Barrow Creek is a very small town, with a current population of 11, in the southern
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. It is located on the
Stuart Highway, about 280 km north of
Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
, about halfway from there to
Tennant Creek
Tennant Creek ( wrm, Jurnkkurakurr) is town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the seventh largest town in the Northern Territory, and is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with the western termin ...
. The main feature of the town is the
roadhouse/
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
. A number of mining companies are currently exploring in the area, although none of the current residents are involved in the mining industry.
History
Indigenous people
The Barrow Creek area is the traditional home of the
Kaytetye Aboriginal
Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to:
*Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology
* Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area
*One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...
people. Humans have lived in Australia, and perhaps this area, for at least 40,000 years.
European settlement
With the arrival of
European
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
s in the latter part of the 19th century, settlers competed with the Kaytetye for land and resources. Cultural misunderstandings on land and property rights resulted in mutual killings.
John McDouall Stuart
John McDouall Stuart (7 September 18155 June 1866), often referred to as simply "McDouall Stuart", was a Scottish explorer and one of the most accomplished of all Australia's inland explorers.
Stuart led the first successful expedition to tra ...
passed through the area in 1860. Stuart named a creek near the current town after
John Henry Barrow
John Henry Barrow (1817 – 22 August 1874) was a Congregational minister, journalist and South Australian politician.
Early life
Barrow was born in England, son of John Barrow. After he studied for the Congregational ministry at Hackney Coll ...
, a
preacher,
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who was born in England in 1817 and migrated to South Australia in 1853. At the time of first European habitation of the site, he was the
Treasurer of South Australia
The Treasurer of South Australia is the Cabinet minister in the Government of South Australia who is responsible for the financial management of that state's budget sector. The Urban Renewal Authority, trading as Renewal SA, lies within the T ...
.
Barrow Creek Telegraph Repeater Station
Barrow Creek was chosen as a site for an
Overland Telegraph morse
Morse may refer to:
People
* Morse (surname)
* Morse Goodman (1917-1993), Anglican Bishop of Calgary, Canada
* Morse Robb (1902–1992), Canadian inventor and entrepreneur
Geography Antarctica
* Cape Morse, Wilkes Land
* Mount Morse, Churchi ...
repeater station by
John Ross in September 1871. The station was officially opened on 16 August 1872 by
Charles Todd. It was one of 15 such repeater stations on a network traversing Australia and linking to
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, providing essential communication services. A manned repeater station in newer buildings remained in operation until at least the 1970s. There was also a post office and telephone exchange servicing local cattle stations. The original Telegraph Station has been preserved and is now a monument to the troubles which beset the early days of the Territory.
Arrival of graziers in the area
In 1873, 5,000 sheep were overlanded from
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
by Alfred Giles for distribution to telegraph stations along the line. During 1877 and 1878, Alfred and Arthur Giles overlanded stock for
W. J. Browne
William James Browne, (1815 – 4 December 1894), generally referred to as Dr. Browne, was a grazier and pastoralist in South Australia who was born and died in England. His brother, John Harris Browne, was a noted explorer and pastoralist in ...
to the
Katherine River. On the 1878 journey Frank Withall, a young Englishman, was included on the suggestion of Browne ''to gather some colonial experience''. Alfred Giles later started Springvale, Delamere and the
Newcastle Waters runs.
World War II
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Barrow Creek was used by the
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
as a staging camp for
convoys of
troops
A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troop Ro ...
and
supplies, which was known as No. 5 Australian Personnel Staging Camp. It was the first overnight stop on the northern trip from
Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
to
Birdum.
Water limits Barrow Creek population
Barrow Creek has always had a problem with both quantity and quality of
groundwater
Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...
supplies. This problem was already recognized in the 1870s, and only 20 years after the Telegraph Station was built there is evidence of plans to shift it about 40 kilometres further north to the crossing at Taylor Creek because of better groundwater supplies. There is still a bore at that locality called New Barrow Bore. Today, the only good water at Barrow Creek is rainwater and that is limited due to the arid climate.
Crime
1870 killing
During 1870 some 3,000 sheep from the
Lake Hope area in South Australia were overlanded to the Northern Territory, for the men working on the line at
Roper River, by Ralph and John Milner. Near Wauchope Creek 900 sheep died after eating poisonous herbs. John Milner was killed by some Aboriginal people and Ralph arrived at the Roper River with only 1,000 sheep.
1874 Barrow Creek outrage and aftermath
On 22 February 1874, a group of
Kaytetye men attacked the
Overland Telegraph repeater station at Barrow Creek, whose staff were relaxing outside the compound, immediately killing linesman John Frank, mortally wounding Canadian
telegraphist
A telegraphist (British English), telegrapher (American English), or telegraph operator is an operator who uses a telegraph key to send and receive the Morse code in order to communicate by land lines or radio.
During the Great War the Royal ...
and stationmaster James Lawrence Stapleton (died on the following day) and injuring several others. A monument was erected at Barrow Creek to their memory (the spelling "Franks" is almost certainly incorrect).
Contemporary press reports described the incident as the "Barrow's Creek outrage".
On orders from Adelaide, police trooper
Samuel Gason recruited a group of volunteers to apprehend the perpetrators. Several Aboriginal people were killed in two separate battles over the two months that followed, with Gason reporting that some of the dead had been identified as having taken part in the 'outrage'.
