the great artesian basin and the pilliga
The Great Artesian Basin - GAB is Australia's largest underground reservoir of fresh water, taking up almost a third in size of the Australian continent above.
This ground water system is responsible for recharging almost ALL inland rivers.
How the Great Artesian Basin works presented by Hayden Turner
Floating like an island within the grainy reservoir of the GAB. Measuring at roughly 100km long and 40km wide is a huge cavernous abyss filled with crystal clear fresh water, also known as a pure aquifer.
Above this watery underground wonder is the pristine Pilliga Forest sprouting out. Hosting some of the rarest species on the planet.
The Pilliga forest is the epicenter of Gamilaraay (Kamilaroi/Gomeroi) nation. For what remains, traditional owners also known as Gamilaroi people are still fighting to protect the integrity of this enigmatic forest-scape.
To ecologists this is a hydro-geological miracle and to indigenous culture it's understandably sacred.
Below the sun baked sands and hardy vegetation, plunging down through the earths crust and into the aquifer are actually ... wait for it - fish swimming around! It is home to a group of aquatic fauna collectively known as Stygofauna.
This enigmatic subterranean species are made up of small fish, crustaceans, molluscs and insects.
Nestled within the Jurassic landscape, is the infamous Pilliga sand stone caves. It's here on the geological layers of time, the ancestral stories of yesteryear express only a snippet of insight into the oldest culture on the planet.
The profound connection that traditional owners have to this country is intensely significant and its secrets are paramount to the survival of all life on this continent. If Australia has a heart this is where it lays.
Be warned for those trespassers with ill intentions there's an endless array of chilling stories of Yowie's and spirits that haunt this area. Such tales have inspired modern day artists like Dane Millard, in the earie film 'There is Something in the Pilliga' and Slim Dusty who wrote a famous song about the Pilliga. Indigenous people call this the land of the sleeping crocodile, if it's woken up then the land will inflict it fury.
Like the Pilliga, the northern NSW town of Bentley faced one of the giant CSG companies that are currently wearing down a 'rail roaded' community in the Pilliga.
The community of Bentley on Bundjalung country is famous for their victorious battle against the gas mines.
Check out the Bentley Effect and get inspired to show up for the Pilliga!
Write a letter to your government or copy this one -
In this day and age with all our alternative energy, mining for gas on a desert island is like putting a nuclear reactor on a fault line!
Find out how you can help by contacting the Leard Forest Research Node