The Alice Springs Telegraph Station is located within the Alice Springs Telegraph Station Historical Reserve, four kilometres north of the

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 ...

town centre in the

Northern Territory of Australia The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

. Established in 1872 to relay messages between Darwin and

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 ...

, it is the original site of the first European settlement in central Australia. It was one of twelve stations along the

Overland Telegraph Line The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was a telegraphy system to send messages over long distances using cables and electric signals. It spanned between Darwin, in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia, and Adelaide, the capital o ...

History

Alice Springs telegraph station buildings (PH0756-0002)

European exploration of central Australia began in 1860.

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 ...

successfully crossed the continent from north to south on his third attempt in 1863. He passed through the

MacDonnell Ranges The MacDonnell Ranges, or Tjoritja in Arrernte, is a mountain range located in southern Northern Territory. MacDonnell Ranges is also the name given to an interim Australian bioregion broadly encompassing the mountain range, with an area of .< ...

through Brinkley Bluff, although the terrain was considered to be too rough for the Overland Telegraph Line. The site of the Alice Springs Telegraph Station was first recorded by surveyor William Mills in March 1871, who was in search of a suitable route for the line through the MacDonnell Ranges. While surveying, Mills came across a waterhole, which was a significant camping and ceremonial site for the

Arrernte people The Arrernte () people, sometimes referred to as the Aranda, Arunta or Arrarnta, are a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the Arrernte lands, at ''Mparntwe'' (Alice Springs) and surrounding areas of the Central Australia regi ...

, an Aboriginal group who still occupy Arrernte lands around Alice Springs. Known as ''Turiara'', its creation story describes an old Arunga (euro) man walking along the river and scratching out the waterhole. Mills named it ''Alice Springs'' after Alice Todd, the wife of his employer Charles Todd, the head of the overland telegraph project at the time. Construction of the telegraph station began adjacent to the waterhole in November 1871 under the supervision of

Gilbert Rotherdale McMinn Gilbert Rotherdale McMinn CE, SM, (1841 – 18 October 1924) was an Australians, Australian surveyor born in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Ireland noted for his work in the Northern Territory surveying the Overland Telegraph Li ...

. A number of structures were eventually built, including a harness room, buggy shed, police station, blacksmith's workshop, telegraph office, kitchen building and station master's residence. Supplies arrived from Adelaide just once per year, so self-sufficiency was critical. Stockyards and a large garden area were also developed. While the waterhole supplied the settlement with water, a well was later sunk to maintain supply during drought periods. After completion, the telegraph station operated for 60 years.

Postmasters

Mueller, the first postmaster, became Warden of Goldfields. He was dismissed from the role on 25 July 1906. He was later found guilty of embezzling £42 at

Arltunga Arltunga is a deserted gold rush town located in the Northern Territory of Australia in the locality of Hart about east of Alice Springs. It is of major historical significance as the first major European settlement in Central Australia. Earl ...

on May 4 1905 and sentenced to six months in

Port Augusta Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a port, seaport, it is now a road traffic and Junction (rail), railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about ...

Gaol. Mueller Street in East Side, Alice Springs is named after him. Bradshaw (1859 – 28 August 1934), joined the Post and Telegraph Department in 1878. He worked as a telegraph operator in Adelaide before being appointed postmaster of the Alice Springs Telegraph Station on 1 April 1899. Bradshaw sued the Commonwealth in 1925 for wrongful dismissal in the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

. Bradshaw Primary School in

is named after him.

The Bungalow

The station closed in 1932 following the construction of a new post office. It was then used as an institution for "

half-caste Half-caste (an offensive term for the offspring of parents of different racial groups or cultures) is a term used for individuals of multiracial descent. It is derived from the term ''caste'', which comes from the Latin ''castus'', meaning pu ...

" Aboriginal children known as

The Bungalow The Bungalow was an institution for Aboriginal children established in 1914 in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. It existed at several locations in Alice Springs (then called Stuart), Jay Creek and the Alice Springs Telegr ...

, which was moved there from Jay Creek. An area of including the telegraph station was proclaimed an

Aboriginal reserve An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th c ...

by the Department of Native Affairs on 8 December 1932. Its purpose was to provide residence and education services to part-Aboriginal children ("half-castes"). The Freemans were the first Superintendent and Matron at the new location. It closed in 1942 when children were evacuated south in response to World War II. The majority of the children from the institution were sent south to

Mulgoa Mulgoa is a village, located in the local government area of the City of Penrith, in the region of western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mulgoa is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district. Mu ...

in New South Wales and

Balaklava Balaklava ( uk, Балаклáва, russian: Балаклáва, crh, Balıqlava, ) is a settlement on the Crimean Peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol. It is an administrative center of Balaklava Raion that used to be part of the Crim ...

in South Australia. The buildings were taken over 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 ...

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 ...

parts of the station were used by the Australian Army between 1942 and 1945. It was used as the Native Labour Headquarters. It was returned to the Native Affairs Department in 1945 after the war. The station became an Aboriginal Reserve until 1963, when many Aboriginal people moved to

Amoonguna Amoonguna is a community in Rodinga Ward of the MacDonnell Region in the Northern Territory of Australia, southeast of Alice Springs. The community features in the 2022 SBS Television The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian h ...

, an Aboriginal Community southeast of Alice Springs.

Current use

The station is on land proclaimed as a reserve on 5 June 1962 and now part of the Alice Springs Telegraph Station Historical Reserve. A number of stone buildings have now been restored. The historical reserve was listed on the now-defunct

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...

in 1980. It was listed on the

Northern Territory Heritage Register The Northern Territory Heritage Register is a heritage register, being a statutory list of places in the Northern Territory of Australia that are protected by the Northern Territory statute, the ''Heritage Act 2011''. The register is maintained b ...

on 19 April 2004. It is now operated as a tourist attraction, cafe and mountain biking destination.

References

External links

Alice Springs Telegraph Station Official Website
{{coord, -23.672, 133.888, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title Buildings and structures in Alice Springs History of the Northern Territory Northern Territory Heritage Register 1872 establishments in Australia Northern Territory places listed on the defunct Register of the National Estate Tourist attractions in Alice Springs