Monday in Kununurra was the day for a bit of washing and then out to Ivanhoe Cafe for coffee before continuing onward to Ivanhoe Crossing, which is on the old road to Wyndham.  It is a concrete crossing and since the Ord irrigation project of the 1960's there is always water flowing over the crossing.  In the wet season the crossing is impassable.  Ivanhoe Crossing is a great spot for a photo shoot.  

From there we went out on Weaber Plains Road to the Hoochery.  A quick look around this quirky place, but there were no purchases like we have in the past.  The Mango Rum is still in the cupboard at home.  One does get caught up in the moment when you are travelling!  From there to the Sandalwood retail outlet.  Yesterday Kevin (the driver on the bus to Argyle) told us the Sandalwood Company had gone into receivership  and it is now in the hands of the court.  Farmers are trying to get a price for their Sandalwood.  In 2011 we were so disappointed to see so much of the first stage of the Ord Irrigation project being planted to Sandalwood, but the farmers had not been able to make money from the crops they had been planting and the projection for Sandalwood was to be the long term income for them.  Freight is the huge killer to the success of crops grown in the Ord Valley.  Peter was sure that we weren't going to see much by visiting the Sandalwood retail outlet and he was right!  But we had a laugh together about different creams available.  The mosquito sticks and the container to burn them in, would probably have been a good purchase.  Peter was very serious when he told us that Sandalwood Oil is used from cradle to cremation.  This was the Indian information on the wall and in China Sandalwood is revered as a link between heaven and earth.  Not so sure those with Sandalwood plantations in Kununurra in 2018 feel this passion.

Then it was back to the shopping centre for a few groceries and after lunch some catch-up time or a rest before meeting Colin Ramsey at 4.00pm out at the Case dealership.  The Case business moved to this location 18 months ago and only 5% of the companies business is as we would expect a Case dealership to be.   95% of the Case business is with the KAI (Kimberley Agricultural Investment) company.  After a couple of hours with Colin we had decided Colin found the whole project very exciting to be part of.  Colin drove Peter's car and imparted so much information to us and we asked question after question.  Not sure that I am going to be able to get it all together, but I will try!

In attempting to put the irrigation project of Kununarra into a story maybe I need to go back to the beginning.  With the Ord River being one of the fastest flowing rivers in Australia during the wet season, the East Kimberley boasted all the dynamics for a successful irrigation scheme. The fertile plains of the lower reaches of the Ord River have long lured pastoralists and farmers to the East Kimberley and Kimberley Durack fought long and hard for the irrigation project. In fact the original Carlton Reach Research Station was set up by Kimberley Durack with help from his brother William in 1941.  I did have this thought with so much information being given to us on the Durack family, that the Kimberley's may have been named after Kimberley Durack.  But that is not so!  The region was named after John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley who served as Secretary of State of the Colonies from 1870 to 1874 and 1880 to 1882. 

In 1959 a grant from the Commonwealth Government was finally approved, enabling the Western Australian Government to start work on what was to become the massive Ord Irrigation Scheme. The construction of the Kununurra Diversion Dam across the Ord River was completed in 1963, this development marked the completion of the first stage of the Ord Irrigation Scheme and so the town of Kununurra was established as the  service centre for the scheme.

The Kununurra Diversion Dam was built on Bandicoot Bar and was designed to divert water from the Ord River onto the Ivanhoe Plain for irrigation. The Kununurra Diversion Dam comprised 20 radial gates mounted with a concrete framework and spillway structure to cater for fluctuating river levels.  During the wet season the gates open to allow the flood waters to pass through, whilst limiting flooding of adjacent agricultural land. During the dry season the gates close to allow for water storage and diversion to the irrigation channel, ensuring a year- round supply of water.  The flow down the Ord River is regulated by the opening and closing of these gates year round.

The Kununurra Diversion Dam was completed following the 1962/63 wet season. Until the initial flood passed, the gates were left open and were then lowered when debris and mud was cleared. In March 1963, the Queen and Prince Phillip visited the project to see the  waters of the Ord harnessed for the first time.  Once the finishing touches were completed, the Ord River Project was officially opened by Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies in July 1963.

In 2011 when we were in Kununurra they were trying the growing of cotton on land on Invanhoe Road.  Rice had been planted out in the Stage 2 area on Weaber Road, but there was a major problem, so that looked like going belly up.  The State Government had invested $350 million dollars into the development of irrigation channels and there was optimism for the future success of this expansion project. It increased farmland by 13,400 hectares in the Ord River Scheme.  The Mantinea Development increases the area by 9,000 hectares.  

When the State Government money ran out other investors were sought. In 2012 KAI was announced as the preferred proponent and the company was to develop a total of 27,00 hectares by 2030.  KAI also ownd the pastoral lease of 476,000 hectares of Carlton Hill Station.   In 2018 the 'Kununurra Talk & Optimism' is all about the $50 billion dollars that Mr Wu from China will invest in Kununurra Agricultural Investment.  KAI's initial focus is to develop cotton and the grains industry.  

Corn is being grown at the moment and last years harvest was used for the domestic market and produced corn chips.  All the crops are irrigated every 21 days.  The excess water is drained back into storage dams for reuse.  Twelve back packers are employed to put the poly pipe into the irrigation channels and get the water irrigating the crops.  Once the crops have been irrigated they go back and pull the pipes out of the channels.  They work on shifts and this labor intensive, but not difficult work is done 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  I think Colin told us the corn grows 50 mm a day and for it to be viable it needs to yield 14 tonne.  A local farmer grew a 16 tonne crop last year.  This years cotton crop will go to Dalby for processing.  The sugar cane processing plant which closed in 2007 has been purchased by KAI.  At this stage they intend to use the facility for processing Sorghum.  KAI is proposing to use the former sugar mill to produce the base ingredient for Baijiu, an alcoholic drink mostly consumed in Asia.  KAI has also purchased the Kununurra Country Club.

The aim of KAI is to increase fresh food and meat production from the Ord River Irrigation, by at least 50% by 2025.  Colin Ramsey as service manager at Case is excited to be involved in the project and as he took us around and explained the precision planting of the crops, the work involved in clearing the land and the leveling for the irrigation, we became aware his job and position involves a lot more that overseeing the servicing of machines.  Case is a leading company involved in the project and as Colin said "They are all still learning".  Colin and Fiona have been in Kununurra for three years now.  Fiona works in the office at Betta Electrical.  They miss home and the family.  Their son is with them in Kununurra but their daughter is back in Geraldton.  But Fiona knows how much Colin is enjoying his involvement in the project.  Colin said "That it helps that he only works four days during the wet season".  He has Friday off so he cleans the house and does the shopping!

We were all very pleased to have arrived in Kununurra when we did and that we decided to check out the Kununurra Agricultural Show.  Peter was looking out for Colin and he would have found the Case dealership if he hadn't found him at the show.  We all agreed the tour with Colin was the 'Icing on the Cake' of our four day stay to Kununurra.  We toasted our Kununurra stay whilst enjoying dinner at the Pumphouse Restaurant.  A few weeks later Colin sent Peter a photo of the cotton being harvested.  It has been added to this blog as it has taken me ages to catch up and get it all together.