Mataranka

History

The name Mataranka means "home of the snake" in the Yangmanic language of the Aboriginal people who inhabit the area. The name was given to a sheep farm around 1915 by John A. Gilruth, who was the Administrator of the Northern Territory at that time. The town of Mataranka was first gazetted on 24 May 1928 after the arrival of the North Australia Railway. The locality of Mataranka, which include the town and surrounding land were re-gazetted on 4 April 2007. The army, through the Native Affairs Branch, employed Aboriginal men to perform key roles throughout the Northern Territory and these gangs completed many large scale infrastructure projects and were instrumental to the war effort. In 1943 200 Aboriginal labourers were employed through this scheme and based at Mataranka; many of these men were working on railway gangs. Mataranka was served by the original narrow gauge railway that closed in 1976 after cyclone damage. The new standard gauge railway opened in 2003. It passes about 20 km to the west of the town.

Most-observed species

• Bluestem

  Andropogon gayanus Kunth · Liliopsida
  1,156
• Bufo toad, Bullfrog, Cane toad, Giant American toad, Marine Toad, Suriname toad

  Rhinella marina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Amphibia
  353
• Great Bowerbird

  Chlamydera nuchalis (Jardine & Selby, 1830) · Aves
  321
• Bar-shouldered Dove

  Geopelia humeralis (Temminck, 1821) · Aves
  313
• Blue-faced Honeyeater

  Entomyzon cyanotis (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  306
• Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

  Cacatua galerita (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  293
• Neem

  Azadirachta indica A.Juss. · Magnoliopsida
  277
• Red-collared Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus rubritorquis Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 · Aves
  264