that Sturt was correct he followed the Darling upstream only a few kilometres before turning his attention elsewhere.
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