Beltana
Population through the 20th Century
Postcode	5730
State	South Australia, Australia
Latitude and Longitude	30°48′S 138°25′E
Local Government Area	Outback Areas Community Development Trust
State Electorate	Electoral district of Stuart
Federal Electorate	Division of Grey
First explored	Edward John Eyre, 1839
First surveyed	1873
Historic population counts	391 (1883), 9 (1984)
Population 2001 census	Approximately 20[1]
River(s)	Warrioota and Sliding Rock creeks
Railway link (date)	Linked 1881, closed 1956

Beltana is a semi-ghost town 540km north of Adelaide, that has struggled on refusing to lie down and die long after the reasons for its existence have vanished. The towns history began in the 1870s with the advent of copper mining in the area, construction of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line and The Ghan railroad and began to decline in 1941 with the beginning of coal mining at Leigh Creek. The fortune of the town was sealed by the 1983 realignment of the main road away from the town. ^[2] The town, adjacent cemetery and railway structures are now part of a designated State Heritage Area declared in 1987. ^[3] Emblems: Hairy Nosed Wombat (faunal); Leafy Seadragon (marine); Piping Shrike (bird: unofficial); Sturts Desert Pea (floral); Opal (gemstone) Motto: United for the Common Wealth Slogan or Nickname: Festival State Other Australian states and territories Capital Adelaide Government Const. ... The Electoral district of Stuart is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. ... The Division of Grey is an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia. ... Edward John Eyre (5 August 1815 - 30 November 1901). ... A street corner in the ghost town of Bodie, California. ... Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia, with a population of over 1. ... Currently, the most common source of copper ore is the mineral chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), which accounts for about 50% of copper production. ... Planting the first pole on the Overland Telegraph line to Carpentaria. ... Current route map of the Ghan The Ghan, short for The Afghan, is the 48-hour, 2,979-km passenger service on the Adelaide-Alice Springs-Darwin Central Australian Railway in Australia. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Leigh Creek (30°35′ S 138°24′ E) is a coal-mining town in the north of South Australia. ...

Beltana has important links with the overland telegraph, transcontinental railway, mining, outback services, Australian Inland Mission and also has Afghan sites relating to it’s past as a camel-based transport centre. ^[3] Planting the first pole on the Overland Telegraph line to Carpentaria. ... A transcontinental railroad is a railway across a significant portion of a continent. ... The Australian Presbyterian Mission was founded by the Presbyterian Church of Australia to reach those beyond the furthest fence with Gods Word. ... Species Camelus bactrianus Camelus dromedarius Camels are even-toed ungulates in the genus Camelus. ...

The town has had horse racing since 1876, and the annual picnic races and gymkhana and biennial pastoral field day are still continued^[1] There are no services or accommodation available although there is an interpretive history trail and self-guided tour around the town. The Beltana roadhouse, now 12km from Beltana on the main highway between Parachilna and Leigh Creek, acts as the towns’ local store. Horse-racing is an equestrian sporting activity which has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times were an early example, as was the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. ... Gymkhana is an Indian term for a place where sporting events take place and refers to any of various meets at which contests are held to test the skill of the competitors, such as in the sports of equestrianship, gymnastics, or sports car racing. ... An Agricultural Show or Livestock show is a judged event or display in which breeding stock is showcased. ... Modern filling station, Preem in Karlskrona, Sweden An Ampol station in Australia in the late 1940s. ... Location of Parachilna in South Australia (red) Parachilna (31°07′S 138°23′E) was once a town in South Australia. ... Leigh Creek (30°35′ S 138°24′ E) is a coal-mining town in the north of South Australia. ...

