Barrow Creek Telegraph Station
| Location | |
|---|---|
|
NT Portion 4772 (A) & 3603 South of Tennant Creek |
|
| Gazettal Date | |
| 3 July 2002 Northern Territory Government Gazette No.G26. |
|
| Description | |
| This groups of structures includes the old telegraph station, stables and connecting stone walls, blacksmiths shop and graves. The telegraph station building consists of eight rooms arranged in a 'U' shape around a central courtyard. | |
| Statement of Heritage Value | |
| Barrow Creek Telegraph Station is of historical, architectural and social significance.
The construction of the Overland Telegraph Line from Port Augusta to Darwin in the early
1870s not only provided Australia with an international communication link, it also led to
the establishment of Barrow Creek as an important regional centre at a time when Central
Australia was largely uninhabited by Europeans. Later, it assisted in the regional development
of the pastoral and mining industries.
Initially the Station was a relatively self-sufficient community consisting of stone buildings constructed in 1872. From 1930 it functioned as a Police Station and during WWII played an important role in telephonic communications. The existing buildings are testimony to a particular way of life and also the impact of changes in communications technology. From 1950 the area was used as a line depot and later, was home to Tom Roberts, a line foreman whose contribution to the Territory was recognised by his admittance to the Order of Australia. The site also has some archaeological potential to shed light on the nature of early European occupation and interaction with local Aboriginal groups. Barrow Creek Telegraph Station became a point of exchange between two cultures. Paradoxically, both cultural conflict and understanding characterised the relationship between local Aboriginal groups and Europeans. The positive aspects of the anthropological research undertaken by Spencer and Gillen at the turn of the 20th Century are in contrast to the Aboriginal attack on the Station that occurred on 22 February 1874. This event is the only know planned attack on staff and property in the history of the Overland Telegraph Line and it remains important to local Aboriginal groups as well as non-Aboriginal Australians. |
|
| Further Reading | |
| Clune, F. (1955) Overland Telegraph. Angus and Robertson: Sydney.
Giles, A. (1995) Exploring in the Seventies and the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line. WK Thomas & Co: Adelaide/Friends of the State Library of SA: Adelaide. Mulvaney, D.J. (1988) Encounters in place: Outsiders and Aboriginal Australians 1606-1985. University of Queensland Press. Taylor, P. (1980) An End to Silence: the building of the Overland Telegraph Line from Adelaide to Darwin. Metheun of Australia: Sydney. |
|
