Adelaide River is a small but historically significant town located at the crossing of the
Stuart Highway
Stuart Highway is a major Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; it has a distance of . Its northern and souther ...
over the
Adelaide River
The Adelaide River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia.
Course and features
The river rises in the Litchfield National Park and flows generally northwards to Clarence Strait, joined by eight tributaries including the west branc ...
in the
Northern Territory of Australia
The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
. The town is upstream of the
Adelaide and Mary River Floodplains Important Bird Area
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city ce ...
. , Adelaide River had a population of 317.
Adelaide River is part of the
Coomalie Shire
The Coomalie Community Government Council is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Australia's Northern Territory, situated south of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The counc ...
and is the second largest settlement (after
Batchelor) in the local government area.
History
Pre-European settlement
The
Kungarrakan and
Awarai Aboriginal peoples are acknowledged as the
traditional owners
Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...
of the land surrounding the present day town of Adelaide River. There was little acknowledgement of their connection to the land in the early history of the area, evidenced by the predominantly European place names.
Their way of life remained unchanged for many thousands of years prior to settlement.
Settlement and railway
Adelaide River was first settled by workers who arrived in the area to construct the
Overland Telegraph Line. During construction, the discovery of
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
at
Pine Creek in 1872 had a major impact on the settlement.
In 1873, a weekly mail service between
Southport
Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...
and a mining site further south at
Yam Creek was established. This service utilised pack horses, and during the wet season months when progress was slow mail bags from the north and south were exchanged at the crossing of the Adelaide River. The following year, Mr. Edward Hopewell was awarded this mail contract and built the Q.C.E. Hotel on the river bank and a restaurant, the "Jolly Waggoner" was opened by George Doherty, increasing the importance of the area as an overnight stop for travellers. The first police station in the town was constructed in 1879.
[Department of Lands, Planning and Environmen]
'Coomalie Planning Concepts and Land Use Objectives'
Northern Territory Government
The Northern Territory Government is the executive branch of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory was formed in 1978 with the granting of self-government to the Territory. The Northern Territory is a territory of the Co ...
, 2000
Prior to the construction of the
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
to
Pine Creek, the Adelaide River crossing was the overnight stopping point for the Haimes Royal Mail Coach which linked
Southport
Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...
with the goldfields.
This was a vital and well utilised transport link, but was a slow and uncomfortable service. Legislation providing for an upgraded transport link was passed in 1883 by the government of
John Cox Bray in the form of the
Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway Bill.
[AustralAsia Railway Corporatio]
"The Northern Line"
, Northern Territory Government
The Northern Territory Government is the executive branch of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory was formed in 1978 with the granting of self-government to the Territory. The Northern Territory is a territory of the Co ...
, 2004.
In 1886 a contract was signed between the
Government of South Australia
The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state government, state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the h ...
and construction firm C&E Millar to build the railway between
Port Darwin
Port Darwin is the port in Darwin, Northern Territory, and is the most northerly port in Australia. The port has operated in a number of locations, including Stokes Hill Wharf, Cullen Bay, and East Arm Wharf.
Since 2015, the port has bee ...
(then known as Palmerston) and the goldfields at
Pine Creek. By April 1888 the railway had reached Adelaide River. Construction of the long steel girder across the river itself used five spans supported on four sets of piers.
[Submission for an Historic Engineering Marker](_blank)
Engineers Australia
Engineers Australia (EA), known formally as the Institution of Engineers, Australia, is an Australian professional body and Non-profit organization, not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineerin ...
, 2003 The bridge was all but complete by the onset of the wet season later that year. The first train to cross reached the southern bank on 3 December 1888, followed five days later by the first scheduled service, hauled by the locomotive "Silverton".
Early 20th century
Pastoral and agricultural activity were stimulated with the issuing of leases for
Crown Land
Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...
. In 1911 brothers Frank and Fred Hardy, local buffalo hunters, established
Mount Bundy Station on an 834sq mi pastoral lease near the town of Adelaide River. Using local
Aboriginal stockmen to hunt and process the animals, they began exporting buffalo hide to European markets.
[Mount Bundy Statio]
History
During the 1920s, Dutch-born agriculturalist Edwin Verburg (1869–1965) established a farm in the township irrigated by a weir he constructed across the river.
Work began in 1936 on a road linking
Darwin to Adelaide River. As the railway was still the primary means of transportation at this time, it was an unsealed, dry weather road that was poorly maintained. This road followed a similar route to the present day
Stuart Highway
Stuart Highway is a major Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; it has a distance of . Its northern and souther ...