Anthropologist
Ted Strehlow
Theodor George Henry Strehlow (6 June 1908 – 3 October 1978) was an Australian anthropologist and linguist. He notably studied the Arrernte (Aranda, Arunta) Aboriginal Australians and their language in Central Australia.
Life
Early life
...
reported in 1932 that Alex Ross, who'd visited the area in 1875, doubted whether the real culprits had been found. "Well of course nobody ever knew," Ross was quoted as saying.
1928 Coniston Massacre
Barrow Creek was central to the last major Aboriginal massacre in the Northern Territory. In the 1920s Mounted Constable
William George Murray
William George Murray (1884 – 2 December 1975) was a constable in the Northern Territory Police force who, in 1928, led a series of punitive expeditions against Aboriginal Australians that became known as the Coniston massacre.
Early life
Murra ...
was in charge of the local
police station
A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...
and also the
Chief Protector of Aborigines in the area. When an old
dingo
The dingo (''Canis familiaris'', ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (Basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage of dog found in Australia (continent), Australia. Its taxonomic classification is de ...
trapper, Fred Brooks, was killed by Aboriginal people on
Coniston Station, Murray led a
posse which killed an estimated 70 Aboriginal people in a series of bloody reprisals. When Murray was called to Darwin to explain his actions he was greeted as a conquering hero. When asked why he had taken no prisoners he expressed the racist attitudes which prevailed at the time by telling the Darwin court "What use is a wounded black feller a hundred miles from civilisation?" He was exonerated of all charges.
2001 Peter Falconio disappearance
Barrow Creek is close to where
Peter Falconio went missing, presumed murdered by
Bradley John Murdoch, and
Joanne Lees was abducted. The scene of the crime was 13 kilometres north of Barrow Creek. No body has been found.
Tourist spots
The graves
The graves are marked by a wall around the graves and headstones. They are well looked after. In a small graveyard at the front are remains of two telegraph station workers killed in a surprise attack by Aboriginals in 1874.
The pub
The old pub was built in 1926 by Joe Kilgariff, uncle of Northern Territory senator
Bernie Kilgariff, and it still has the original old bar, underground cellar and tin ceilings. There is accommodation outside and rooms inside and a caravan park. On the wall in the kitchen of the building is a cartoon of two Australian comic icons, ''Bluey and Curley'', drawn by the artist John Gurney when he passed through during World War II. The hotel is a popular stop for travellers along the highway and contains a tremendous collection of memorabilia and items of interest which have been gathered over the years. The current publican of 25 years, Lesley Pilton, initiated what he terms the "Barrow Creek Bank" - travellers post on the wall a signed banknote of their native country, "to be used in a later journey in case they need a beer".
Telegraph Station
For many years the telegraph station was the home of Tom Roberts, a linesman from
Charters Towers who lived in the building and repaired breakdowns of the line. Now deceased, a corner of the hotel is devoted to his memory.
Popular culture
Part of the
Graham Masterton
Graham Masterton (born 16 January 1946, in Edinburgh) is a British author known primarily for horror fiction. Originally editor of '' Mayfair'' and the British edition of '' Penthouse'', his debut novel, ''The Manitou'', was published in 1976. T ...
novel ‘’Lords of the Air’’ is set in Barrow Creek.
Climate
Current
Population
The population of Barrow Creek at the moment is four people who work at the roadhouse and nearby Aboriginal camp caretaker yard. There are two Aboriginal communities - the
Tara community which is 12 km northeast and Pmatajunata at Stirling Station which is about 35 km from Barrow Creek. There are about 120 people there and 80 people at Tara.
Mining
*On 19 March 2001 Glengarry Resources were issued with an exploration licence for
tantalite
The mineral group tantalite Fe,_manganese.html"_;"title="iron.html"_;"title="iron">Fe,_manganese">Mn)Tantalum">Ta2oxygen.html" ;"title="manganese">Mn)Tantalum.html" ;"title="iron">Fe,_manganese.html" ;"title="iron.html" ;"title="iron">Fe, manga ...
in Barrow Creek.
*On 17 November 2003 Barrow Creek
Central Land Council agreed to allow
Newmont
Newmont Corporation is a gold mining company based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, United States. It is the world's largest gold mining corporation. Incorporated in 1921, it owns gold mines in Nevada, Colorado, Ontario, Quebec, Mexico, the Domin ...
and Normandy NFM to use an area north-west of Barrow Creek for exploration and mining for a period of 20 years.
*On 26 May 2005
BHP Billiton commenced drilling at Barrow Creek to explore and develop
nickel sulphide
Nickel sulfide is any inorganic compound with the formula NiSx. They range in color from bronze (Ni3S2) to black (NiS2). The nickel sulfide with simplest stoichiometry is NiS, also known as the mineral millerite. From the economic perspective, ...
deposits.
See also
*
List of massacres of Indigenous Australians
Numerous clashes involving Indigenous people (on the continent "Australia") occurred during and after a wave of mass immigration of Europeans into the continent, which began in the late 18th century and lasted until the early 20th century. The ...
References
External links
Driving along the Stuart Highway- includes a snippet on Barrow Creek
Travel]
Wilkins Tourist Maps
{{authority control
Towns in the Northern Territory