the roper river - the heart of country

The Roper River is a waterway of extraordinary cultural and ecological significance, and has been governed by the laws of the the Mudburra, Yangman, Jawoyn, Manggarayi, Bin Bin.ga, Alawa, Ngalakgan, Ngandi, Ritthangu-Wagilak, Rembarranga, Marra, Warndarrang, and Nunggubuyu people for millennia.

The catchment includes stone country escarpments, springs, salt pans, billabongs, floodplains and tidal flats. The Roper is one of a handful of major rivers in the north that flows all year round. Groundwater sustains not only the channel flows during the long dry, but large wetlands, rich forests, springs and thermal pools, including the famous Mataranka pools and Bitter Springs in Elsey National Park.

However, the Roper is facing unprecedented development pressure from large-scale water extraction and fracking for gas. Huge water licences have been granted to developers without the free, prior and informed consent of Traditional Owners. Against this background, climate change threatens to irreparably damage northern Australian waterways.

  • An indigenous woman with dark hair and brown skin standing outdoors in a lush, green forest.

    "The water and us are connected. Please don't take any more."

    - Cecelia Lake, Mangarrayi woman

  • Close-up of an elderly Indigenous man with long white hair and beard, wearing a black shirt, outdoors in front of a wire fence with green foliage behind him.

    "All the way along the river, we are saying no to cotton."

    - Walter Rogers, Wandarang Nunggubuyu Elder

  • An Indigenous woman outdoors holding a bunch of green leafy plants on a sunny day with trees and clear blue sky in the background.

    "We are fighting to protect water from fracking and cotton."

    - Naomi Wilfred, Alawa Traditional Owner