DALY WATERS PUB

 Daly Waters Pub is well known to all that travel this route as an iconic, must visit destination and so we arrived with anticipation. The "Town" ( that has never had a population that reached tree figures) and the Pub, turned out to be just as quirky as expected. It seemed that many others were also here to fulfill their own ambition to visit as the adjoining camping ground gradually filled to maximum capacity during the afternoon and into the evening. A cheap tariff of $8 per head per night for an unpowered site and slightly more for powered was also attractive.
  A look inside the Pub soon revealed one reason for the popularity, every surface or free space was plastered or filled with all manner of memorabilia, collections of unusual items and old wares and the Beer Garden was equally adorned with the same. An effort had been made to likewise decorate some of the other nearby buildings so that the whole town space had a similar feel. I am sure that the many photos that follow will help to convey the mood of the place.
  Now some historical detail; Explorer John McDouall Stuart discovered Daly Waters during his epic trek through the region in 1862, naming the area in honour of the new Governor of SA, Sir Dominic Daly. The Stuart Tree situated not far away bears the initial "S" carved by Stuart to commemorate his visit. The Telegraph Line north was completed 10 years after Stuart's visit . In more modern times, the area was first occupied in the 1920 s and in 1930, Bill Pearce opened the "Drover's Store" that soon became the "Daly Waters Pub" that remains today. There is still more. During WW2, Daly Waters was a major Air Force base for Australian and American personnel. Amazingly, the airfield on which the original hanger still stands was the first international airport in Australia.
(Click on a photo to enlarge)