Marree ( , formerly Hergott Springs) is a small town located in the north of

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 ...

. It is located north of

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 ...

at the junction of the Oodnadatta Track and the Birdsville Track, above sea level. Marree is an important service centre for the large sheep and cattle stations in north-east South Australia as well as a stopover destination for tourists travelling along the Birdsville or Oodnadatta Tracks. The area is the home of the

Dieri The Diyari (), alternatively transcribed as Dieri (), is an Indigenous Australian group of the South Australian desert originating in and around the delta of Cooper Creek to the east of Lake Eyre. Language Diyari is classified as one of the ...

Aboriginal people. The major areas of employment are mining, agriculture and accommodation services. The town was home to Australia's first mosque, which was made of mud brick and built by the Afghan cameleers employed at Marree's inception. At the turn of the 20th century the town was divided in two, with Europeans on one side and Afghans and Aboriginals on the other.

History and etymology

The first European to explore the area was

Edward John Eyre Edward John Eyre (5 August 181530 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand's New Munster province, and Governor of Jamaica. Early life Eyre was born in ...

, who passed through in 1840. In 1859, explorer

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 ...

visited the area together with the German botanist and accomplished bushman Joseph Herrgott, who discovered the springs which Stuart named after him. Herrgott had previously taken part of B. H. Babbage's expedition to Lake Torrens. He died two years afterwards in 1861; he was 36 years old. Initially the area was known as ''Herrgott (or Hergott) Springs'', with the town's post office given the name ''Hergott Springs'' after surveying of the town in 1883. The town was also recognised as Hergott Springs in the 1911 census. In that year the District Trained Nursing Society sent Clara Winifred Howie to establish a nursing facility in Hergott Springs. The town's name was changed to Marree in 1917 due to anti-German sentiment during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Marree Hotel and Marree Fettlers' Cottages are 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'' ...

. The movie '' The Rover'', starring

Guy Pearce Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. List of awards and nominations received by Guy Pearce, His accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, and nominations for an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy Film Aw ...

and

Robert Pattinson Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor. #Filmography, His filmography often sees him portraying eccentric characters across a diverse range of genres. Known for starring in both major studio productions and in ...

, was filmed in Marree in January 2013. Parts of '' The Inbetweeners 2'', a 2014 British comedy film set in Australia, were filmed in Marree. Scenes from '' Last Cab to Darwin'', starring Michael Caton, were filmed in Marree in May 2014. Jan Palo, a local identity, had a non-speaking part filmed in his home, the old butcher's shop.

Early transportation and telegraphy

The

Central Australia Railway The former Central Australia Railway, which was built between 1878 and 1929 and dismantled in 1980, was a Narrow-gauge railway, 1067 mm narrow gauge railway between Port Augusta railway station, Port Augusta and Alice Springs. A standard gau ...

reached the town in 1883 and the first train ran to the

railway station 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 ...

in January 1884. The South Australia Post and Telegraph Department established a telegraph and post office in Maree in June 1884. It operated in a canvas tent, until a more permanent structure was built. The first station master was James Arthur O'Brien (born 1863) who held the post from 1884 to 1901. The town became a major

railhead {{Short pages monitor