Innamincka, formerly Hopetoun, is a township and locality in north-east

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. By air it is north-east of the state capital,

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, and north-east of the closest town, Lyndhurst. It is north-east of the Moomba Gas Refinery. The town lies within the Innamincka Regional Reserve and is surrounded by the Strzelecki Desert to the south and the

Sturt Stony Desert Sturt Stony Desert (previously Sturt's Stony Desert) is an area in the north-east of South Australia, far south western border area of Queensland and the far west of New South Wales. It was named by Charles Sturt in 1844, while he was trying ...

to the north. It is linked by road to Lyndhurst via the

Strzelecki Track Strzelecki Track is a mostly unsealed outback track in South Australia, linking Innamincka, South Australia, Innamincka to Lyndhurst, South Australia, Lyndhurst. History In 1870, the track was pioneered by Stockman (Australia), stockman, D ...

, to the Birdsville Developmental Road via Cordillo Downs Road and Arrabury Road (via Haddon Corner), and the Walkers Crossing Track to the Birdsville Track. The Walkers Crossing Track is closed in summer and only traversable in dry weather. The township is situated along the Cooper Creek, a part of the Lake Eyre basin.

History

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

have lived in the lands around Innamincka for millennia, in what they call Wangkangurru country, the traditional home of the Yawarrawarrka and Yandruwandha people. The

Yawarrawarrka language The Yawarrawarrka (also written Yawarawarka, Jauraworka) were an in Indigenous people of South Australia. Country According to the calculations of Norman Tindale the Yauraworka's tribal lands encompassed some , running north of Cooper Creek to ...

(also known as Yawarawarka, Yawarawarga, Yawarawarka, Jauraworka and Jawarawarka) is also spoken in the region. The traditional

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

region includes the local government area of the Shire of Diamantina in Far Western Queensland, extending into the Outback Communities Authority of

towards Innamincka. The Wangkangurru (also known as Arabana/Wangkangurru, Wangganguru, Wanggangurru and Wongkangurru) language – closely related to the

Arabana language Arabana or Arabuna is an Australian Aboriginal languages, Australian Aboriginal language of the Pama–Nyungan languages, Pama–Nyungan family, spoken by the Wongkanguru and Arabana people. The language is in steep decline, with an estimated ...

– is also spoken on Wangkangurru country. It has been traditionally spoken in the South Australian-Queensland border region taking in Birdsville and extending south towards Innamincka and

Lake Eyre Lake Eyre ( ), officially known as Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre, is an endorheic lake in the east-central part of the Far North (South Australia), Far North region of South Australia, some 700 km (435 mi) north of Adelaide. It is the larg ...

, including the local government areas of the Shire of Diamantina and the Outback Communities Authority of South Australia. The first European to visit the area was

Charles Sturt Charles Napier Sturt (28 April 1795 – 16 June 1869) was a British officer and explorer of Australia, and part of the European land exploration of Australia, European exploration of Australia. He led several expeditions into the interior of the ...

in 1845. He was followed by A C Gregory in 1858 and then

Burke and Wills The Burke and Wills expedition (originally called the Victorian Exploring Expedition) was an exploration expedition organised by the Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) in Australia in 1860–61. The exploration party initially consisted of nine ...

. A monument to Sturt and Burke and Wills was erected in Innamincka in 1944. In 1882 a police camp was set up, paving the way for a small settlement. In 1889, a Royal Mail coach ran fortnightly from Farina, operated by merchants Davey and Pilkington. Originally named Hopetoun, Innamincka was proclaimed as a town on 17 April 1890. Hopetoun was named after the Governor of Victoria, the Earl of Hopetoun. However, it was never popular with local people and was re-proclaimed as the ''Town of Innamincka'' on 28 January 1892. The town was never very large, but had a hotel, a store and a police station which, until

Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

in 1901, acted as the customs post for collecting inter-colonial duties on cattle brought overland from Queensland into South Australia. In 1928 the Australian Inland Mission (a part of the

Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an Aeromedical retrieval, aeromedical retrieval service in Australia and the largest of its kind in the world. It is a non-profit organisation that provides urgen ...

) built a hospital, the Elizabeth Symon Nursing Home. Severe drought and poor access to the settlement then resulted in the closure of the hotel and the hospital. In 1951 the police post closed and the town was abandoned. Increased tourism and the discovery of gas and oil reserves in the late 1960s led to a company opening a hotel, a store and accommodation in the abandoned town. In 1994, the Elizabeth Symon Nursing Home was restored by entrepreneur Dick Smith and the

Australian Geographic Australian Geographic is a media business that produces the ''Australian Geographic'' and Australian Geographic Adventure magazine, australiangeographic.com.au and operates, either itself or business partners, Australian Geographic stores, Aus ...

magazine to be used as an interpretive centre for the National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia. The nursing home had been listed on the

South Australian Heritage Register The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia. It extends legal protection regarding demolition and development under the ''Heritage Places Act 1993'' ...

in 1985. In 2003, boundaries were created for the locality of Innamincka, including the government town. In 2013, the locality's boundaries were altered to include all of the Innamincka Regional Reserve and the Coongie Lakes National Park. Santosinnamincka

The town common, on the banks of the Cooper, is popular with campers, as is the town's public coin-in-slot toilet and shower facility. Gray's Tree, believed to be the burial place of a member of the

expedition, is listed on the

and located in the north-western rural area of the Innamincka locality.

Burke and Wills

The

expedition passed through this area on their journey across

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

from

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

to the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria is a sea off the northern coast of Australia. It is enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea, which separates Australia and New Guinea. The northern boundary ...

. They established a Depot Camp on Cooper Creek at Camp LXV, their sixty-fifth camp since leaving Melbourne, at a place now called The Dig Tree. There was a depot at the Dig Tree from 6 December 1860 to 21 April 1861. The Victorian Contingent Party under Alfred Howitt was sent by the

Victorian government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as the Victorian Government, is the executive government of the Australian state of Victoria. As a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, the State Government was first formed in 1851 when Vic ...

to establish the fate of the expedition. Howitt found the remains of both leaders,

Robert O'Hara Burke Robert O'Hara Burke (6 May 1821c. 28 June 1861) was an Irish soldier and police officer who achieved fame as an Australian explorer. He was the leader of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition, which was the first expedition to cross Australi ...

and William John Wills, and buried them close to where the town is located today. He also found the sole survivor, John King living amongst, and cared for by, the Yawarrawarrka/Yandruwandha people, and returned him to

. Howitt returned to the area in 1862 as leader of the Victorian Exploring Party. He established a depot camp at Cullyamurra Waterhole before exhuming the bodies of Burke and Wills and transporting them to

for a state funeral. Today it is possible to visit the locations of Wills's grave and King's site on Cooper Creek downstream of Innamincka, and Burke's grave, Howitt's camp and the Dig Tree on Cooper Creek upstream of Innamincka.

References

External links

Aerial Video of InnaminckaAustralia's coal question
{{authority control Towns in South Australia Far North (South Australia) 1890 establishments in Australia Places in the unincorporated areas of South Australia