Original inhabitants

The original inhabitants were the Adnyamathanha aboriginal people who used the area as a camp due to the nearby springs. With the arrival of Europeans their traditional lifestyle was disrupted and many of them began working as stockmen on pastoral runs. ^[2] During the early years of European settlement they kept a camp near Beltana Station but later moved closer to the town at Warrioota Creek. As the town was gradually depopulated some aborigines occupied the abandoned buildings so by the late 1960s they again formed the majority of the population ^[4]

Landscape

Beltana lies 240m above sea level between the often dry Warrioota and Sliding Rock creeks near Mount Deception.^[5] Due to the flatness of the country, the town’s proximity to the creeks and the area’s usually unpredictable weather, heavy rainfall has often leads to flooding. Beltana has experienced six months with no rain (1960-1961) and six months with over 300mm of rain (1975-1976) and drought has caused the area to be unstocked for long periods (1903-1909) ^[6]. Rainfall has ranged from 57mm in 1902 to a record 408.6mm in 1974 with a long term average of 205mm. ^[7] There are occasional winter frosts, hailstorms and one recorded snowfall (on Mount Hack and Mount Stuart in July 1971).^[8] A running stream. ... At 7788 feet above sea level, Mount Deception is the tallest peak of the northeastern Olympic Mountains, in western Washington States Olympic National Park. ... Look up flood in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Standard Rain Gauge Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge Recorder Close up of a Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge Recorder chart A rain gauge is a type of instrument used by meteorologists and hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of liquid or solid (snow, sleet, hail) precipitation over a set period of...

Saltbush, bluebush and other acacias are native plants that, with the reduction in stocking over the last decades of the 20th Century, are beginning to return to the town area. River red gums line the creeks and there is a nearby yellow-footed rock-wallaby population. Species About 100-200 species, including: Atriplex alaskensis (Alaska Orach) Atriplex amnicola (River Saltbush) Atriplex californica Atriplex calotheca Atriplex canescens (Four Wing Saltbush) Atriplex confertifolia Atriplex coronata (Crownscale Saltbush) Atriplex glabriuscula Atriplex halimus Atriplex heterosperma Atriplex hortensis (Garden or Red Orache) Atriplex hymenelytra Atriplex laciniata (Frosted Orache) Atriplex lentiformis Atriplex... Species ~1,300; See List of Acacia species Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees of Gondwanian origin belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the Pea Family Fabaceae, first described from Africa by Linnaeus in 1773. ... Binomial name Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh. ... Binomial name Petrogale xanthopus Gray, 1855 The Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby (Petrogale xanthopus) is a member of the macropod family (the marsupial family that includes the kangaroos, wallabies, tree-kangaroos, wallaroos, and others). ...

History

Naming

Beltana was originally the name of a sheep station, west of the current town, which provided a stopover point for travellers, missionaries, explorers, and miners. ^[9] The name Beltana may have come from the Adnyamathanha for running water or crossing of the waters or may be an adaptation of veldana for skin or cloak. ^[10] It may also have come from the village of Beltana, Tasmania, or a word about bravery or courage from Ireland, and finally one of the station managers believed it simply indicated the place where the station bell was rung.^[5] Emblems: Flora - Tasmanian Blue Gum Motto: Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Slogan or Nickname: The Apple Isle; Holiday Isle Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Const. ...

