When we were in Darwin, I had the luck to go on a trip, with the military, police , customs, national park rangers, the idea being part of the territory each year , or two, is visited by groups of people armed with survey forms, asking about fuel carried, machinery & plant on site, etc. The information is kept on file on a computer in Canberra, so that if a force had to be sent up that way, any time of year, the whereabouts of fuel, workshops, water, etc, would be on hand. One place we went, the cattleman [ a local legend, apparently], had broken his back, and his wife was running the show. We did the interview at his bedside.
He told us of a water source that had not dried up in living memory, according to the local aborigine's. We went for a look, there was a small circle of trees, and a rock outcrop, with a small hole, and old ladder. Going down, we entered what was a large cave, with a pool of sweet cool water at one end. A sample was taken, not sure where it was sent, but word came back it was pure as. One of the boffins from Canberra informed us that the water came down from New Guinea, under the sea, into a massive artesian basin in the north of NT. Don't know about that, but its been there a while.
I don't believe we should rob the artesian basin of water, it relies on a reliable rainfall, to replenish. A couple of bad seasons, and once its gone, its gone. Far better to harvest the monsoon rainfall that goes out to sea, not all of it, I believe industries such as prawning & fisheries rely on that periodic flooding . A couple of more Ord River schemes, in the right places, perhaps? Bob
