Lake Argyle from the lookout

Lake Argyle Village
Small town beside a spectacular artificial desert lake.
The Lake Argyle Village is now nothing more than a largely disused construction camp, a hotel-motel, a camping site and a few houses on the edge of one of the most beautiful dams in Australia. The fact that the dam is also Australia's largest with an area of 741 sq. km seems irrelevant when compared to the beauty of the surrounding countryside. Located 70 km from Kunnunurra and 1127 km from Broome, Lake Argyle is only a few kilometres west of the Northern Territory border.

The area was first settled by Patrick (Patsy) Durack in 1882. Durack (1834-1898) was born in County Clare, Ireland, emigrated to New South Wales in 1853, made his fortune on the Ovens River diggings in Victoria and in 1868 established a property on a tributary of Coopers Creek in western Queensland. He was endlessly energetic and quickly established himself as one of the richest and most successful cattle owners in the area. In the early 1880s, after hearing good reports of the Kimberley country, he sent his brother Michael to inspect land on the Ord River. Michael's report was favourable and Durack organised the droving of 7250 breeding cattle and 200 horses to the region. The 3000 mile and three year long trek of cattle from Queensland to stock the Argyle and Ivanhoe stations was, at the time, the longest ever attempted in Australia.

Things to see:  

Argyle Downs Station
A short distance outside the town is the reconstructed Argyle Downs Station Homestead which Patrick Durack built in 1894. It is uncharacteristic of many of the far north's buildings. Its stone construction suggests that Durack was building for a lifetime. It was more common to build a temporary shelter rather than something that was so unambiguously permanent. In fairness when Durack built this house his wife had recently died and his financial interests in Queensland had collapsed. He was really building for retirement. Two years later he visited Ireland and in 1898 he died in Fremantle.

The original location of the house now lies beneath the waters of Lake Argyle. The building was removed stone by stone from the original site and carefully reconstructed. It was officially opened in 1979.

The house is deceptively small with only four rooms on display. The front two rooms have pieces of Durack history including the books written by Mary Durack and illustrated by her sister Elizabeth. These include rare copies of The Way of the Whirlwind and Piccaninies as well as the more famous Kings in Grass Castles by Mary Durack.

The other two rooms are devoted to Aboriginal artifacts from the area and the equipment used by the local stockmen.

The Durack graves at Argyle Downs Station

In the gardens are the graves of Vera Durack who died in 1898 at the age of one, Annie Durack who died in 1898 aged 14 and J. J. Durack who died in 1901 aged 48 and two of the station hands. The inscription near the graves reads: 'These graves were moved from the original site on Dunham River to protect them from damage by vandals and wild cattle. A rock cairn now marks the original place where Jeremiah Durack, two of his children, William Pace Martin and the stockman Winn were laid to rest. These stones now stand for all to see as monuments to those early pioneers who lived and died in a lonely and hostile land.'

Lake Argyle Lookout
Beyond the township is an excellent lookout from which Lake Argyle can be viewed. This is not just another dam. The mountains of the surrounding Carr Boyd Ranges tumble into the lake making it look like some kind of strange desert fjord. Away towards the horizon small mountains rise out of the lake like islands.

Ord River Scheme
Lake Argyle was built as part of the Ord River scheme. A placard at the lookout explains that stage one of the project involved the building of Kununurra Diversion Dam and the development of 12 000 hectares of irrigable land on Ivanhoe plain and the establishment of Kununurra township. It was officially opened by R. G. Menzies in 1963 and the final allocation of farms was made in 1965.

Like so many experiments in tropical agriculture it initially failed because of pests and difficulties growing crops. Today the Ord River Irrigation Scheme is seen by many of its farmers as a huge success. They have broken from the government's prescriptions as to what to grow and how to grow it and the area produces everything from potatoes to watermelons many of which are exported to the markets of south east Asia.

The road to the Village is exceptionally beautiful with huge pieces of rock jutting up beside the road like craggy sentinels and baobad trees, like gigantic soft drink bottles with arms, standing serenely amongst the eucalypts in the dry landscape.

	Motels
	Lake Argyle Tourist Village P.O. Box 616, Kununurra Lake Argyle Village WA 6743 Telephone: (08) 9168 7360 Facsimile: (08) 9168 7355 Rating: **
	Caravan Parks
	Lake Argyle Tourist Village Ord Dam Lake Argyle Village WA 6743 Telephone: (08) 9168 7360 Rating: **
	Restaurants
	Lake Argyle Tourist Village Motel/Hotel P.O. Box 302 Lake Argyle Village WA 6743 Telephone: (08) 9168 7360