The Town

Land in the area first taken up for pastoral use by John Haines in 1854, taken over by Thomas Elder in 1862 and amalgamated in 1867 into the Beltana Pastoral Company of Thomas Elder and Samuel Stuckey. In 1866 Elder and Stuckey shipped in 109 Afghans and their camels, forming the basis for the areas mid 19th Century transport. ^[3] The town’s first building was Martin’s eating house which was built in 1870 to take advantage of the discovery of copper at Sliding Rock 20km east of Beltana. The town`s location had already been chosen as a repeater station site for the Australian overland telegraph and in 1870 the telegraph contract of Charles Todd brought more life to the area, with a telegraph station set up next to the only house on the site. In 1873 the town was surveyed and laid out with an enthusiastic 115 allotments, room allowed for parklands and further expansion, with reserved allotments for a school, police station and hospital. In 1877 significant water was struck at the Sliding Rock mine and the mine failed with many moving to Beltana. This coupled with the 1881 arrival of the railway brought an influx of families and within 5 years there was a brewery, store and school. Other copper mines in the area began working and the town became the railhead for copper ore, sheep and wool. In 1869 a ship, the Beltana, was a new ship built for the Port Augusta to London run and operated until 1897 ^[11] General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic pinkish red Atomic mass 63. ... Optical Telegraf of Claude Chappe on the Litermont near Nalbach, Germany Telegraph and telegram redirect here. ... Sir Charles Todd (born 7 July 1826 in London, died Adelaide 29 January 1910) worked at the Royal Greenwich Observatory 1841-1847 and the Cambridge University observatory from 1847-1854. ... Surveyor at work with a leveling instrument. ... An Australian park A park is any of a number of geographic features. ... Students in Rome, Italy. ... A typical suburban police station in the United States (this one is in San Bruno, California). ... A physician visiting the sick in a hospital. ... Port Augusta (32°29′ S 137°46′ E, population 15,250) is a town in South Australia. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Beltana’s best time was between 1875 and the 1920s. During these years mining activity was at its height. The town supported a brewery, two hotels, post and telegraph office, school, police station, doctor, court-house, church, baker, butcher, blacksmith, hospital, railway station, cricket team, race meetings, a saddle maker, carriage maker, mining exchange, several shops and, at times, as many as 500 people.^[12] The entrance of a brewery. ... A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging, usually on a short-term basis. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... A loaf of bread A baker is someone who primarily bakes and sells bread. ... Butcher shop in Valencia A butcher is someone who prepares various meats and other related goods for sale. ... A blacksmith A blacksmith at work A blacksmith at work A blacksmiths fire Hot metal work from a blacksmith A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from iron or steel by forging the metal; i. ... Passengers bustle around the typical grand edifice of Londons Broad Street Station in 1865. ... For the insect, see Cricket (insect). ... See: A saddle is a seat for a rider fastened to a horses back. ... Tourists in a vis-a-vis, Prague The classic definition of a carriage is a four-wheeled horse-drawn private passenger vehicle with leaf springs (elliptical springs in the 19th century) or leather strapping for suspension, whether light, smart and fast or large and comfortable. ...

Mechanisation, mine closure, drought and depression lead to the slow decline of beltana as a service centre for the region from 1920 onwards. The railway realignment consequent to gauge change in 1956 and road movement in 1983 completed the reversal of the towns fortunes. ^[13] A drought is an abnormally dry period when there is not enough water to support agricultural, urban or environme fdsdesntal water needs. ... The Great Depression was a worldwide economic downturn which started in 1929 (although its effects were not fully felt until late 1930) and lasted through most of the 1930s. ... Rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the two parallel rails that make up a railway track. ...

Explorers

The town was, for some time, the starting point of many central Australian expeditions and explorations including those by Ernest Giles in 1872, Peter Warburton in 1873, Ross in 1874, Lewis in 1874-1875, and Lawrence Wells in 1883.^[5] Yours faithfully, Ernest Giles Photo in the frontespiece of his Australia Twice Traversed William Ernest Powell Giles (July 7, 1835–November 20, 1897), best known as Ernest Giles, was an Australian explorer who led three major expeditions in central Australia. ... Colonel Peter Egerton Warburton (born August 16, 1813 in Cheshire, England, died November 5, 1889 in Adelaide, South Australia) was an English explorer who made one particularly daring expedition from Adelaide to cross the centre of Australia to the coast of Western Australia via Alice Springs in 1872. ...

Beltana Station

Thomas Elder took over lease no. 370 in 1862 forming Beltana Station and until the early 20th Century there were as many as 60 living on the station. ^[2] Beltana Pastoral run for many years was the head station of the Beltana Pastoral Co. The station ran livestock, and a camel breeding program for work on the telegraph, exploring and it’s own use.^[1] Today the station covers 410,000 acres, holds up to 8,500 livestock and offers 4WD driving tracks and accommodation. ^[14]

Beltana Today

With the loss of the railroad, main road, mining, telegraph and the expansion of nearby Leigh Creek all of the original reasons for the town to exist have vanished. The population reached 9 in 1984 and today the town survives as a historic tourist site and living ghost town. ^[5] Most surviving buildings are now in private hands and not open to the public. There is an interpretive trail with signs detailing the history of many of the buildings in the town but no shops or services are available.^[3]

