
Batchelor is a town in 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 ...
, Australia. The town is the current seat and largest town 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 ...
local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
. It is located
98 kilometres (61 mi) south of the territory capital,
Darwin.
The first inhabitants and
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 town are the
Warrai and
Kungarakany peoples.
In the , Batchelor recorded a population of 507 people, with 36% of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
origin.
Histor
The area of Batchelor, then known by its broader locality
Rum Jungle, was first surveyed in 1869 as a part of
Hundred of Goyder (Northern Territory) and was first purchased by WO Clyde and likely used to grow
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
until it was selected by the government.
In 1911 the area was selected as one of two demonstration farms (the other was located at
Daly River) established by the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
to investigate the economic potential of the Northern Territory following the administrative hand over from
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 ...
; this was known as
Batchelor Demonstration Farm. The farm and an associated railway siding were named in 1912 after
Lee Batchelor, the first minister responsible for the Northern Territory who died in office during the previous year. The farm operated until 1919, experimenting with different crops and livestock with varied results. The farm suffered from problems attracting and retaining experienced workers amid the strikes and industrial relations turmoil that led to the
Darwin Rebellion. Among the crops successfully produced at the farm were melons, pumpkins and cabbages. From 1919, the farm was used both as a private cattle station and an Aboriginal compound.
A portion of the land formerly used for the demonstration farm was cleared during 1933 for use as a civilian aerodrome. This airfield would be substantially upgraded during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, becoming a major base for both
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...
and
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
in the defence of Australia. Units of the
Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force also operated from Batchelor.
To support the airbase, the railway siding formerly used by the demonstration farm was extended and a petrol unloading point installed.
Following the discovery of
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
at Rum Jungle by prospector Jack White in 1948,
Consolidated Zinc began mining and processing the uranium on behalf of the
Australian Atomic Energy Commission
The Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC) was a statutory body of the Australian Government devoted to nuclear science, engineering and research.
It was established in 1952, replacing the Atomic Energy Policy Committee. In 1981, parts of th ...
. In co-operation with the
Federal Government
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) ...
constructed much of the present day town from August 1952 onwards, creating housing and amenities for workers on the project. The original design had been based around a permanent population for some 600 persons, but during the years the mine was operating, this number was regularly exceeded.
Processing and extraction of uranium ore at the Rum Jungle mine had ceased by 1971, and the control of the township was handed back to the Northern Territory Administration. The administration would oversee the establishment of new industries beginning in 1974, with the training of Aboriginal teachers aides and classroom assistants for remote schools through the Aboriginal Teacher Education Centre annex of
Kormilda College. In 1979, 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 ...
sold many houses in Batchelor to existing residents and encouraged the development of private sector industries, including the Meneling Abattoirs and Woodcutters Mine to establish a permanent population base to ensure the ongoing viability of the town.
Economy
The major employment industries in Batchelor are
education
Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
,
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
and
horticulture
Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...
. The town is home to a
TAFE
Technical and further education or simply TAFE () is the common name in Australia for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses. Colloquially also known ...
and higher education college, the
Batchelor Institute, with a strong focus on delivering higher educational outcomes for indigenous students from around Australia. The institute has been located at its current location since 1982. At the , 18% of Batchelor's workforce were employed in the tertiary education industry and a further 9.5% were employed in school education.
The town is an entry point for travellers to
Litchfield National Park which attracts approximately 280,000 visitors annually. Seven rangers of the
Parks & Wildlife Commission and the Litchfield National Park office are based in the town.
The town is situated on one of two all—weather access roads to the park and a number of accommodation options are available as well as services including mechanical repairs and a supermarket. There are a number of attractions in the town area for visitors travelling between Darwin and Litchfield Park including a museum, cultural centre, butterfly sanctuary and miniature replica of
Karlstein Castle. The airfield also offers scenic flights and sky diving for visitors.
In 2011, it was announced that the Windy Hills Australian Game Meat company has signed an agreement to re-open and operate the Batchelor abattoirs to process cattle, buffalo and camel meats over an initial period of five years. The abattoirs previously contributed significantly to the local economy and jobs market, but have been closed in recent years due to unfavourable industry conditions.
Mining company
Compass Resources applied in 2005 to commence mining operations on the Browns Oxide project site adjacent to the former Rum Jungle mine, north of Batchelor. While approval was granted for this project in 2006, the company was placed in voluntary administration in 2009. The future of the project is now in doubt.
Climate
Batchelor experiences 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'') with distinct wet and dry seasons. The annual rainfall is , primarily falling during the
wet season
The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...
from November to April. High humidity and overnight temperatures as well as large thunderstorms characterise this season. Streams and rivers in the area are prone to seasonal flooding and road closures are common during the wet season. During the
dry season
The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...
from May to October, the overnight temperatures are cooler and the days typically warm with little rainfall or cloud cover.
