Friday 25th February 2022
Overnight was horrible. Caravanning off grid, thank goodness for fans. 32 degrees inside the fan with a humidity of about 1000%. The girls couldn’t sleep, we couldn’t sleep. Then it hit 29 degrees sometime around midnight and it was like a switch, we finally all settled to sleep.
We still hopped out of bed at 7am to pack the caravan. After getting all packed we went for a walk to Edith Falls.
Edith Falls
The Edith Falls, in Aboriginal Jawoyn it’s Leliyn, is a series of cascading waterfalls and pools on the Edith River in the Nitmiluk National Park, located approximately 60 kilometres north of Katherine.
The falls descend from an elevation of 176 metres above sea level and range in height between 8.7–12 metres.
There are trails to the top of the escarpment, allowing visitors to view the waterfalls. Edith Falls is connected to Katherine Gorge via the 66-kilometre Jatbula walk.
At around 9am we left for Katherine. we travelled about an hour or so and arrived at the Katherine Information Centre.
We fed Charlotte and then went inside to scope out the pamphlets.
We left around 11am for Big4 Breeze Holiday Park. We checked in and set up.
After lunch we walked about 10min down the road to the Katherine River. Jason has a quick flick in the torrent of the river.
Katherine
The first inhabitants of the area were the Dagoman people, Jawoyn people and Wardaman people. It was an important meeting place for these tribes and remains a place of convergence.
Explorer John McDouall Stuart passed through the area in 1862 on his successful third journey across the continent from north to south. On 4 July 1862, Stuart crossed the Katherine River 90 km upstream from the present town, and recorded in his diary:
“Came upon another large creek, having a running stream to the south of west and coming from the north of east. This I have named ‘Katherine’, in honour of the second daughter of pastoralist James Chambers Esq.”
John McDouall Stuart
Katherine Telegraph Station was established on 22 August 1872 and the completion of the Overland Telegraph Line later in 1872, and the town began with a small permanent population on the west side of the Katherine River.
The North Australia Railway was extended to Katherine with construction beginning in 1923 of the Katherine railway bridge. During construction of the railway, the town’s centre was relocated to the eastern side of the river.
During World War II, the Australian Army set up two hospitals around Katherine, the 101st Australian General Hospital and 121st Australian General Hospital. The army also set up a Katherine Area Headquarters.
On 22 March 1942, Katherine sustained its only air raid during World War II. One man was killed when a Japanese aircraft bombed the town.
Tomorrow
We are heading to the Southern end of Nitmuluk NP, to visit Katherine Gorge. We will spend 2 nights there.
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