The Martuwarra Fitzroy River is in the Kimberley region of north-west Western Australia. Its catchment covers almost 94,000 square kilometres, making it one of the largest catchments in Western Australia. Unlike many river systems in Australia, the Martuwarra Fitzroy remains largely unregulated, with no dams on the main river or its tributaries. It has strong seasonal wet- and dry-season flows, supports high ecological values, and holds exceptional cultural significance for Traditional Owners across the catchment. Much of the catchment forms part of the West Kimberley National Heritage Place, which is recognised nationally for its outstanding natural and cultural values. You can find more information at the Living Water Heritage website and the Kimberley Land Council website. 

The Martuwarra Fitzroy catchment is home to many Traditional Owner groups. The Traditional Owners in the catchment area are represented by Prescribed Bodies Corporate (PBCs) and other claim groups. These include: 

• Boorroola Moorrool Moorrool  

• Bunuba Dawangarri Aboriginal Corporation 

• Giniyjawarrni Yoowaniya Riwi Aboriginal Corporation 

• Gooniyandi Aboriginal Corporation 

• The Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC) (Birriman-Gan) 

• Jaru Aboriginal Corporation 

• Karajarri Traditional Lands Association 

• Koongie-Elvire 

• Madanaa Nada Aboriginal Corporation 

• Malarngowem Aboriginal Corporation 

• Ngarrawanji Aboriginal Corporation 

• Tiyatiya Aboriginal Corporation 

• Walalakoo Aboriginal Corporation 

• Wanjina-Wunggurr Aboriginal Corporation (Dambimangari & Wilinggin) 

• Warlangurru Aboriginal Corporation 

• Warrwa Combined 

• Winjoodoorurlbul Aboriginal Corporation 

• Yanunijarra Aboriginal Corporation 

• Yawuru Native Title Holders Aboriginal Corporation 

• Yungngora Aboriginal Corporation 

• Yurriyangem Taam Aboriginal Corporation 

These groups have distinct languages, histories and cultural responsibilities, while also sharing deep relationships with the river system. Aboriginal organisations with important roles in this area include the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council, an alliance of Elders from independent Nations of the Fitzroy catchment, and the Kimberley Land Council, which is the peak Indigenous body in the Kimberley region.

People living alongside the river include residents of Fitzroy Crossing, Derby, smaller Aboriginal communities, pastoral stations and other Kimberley settlements. The catchment area is home to several thousand residents, 80% being Aboriginal people with long-standing ties to Country. The river is significant because it supports everyday life, cultural practice, recreation, nature, local livelihoods and a strong sense of place.

Protecting only the river channel would not take into consideration the wider systems that keep the Martuwarra Fitzroy healthy. Floodplains, tributaries, wetlands, springs and aquifers all help store, move and release water through the seasons. The river’s flows, ecology, and cultural significance depend on these connected parts functioning together. The wet-season flows connect river pools, recharge the alluvial aquifer (shallow aquifers that are near the surface), fill off-channel and connect the river to its floodplain, while dry-season groundwater helps sustain pools and wetlands. 

Flood and drought are necessary aspects of the Martuwarra Fitzroy system. Wet-season floods reconnect river pools, link the river to its floodplain, fill wetlands, move nutrients and energy through the system, and recharge some aquifers.

Watch: Desert River. The boom-bust life of the Martuwarra Fitzroy.

These seasonal extremes are especially important for species such as freshwater sawfish and barramundi. In the dry season, when surface water is low, permanent deep pools – often supported by groundwater – provide a refuge. In the wet season, renewed connectivity between pools, floodplains, the river and the estuary allows movement and access to habitat across the system.   

This means that both surface floodwaters and groundwater are an essential part of the healthy functioning of Martuwarra Fitzroy and its ecosystems. 

Image credit: Wendy Mitchell | Environs Kimberley

Groundwater is important because it helps sustain the Martuwarra Fitzroy when surface flows are low and stop during the dry season (from May to October) each year.

Watch: Desert River. The boom-bust life of the Martuwarra Fitzroy

Groundwater can help maintain pools, wetlands and other dry-season refuges that fish and other animals rely on. It also supports groundwater-dependent ecosystems and can influence water availability for vegetation. In a river system with seasonal extremes, groundwater provides an important source of resilience, especially during the long dry season. 

Groundwater creates refuges in the Martuwarra Fitzroy for fish like the endangered freshwater sawfish.

Image credit: Dave Morgan

There is no single number that tells us how much water the Martuwarra Fitzroy needs to stay healthy. The river depends on the right pattern of water: flood flows, habitat connection, depth in key pools, good water quality, and groundwater support in critical places. WA government commitments embedded in the draft Fitzroy Derby water plan now say no additional surface water will be licensed. Proposed ongoing groundwater extraction of up to 75.7 gigalitres (GL) a year remains a major concern, every extra gigalitre of water taken from the system has an impact. Traditional Owners, scientists and conservation organisations argue that groundwater planning should be precautionary, because important uncertainties remain about recharge, connectivity and the impacts of extraction on Country.

Water from the Martuwarra Fitzroy catchment is used for town and community supply, such as drinking water and for existing licensed uses, including livestock. The draft water plan states that no additional surface water will be licensed from the Fitzroy River, and that access to the Alluvial and Devonian Reef aquifers will be restricted because of their ecological and social significance.  

The draft Fitzroy Derby Water plan says groundwater extraction could support future development, including irrigated agriculture. This could include annual or perennial horticulture, broadacre cropping and some smaller community projects.  

Approximately 25 (GL) a year is currently licensed across the catchment area. The draft plan proposes that approximately 50 (GL) would be available for new licenses, including an Aboriginal Water holding representing 50% of that volume. Conservation groups and Traditional Owners have expressed concerns about the proposed level of increased groundwater extraction.  

Geikie Gorge was carved by the Martuwarra Fitzroy River through limestone of the Devonian reef system (an extinct reef from the Devonian period). The Martuwarra Fitzroy River corridor includes an alluvial aquifer, and groundwater in both the alluvial and Devonian Reef aquifers is connected to the river system and helps sustain dry-season pools.

There is no single body that controls every aspect of the catchment. Water resources are managed under Western Australian law (including the Rights in Water and Irrigation Act 1914) through the State’s water planning and licensing system. Importantly, Traditional Owners remain the custodians of Country and play a central role.  

Kimberley Traditional Owners and the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council have called for stronger shared governance, including co-design of water governance arrangements and partnerships that can help deliver a formal decision-making role for Traditional Owners. The Kimberley Land Council (KLC), on behalf of the Traditional Owner Working Group, make clear through 61 Recommendations that management should not rest only with the government and should be shared with the people who hold cultural authority and responsibility for the Martuwarra. 

For Traditional Owners, the Martuwarra isn’t only a river channel. It is a living ancestral system – the rivers, springs, wetlands and aquifers are inseparable from cultural identity, community wellbeing and governance. The river is significant not only for what it provides physically, but for the relationships, responsibilities and meanings it carries across generations and across many Nations in the catchment.