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History of Namoi – Questions and answersInformation for the following questions can be found in History of Namoi 2012 document.

Big Bang:

1. Q. According to scientists, how and when did the Universe come into existence?

A. The Universe came into existence at ‘singularity’, 13.75 billion years ago.

2. Q. What were the atmospheric conditions like on Earth after it was created?

A. The atmosphere was oxygen poor, being composed mainly of hydrogen, carbon

dioxide and sulphur oxides, with much of the Earth’s surface in a fiery, molten state.

3. Q. Name a location in Australia that show records of this time.

A. Jack Hills region of Western Australia.

Gondwana and continental drift:

4. Q. What is the Earth’s crust made of?

A. The thin crust (up to 200 km thick) is made of a series of tectonic plates floating on

a mantle of molten magma.

5. Q. Describe the process of convergence and some of the landmarks it has created.

A. Convergence is when tectonic plates crash together, resulting in earthquakes and

uplift of mountain ranges such as the Himalayas and Australia’s Great Dividing

Range.

6. Q. When did Pangaea split into two supercontinents and what were they

called?

A. About 200 million years ago, Pangaea split into two continents: Gondwana and

Laurasia.

Namoi Catchment geology:7. Q. Name local formations caused by the deposition of sediments from shallow

oceans and lakes.

A. Pilliga and Purlewaugh sandstones, and the Porcupine and Black Jack formations.

8. Q. When and how was the Great Dividing Range formed?

A. The Great Dividing Range was formed through uplift when two plates converged

around 400 million years ago.

9. Q. When did Australia break away from Gondwana, and what happened as it did?

A. Australia’s breakup from Gondwana occurred between 165 and 45 million years

ago. Australia drifted north, drying as it did, forming an arid centre.

Significant points in human history:10. Q. Where and when do the oldest records of pre-humans date back to?

A. The oldest record of pre-humans dates back to southern Africa, two million years

ago.

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11. Q. Where was the first record of modern humans found?

A. The first record of modern humans is also from Africa.

12. Q. What the earliest recorded humans found in Australia named?

A. Mungo Man and Mungo Lady.

First colonisation of Australia and arrival of the Kamilaroi Aborigines:13. Q. What community does the first people of the Namoi Catchment belong to,

and what area does it cover?

A. The first people of the Namoi Catchment formed part of a wider Kamilaroi nation

which extended from the upper Hunter Valley to South West Queensland.

14. Q. Give one example of the way Kamilaroi people only used what they needed.

A. Scar trees still seen around the Namoi illustrate the way the Kamilaroi people

harvested what they needed and not more. For example, to make a canoe they

would take a large chunk of tree bark in a way that would allow the tree to survive

and thus continue to play its part in the ecosystem.

15. Q. What is a diprotodon and where was one of the most complete specimens

found?

A. Diprotodons were a large cousin to the koala and wombat. One of the most

complete specimens of diprotodon ever found was at Tambar Springs in the Namoi

Catchment.

Second colonisation, from 240 years ago:16. Q. In 1818, which explorer first passed through what is now Tamworth?

A. John Oxley.

17. Q. What was the Wee Waa Squatting Run, and when was it established?

A. The Wee Waa Squatting Run was the first concentrated settlement on the Namoi

River; it was established in 1837.

18. Q. When was gold discovered in Nundle, and what other precious stones were

found?

A. Gold was discovered in Nundle in 1852. Other stones included sapphires, zircons

and other crystals.

Vermin:19. Q. When were rabbits first released on a large scale in Australia?

A. Rabbits were first released on a large scale in 1859.

20. Q. Name three environmental issues rabbits have caused within the Namoi

Catchment.

A. Loss of ground cover and soil, formation of gullies and sedimentation.

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21. Q. What have rabbits been a key contributor to during the past 150 years?

A. The formation of gullies.

Agriculture:22. Q. When was the clearing of forest and scrub first initiated in Australia?

A. 1788.

23. Q. What and when was the Green Revolution?

A. The Green Revolution, from the 1940s to 1970s, saw a huge increase in productivity

thanks to the use of chemical fertilisers.

24. Q. What law was introduced in 1995 in NSW, and what did it prohibit?

A. SEPP46. This was the NSW Government’s first law prohibiting broad-scale clearing

of native vegetation.

Mining:25. Q. When did large-scale coal exploration begin in the Gunnedah Basin?

A. Large-scale coal exploration in the Gunnedah Basin began 130 years ago.

26. Q. What does the mining industry in the catchment currently focus on?

A. Coal and, increasingly, coal seam gas extraction.

27. Q. When were the Gunnedah Basin coal beds formed?

A. 300 million years ago.