. Around the same period, a road south towards the rail yards at
Larrimah was also developed to a similar standard.
[Litchfield Counci]
Stuart Highway
World War II
Adelaide River played a central role in the
defence of Australia during the second world war. In 1939, the town was designated as a rest area for personnel serving in
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin ( Larrakia: ') is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. The city has nearly 53% of the Northern Territory's population, with 139,902 at the 2021 census. It is the smallest, wettest, and most northerly of the Australi ...
.
Military activity around the area increased significantly following the first
Japanese air-raids on Darwin on 19 February 1942. The immediate aftermath of these attacks led to a mass-exodus of the city's civilian population toward the south, an event that would become known as the
Adelaide River Stakes. The allied response was a significant increase of forces to rebuild and greatly expand defences in the region. A military airfield was built in the town close to the railway station, along with several others in the surrounding district including
Coomalie Creek and
Pell. In addition an artillery and weapons range was established at
Tortilla Flats, between Coomalie Creek and Adelaide River. The town became an important tactical supply and communications base for all branches of the armed forces. In August 1942, the
Adelaide River War Cemetery was established.
While there were numerous bombing raids on the surrounding outstations and facilities throughout 1942–43, Adelaide River itself was bombed only once, in the early hours of 12 November 1943. This was the last Japanese air raid on the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
. At the height of hostilities, there were up to 30,000
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is 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 ...
and
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
soldiers based near the town. An ammunition dump, including a spur railway line, was established at Snake Creek, to the north. Whilst the facility became operational towards the end of the war, it was too late to be useful in the war effort. Additional rail sidings were built at the town station to serve ambulance or "hospital" trains that brought wounded personnel to the field hospitals in the area.
[Drymalik, ]
Commonwealth, Australian National and South Australian Railways Rollingstock, Version 6
2012, Pages 59-64 In addition to many transient units, the 107th Australian General Hospital and 119th Australian General Hospital were set up within Adelaide River.
Some of the major units deployed or detached to Adelaide River during the war included:
2nd AIF
*
27th Australian Infantry Battalion
*
28th Australian Infantry Battalion
*1st Australian Field Survey Section,
Royal Australian Engineers
The Royal Australian Engineers (RAE) is the military engineering corps of the Australian Army. The RAE is ranked fourth in seniority of the corps of the Australian Army, behind the Corps of Staff Cadets, Staff Cadets, Royal Australian Armoured C ...
*119th Australian General Hospital
*6th Army Topographical Survey Company,
Royal Australian Survey Corps
The Royal Australian Survey Corps (RA Svy) was a Corps of the Australian Army, formed on 1 July 1915 and disbanded on 1 July 1996. As one of the principal military survey units in Australia, the role of the Royal Australian Survey Corps was to p ...
*1st Australian Farm Coy.
Royal Australian Army Service Corps
*121st Australian General Transport Coy.
*140th Australian General Transport Coy.
*AACS (Australian Army Canteens Service)
Royal Australian Air Force
*HQ North-West Area
*No. 2 Base Personnel Staff Office
*No. 24 Wing
*
No. 44 Wing RAAF
*
No. 161 Radar Station RAAF
*
No. 321 Radar Station RAAF
*
11 Signals Unit RAAF
*No. 8 RAAF Postal Unit
Royal Australian Navy
*RAN Armament Depot Snake Creek
*RAN Wireless Transmitting Station (Standby Facility)
United States units
*997th Signal Service Battalion
*135th Medical Regiment
*Fleet Radio Unit, Adelaide River (
USN)
*43rd Material Squadron,
Air Technical Service Command
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...
, USAAF
*709th Ordnance Co.
*24th Signal Platoon
During the war years, the road to Darwin which would become the
Stuart Highway
Stuart Highway is a major Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; it has a distance of . Its northern and souther ...
was sealed to cope with an increase in vehicular movements between military camps in the district. By 1943 over 2000 vehicles were using the road per day.
The original rail bridge was upgraded with timber decking to allow it to be used by road vehicles as well as trains.
War Cemetery

The Adelaide River War Cemetery was established in 1942 following the
Bombing of Darwin
The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On that day, 242 Empire of Japan, Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked the ...
. It was used by the army field hospitals in the area to bury service personnel who were killed in action. Control of the cemetery was handed over to the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...
in 1947. The cemetery has a memorial to missing personnel serving in the area whose remains were never found. It is set on the banks of the river and is maintained with lush green lawns, and floral garden beds all year round.
