Last changed 11 May 2008
History of Karlantijpa
country, northern
central Australia
David Nash
(work in progress)
The general area of the
Karlantijpa Aboriginal Land Trusts (see map below)
is the focus
of these pages. The area is semi-desert, outside the area of
Pastoral Leases, and generally west of Tennant Creek, south of the
Murranji Track, southeast of Wave Hill and Cattle Creek, east of
Winnecke Creek, and genrally across the north of the Lander and Hanson
Rivers. My sketch history here has been gleaned from many sources
since my first association with the area in 1978.
prior to motor vehicles
John
McDouall Stuart made forays into the area from the east when he was
attempting to find a route north across the continent from SA.
Later in the 19th century some pastoralists and drovers crossed the
area about the latitude of Lake Woods. The first European who
published an account of a crossing was Nat Buchanan who in
1896 went from Tennant Creek to Sturt Creek (WA) with a
Warumungu man (Jack) and camels. (Jack later walked home alone.)
Alan A. Davidson in 1900 headed an expedition which left the OTL at
Kelly Well (35km south of where the town Tennant Creek now is), crossed
north-west to Duck
Ponds and then the Buchanan Hills (both of which Davidson named).
In April-July 1909 the geologist Dr Charles Chewings funded by the SA
government headed a party which took a
camel-drawn boring plant from Barrow Creek to the Victoria River and
back. His line of wells was inspected the
following year by Alec Ross who reported to the SA government Engineer,
on whose recommendation it was not further equipped, and it was never
used as a stock route.
On 1
January 1911 the NT was transferred from SA to the Commonwealth, which
later that year funded the Barclay-Macpherson expedition which
travelled north between the Lander and Hanson Rivers and then to
Newcastle Waters. The expedition came upon one of Chewings' wells.
A handful of Europeans made forays through the area in the following
years, leaving virtually no documentary record. Perhaps there the
only ones were the famous Joe Brown, and the prospecting pair Jack
Simpson and Doug Cooper. There was a flurry of activity in 1929
in the north-west, following the forced landing of the Kookaburra south-east of Cattle
Creek (Nash 1982).
The local Aborigines walked out of most of the area for the last time
not long
before World War II. At the time they probably thought they were making
a temporary visit to areas of European settlement such as Wave Hill,
Tennant Creek, Powell Creek (see Read & Japaljarri 1978). Two
items in southern newspapers datelined "Tennant Creek" report what
may have been the last "coming in" of Aboriginal residents of the
country far to the west:
smoke signals from N.W. and S.W. yesterday indicated the
approach of
big numbers of desert blacks of the Warramulla tribe. Scouts had been
sent out to bring them in for the inter-tribal corroboree. (Sydney
Sun 2/8/1936)
For the last two weeks members of the Myall and Warramulla
tribes,
called from the desert by the 'bush telegraph' system of the aborigines
had been coming into the reserve. (Melbourne
Argus 10/8/1936 'Strange Party in Heart of Desert' by J.D.
Balfe)
See Petersen et al 1978, Nash 1980, Aboriginal Land Commission 1978,
1982, 1983, Koch & Wafer 1981, and the Transcript of Proceedings of
those traditional land claims for details of Aboriginal lands to the
west of the Pastoral Leases west of the Stuart Highway.
The changes that came with "Army time" included the "settling down" of
the last Aborigines from the area, and the first crossing by motor
vehicle.
aerial surveys
There were aerial surveys made of parts of the area by a private party
in 1926, then by AGGSNA (Aerial Geological and Geophysical
Survey of Northern Australia, including 1937), and in the 1930s by
Donald McKay's
expedition. In December 1959 the geologist Ken Phillips made an aerial
reconnaissance west of Tennant Creek. In 1960 BMR Geophysical
Branch
made airborne magnetometer and radiometric traverses over eastern third
of GREEN SWAMP WELL (1956: part of Tennant Creek sheet) (Spence 1962,
Smith 1963:2, Ausgeo 1994). In 1962 BMR made an aeromagnetic
traverse Gordon Downs to Tennant Creek in their DC3 VH-MIN. In
June 1965 Wongela Geophysical Pty Ltd carried out a helicopter gravity
survey under contract to BMR (Flavelle 1965). In about 1966 an
airborne magnetometer survey of the southern Wiso Basin was made by
American Overseas Petroleum Ltd (Adastra Hunting Geophysics
1967). On 3 June 1967 aerial photography was acquired across the
north of Green Swamp Well sheet area.
