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#westernaustralia #australia #kimberley
Discover the dramatic, forgotten story of one of Australia's most ambitious and controversial nation-building dreams: the plan to dam the wild rivers of the Kimberley and transform the region into a vast agricultural powerhouse. For much of the 20th century, politicians, planners and engineers were captivated by the idea that Australia’s remote north could become a tropical food bowl to rival the Murray-Darling Basin. With enormous monsoonal rains feeding rivers like the Ord and Fitzroy each wet season, visionaries saw not wilderness, but opportunity—untapped water surging unused into the Timor Sea.

At the heart of this plan stood the Ord River Irrigation Scheme, launched in the 1960s with extraordinary fanfare. The Ord River was dammed twice—first with the Diversion Dam to create Lake Kununurra, and then with the massive Main Ord Dam that formed Lake Argyle, Australia’s largest artificial lake. Promoted as the beginning of a northern agricultural revolution, the scheme aimed to irrigate tens of thousands of hectares of farmland, support a booming population, and generate wealth through crops like cotton, rice and sugar cane. Kununurra was born almost overnight as a model town for the future of the north, and Lake Argyle stood as a symbol of triumph over nature.

But the dream began to unravel. The very environment that inspired the scheme turned out to be its greatest challenge. Crops failed under the pressures of extreme seasonal variability, devastating insect plagues, and unpredictable markets. Cotton was eaten alive by caterpillars, rice fields flooded or dried, and sugar cane failed to bring profits. Despite massive government investment, the returns were poor. The dream of 70,000 hectares of irrigated farmland was never realised. Investors pulled out, farmers walked off the land, and the Ord Scheme became a cautionary tale of overreach and unmet promise.

As enthusiasm for expansion waned, new proposals emerged in the 1990s and 2000s to dam other rivers in the Kimberley, including the iconic Fitzroy River, known as Martuwarra. But this time, opposition was swift and unified. Indigenous communities, environmental scientists, and advocacy groups came together to defend the Fitzroy, arguing for its cultural significance, biodiversity, and global rarity as a free-flowing tropical river. Public pressure and growing environmental awareness eventually stopped these plans in their tracks. Today, the Fitzroy remains undammed, a living testament to the power of community resistance and evolving national values.

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OzGeology is an Australian-based YouTube channel that specializes in creating high-quality documentaries on Earth sciences and natural disasters. The content is designed to be easy to digest and covers a wide range of topics, not only focusing on geology but occasionally exploring other scientific areas as well.

00:00-01:07 - Introduction
01:08-02:23 - The Wild Plan To Flood The Kimberley
02:24-03:47 - The Dam Construction Begins
03:48-07:35 - The Main Argyle Dam Is Constructed
07:36-08:32 - Troubles Begin As Reality Sets In
08:33-11:16 - The Industries Begin To Collapse
11:17-12:45 - Future Plans Are Scrapped
12:46-14:33 Conclusion & Youtube / Patreon Member Thank You!

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