Day 55 Broome via Derby

Today we drove to Broome, we are staying at Cable Beach. On the way we went to Derby has Australia's largest tides. It boasts tidal variations reaching up to 11.8 meters (38.7 feet). We arrived about 1 1/2 hours before high tide.

We stopped at roadside rest area and there was the biggest boab tree we have seen anywhere.




When we reach Derby they had Boab trees down the middle of the street which looked really good.



We stopped and looked at The Wharfinger’s House was constructed in 1928 on the site of what was the Derby Water Police Station. The building itself is a good example of the North West Regional or tropical style of building in the early twentieth century. The wide veranda's provide shade and ventilation to the three central rooms which now house the museum. The Wharfinger’s House and the Wool Shed are the most visible reminders of the early port activities in Derby.



We then made our way to the jetty. Located a short drive through the tidal marshes just north of the Derby town site, the unusual horseshoe-shaped jetty is open to pedestrians. The first wharf, a wooden T-shaped jetty, was built in 1885 and upgraded in the 1890’s to service the early pastoralists of the region. A horse drawn tramway crossed the marshes connecting the wharf to the town and transported goods as well as passengers. The current jetty was built in the 1960’s.





“Sculpture on the Marsh” Art Project. It is a public art project aimed at promoting the region's cultural identity and celebrating its unique character. The 8 locally designed and manufactured sculptures can be admired as you drive along the fascinating Derby Marsh. The concept is the brain child of Mark Norval, renowned local Artist, “scoundrel” and driven supporter of Indigenous Art.







We then went to see the Boab Prison Tree in Derby which surprisingly was not as large as the Boab we stopped at along the highway. The Boab Prison Tree, also known as Kunumudj is believed to be 1,500 years old. This remarkable tree has a circumference of over 14 metres and has an oblong slit in the bark, through which the hollow centre is visible - this is common among older boab trees when the soft spongy trunk tissue dies off, causing the trunk to become hollow.

The Boab Prison Tree is a culturally significant site for the local Nyikina people and is also important in the story of the early settlement of Derby and the region’s pastoral industry. It is known to have been used for several different purposes - accounts from the early 1900’s indicate that the tree had been in use by local Aboriginal people, whether as a resting place or a sacred place is unclear.



Visit Myalls Bore, near Derby to witness the ingenuity of the early farmers who drew water from the depths of the earth to fill a massive 120-metre-long trough. Built in the early 1900s, the impressive historic trough provided water for up to 1,000 head of cattle at a time. Believed to be one of the longest troughs in the southern hemisphere, this construction was considered a momentous achievement for its time. It is named after the man, Myall, who created the 322-metre deep hole and provided the last resting place for cattle before being shipped out of the Derby port. See the windmill that now pumps the water into the trough following the flow reduction in 1919.




The sun sets on our first night in Broome, we have a lovely apartment on Sanctuary Road.