Kununurra: the low down

Kununurra is a local Aboriginal word meaning “meeting of the big waters”, but these days the WA town is also synonymous with deliciously decadent diamonds. Our favourite (if our husbands happen to be reading and on the lookout for gift ideas) is the famed Argyle Pink Diamond.

The Argyle Diamond Mine, 100% owned by Rio Tinto and employing about 750 people, is one of the world’s largest suppliers of diamonds, producing 20 million carats annually and 750 million carats since its inception in 1985.

Kununurra itself, located a whopping 3200km from Perth and 780km from Darwin, is home to around 6000 people and has facilities including a leisure and aquatic centre, small shopping centre and specialty shops. But to be honest, we don’t know a stack about Kununurra (and if you’ve lived there we’d love to know what it’s like).

From websites we’ve gleaned that:

• The Kununurra Hospital offers a range of services including a birthing centre, emergency, home and community care, library, medical, maternity, general medical, occupational therapy, outpatients, paediatrics, pathology, physiotherapy, radiography, speech therapy and general surgery.

• Kununurra District High School caters for around 800 students from Kindergarten to Year 12 and is one of the largest district high schools in WA. Another education option is St Joseph’s Catholic School, plus there’s a TAFE campus and a range of playgroups.

• There are a range of airlines offering daily and weekly services between to Darwin, Broome and Perth.

• Tourism and agriculture are also big money spinners for the region – things to see and do include the incredible (and relatively close) Bungle Bungle Range, Lake Argyle and lots of fishing and 4WDing.

And one last thing – we’re told the climate can sometimes be testing, with up to four months of high humidity and temps above 40 degrees. The other eight months are great though, with minimum temperatures of around 14 degrees and maxima around 30 degrees. And that’s pretty near perfect for exploring the stunning far north-west of Oz.

Useful websites:

• Kununurra Tourism
• Argyle Diamonds

Ever lived in Kununurra? Tell the world...