Tennant Creek Telegraph Station Historical Reserve

The Tennant Creek Telegraph Station Historical Reserve is a significant historical site located approximately 16 kilometres north of Tennant Creek, in the Northern Territory of Australia.

The site is steeped in history and culture with a rich Aboriginal heritage and is home to a sacred site called "Jurnkurakurr", which is revered by the Warumungu Aboriginal people.

The Warumungu Aboriginal people were the first occupants of the region in and around Tennant Creek. The Telegraph Station was first built in 1872 and was initially a temporary bush timber building. It was later rebuilt with locally quarried stone in 1875 and operated as a repeater station as part of the Overland Telegraph Line which connected Darwin to Adelaide. Additionally, it also operated as a government rations depot. Over time, the station grew to include various buildings such as the blacksmith shop, cart shed, ration store, meat house, smokehouse and cellar. The Warumungu people were employed at the station as cattlemen and slaughter-men, and by the 1890s, over 100 Aboriginal people were living at the station. It was eventually declared an Aboriginal Reserve.

In the 1920s, the search for gold began and in 1925, a linesman discovered gold near the telegraph station. This led to the establishment of a township to the south of the telegraph station. In 1935, a post and wireless office became operational in the town of Tennant Creek, resulting in the closure of the Telegraph Station. It then reverted to a rations depot, supplying meat to the new town and water from its bore until 1966.

The Tennant Creek Telegraph Station has a rich history of postmasters who overs