They say the population of Tennant Creek was 3,100 at the 2001 census and similar in the 2011 poll. Sounds curiously like Albany: whenever a child was born a bloke would always leave town!
Actually, Tennant Creek is an indicator of just how populous the Northern Territory actually is, for this community on the north-south Stuart Highway is the territory’s fifth largest township.
Having travelled over 500 km from Mataranka down the highway, we felt we had earned a couple of nights in Tennant Creek. Where there is the well preserved Overland Telegraph Station, a man-made recreational lake, old gold mine workings and a high point lookout.
And strangely, this township didn’t even get a start in life until after the discovery of gold in the early 1930’s. This country’s last great gold rush it is claimed.
Refreshed we hit the road again this morning, (Friday) heading for the Barkly Highway which crosses east-west from Cloncurry in Queensland to the 3ways junction near Tennant Creek.
An easy 220 km drive on this super smooth highway, in country that is akin to a Savannah grassland, to the Barkly Homestead where we filled both tank and tummy and taking the afternoon off to post a little on the blog and picking up the now mostly dis- used needle and thread.
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