Tennant Creek is located along the Stuart Highway some 500 kilometres north of Alice Springs. In 1860 John McDouall Stuart discovered the creek about 10 kilometres north of the current town centre. The Creek and subsequent town was named after a gentleman called John Tennant, who was a pastoralist from Port Lincoln in South Australia.

There is an interesting tale relating to the choice of a site for the town. The original site was mapped to be by the creek itself, but when the beer cart travelling north lost a wheel on the present town site, it was deemed far more appropriate to move the town to the beer than the beer to the town !

The town's distance from the creek did lead to problems in the early stages of development. The bore water was extremely salty, and unfit for drinking, so daily treks were made to the creek to cart water for drinking, bathing and cooking.

The emergence of the Overland Telegraph Line led to the construction of a repeater station here in the year 1872, where it can still be found today.

Tennant Creek became a stop over point for travellers. Despite this, it was not until the discovery in the 1930s of gold, that a township in the true sense of the word began. This was the area where Australia's last 'Great Goldrush' took place, causing the population of the area to mushroom dramatically. There were over 100 mines operating in the 1930s, and some of them led to quite major gold discoveries.

The Peko Wallsend Mining Company began in Tennant Creek in 1933, in the Peko mine named after the dog of the mine's owner, Joe Kaczinski.

After World War II, the goldrush subsided, and the itinerant population began to leave the town. In the early 1950s quite significant deposits of copper were discovered in the area, leading to a slow re-building of the population. Today, mining is still a major industry in Tennant Creek, with gold, copper, and silver deposits being mined.

Poseidon Gold is the town's largest mining company, and their White Devil Mine supplies the highest grade of gold in Australia today.

Today, it remains one of the Northern Territory's more populous towns. It has all modern facilities, and a divided main street with a grassy and tree lined centre strip. It is a major service centre for the surrounding area, supporting people for hundreds of square kilometres.

Tennant Creek also has a number of attractions, which help to make the town an attractive stopover point for a few days.

Museums

Located just one kilometre outside of Tennant Creek is Battery Hill, home to the old Tennant Creek Gold Stamp Battery and it is also where you can learn pick up lots of interesting pieces of information about the mining heritage of the area. You will find not only the unique stamp battery and museum, but you will also be able to tour different types of mines, try your hand at gold panning and listen to a miner give a detailed account of working in the mine. Located on Peko Road with guided tours being conducted on a daily basis.

The National Trust Museum and Archives in Tennant Creek is itself an historic building with all kinds of interesting details of early mining life and exhibits of photos, machinery and other artefacts. The museum is situated on Schmidt Street. It is only open from May to September, from 2 pm until 4 pm.

Historical Attractions

Noble's Nob Open Cut Mine is some 12 kilometres out of the town . It was named after Jack Noble in the 1930s and was the site of the richest mine in Australia at one time. Visitors are welcome to see it for themselves and ore specimens are also available. Located on the Peko Road.

The Church of Christ The King was in fact originally built in Pine Creek in 1904. It was decided to transport it to Tennant Creek in 1936, as the new town was really beginning to expand at a rapid rate because of the mining. It has been carefully restored and is classified by the National Trust.

About 1 kilometre south out of Tennant Creek, off the Stuart Highway, you will find the Tennant Creek Cemetery, which is the resting ground for many of the area's pioneers who braved the harsh environment in those early days.

Along the Stuart Highway to the north is the Overland Telegraph Station, whose historic stones were first laid in 1872. Here through the many signs, you will learn of the Stations past, and its role in communications with the Overland Telegraph Line. As you can imagine the station was an absolute oasis of comfort for those who came across it during hot, dusty and long travels in the Territory. Today, only four out of the original eleven buildings which were constructed as stations from Adelaide to Darwin, remain. These represent the oldest buildings in the Territory. The Historical Reserve is set in 1797 hectares.

John Flynn Memorial Historical Reserve is set in 0.5 hectares of land and is just to the north of Tennant Creek. This is a memorial to the Reverend John Flynn, founder of the Flying Doctor Service and the Australian Inland Mission. His vision and energy gave 'a mantle of safety' to the scattered population of the vast outback.

Natural Attractions

The Civic Centre in the town is home to an interesting array of rocks and minerals as well as acquisitions from the Tennant Creek Art Award. The Mary Ann Dam is a man made lake 3 kilometres north of Tennant Creek. It is an ideal spot for swimming, bushwalking, canoeing and boating plus it has shady picnic areas with BBQ facilities. There is also a children's playground and toilet facilities.

North of the town along the Stuart Highway, you will find what is known as the Pebbles, Tennant Creek's answer to the Devils Marbles. Though not quite as big, one still cannot but help wonder how these boulders arrived in their various scattered positions across the desert. It is wonderful to see them at sunset when they spectacularly glow as the sun descends into the horizon. Of course, the real thing, the Devils Marbles themselves are not too far from Tennant Creek.

Other Attractions

The Bill Allen Lookout is located just past the Battery, east of the town. It offers those who pay it a visit vistas of the surrounding area, with signs indicating points of interest to look out for in the distance, like the mines.

There are numerous mines that you can tour. The Dot is one of the original old mines, dating back to 1936. It was established by a German called Otto Wohnert. It closed after the war and was not re-opened and today you can tour the mine which is still in its original state. You will learn about the hard work that was involved in the extraction from the mine and other experiences of the miners. It is off the Stuart Highway, near the Warrego Road.

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