Through access by helicopter, a number of survey control stations were
established 1967-70. In 1967 NM/G/201, and NM/G/202 were established on
the Department of Interior DD and DJ traverses. In 1968 NM/G/284,
285, 291, 292 were established. In 1970 NM/G/302, 304
were established. Then between 11 June and 5 July 1971 aerial
photography was acquired across the Green Swamp Well sheet area.
origins and use of the vehicle routes to the
west of
Warrego
A road to the west of Tennant Creek (from the Alluvial or Warrego) has
been envisaged by Europeans since at least 1941, when Gerry Whitlock's
party made two tracks as a defence measure: 1) from Three Ways (25km
north of Tennant Creek) west
through to WA; 2) between Cattle Creek and Muckaty. However, it
seems these tracks were never used, and there was no
human activity at all on the ground in the Karlantijpa area in the
subsequent two
decades, until the surveyor VT O'Brien and party made a traverse from
Alluvial Bore
(north of Warrego) to Duck Pond in 1960 (leaving Tennant Creek on 28
March), and the following year from Wave Hill to Powell Creek (on
which they encountered what proved to be the remains of the aircraft Kookaburra). See his map, O'Brien
1961.
Then a road was sealed from Tennant
Creek as far as Orlando Mine. This was reported at the time with a
comment about the prospects
for its extension:
29th March, 1962 - The tender was let for the construction
of the
Orlando Road and won by Thiess Bros. … The length of the road from the
turnoff just above the aerodrome will be 17.2 miles and this represents
a savings of about 7 miles on the present route. The Government is
contributing 60,000 pounds towards the construction of the road, the
remainder of the cost being to Peko. Peko will be responsible for the
maintenance of the road until such time as it is in substantial use by
the public in general. This road could, at some later date be the
starting point on a route to Western Australia, a project which was
contemplated by the Government at one stage and which is on the agenda
for long term planning and development. (Reprinted in Peko Clarion
June 1984, page 4.)
In May 1964, a party of Warlpiri men from Lajamanu (including †Peter
Blacksmith Japanangka) and †Max Cartwright of Welfare
Branch took a NTA Bedford truck across a fairly direct route from
Lajamanu to the Stuart Highway at Cabbage Gum bore (20km south of
Tennant Creek town).
In July-August 1964 Department of the Interior surveyors N Vaughan and
Carlos de Lemos carried out preparatory levelling survey roughly along
Whitlock's 1941 track west, and established the DE series bench
marks. This was followed by a BMR Gravity Traverse.
Between 9 June and 20 July 1965 the Bureau of Mineral Resources sent a
drilling rig (Gorey & Cole Drillers Pty Ltd of Alice Springs)
through to
Winnecke Creek and then Hooker Creek (later Lajamanu), and drilled 9
scoutholes GSW 1-5, WC 1-4. At the same time a BMR reconnaissance
survey made a helicopter traverse over a period of 33 days, supported
by Land Rovers, Toyotas, and two 4WD 3 ton GMC 'Blitz' trucks.
This activity left wheel tracks that could be
followed for some years. In 1966 BMR carried out geological mapping of
the northern Wiso Basin (Randal & Brown 1967).
In June 1965 HA Johnson made a lone reconnaisance, across country from
Muckaty to Hooker Creek, for National Mapping. Then in Sept-Oct
beacons were constructed along the route, the 'Helen Springs-Hooker
Creek traverse'. The next year, 19 May to 24 June 1966, National
Mapping carried out a theodolite/ tellurometer traverse along the
beacons (Ford 1979). Between 23 April and 2 June 1969 the same
route was traversed by a National Mapping astro party.
Then in the early 1970s Warrego Mine was opened, and the all weather
road was extended as far west as a pumping station established about
15km west of
Warrego. About 1972 Geo-Peko graded the eastern half of the BMR track,
and continued the graded track further due west then around to the
south, east of Lake Buck, where there was a copper prospect that had
been located by †Jim Weir. (See Weir's evidence in the first Warlpiri
land
claim transcript.)
September-October 1972:
A Department of the Interior survey established DE series bench marks
along the east-west part of the track graded by Geo-Peko, and on spurs
to north and south (NMV/G series), and through to Lajamanu-Tanami road.
In early 1974 there were widespread very heavy rains.
winter 1975:
BMR drilled scouthole GSW 6, which proved dry.
BMR geology mapping, by helicopter; base camp beside track west from
Warrego.
Airstrip graded near Goddard's Prospect, with
vehicle access along Geo-Peko's track west from Warrego.
After 1961 there were various searches for the Kookaburra aircraft south-east of
Cattle Creek, culminating in Dick Smith's successful attempts in
1977-78. See Nash 1982 and references therein.
