Gibb River Road

The road is a former cattle route that stretches in an east–west direction almost through the Kimberley between the towns of Derby and the Kununurra and Wyndham junction of the Great Northern Highway. Like its namesake river, which does not actually cross the road but runs nearby at , it is named after geologist and explorer Andrew Gibb Maitland. The Gibb River Road is one of the two major roads which dissect the Kimberley region—the other being the extreme northern section of Great Northern Highway which runs further to the south. The road is often closed due to flooding during the wet season, which is typically November through March, although delayed openings have been known to happen, frustrating the tourism industry{{cite web The Gibb River Road has scenic views of geological formations and natural scenery, Aboriginal and pastoral history, as well as rare and unique fauna and flora. {{cite web ==History==

From 1948, an Air Beef Scheme operated between Glenroy Station and Wyndham. An abattoir, freezing works, and airstrip were built on the station and the meat airfreighted twice a day to the coast before being shipped to the southern cities. To develop the beef industry further, a Commonwealth Government grant to build a road was given in 1949 and the following year construction of a road to Derby commenced, one of a number of roads built as part of the so-called "Beef Roads Scheme". This southern section, which is sometimes referred to as the Derby-Gibb River Road, was completed in 1956 at a cost of £713,677 and was used for trucking live cattle. The northern section of the road was under the control of the Shire of Wyndham–East Kimberley until 1996 when Main Roads Western Australia took over control and upgraded the full length of the highway. ==Native title==

A joint native title claim, known as the Dambimangari claim and covering a large area of the Kimberley, was lodged in 1998 by the Wanjina-Wunggurr (Native Title) Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC on behalf of three peoples, the Worrorra of Dambimangari, the Wunambal Gaambera of Uunguu, and the Ngarinyin of Wilinggin. The Wilinggin portion of the claim, covering an area of more than along the Gibb River Road, was the first of the three to be determined for the Ngarinyin people, by litigation on 27 August 2004. ==See also==