Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia

The Telegraph Station at Tennant Creek, Northern Territory
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tennant-creek0106.jpg
Author: Tourism NT

Tennant Creek is a town in the central part of Northern Territory, Australia. An isolated town some 1000 km to the south of Darwin and 500 km to the north of Alice Springs, Tennant Creek is the first largest settlement in Northern Territory. It has a population of 3,000 people (2012 estimate).

The first European to arrive at the Tennant Creek site was explorer John McDouall Stuart in 1860. Stuart was attempting (unsuccessfully) to journey across Australia from south to north. Discovering a creek in the area, Stuart named it after Port Lincoln pastorialist John Tennant, who provided him sponsorship and financial support for the expedition.

Within a decade of Stuart's expedition, the Overland Telegraph was constructing a telegraph line through the area to link London with Melbourne. The telegraph station was completed in 1872, and is still standing today, one of just four remaining original telegraph stations in the country.

As the Overland Telegraph Station was allocated an 11-km reserve site, the town of Tennant Creek was established 12 km to the south of the creek that Stuart discovered. Much of the development of the town happened in the 1930s. This was due to a large extend to the discovery of gold in the area in 1928, fueling the last Australian Gold Rush. The Stuart Highway provides the main artery linking Tennant Creek with Darwin and Alice Springs. Where it passes through the town center, it is called Paterson Street.

Devils Marbles, also called Karlu Karlu, in the Northern Territory
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Devils-marbles.jpg
Author: Tourism NT

Visiting Tennant Creek

Take the Stuart Highway from Darwin or Alice Springs to reach Tennant Creek.

Places of Interest in Tennant Creek

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