Town Buildings

Australian Inland Mission

The building was first a Presbyterian manse in 1895 and served as the manse for Reverend John Flynn, later of the flying doctor service, in 1911. It became the Beltana Australian inland mission nursing home in 1919. The nursing home continued until hospital facilities became available in mid 1950s at Leigh Creek. ^[2] Presbyterianism is part of the Reformed churches family of denominations of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin which traces its institutional roots to the Scottish Reformation, especially as led by John Knox. ... The rectory is the title usually given to the building inhabited, or formerly inhabited, by the vicar of a parish. ... Portrait of Flynn in his early 20s. ... The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (RFDS, informally known as The Flying Doctors) is an air ambulance service for those living in the remote inland areas of Australia. ... A nursing home or skilled nursing facility (SNF) is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant Activity of Daily Living (ADL) deficiencies. ...

Police Station

Due to concerns over the behaviour of workers on the railway line a mounted policeman was appointed in 1879 to manage the land from Parachilna to Kopperamanna. In 1881 a permanent police building was finished and a police sergeant with 2 mounted constables were housed. Cyril Allen, Beltana’s last official policeman, closed the office in 1958 with policing now covered from Leigh Creek. ^[2] horse, see Horse (disambiguation). ... Police forces are charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order (law enforcement), and protecting the general public from harm. ... Location of Parachilna in South Australia (red) Parachilna (31°07′S 138°23′E) was once a town in South Australia. ... Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organisations around the world. ... hello peoples youve been fooled!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ...

School

With the closure of the Sliding Rock mine, its school ( at the mining township of Cadnia) was dismantled and relocated to Beltana in 1878. The school was always a single-teacher school with a peak enrolment of 52 students in 1904. It was closed in 1967 with students now bussed to Leigh Creek area school. ^[2] The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

Telegraph Station

A temporary repeater station was opened in 1872 followed by a permanent station in 1875. Staffed by a staff of up to 6 it relayed morse telegraph messages on the Port Darwin-Adelaide telegraph lines. The station received its first phone message in 1878, was moved in 1940 to a telephone switchboard at the local shop, and closed by 1956 as an automatic exchange had been installed. ^[2] The name Darwin may refer to various places, things, and people, including: Charles Darwin (1809–1882), renowned naturalist and thinker associated with the theory of Natural Selection Darwin, Northern Territory, Australian city and the capital of the Northern Territory Darwin (operating system), a computer operating system used in Apples... Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia, with a population of over 1. ... A Verizon Central Office in Lakeland, Florida at night. ...

Railway Station

On 19 January 1878 Sir William Jervois symbolically turned the first sod on the new northern railway (called The Ghan) at Port Augusta. The line reached Hawker in June 1880, Beltana on 2 July 1881, Maree on 6 January 1884, Oodnadatta on 7 January 1891 and Alice Springs on 2 August 1929. In 1956 the narrow gauge line through Beltana was replaced by a standard gauge line that bypassed the town and the line is now closed.^[2] January 19 is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois, GCMG CD, Governor of New Zealand, 1883-89, b. ... Current route map of the Ghan The Ghan, short for The Afghan, is the 48-hour, 2,979-km passenger service on the Adelaide-Alice Springs-Darwin Central Australian Railway in Australia. ... July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 182 days remaining. ... 1881 (MDCCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) is a leap year starting on Tuesday (click on link to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... January 7 is the seventh day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... August 2 is the 214th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (215th in leap years), with 151 days remaining. ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Narrow-gauge railways are railroads (railways) with track spaced at less than the standard gauge of 4 ft 8 in (1. ... As railways developed and expanded one of the key issues to be decided was that of the rail gauge (the distance between the two rails of the track) which should be used. ...

Trivia

• Although the town appears uninhabited and it appears that you can freely walk into any building you like, the buildings are privately owned and some are inhabited so many inhabited houses have "Keep Out" signs posted on them.^[5]

Notes

2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 10 is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 10 is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 10 is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 10 is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 10 is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years). ...

References

External links

• Flinders Ranges Research, Beltana
• Connecting the Continent, Celebrating Beltana