Coen is situated among low wooded hills on the Western
side of the Northern extension of the Great Dividing Range (view). The Coen River flows into the Gulf of
Carpentaria. Coen is however closer to the East coast than the West.
The valleys and plains nearby are covered with savannah grassland and
open woodland, especially to the West. In the higher ranges and river
valleys are areas of rainforest, and in the estuaries near the coast
extensive belts of mangroves.
Seasons
For practical purposes, there are two seasons: the Wet or monsoon from
December to April or May (preceded by heat and thunderstorms in October-November),
and the Dry for the rest of the year. The Indigenous people describe
six seasons, recognised according to the times when certain flowers
or birds appear, or when particular foods are available. Rivers are
seasonal, most having little or no flow by the end of the Dry. But the
Wet brings flooding, and road access is effectively cut off most of
the time. However locals say it is the best time of the year. The landscape
is green and fresh, many migratory birds arrive, and it is not unpleasantly
hot.
Temperatures
in the Dry (cool season) range from 25-28degC max. to 10degC min., Oct-Nov
30-40degC max., mid-Wet season 26-30degC max.
Fires
As
the land dries out after May, it becomes progressively more parched,
roads become dusty, the long grass dies and invites bushfires. So by the
middle of the Dry vegetation is cleared with controlled burning ("cool
burn") at times when weather conditions are most suited. In previous
times this allowed fresh growth which attracted game, and also made it
easier to hunt. And it helped avoid rampant or "hot" fires.
The
indigenous people burnt land in stages and over small areas (like a
mosaic). On cattle stations this pattern was changed. The type of fire
affects grass and tree growth in areas where termite mounds abound. This
is a factor in endangering the Golden-Shouldered
Parrot, which nests in termite mounds. The
fire management technique now recommended to save the parrots is
similar to that used by the Aboriginal people. (See also under
Birds)
Indigenous Knowledge
The importance of
Indigenous knowledge in caring for country
is now recognised. Centres being set up assisted by grants from the
Natural Heritage Trust ("Land and Sea Centres") will conduct research
and collect local knowledge for sustainable land use and protection of
endangered animal and plant species. Many edible and medicinal plants
can be studied and some may be utilised. It is important to collect and
record this knowledge before it is lost. Some other projects already
exist; one such project
is in focussed on Lakefield National Park, to the South-East.
Birds
Coen itself is a good area for bird-watching, and so is the Port Stewart
area on the East coast. The birdsong chorus is one of the pleasures
of waking in the morning. Birds which can be seen in Coen in the Dry
include Blue-Faced and other Honeyeaters, Bronzewing and other Pigeons,
Figbirds, Spotted Bowerbirds, Butcherbirds, and Pheasant Coucals, as
well as Galahs and Currawongs. Also there is a project for the protection of the Golden-Shouldered
Parrot at Artemis Station, South of Musgrave River on the way from
Cairns.
Further afield the Iron Range and the McIlwrath Range are sites where
many birds, some rare or migratory, may be seen. Iron Range National
Park has birds found nowhere else in Australia: Palm Cockatoo, Eclectus
Parrot, Red-cheeked Parrot, Golden-shouldered Parrot, Magnificent Riflebird,
Fawn-breasted Bowerbird, and Trumpet Manucode, to name a few.
Fish
Crocodiles must be expected in the lower reaches
of rivers and even in lagoons remaining after floods. But fishing is
very good in these places, in estuaries and in the sea (Fishing in Cape York). The
rights of indigenous people to hunting and fishing on their own lands
should be respected, as many of these areas are within their boundaries.
Fish, shellfish and occasionally turtles and turtle eggs are an
important part of their diet when they are "on
country".
Pigs
One introduced species is the
feral pig, now responsible for extensive damage and sullying of
water sources. But it is also a food source. The pigs have extended
their range far and wide within the last 100 years. Some are thought
to have originated from animals which escaped when Captain Cook's ship
Endeavour beached at Cooktown, but some people say they came from Indonesia
or Papua-New Guinea. It is much more likely that they escaped from early
European settlements all over the country.
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