On our 250 kilometre drive to Daley Waters today, we travelled through a savannah landscape with millions of termite mounds, both large and small. The temperature was a little kinder – the daily maximum has droppred from 38C to 36C. Such a difference!
Not long after leaving Katherine. we passed the entrance to the Tindal Air Force Base. RAAF Base Tindal is located 15 kms outside Katherine and 320 kms south-east of Darwin. Although it is the Air Force’s newest operational base, it is now one of Australia’s most important defence sites with a number of squadrons located there. The airfield was constructed in 1942 during World War II and was originally called Carson’s Airfield. Over time, it was upgraded and extended for commercial use and declared an operational Air Force Base in 1984, with an official opening on 1 October 1988.
After 100 km of boring landscape, we reached the town of Mataranka. There is not much there except for a couple of service stations, a bakery and a pub.
We stopped in the park for a coffee while watching a couple of brolgas that were wandering around as common as ducks. It’s probable that the word “mataranka” means “home of the snake” in the language of the local Yangman Aboriginal people.
There were a large number of Aborigines sitting under the shade trees in the park. This is a very sad situation. These people have lost most of their culture and get paid a pension by the government which they regard as ‘sit down money’. These once proud people are now just existing with nothing to do and no sense of purpose. Sadly, this appears to be the situation for many of our First Nations people.
Just out of town are a number of hot springs. These are something of an oasis in a dry land. Bitter Spring is located north-east of Mataranka Town. It is caused by groundwater coming to the surface and flows at about 3/4 of a cubic metre per second. The water is crystal clear and about as warm as bath water.
Located in the grounds of the Mataranka Homestead Tourist Resort, the Elsey Homestead replica has an excellent sign outside which explains its origins: “This area was home to Aeneas Gunn and his young bride Jeannie, who arrived here in 1902 to live and work on Elsey Station. Aeneas died of malarial dysentery on 16 March 1903 and Jeannie left Elsey and returned south, but the Territory remained with her. She wrote of her experiences in the wilderness of Australia’s ‘Never Never’ and of her time on Elsey Station in the 1908 book We of the Never Never, which became, and still is, an Australian classic.
“Elsey Station consisted of a homestead, kitchen, meathouse, quarters, blacksmith shop, wagon shed and harness room, yards and a cemetery and was located south of Mataranka. It was later moved and re-erected at a new site north-east of there.
We stopped in a typical Northern Territory roadside stop for lunch after buying some bread rolls at the Mataranka Bakery.
Another 60 kms. or so, took us to the one horse town of Laramah.
This place doidn’t exist before WW2 when it was hurriedly established to support the transport of military materials to Darwin. It was then a large military base with two airfields, a base hospital and many soldiers that staffed a large supply base. The signs around the local museum have a detailed description of the time.
Along the highway there are some occasional signs with trivial pursuit questions. I think that these are designed to stop drivers becoming bored with the long distances. One of them asked ‘What is the maximum legal length of a road train?’ Further along the road was the answer – 55 metres’. We have passed many of the large transports today. They are an iconic part of outback life.
By 4.00 pm, we had reached our destination at Daley Waters. This is another town that has nothing more than a pub, but, wow, is it popular! In fact there is just one more place of note in the town and that is a WW2 era hanger at the airstrip.
There has been a hotel here at Daly Waters Hotel since 1893. The modern pub was built in 1930 but there are sections which make it one of the oldest buildings in the Northern Territory. The combination of the nearby springs, with reliable water, and the constant movement of cattle through the area (cattle were taken from Queensland across to the country to the north and west by drovers), produced a regular clientele which, today, has changed to backpackers, coach tours and grey nomads.
The modern pub is the tiny town’s most prominent tourist attraction. Every night there is a beef’n’barra (ie. barramundi) barbecue as well as the usual pub fare of hamburgers, salads and steaks. Since the 1980s women have been leaving their bras dangling from the ceiling. As the pub website explains: “People often ask how it all started. As far as we can tell it all started in the 80’s. A bet between a coach driver and his passengers (female) that they couldn’t drink x numbers of beers otherwise had to leave their bra behind” (and still they do!)
