Melville Island - Culture and History

Melville Island (including Fort Dundas)
Bathurst and Melville Islands are known as the Tiwi Islands. They are both popular destinations for one and two day trips from Darwin.
Separated from Bathurst Island by only two kilometres Melville Island has a similar history. It was the home of the Tiwi Aborigines (it is now an Aboriginal Reserve) for thousands of years. In 1644 Abel Tasman became the first European to officially sight the island although he incorrectly assumed that it was part of the northern coast of Australia.

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Mataranka - Fast Facts

Mataranka (including the Never-Never)
Small township and a large resort near the Stuart Highway in the famous 'never-never'.
Mataranka is located on the Stuart Highway 1059 km north of Alice Springs, 423 km south of Darwin and 107 km south of Katherine. It was once unkindly described by the writer Sumner Locke Elliott as 'this lonely strip of barren and seemingly endless sandy waste of ant-hills and stunted trees - thick, hot red sand in the winter time and a sea of mud during the dreaded 'Wet".

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Mataranka - Eat

Mataranka (including the Never-Never)
Small township and a large resort near the Stuart Highway in the famous 'never-never'.
Mataranka is located on the Stuart Highway 1059 km north of Alice Springs, 423 km south of Darwin and 107 km south of Katherine. It was once unkindly described by the writer Sumner Locke Elliott as 'this lonely strip of barren and seemingly endless sandy waste of ant-hills and stunted trees - thick, hot red sand in the winter time and a sea of mud during the dreaded 'Wet".

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Mataranka - Sleep

Mataranka (including the Never-Never)
Small township and a large resort near the Stuart Highway in the famous 'never-never'.
Mataranka is located on the Stuart Highway 1059 km north of Alice Springs, 423 km south of Darwin and 107 km south of Katherine. It was once unkindly described by the writer Sumner Locke Elliott as 'this lonely strip of barren and seemingly endless sandy waste of ant-hills and stunted trees - thick, hot red sand in the winter time and a sea of mud during the dreaded 'Wet".

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Larrimah - Fast Facts

Larrimah (including Gorrie Airstrip)
Tiny township on the Stuart Highway south of Katherine.
The small settlement of Larrimah is located 184 metres above sea level on the Stuart Highway 534 km south of Darwin and 177 km south of Katherine. Originally the terminus for the infamous North Australian railway - 'the line to nowhere' - it was, in fact, 8 km to the north of the real terminus at Birdum. Today Larrimah is just another stopover point on the Stuart Highway with a roadhouse, a caravan park, budget accommodation and a delightful outback pub, The Larrimah Hotel, which was actually the pub at Birdum until it was moved to Larrimah in 1952. There are now no relics at all of the railway line which was closed down in 1976.

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Larrimah - Eat

Larrimah (including Gorrie Airstrip)
Tiny township on the Stuart Highway south of Katherine.
The small settlement of Larrimah is located 184 metres above sea level on the Stuart Highway 534 km south of Darwin and 177 km south of Katherine. Originally the terminus for the infamous North Australian railway - 'the line to nowhere' - it was, in fact, 8 km to the north of the real terminus at Birdum. Today Larrimah is just another stopover point on the Stuart Highway with a roadhouse, a caravan park, budget accommodation and a delightful outback pub, The Larrimah Hotel, which was actually the pub at Birdum until it was moved to Larrimah in 1952. There are now no relics at all of the railway line which was closed down in 1976.

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Larrimah - Sleep

Larrimah (including Gorrie Airstrip)
Tiny township on the Stuart Highway south of Katherine.
The small settlement of Larrimah is located 184 metres above sea level on the Stuart Highway 534 km south of Darwin and 177 km south of Katherine. Originally the terminus for the infamous North Australian railway - 'the line to nowhere' - it was, in fact, 8 km to the north of the real terminus at Birdum. Today Larrimah is just another stopover point on the Stuart Highway with a roadhouse, a caravan park, budget accommodation and a delightful outback pub, The Larrimah Hotel, which was actually the pub at Birdum until it was moved to Larrimah in 1952. There are now no relics at all of the railway line which was closed down in 1976.

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Roper Bar - Fast Facts

Roper Bar (including Roper River)
Tiny settlement on the Roper River.
Roper Bar, the only settlement on the Roper River, lies 606km south of Darwin, 312 km east of Katherine and 1235km from Alice Springs. The Roper River was first explored by Ludwig Leichhardt in 1845 as he made his way from Moreton Bay to Port Essington. Leichhardt crossed the river at Roper Bar, a rocky shelf which conveniently lies at the high tide limit on the river. He named the river after John Roper, a member of the expedition.

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