Tennant Creek, Northern Territory
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tennant Creek is a town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with the western terminus of the Barkly Highway. Tennant Creek is approximately 1000 kilometres south of the territory capital, Darwin, and 500 kilometres north of Alice Springs. The town is named after a nearby watercourse of the same name. The population of the town is approximately 3,500 people, of which around 2,000 are Aboriginal.
In 1860 John McDouall Stuart named a waterway Tennant Creek after John Tennant, a pastoralist from Port Lincoln, South Australia, in gratitude for the financial help Tennant had provided for Stuart's expeditions across Australia.
A temporary building for a telegraph repeater station was erected near the watercourse of Tennant Creek in 1872. Two years later, the solid stone buildings of the Tennant Creek Overland Telegraph Station, that remain on the site today, were completed by the occupants of the station. This is one of the four remaining original telegraph stations.
Cecil Armstrong was one man who made a contribution to the early development of Tennant Creek. He arrived in April 1935 and began baking bread the next day. In 1937 he built Armstrong's bakery and cafe where he lived and worked for over twenty years as baker and cafe proprietor. The building still stands today, albeit under a different guise. Cecil's telephone number was simply the number 1 and his Post Office box was also number 1.
Gold was discovered in the area in the 1930s and the opening of the rich Tennant gold field marked the start of Australia's last great Gold Rush. The Tennant Creek Telegraph Station remained an isolated outpost until that time.
The town of Tennant Creek was located 12 km south of the watercourse because the Overland Telegraph Station had been allocated an 11 km reserve. Local legend offers a different explanation for the town's location. In 1934 a wagon carrying building supplies and beer broke down on the way to the Overland Telegraph Station. The driver of the wagon, a pioneer of the Territory named Joe Kilgariff, decided to set up a store and pub at the breakdown site. The pub still exists and is a historic monument to the early days.
Gold mining in the McDouall Ranges, named after John McDouall Stuart, quickly caused the population to grow to 600. “Battery Hill” which overlooks the town of Tennant Creek is the site of one of the last two operating ten-head stamp batteries, a Government owned ore crushing machine.
[edit] Government
Tennant Creek has a town council form of government headed by a mayor. The main Aboriginal body within the town is the Julalikari Council which plays a major role in providing training and employment services for the Aboriginal people in Tennant Creek. It has developed a construction capacity and provides contract services to the Town Council such as recycling. The Julalikari Council also provides community services within the township such as Homemakers, aged care, and the night patrol.
The police district covers almost 22,000 square kilometres and has a strength of 25 officers. The force includes two Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) officers.
[edit] Geography and climate
The red sands of the Centre prevail to the south of Tennant Creek. The gently undulating, lightly timbered grasslands of the Barkly Tablelands are found to the north. Throughout the area grassy plains and flat-topped hills give way to granite boulders. Examples of this can be found in the Devil’s Marbles which are located 100 km to the south and the Pebbles, which are located 15 km to the North of Tennant Creek.
The climate of Tennant Creek can be characterized as warm continental. April to September are marked by mostly warm, dry days and mild to cool frost-free nights. Summer temperatures are between 24 °C to 38 °C with occasional 40 °C plus days. Humidity is usually comparatively low. The monsoonal influence results in most rainfall occurring during the summer months. Minor flash floods and earthquakes occur on occasion.
[edit] Access
Tennant Creek has daily coach bus service from Darwin, Alice Springs, and Queensland. There is also weekly train service via the Ghan passenger trail from Adelaide or Darwin. Two airlines flew light aircraft to and from Darwin and Alice Springs but both have ceased operation.
