Pine Creek, Northern Territory

Pine Creek is a town in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory, Australia. According to the 2001 Australian census 665 people live in Pine Creek.

Pine Creek is just off the Stuart Highway (the road from the south to Darwin) and is still a notable tourist stop. A number of events are held each year to promote the town in the region. These include the annual Goldrush Festival, featuring the NT Gold Panning championships and Didgeridoo Jam, the Pine Creek Rodeo and Pine Creek Races. In 2005 a prominent resident of Pine Creek, Edward Ah Toy, was recognised as the Northern Territorian of the year.

History

The town was founded in 1870 during the construction of the Overland Telegraph line from Adelaide to Darwin, in 1871 workers digging holes for the telegraph line found gold in the soil, triggering another Australian gold rush. The Northern Territory Railway was built between Pine Creek and Darwin, reaching Pine Creek in 1889 but closing in 1976. The old railway station and some old rolling stock remain. The Alice Springs - Darwin railway (used by The Ghan) now passes near the town.

Indigenous History

Pine Creek was traditionally the junction of three large indigenous ethnic groups. Stretching south-west from the Stuart Highway towards, and across, the Daly River was the land traditionally associated with the Wagiman people. The land east of the Stuart Highway and south of the Kakadu Highway, stretching to Katherine, was associated with the Jawoyn people, and north of the Kakadu Highway was land traditionally associated with Waray.

World War II

During World War II, the Australian Army set up 65th Australian Camp Hospital near Pine Creek.

Mining

The Eleanor Reef at Pine Creek was discovered in 1880, some 9 years before the railway reached the town. The Jensen Gold Mining Co. established a mine on the reef about a mile from the southern boundary of the Pine Creek Railway reserve. A battery was built in 1893 to crush ore from the Eleanor and another reef and, concurrently, they ordered tramway materials from England. The tramway was operational by 1895. The tramway was still in place in 1912 when surveyors plotted the route of the extension of the North Australia Railway from Pine Creek to Katherine, but was abandoned by 1914 when construction teams arrived. The locomotive was moved to the Maranboy Tin mines in 1916 ["Mine Tramways at the Top End" Harvey, Jim Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, April, 1991 pp86-93] .

Pine Creek Goldfields Limited opened an open-cut gold mine in the region in 1985; however, the mine is now closed and its main pit, the Enterprise Pit, has been carefully filled with water to prevent acid build-up.

In June 2007, Territory Resources commenced mining iron ore at their Frances Creek mine just north of Pine Creek. [cite press release |publisher=Territory Resources Limited |date=2007-06-19 |accessdate=2007-07-12 |title=Territory Resources commences production of iron ore |url=http://www.asx.com.au/asx/statistics/showAnnouncementPDF.do?idsID=00730923 |format=pdf] This iron ore was previously mined between 1967 and 1974, and conists of haematite with some goethite and limonite. [cite web |url=http://www.territoryresources.com.au/francescreek_project.php |title=Frances Creek Project |publisher=Territory Resources Limited |accessdate=2007-07-12]

References

External links

* [http://www.pinecreek.nt.gov.au/ Pine Creek Town Council]