Daly River

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July 8th 2012

Published: August 7th 2012

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MikeandTrishV

Pine Creek

Daly River

8^th July 2012

Leaving Katherine we did not have a big day in front of us to reach the Daly River, our destination, but our first stop was Pine Creek and Mayse’s Café, a regular stop for travellers along the Stuart Highway. Mayse Young was the publican of the hotel next door from the 1940’s to the 1960’s. During construction of the Overland Telegraph line from Adelaide to Darwin in 1870, workers crossed a creek that was ‘not all that large’ but was ‘notable for the pine trees that grew on its banks’. In 1871 workers digging holes for the telegraph line found gold in the soil, triggering another Australian gold rush. Pine Creek was, until the turn of the century, one of the major centres of the Territory's mining industry. Consequently the history of the town is largely the history of the Territory's goldmining industry. The first stage of the North Australia Railway was built between Port Darwin and Pine Creek reaching the town in 1889 and it was this that that ensured the survival of the town between the booms and busts of mining.

Leaving Pine Creek it was only another 60klm before our

Pine Creek

Mayse's Cafe

turnoff for the run into Daly River. European discovery of Daly River was in 1865 by Boyle Finniss, the first Premier of South Australia. Finniss named the river after Sir Dominick Daly, the Governor of South Australia, since the Northern Territory was at that time part of South Australia. The region lay untouched by Europeans until 1882 when copper was discovered.

The traditional owners of the area are the Malak Malak people who live both in Nauiyu and at Wooliana downstream from the community and until copper was discovered here in 1882, the area lay untouched by Europeans. In 1884 Daly River town was the scene of some particularly bloody exchanges between the local Aborigines and the miners and three miners were killed. The miners in the town wreaked vengeance on the local Aborigines out of proportion to the perceived crime and a year later, aware of the tensions in the area, the Roman Catholics established a mission in the town.

Through the twentieth century there were a number of attempts to settle the town without real success, I am not surprised as there is nothing here except a great big beautiful river full of barramundi and very

Pine Creek

big ‘snappers’. Today the town is little more than a pub with a few motel units, a police station, and a caravan park. It is located on the banks of the river a couple of kilometres from the Daly River Crossing and serves the best hamburgers! On the

road 5 km east of Daly River is a turnoff to Woolianna, Banyan Farm, and a number of other smaller camping and caravan parks on the banks of the river; we stayed at Banyan which was really good.

The Daly region is a centre for visitors to explore the Daly River Nature Park. The Daly River is famed for its large barramundi and hosts two major fishing competitions annually, the “Barra Classic” and the “Barra Nationals”. The park is home to saltwater crocodiles, reptiles, spiders, cockatoos, wild pigs, feral Water Buffalo, mangroves, giant bamboos, pandanus and Kapok trees; ….sound great?.... It is!

Just before entering the town there is a turnoff to the Nauiyu Aboriginal Community, it is just out of the Daly River settlement, home to the Roman Catholic Mission and Merrepen Arts Centre where local art is sold, unfortunately we were here over a weekend and the

Daly River Road

Art centre was not open.

If I was a ‘died in the wool’ fisherman, I would have found it hard to leave this place but we are glad we made the effort to go and see this magic river that creates such a fuss during the barra season, and the hamburgers at the pub were amazing.

Additional photos below

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