A national park was first suggested in the region in 1965 at a time when Australians were becoming more interested in declaring national parks for conservation and in recognising the land interests of Aboriginal people. Discussions continued over the next decade. During this time the name Kakadu was suggested to recognise Gagudju, an Aboriginal language which used to be spoken in the park.
Kakadu National Park was declared under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975 (link is external) (NPWC Act) in three stages between 1979 and 1991. The NPWC Act was replaced by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 in 2000.
In 2013 a culturally-rich area of woodland known as Koongarra was added to Kakadu National Park protecting it forever. For more than a decade, Koongarra’s key traditional owner, Jeffrey Lee fought to prevent mining in his ancestral lands.