Renner Springs is a location in the

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. It is in the heart of the

Barkly Tableland The Barkly Tableland is a rolling plain of grassland in Australia. It runs from the eastern part of the Northern Territory into western Queensland. It is one of the five regions in the Northern Territory and covers , 21% of the Northern Terr ...

s cattle country. In fact, the town promotes itself as "The Heart of the Beef Country." The tiny settlement is on the Stuart Highway, north of the intersection of the Barkly Highway and

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 ...

. It is 662 kilometres 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 ...

, the largest town in the

Outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

, and 820 km from Darwin. Renner Springs is usually regarded as the border between the tropical

Top End The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ra ...

and the temperate Red Centre regions.

History

Like so many places along the Stuart Highway, it owes its origins to the

Australian 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 ...

. It was named after Dr. Frederick Renner, who was dispensing medical advice to the team working on the telegraph line when they passed through the springs in 1872. In 1877, Dr. Renner saw a flock of birds while working on the telegraph line and found that the birds were drawn to this particular area by the natural springs, which was later named Mud Springs. These freshwater springs, which bubble up from underground, helped the area surrounding Renner Springs achieve its importance because they provided water to the area. Lake Woods is just north of the town, near Elliott and

Newcastle Waters, Northern Territory Newcastle Waters is a town and locality off the Stuart Highway in the Northern Territory. The nearest petrol station and accommodation is found south at Elliott. The Newcastle Waters School draws most of its few students from the Marlinja hom ...

Roadhouse

Established in the 1950s, the Renner Springs Desert Hotel/Motel also has gas, a bar and restaurant, game room and limited Internet access. A caravan park and shaded camp sites are also available. The roadhouse building is an old army hut relocated after World War II from the army's staging camp 50 km away at

Banka Banka Station Banka Banka Station is a location in the Northern Territory of Australia, 100 kilometres north of Tennant Creek along the Stuart Highway. The historic cattle station was the first operational pastoral lease in this region, and a supply camp duri ...

, which dates from 1885.

Attractions

Churchill's Head Rock

Churchill's Head Rock, considered one of Australia's most crass tourist attractions, is on the old Stuart Highway 78 km south of Renner Springs. The rock, on the east of the old highway, looks vaguely like a profile of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

. In order to make the image more persuasive, someone has stuck a piece of piping where the mouth should be so that the profile appears to be smoking a rather large cigar.

Attack Creek

Another 11 km south of Renner Springs is a monument marking the place where on 25 June 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 ...

, on his second attempt to cross Australia, was repulsed by hostile Aborigines. It became appropriately known as Attack Creek.

Lubra's Lookout

A small plateau formation along the roadside where tribal women are said to watch the approach of tribes from a considerable distance.

Easter Rodeo

Each Easter, Renner Springs has a local rodeo and race meeting that attracts stockmen and punters from all over the Northern Territory. Being such a small community, the annual get-together, known as the Renner Springs Races, is actually held in Tennant Creek.

Temperatures

Renner Springs has high summer temperatures. The summer average maximum is about 35 °C. The summer low is about 24 °C. Renner Springs has warm winter temperatures. The winter high temperature is about 20 °C. The winter low is about 5 °C.

References

Australian Explorer
{{authority control Towns in the Northern Territory Roadhouses in the Northern Territory