1945 – present day
On 11 January 1962, Adelaide River was officially proclaimed a town. The gazetted area comprises 626.8ha. Declining passenger numbers on the
North Australia Railway led to services on the line being suspended in 1976. The line was officially closed in 1981 along with the Adelaide River station,
but even with maintenance gangs withdrawn, the yard and facilities remained mostly intact. The 1888 bridge continued to be used as a river crossing to convey traffic on the
Stuart Highway
Stuart Highway is a major Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; it has a distance of . Its northern and souther ...
.
A second crossing, this time dedicated to road transport, the Edwin Verburg Bridge, now carries the highway across the river. It was opened on 27 March 1980 by
Chief Minister
A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...
Paul Everingham. The bridge was named for the pioneering agriculturalist who established an early farm in the town.
Adelaide River police Sergeant
Glen Huitson was shot and killed while on duty by fugitive
Rodney Ansell on 3 August 1999 on the Old Bynoe Rd near
Livingstone. An unarmed civilian was also wounded in the fire fight. Sgt. Huitson was posthumously awarded several bravery medals over the incident. A park in the town was dedicated in his honour.
In 2001, the Adelaide River Railway Heritage Precinct was established to restore and maintain the station as a museum and preserve the railway heritage of the town. A third river crossing was opened on 29 July 2003 as part of the construction for the northern section of the
Adelaide-Darwin Railway. The first scheduled trains from Adelaide began to operate through the town in 2004. While the original station is adjacent to the new line, it is not currently a stopping point.
Present day
The town remains an important rest stop for travellers on the
Stuart Highway
Stuart Highway is a major Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; it has a distance of . Its northern and souther ...
and offers fuel, mechanical repairs and accommodation. It also functions as a service centre for the agriculture and horticulture activities in the surrounding area.
The town boasts a number of tourist attractions. Government services provided in the town include the Post Office, police station, fire station and a Remote Health Clinic. Businesses on the main street include 2 petrol outlets (including a large
BP Roadhouse with diner and convenience store used as a refreshment stop for Interstate coach services passing through town and is open till midnight 7 days a week), a general store and the Adelaide River Inn hotel located behind the bp service station
Community facilities
Health
The town is serviced by a Remote Health Centre run by the
Northern Territory Government
The Northern Territory Government is the executive branch of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory was formed in 1978 with the granting of self-government to the Territory. The Northern Territory is a territory of the Co ...
. The centre has 2 full-time nurses, and a GP is available for consultations on selected days. The centre is open Monday to Friday, but remains staffed 24 hours for emergencies.
[Community Profile Adelaide River](_blank)
, General Practice Network NT Ltd, Darwin, 2010
Education
Adelaide River has a small primary school,
Adelaide River School, with 42 enrolments (). The school was established in 1950 and moved to is current site, 100 m from the Adelaide River itself, in 1956. A building housing the administration office and library was added along with a canteen for students in 1994. Currently, the school employs two teaching staff and a grounds keeper. The principal is Tony Clegg. The school features large solar panels on the main building's roof to sustain the school's electrical requirements. These were installed with a grant funded through the
National Solar Schools Program. Any surplus electricity goes into the small town's supply.
The nearest secondary schools and tertiary education facilities are located in
Batchelor.
Parks and recreation
The Adelaide River Show Society (ARSS) precinct is located on the southern side of the river and is a site incorporating display pavilions, a caravan park, a public swimming pool and the only grass turf racing track in the Northern Territory. The showgrounds is home to a number of community and sporting organisations. The ARSS precinct hosts annual events including the Adelaide River Show and the Adelaide River Races.
Events and attractions
Adelaide River Railway Heritage Precinct occupies the area surrounding the historic railway station located on the southern side of the river. The precinct operates as a museum and has several restored vehicles and items of rolling stock from the original
North Australia Railway on display, as well as maintaining the buildings. A society of "friends" of the precinct aim to restore a section of the track between Adelaide River Station and the old Snake Creek armoury using the original 1888 bridge and operate a
heritage train, however the construction and alignment of the
Adelaide-Darwin Railway has created obstacles to the completion of this project.
The Adelaide River Races were first run in 1942, and are held annually at the ARSS Showgrounds in the beginning of the dry season. The event attracts visitors from all over Australia and continues to grow in size and popularity each year.
Climate
Adelaide River has a
tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Aw'').
Trivia
"Charlie" the
Buffalo, made famous by the 1986 movie ''
"Crocodile" Dundee'' was a beloved local resident until his death in 2000. He is now stuffed, and in the bar at the Adelaide River Inn.
References
External links
Adelaide River HistoryAustralian War Memorial: Adelaide River War DiariesAdelaide River Show Society Homepage
{{authority control
Towns in the Northern Territory