Infrastructure
Health
Batchelor has a small medical clinic operated by the Northern Territory Government, offering a general practice service on weekdays. The clinic is staffed 24 hours for emergency care. The clinic offers specialist services by appointment by way of semi-regular visits as with many remote clinics in the Northern Territory. Batchelor Health Centre is typically staffed by a primary health care manager, two GPs, two to three remote area nurses and an Aboriginal health worker. Emergency medications are kept on site, but the nearest pharmacy is located in the outer suburbs of Darwin, some distance to the north.
Batchelor Airfield has lighting available for night landings facilitating emergency evacuations, and an ambulance is also based in the town.
Education
There is one public school in Batchelor, the Batchelor Area School established in 1953. The school caters for students from Transition to Year 9, with students in Years 10-12 travelling to Darwin to complete their schooling. As with many schools in the Northern Territory, a pre-school is also located on the site. The school's student catchment covers the entire Coomalie Shire as well as parts of
Litchfield Shire. As there is no public bus service in the town, special school bus services are provided to and from the
Eva Valley,
Acacia Hills and
Adelaide River areas. In 2010, Batchelor Area School was granted funding from the
Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...
to extend the library facilities as part of the Building the Education Revolution program. As of 2016, there were 119 students enrolled at the school.
The main campus of the
Batchelor Institute is located within the town and provides tertiary and vocational education and training with a focus on outcomes for indigenous students. Other tertiary education options are available through
Charles Darwin University
Charles Darwin University (CDU) is an Australian public university with two campuses in Darwin and six satellite campuses in metropolitan and regional areas of the Northern Territory. It was established in 2003 after the merger of Northern Ter ...
with campuses located in Darwin and
Palmerston.
Located on the BIITE campus is Yera Children's service providing care for children aged 0–6 operated by One Tree Community services, a not-for-profit organisation.
Transport
The primary access route between Darwin and Batchelor is via 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 Batchelor Road, the southern turn off for Litchfield National Park. Until its closure in 1976, the town was served by a station on the
North Australia Railway.
The current
Adelaide-Darwin Railway alignment passes several kilometres to the east of the town but no station facilities are provided. Interstate
Greyhound Australia coach services pick up/set down point is at the junction of Batchelor Road and the Stuart Highway. Additionally, tour busses travelling to Litchfield park will often visit the town as a refreshment stop.
Batchelor Airfield has a sealed runway suitable for light aircraft and is occasionally used for medical evacuation flights. Several aviation companies offer scenic flights and charter services at the airport. In October 2014, the airfield was used in filming an
episode
An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a serial (radio and television), series intended for radio, television or Streaming media, streaming consumption.
Etymology
The noun ''episode'' is ...
of
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
series
''Top Gear''. Interstate and international flights are available at
Darwin Airport
Darwin International Airport is a Domestic Airport, domestic and International Airport, international airport serving Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. It is the List of the busiest airports in Australia, eleventh busiest airport in Au ...
, about a one-hour drive from the town.
Public facilities
The offices of the Coomalie Community Government Council are located on the outskirts of the town, and as such many local and territory government services are accessible. The town has a library with internet access (available at a charge), which is open to the public on Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons, police station, post office and a public swimming pool.
There are also community sports facilities including playing fields, a skate park and basketball courts.
Utilities
A large electricity substation owned by
PowerWater is located at Batchelor and the town's power supply is sourced from the high voltage transmission lines that run through the area between Darwin and
Katherine
Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...
. The town is located close to significant water resources including two major dams and ground water aquifers which provided water for drinking and irrigation. Batchelor is the main waste management facility for the Coomalie Shire.
Media
Batchelor Institute's Indigenous Media Unit holds a licence for Radio Rum Jungle, broadcast on 97.3
FM. The station has been in operation from the Batchelor campus since 1987. Additionally, the Government owned
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
also has local transmitters for national services
ABC Radio National (92.1 FM) and youth station
Triple J
Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
(92.9 FM).
Batchelor receives digital television services from Darwin broadcast by the
Nine Network
Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
(9, GO! and Gem),
Southern Cross
CRUX is a lightweight x86-64 Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It is not based on any other Linux distribution. It also utilizes a ports system to ...
(SC7, 7Two and 7Mate),
Darwin Digital Television (10, OneHD and 11) as well as all ABC and
SBS channels. Additionally,
Imparja Television
Imparja Television (IMP) is an independent Australian television station servicing over , across six states and territories: Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania. It is based in Alice Spri ...
can be received by terrestrial analogue broadcasts.
Subscription television services via satellite are also available through
Austar
Austar was an Australian telecommunications company founded in 1995 as Community Entertainment Television (CETV). Its main business activity was subscription television. It was also involved with internet access and mobile phones.
Austar's tel ...
.
The
Northern Territory News
The ''Northern Territory News'' (also known and branded as the ''NT News'') is a morning Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper based in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published every week from ...
and
Sunday Territorian published by
News Corp Australia
News Corp Australia is an Australian media conglomerate and wholly owned subsidiary of News Corp.
The group's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television prod ...
are the main newspapers circulated in Batchelor.
See also
*
Nellie Flynn
*
Winchester mine
References
External links
Batchelor InstituteCoomalie Community Government CouncilBatchelor climate statistics
{{authority control
Towns in the Northern Territory