In July 1978, Diane Bell, David Nash, †Charlie & †Ruby Charles
travelled from
Tennant
Creek a few km west of GSW1 bore; there had been no traffic for many
months
(or even a year or two).
In July 1979, David Nash and Diane Bell, CLC field officers †David Long
Jupurrula and
Stanley
Scrutton with Warlmanpa and Warlpiri people from Alekarenge travelled
from
Warrego as far west
as GSW3 bore, and returned. (See Bell's illustrated article in Identity,
and the photograph in
Langton (ed.) 1983:21)
Between 31 August and 9 September 1981, a part of bird-watchers under
the auspices of the RAOU travelled from Lajamanu to Tennant Creek.
Their route
headed due south-east then south from Merrina Waterhole,
and intersected the old east-west Geo-Peko track about 68km west of the
point where the new graded track leaves it. (Fleming & Gibson 1981)
This was the first vehicle connexion from Winnecke Creek to that
track.
Between 22-26 May 1983, the Australian Army 4th Field Survey Squadron
(from Keswick, Adelaide),
under the command of Major Adler, took 12 vehicles and a helicopter
from Tennant Creek to Lajamanu, including a vehicle each from NT
Police, Department of Customs, and RAAF. They were accompanied also by
†Billy Jupurrula Baker and †Tony Japaljarri Gibson from Lajamanu.
This was the second
connexion between the east-west Geo-Peko track and Winnecke Creek,
along or sometimes to the east of subsequent graded track.
About September 1983, David McClay, adult educator at Lajamanu, with
Warlpiri men took the opportunity to follow the tracks of the Army from
Lajamanu to Warrego
(and returned to Lajamanu by highways). Soon after the Lajamanu
grader with crew of two Warlpiri men (one was Geoffrey Matthews
Jakamarra) graded the route track from "Duck Pond" to the GSW1 bore
near Warrego, in two weeks. The graded track happens to cross
Chewing's 1909 route around the point where it joined the 1960s
east-west track. Then Warlpiri people from Lajamanu drove over
the
freshly graded track.
Between 26-31 October 1983, David Gibson and Jeff Cole (Conservation
Commission, Alice Springs)
with several Warlpiri/Warlmanpa people travelled west to a place in
sandhills about 20km west of fork to the north-west. (Cole
& Gibson 1983)
About November 1983, Brian Ede (Member for Stuart) drove from Lajamanu
to Tennant Creek with
men from Lajamanu.
About December 1983, †Charlie Charles Jakamarra and others travelled
from Warrego to Lajamanu
and return
via the direct track.
In March 1984, after heavy rains in January, Bill Binz, Conservation
Commission
Ranger, Tennant Creek, travelled
about
213km west about as far as the fork (west / north-west), lighting small
fires.
Over 29 April to 2 May 1984, two Warlpiri/Warlmanpa vehicles, with
David Nash and Adrian Hyland (NT DCD) made
a return trip from Tennant Creek to Lajamanu. Previous tracks since
rains were
only those of Conservation Commission Ranger, and, to about GSW4 Bore,
some motor cycle tracks. South-east of "Duck Pond" there were no
tracks since the last rain.
Aboriginal development in Tennant Creek and surrounding areas is at the
crossroads. Provided proper support from Government and people is
given, the next couple of years should see a number of communities
developing in the areas between Tennant Creek and Hooker Creek, with
perhaps some on the east side also, the people coming from Tennant
Creek, Ali Curung and Hooker Creek.
This has economic significance for Tennant
Creek as the Hooker Creek Community (especially once a good road is put
through) will relate here more instead of Katherine, as at
present. (Clark 1984:7)
On 16 June 1986 a large meeting at GSW4 (192km west of Tennant Creek)
witnessed the presentation of the Karlantijpa ALT titles by the
Minister Clyde Holding. Many vehicles attended from Tennant
Creek, and a couple from Lajamanu. By then the bore had been
equipped with a CAT hand pump.
In May 1987 the Australian Army conducted Exercise Hardslog III, a walk
direct west from Tennant Creek
aerodrome to Mallee Hill
near the WA border. The eastern part of the track was used by
support vehicles.
The name 'Warrego track' was applied by Wynn's Safari, later Australian
Safari, which
used it as a stage in 1987, 1993 and on 26 August 1999. The term
'Wiso track' has also been used. The journalist Frank Alcorta
publicised the track after he drove across it in 1993, and for a few
years after a re-grade in 1994 the track was used by a number of
travellers.
On 31 May 2000 the Bureau of Meteorology opened rainfall station
'Central Tanami' No. 014805 at 19.0178°S 132.0°E near the track.
In July 2001 a large party of bird-watchers used the track as a base
for a fortnight's of observations for the Birds Australia Atlas
project, as they made their way from Warrego to Lajamanu.
