Catchment: Mitchell River

The Mitchell River catchment spans approximately 72,000 square kilometres across the base of Cape York Peninsula.  It incorporates five major river systems: the Mitchell, Alice, Palmer, Walsh and Lynd.

Socio-economic Profiles for the Mitchell and surrounding catchments

The population of the Mitchell catchment is approximately 5,500, 22% of whom are Aboriginal people. The catchment area is more than 70,000 km2, giving a population density of less that 0.1 person per km2.

Some 90% of the households own a motor vehicle, a high percentage for the TRaCK region. More than 80% of people speak English only at home and about 70% have more than 10 years of schooling - high percentages compared to regional averages. The Mitchell has an ARIA (Accessibility / Remoteness Index of Australia) of 8 (on the scale of 15), that is, it is classified as less remote than most of the TRaCK region.

High percentages of people are employed is government administration or services and agriculture. The percentages of people employed in mining, construction and retail are also significant.

The region is relatively well surveyed and thus hosts a number of registered heritage sites. Almost all of the land in the catchment is reported as under agricultural production, with a very small percentage of land under conservation. (synopsis from TRaCK Fact Sheet, Socio-economic Profiles: Larson, S, Alexandridis, K.  2009.  Profile: Mitchell River. )

Projects operating in the catchment