Tennant Creek, NT
1.0 km (0.5 hrs )
★★★☆☆

Australia's first telegraphic link to Britain was completed in 1872, following the route of explorer John Stuart, who had successfully reached Darwin from Adelaide just 10 years earlier. In 1875, a permanent telegraph station was established in Tenant Creek to act as a repeater station and base for staff who enacted repairs on the line. Owing to the remote location, the staff were virtually self sufficient, operating a garden, raising sheep and cattle for food, a blacksmith for repairs and tool making and a government ration store for the local Aboriginal people.

The telegraph station operated until 1935, before services were relocated to the town of Tennant Creek, which was established after discovery of gold in the area. The station had a new lease of life as a butcher’s shop in the 1950's before becoming an outstation for the Tennant Creek Station until the late 1980s. It is now a historic reserve and well worth the time to explore the historic structures and to read about its fascinating history.