In 2004 the track was used by a back-up group for people walking across
the Tanami.
In June 2005 the Olsens drove from Warrego to Lajamanu, and observed
that "Two vehicles have used the track in the last two years (one
didn't make it and had to be rescued)".
sketch map
Some exploration routes (to 1961) across Karlantijpa country;
reproduced from Nash 1980:29.
(NB An omission is the 1911 Barclay-Macpherson expedition.)
chronology of travels
References are being added sporadically; see also the chronological bibliography.
1860-2 John
McDouall Stuart
1871 OTL
1878 Sulivan & Mylres
1880 Wallace
1885 Hedley & Morgan
1885 Lamond
1886 Goodliffe
1886 Sam Croker
1887 Herbert Kenny
1896 Nat Buchanan
1896 Eylmann collection in Bremen
unknown (before 1960) Jim Stevens
1900 AA Davidson
1907 WR Murray
1907- Joe Brown
1907-13 Tatlock
1908 Hamilton
1909 C Chewings
1910 Alec Ross inspected Chewings wells
1910 W Laurie
1911 Barclay-Macpherson
1912 Lavender
1913 Robert Robinson Wyndham to Tanami by car
1915 Admin report Beckett
1920 Wickham & Johennesen
1921-26 Braitling
1922 Noblett
1925 W Taylor, Jas Strake, Robert Sharpe, Jim Massie, Eric Conway
1926 Alec Ross
1926 aerial; Stark, Ambrose, Ryan and Wallace
1926 Owen Cummings
1928 railway survey 'Frews Ironstone
Ponds to The W.A. Border'
1928- M Terry
1928-37 J Simpson & D Cooper
1928/1985 Killing Times
1929 Kookaburra
1930-37 Mackay maps
1930s Barker 1964
1932 Chapman
1932 Willis, Joe Roberts
1936 aerial Murranji
1937 Hossfeld
AGGSNA
1937 Waldron
193? Irvine
193? Bill Harney
1939-41 Charles Young
1940 Linklater/Nugent
1940-42 Whitlock
1941-45 Jack Mulholland (Willey 1971:144-5)
1945 Mitchell B25 forced landing
1950- surveys
1951-57 Phillip Creek
1954 Toowoomba
1955 Byers & Tennyson
1959 Olsen
1959- K Phillips
1960 VT O'Brien
1961 VT O'Brien
1964 Vaughan & de Lemos
1964 Welfare Branch: Max Cartwright et al
1965 BMR
Bureau of Mineral Resources sent Gorey & Cole drilling
rig through to Winnecke Creek and then Lajamanu, which left wheel
tracks that could
be followed for some years, and drilled 9 scoutholes GSW 1-5, WC 1-4.
1965 Wongela Geophysical
1965-66 Natmap
HA (Bill) Johnson reconnaissance, followed by Helen Springs to Ord
River traverse: Johnson 1964, Ford 1979
1967- Harrison & Liebeknecht
1967-68 aerodists
1968 Ostatshenco
1969 Astro HELENORD
1972 levelling survey
Department of the Interior survey, establishing DE series bench
marks along
the east-west part of the track graded by Geo-Peko, and on spurs to
north
and south, and through to Lajamanu-Tanami road
1972 N Peterson Yinapaka
1972- J Weir
1975 BMR, Huleatt photos
drilled scouthole GSW 6 (dry);
geology mapping, with helicopter; airstrip graded near Goddard's
Prospect
(grid ref. 674839), with vehicle access along track from Warrego.
1975 geomagnetic survey
1976- CLC
1978 Pawurrinji, Warlmanpa etc land claim
1979-80 Warlmanpa etc land claim
1981 KW land claim
1981 RAOU
1983 Army
1983 D McClay
1984- Nash travels
1985 Cusack
1987 Australian Army Exercise Hardslog III, 16-31 May, Tennant Creek
aerodrome to Mallee Hill
1987 Wynn's Safari
1988 Australian Army Desert Flower
1990 PK Latz
1993 F Alcorta
1993 Australian Safari
1994 road re-grade, John
Deckert's Track Information
1994 seismic
1999 Australian Safari Warrego
to Duck Pond section
2000 Bureau of Meteorology Central
Tanami rainfall station
2001 Birds
Australia Atlas project
2002 A Harper & K Kelly 'Beyond the Sunset: The Central Australian
Expedition'
2005 D
& J Olsen almost visited
19°S 132°E
Created 31 August 2001
Modifed 11 May 2008
© 2008 David
Nash
URL http://www.anu.edu.au/linguistics/nash/kt/history.html