Bandaralngarri is named for bandarin, the silver leaf paperback that traces the 730km course of the river. From the river's headwaters at Thalalngi (Dimond Gorge) to the vast floodplains of the of King Sound near Derby, this soft, pale barked tree, is the river’s constant companion. What is remarkable about Bandaralngarri, is the magnitude of its physical transformation across the seasons.
In the heavy rains of Bulurru (monsoon) Bandaralngarri widens out across the floodplains, soaking the dry parched lands and revitalising muwayi (country). The country is green, life flourishes everywhere as plains are drenched and our watering holes become full once again. Access across country can be limited at this time, as the galanganyja (black soil plains) become boggy and take a long time to dry out after the rains.
But it is still a rich time for hunting and fishing and is an especially good time for catching balga (barramundi) and nyanyani (sawfish). Bulurru is also a time for collecting bush foods and medicines. The maina (bush plum) is ripe and juicy and it is during bulurru that we gather the barrala (spinifex wax) from the bininybali (waxed spinifex) to be used in medicine.
During the cool weather of maurri, the river drops away to a mere reflection of the raging torrent it was just a few months earlier. As the flow abates, pools of water fed by deep springs and subterranean aquifers are soon revealed. It is these watering holes that provide a vital life source for muwayi (country) during the hot weather time of barrangga.
The catchment area of Bandaralngarri covers 93,829km², more than 20% of the entire Kimberley region. The average wet season flow of the river is 9,798 gigalitres. To put that into perspective 1 gigalitre is enough to fill Perth's Optus Stadium. The quantity and flow rate of the warramba (floodwaters) is incomprehensible. During the 2010 – 2011 wet season, 27,523 gigalitres passed through the river in 3 months. But this warramba turned out to be nothing in compassion to the flood of January 2023 when more than 2,000 gigalitres was flowing down the river each day.
Bandaralngarri is considered one of Australia’s most significant rivers. It has been altered little by human intervention and is thought to be one of Australia’s last great wilderness regions. The river is home to 35 species of fish, 18 of which are endemic to this waterway. Bandaralngarri provides one of the last refuges to the critically endangered nyanyani (freshwater sawfish) and is pivotal to the survival of many other threatened species including the jirigi (purple crowned fairy wren), baya (freshwater whipray), jawiyiwiy (northern river shark), and the gayi (freshwater crocodile).
For tens of thousands of years Bandaralngarri has sustained generations of Bunuba dawangarri and neighbours. The prized balga (barramundi) draws fishermen from far and wide, and beneath the surface prospers a smorgasbord of jarramba (cheriban), bambarri (mussels), janggurru (turtle), mulurru (catfish) and walnga (black bream).
Recognised for its cultural and biological value, Bandaralngarri was included on Australia’s National Heritage List in 2011 as an iconic feature of the West Kimberley region. Visitors today can best visit the river at Danggu National Park.