Innamincka, South Australia

Innamincka (coord|27|44|S|140|44|E|region:AU-SA_type:city) is a tiny settlement in north-east South Australia. It is situated on the banks of Coopers Creek in the state's Channel Country, and surrounded by the Strzelecki, Tirari and Sturt's Stony Deserts.

History

The area was the traditional home of the Yandruwandha, Dieri and Yarrawarrka Aborigines. The first European to visit the area was Charles Sturt in 1845. He was followed by A C Gregory in 1858 and then Burke and Wills. A monument to Sturt and Burke and Wills was erected in Innamincka in 1944.

Originally called Hopetoun, Innamincka was proclaimed a township in 1890. The town was never very large, but had a hotel, a store and a police station which acted as customs post for collecting duties on cattle brought overland from Queensland into South Australia. In 1928 the Australian Inland Mission (a part of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia) built a hospital here, the Elizabeth Symon Nursing Home. Severe drought and poor access to the settlement resulted in the closure of the hotel and the hospital. In 1951 the police post closed and the town was abandoned.

Increased tourism and discovery of gas and oil reserves in the late 1960s led to the formation of "Cooper Creek Hotel Motel Pty Ltd", who opened a hotel, a store and accommodation in the abandoned town. In 1994 the Elizabeth Symon Nursing Home was restored by Dick Smith and Australian Geographic and used as an interpretive centre for South Australian Parks and Wildlife.

Today the town has a population of about 15 people. It is 1065 km northeast of Adelaide and 459 km from Lyndhurst up the Strzelecki Track.

Burke and Wills

The Burke and Wills expedition passed through this area on their journey across Australia from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria. They established a Depot Camp on Coopers Creek at Camp LXV, (their sixty-fifth camp since leaving Melbourne), at a place now called The Dig Tree. There was a depot at the Dig Tree from 6 December 1860 to 21 April 1861.

The 'Victorian Relief Expedition' under Alfred Howitt, sent by the Victorian government to establish the fate of the expedition, found the remains of both leaders, Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills, and buried them close to where the town is located today. He also found the sole survivor, John King, and returned him to Melbourne.

Howitt returned to the area in 1862 and established a depot camp at Cullyamurra Waterhole before exhuming the bodies of Burke and Wills and transporting them to Melbourne for a State Funeral.

Today it is possible to visit the locations of Wills' grave and King's site on Coopers Creek downstream of Innamicka, and Burke's grave, Howitt's camp and the Dig Tree on Coopers Creek upstream of Innamincka.

External links

* [http://www.theage.com.au/news/south-australia/innamincka/2005/02/17/1108500204302.html theage tourist summary ]
* [http://www.outbacknsw.com.au/innamincka.htm Outback NSW]
* [http://www.walkabout.com.au/fairfax/locations/SAInnamincka.shtml Walkabout]
* [http://www.burkeandwills.net.au/ Burke & Wills Web] A comprehensive website containing many of the historical documents relating to the Burke & Wills Expedition.
* [http://www.burkeandwills.org/ The Burke & Wills Historical Society] The Burke & Wills Historical Society.
* [http://www.nla.gov.au/epubs/wills/ The Diary of William John Wills ] The diary written by Wills while at the Cooper from 23 April to 28 June 1861.
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms30-7 William John Wills' journal] Images from the National Library of Australia's digital manuscript collection.
* [http://www.aerialvideo.com.au/innamincka.html Aerial Video of Innamincka]
* [http://www.economist.com/theworldin/asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=10094477&d=2008 Australia's coal question]