Barrow Creek

History

The Barrow Creek area is the traditional home of the Kaytetye Aboriginal people. Humans have lived in Australia, and perhaps this area, for at least 40,000 years. Their ownership of this land is recognised through the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 on 1 January 2002. With the arrival of Europeans in the latter part of the 19th century, settlers competed with the Kaytetye for land and resources. Cultural misunderstandings on land and property rights resulted in mutual killings. John McDouall Stuart passed through the area in 1860. Stuart named a creek near the current town after John Henry Barrow, a preacher, journalist and politician who was born in England in 1817 and migrated to South Australia in 1853. At the time of first European habitation of the site, he was the Treasurer of South Australia. Barrow Creek was chosen as a site for an Overland Telegraph morse repeater station by John Ross in September 1871. The station was officially opened on 16 August 1872 by Charles Todd. For more information see: Barrow Creek Telegraph Station. In 1873, 5,000 sheep were overlanded from Adelaide by Alfred Giles for distribution to telegraph stations along the line. During 1877 and 1878, Alfred and Arthur Giles overlanded stock for W. J. Browne to the Katherine River. On the 1878 journey Frank Withall, a young Englishman, was included on the suggestion of Browne to gather some colonial experience. Alfred Giles later started Springvale, Delamere and the Newcastle Waters runs. During World War II, Barrow Creek was used by the Australian Army as a staging camp for convoys of troops and supplies, which was known as No. 5 Australian Personnel Staging Camp. It was the first overnight stop on the northern trip from Alice Springs to Birdum. Barrow Creek has…

Most-observed species

• Budgerigar

  Melopsittacus undulatus (Shaw, 1805) · Aves
  26
• Crested Pigeon

  Ocyphaps lophotes (Temminck, 1822) · Aves
  25
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  24
• Yellow-throated Miner

  Manorina flavigula (Gould, 1840) · Aves
  24
• Zebra Finch

  Taeniopygia guttata (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  23
• Diamond Dove

  Geopelia cuneata (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  18
• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  16
• Singing Honeyeater

  Gavicalis virescens (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  16

Most recent

• M 4.4 — 2025-12-31
  93 km S of Tennant Creek, Australia