Wave Hill
FA8 - Victoria River district - 8 km south from Kalkarindji
Location
Victoria River district
Nearest Town
Kalkarindji
Distance
8 km south
Photo: NT Government Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade
Location
Wave Hill is near the Kalkarindji region
Fossicking Area Boundary
Official declared boundary from the NT Government. You may only fossick within this area.
Boundary coordinates from NT Government gazettal
History
Wave Hill (also known as Kalkarindji) and the nearby settlement of Daguragu are the population centres of the land formerly held under the Wave Hill Cattle Station. Wave Hill was formed as a settlement supply town to service the local pastoral industry which grew up in the early 1900s.
Wave Hill Station started in 1883, but is most famous for being home of the "Wave Hill Walk-off" in 1966, where a group of Aboriginal stockmen walked off to earn better wages and conditions. This story has been recorded by singer Paul Kelly in the song, "From Little Things, Big Things Grow".
Wave Hill is now famous for its prehnite, with vast quantities of the nodules scattered over the surface of the ground. Prehnite was first discovered at Wave Hill many years ago and during the 1960s low to medium grade material was mined and sent to Germany for carving.
A deposit of high gem grade prehnite was discovered in 1982. This deposit is now covered by a granted mineral lease and access to this area requires consent from the title holder.
What You Can Find
Extensive areas of this region are underlain by volcanic rocks (basalt). These basalts contain geodes which weather out of the lava to form hollow lava-encrusted boulders with their inner surfaces encrusted with crystals.
Where the basalt shell has been removed, concentrically-banded red and white agate or quartz crystal remains.
Prehnite is also found in geodes or as nodules on the surface. The prehnite occurs as yellow to green radiating crystalline aggregates about 10 cm thick. Opaque and the more highly-prized translucent varieties can be found.
Getting There
The fossicking area is located south of the intersection of Buchanan Highway and Lajamanu Road, which is 8 km from Kalkarindji.
From the intersection, travel along the Lajamanu Road for 4.1 km to a track on the right. Following this track in a south-westerly direction you will arrive at the boundary of the declared fossicking area.
The fossicking area lies within Wave Hill Station. Care should be taken not to interfere with the movement of cattle or other station activities.
Camping
Bush camping is allowed, however there are no facilities on site.
Campers must provide their own water as the water in the area is suitable only for cattle.
All visitors must take their rubbish with them when they leave.
Important Notes
- !Mineral Lease ML25205 lies within fossicking area 8. Written consent is required to fossick on this title. Consent can be sought by emailing sales@gemstonesofaustralia.com.au (phone 0401 284 307).
- !You are permitted to enter the ML25205 area using the track, however you are not permitted to venture off the track within the mineral lease area without consent from the owner.
View Wave Hill on the Map
See the exact boundary, satellite imagery, and surrounding terrain.
Open MapSource: NT Government DITT, CC BY 4.0