Boom and bust. This
coolibah (above) on Naree
station, NSW, has seen more
than a century of fl ood-
driven bursts of life. In 2008
it sat on the same fl oodplain
as the tree in AG 91’s cover
image (right).January–February 2014 29UPDATE
B
ACK IN 2008, AUSTRALIAN
GEOGRAPHIC visited the
Murray-Darling Basin to cover
floods that were transforming the
inland floodplains of NSW. On Naree
station, 130km north-west of Bourke,
photographer Andrew Gregory waded
in to shoot a coolibah, its branches just
clear of the water, and the resulting
image was used on the cover of AG 91.
Today, the trees here punctuate a dry,
cracked mudflat.
During the summer of 2008,
Andrew was able to kayak around
most of the property, which sits at
the head of the Paroo – the only
free-flowing river in the Murray-
Darling system. From the air he also
captured the nearby Cuttaburra Creek
floodplain, then a “vast greenery and
maze of channels”.
More than 50,000 waterbirds
were bustling in Yantabulla swamp
on Naree’s south-western boundary.The swamp is a “jewel” – one of 20
or so supporting 40 per cent of our
waterbird population, says Professor
Richard Kingsford, who completed
a huge, first-of-its-kind, national
survey of 4858 wetlands last year.
“There aren’t many wetland areas
quite like Naree, with large vegetation
communities and [that are] so big.”
But recent pit-trap surveys
completed by conservation group
Bush Heritage Australia, which
bought the cattle station in November
2012, captured just a few skinks and
small arid-zone mammals, and most ofthe swamp’s birds have dispersed.
Naree has been lucky, though;
the good years kept coming after
2008 due to a rare combination of
a La Niña event and warm Indian
Ocean waters. The regular flooding
meant ecologists could justify
efforts to support these tricky inland
ecosystems, which often compete with
irrigators for water. For example, at
the height of the Millennium Drought
(2000–2009), concerns were raised
about a waterbird population crisis
at Narran Lake Nature Reserve, just
65km south of Naree.
This led to a $2 million water
buyback by the government for the
birds, which only breed successfully
when water is plentiful; it’s estimated
two-thirds of the area’s first chicks
hatched in many years were saved
from abandonment. As a result,
140,000 straw-necked ibises nested
on Narran in 2012.
But the weather
in 2013 underlined
how fickle these
ecosystems are.
Heavy rains brought
to Queensland by
ex-tropical cyclone
Osw ald last January
should have sent water
barrelling down the
Murray-Darling rivers
to Naree. But, after
the hottest January on
record, the plains of
north-western NSW^
sport typical outback
attire: lignum shrubs cling to dust
waiting for water that is likely 3–4
years away.
Naree timed its big bloom well. Its
bustling life sustained the fundraising
that allowed Bush Heritage to
purchase the 14,900ha property when
conservation-conscious cattle graziers
decided to sell up. It may be 10–20
years until the good times come back.
NATSUMI PENBERTHYNATSUMI PENBERTHY; COVER: ANDREW GREGORY/
Eucalyptus intertexta
Five years on, we return to Naree station to find its
ephemeral floodplains very thirsty indeed.FLOODPLAIN MAGIC
Wetlands no more
FIND more images of Naree station in 2008
and now at: http://www.australiangeographic
.com.au/journal/issue118.htm