TENNANT CREEK NT and the OLD TELEGRAPH STATION

  Three 3 Ways Junction was reached eventually where the group decided to detour south for a short distance to Tennant Creek for some shopping and thereafter bed down at the nearby Aboriginal sacred site of Kunjarra, also known as "The Pebbles".
   It seemed a good idea to pay a visit to the restored old Telegraph Station ( that I missed seeing last trip) since we would pass by while en route to Kunjarra. I am glad that we did, the historically accurate restoration of the buildings and interesting information that was provided on-site, helped one to realize how isolated this place was when it was in service, way before any easy access was provided and much earlier than the establishment of Tennant Creek.
   As I passed through the entrance gate to begin the self-guided walk among the faithfully restored buildings of the now deserted and eerily quiet Telegraph Station, I began to feel the essence of the history of this place that I cannot describe any better than by this first paragraph of the fact sheet that I found in a little box beside it:
" Imagine being here in the 1870 s when the Overland Telegraph Line was first constructed. Apart from members of the construction party and Aboriginal inhabitants of the region you and your team are isolated from the rest of the world  except for the link with the Telegraph Line."
  What a harsh experience it must have been to be here. Supplies such as flour, sugar and salt were only replenished every 6 months via camel train from Port Augusta, a journey of many hundreds of miles that would have taken at least a few months in those days. The team at the Station were required to man the equipment for 24 hrs a day and were responsible for checking and maintaining the line to the north and south. A garden and a small number of sheep and cattle was the only fresh food available, with stock being slaughtered on a weakly basis. Fresh food items were stored in the Cellar that was dug to below soil level while a vent in a wall was covered by wet hessian to help keep temperatures down, Meat was either salted or smoked in the Smokehouse and later stored there, hung on racks.
  The other buildings in the complex include the Kitchen/Living area original of Georgian design with thick stone walls quarried from nearby, high ceilings and compacted soil floors. Next door is the Telegraph Station that re-transmitted signals down the line to the next repeater station. The transmitter was powered by large banks of batteries, Meidinger Cells, that provided just over 1 volt each of the 120 volts required. There are 2 other buildings, a Blacksmith's workshop and a Butcher's room.

(Click on a Photo to Enlarge)

                                                                                  The Smokehouse

The Cellar