Beltana, South Australia
Encyclopedia
Beltana is a semi-ghost town
540 kilometres (336 mi) north of Adelaide
, South Australia
. Beltana is known for continuing to exist long after the reasons for its existence had ceased. The town's 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. The town, adjacent cemetery and railway structures are now part of a designated State Heritage Area declared in 1987.
Beltana has important links with the overland telegraph
, transcontinental railway, mining, outback services, Australian Inland Mission
and also has Afghan
sites relating to its past as a camel
-based transport centre.
The town has had horse racing
since 1876, and the annual picnic races
and gymkhana
and biennial pastoral field day
are still continued. There are services and accommodation available at Beltana station and there is an interpretive history trail and self-guided tour around the town. The Beltana roadhouse
, now 12 km from Beltana on the main highway between Parachilna
and Leigh Creek
, acts as the town's local store.
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. 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.
near Mount Deception. 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 led to flood
ing. Beltana has experienced six months with no rain (1960-61) and six months with over 300 mm of rain (1975-76) and drought has caused the area to be unstocked for long periods (1903-09). Rainfall
has ranged from 57 mm in 1902 to a record 408.6 mm in 1974 with a long term average of 205 mm. There are occasional winter frosts, hailstorms and one recorded snowfall (on Mount Hack and Mount Stuart in July 1971).
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 gum
s line the creeks and there is a nearby yellow-footed rock-wallaby
population.
, 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.
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.
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 20 km 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 park
lands 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 five 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.
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 town's fortune.
in 1872, Peter Warburton
in 1873, Ross in 1874, Lewis in 1874-75, and Lawrence Wells
in 1883.
The town does not have any piped water
as the 1940s water pipe from Leigh Creek to Sliding Rock bypassed Beltana. Water is supplied from various well
s and the old railway dam
with Puttapa Springs
, a permanent water source, 8 km from the town.
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.
was purchased in 1898, having been rented by Rev Robert Mitchell for four years before that, 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 the mid 1950s at Leigh Creek. The second Presbyterian manse, on Lot 93 at the corner of Second and Fourth Street, was purchased in 1912 and held by the church until 1953.
The Beltana Mission Hall, which dates from about 1878, was offered to the Church in 1902 for £60 and purchased. Previously it had been used for a Sunday School but originally had been part of Doig's carriage works and had double doors towards the rear of the north-east wall. An extra room accessed through this opening was added when the building was thoroughly renovated during the term of Rev H.E. Carey, the Smith of Dunesk Missioner 1916-18. The extension was later removed but the building has been kept in fair condition and is still used for occasional services.
man 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 two mounted constable
s were housed. Cyril Allen, Beltana’s last official policeman, closed the office in 1958 with policing now covered from Leigh Creek.
sed to Leigh Creek area school.
-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.
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, Marree
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.
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
540 kilometres (336 mi) north of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. Beltana is known for continuing to exist long after the reasons for its existence had ceased. The town's history began in the 1870s with the advent of copper mining
Copper extraction
Copper extraction techniques refers to the methods for obtaining copper from its ores. This conversion consists of a series of chemical, physical, and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, local environmental regulations, and other...
in the area, construction of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line
Australian Overland Telegraph Line
The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was a 3200 km telegraph line that connected Darwin with Port Augusta in South Australia. Completed in 1872 the Overland Telegraph Line allowed fast communication between Australia and the rest of the world. An additional section was added in 1877 with the...
and The Ghan railroad and began to decline in 1941 with the beginning of coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
at Leigh Creek
Leigh Creek, South Australia
Leigh Creek is a coal-mining town in the north of South Australia. At the 2006 census, Leigh Creek had a population of 549....
. The fortune of the town was sealed by the 1983 realignment of the main road away from the town. The town, adjacent cemetery and railway structures are now part of a designated State Heritage Area declared in 1987.
Beltana has important links with the overland telegraph
Australian Overland Telegraph Line
The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was a 3200 km telegraph line that connected Darwin with Port Augusta in South Australia. Completed in 1872 the Overland Telegraph Line allowed fast communication between Australia and the rest of the world. An additional section was added in 1877 with the...
, transcontinental railway, mining, outback services, Australian Inland Mission
Australian Inland Mission
The Australian Presbyterian Mission was founded by the Presbyterian Church of Australia to reach those "beyond the farthest fence" with God's Word. It is better known as the Australian Inland Mission . Rev...
and also has Afghan
Demographics of Afghanistan
The population of Afghanistan is around 29,835,392 as of the year 2011, which is unclear if the refugees living outside the country are included or not. The nation is composed of a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual society, reflecting its location astride historic trade and invasion routes between...
sites relating to its past as a camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
-based transport centre.
The town has had horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
since 1876, and the annual picnic races
Picnic horse racing
Picnic horse racing, or more usually picnic races or more colloquially "the picnics" refer to amateur Thoroughbred horse racing meetings, predominantly in Australia. The meetings are organized by amateur clubs, the jockeys are amateur riders, or sometimes former professional jockeys...
and gymkhana
Gymkhana (equestrian)
Gymkhana is a term used in the United Kingdom, east coast of the United States, and other English-speaking nations to describe an equestrian event consisting of speed pattern racing and timed games for riders on horses...
and biennial pastoral field day
Agricultural show
An agricultural show is a public event showcasing the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show , a trade fair, competitions, and entertainment...
are still continued. There are services and accommodation available at Beltana station and there is an interpretive history trail and self-guided tour around the town. The Beltana roadhouse
Filling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
, now 12 km from Beltana on the main highway between Parachilna
Parachilna, South Australia
Parachilna was once a town in South Australia. The town was first surveyed in 1863 due to its closeness to a government water well. It is on the railway line and road between Port Augusta and Leigh Creek. Today, the Prairie Hotel, railway station, airstrip and a few buildings remain...
and Leigh Creek
Leigh Creek, South Australia
Leigh Creek is a coal-mining town in the north of South Australia. At the 2006 census, Leigh Creek had a population of 549....
, acts as the town's local store.
Original inhabitants
The original inhabitants were the AdnyamathanhaAdnyamathanha
The Adnyamathanha or Adynyamathanha are an Indigenous Australian people from the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. Adnyamathanha is also the name of their traditional language....
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. 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.
Landscape
Beltana lies 240 m above sea level between the often dry Warrioota and Sliding Rock creeksStream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
near Mount Deception. 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 led to flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
ing. Beltana has experienced six months with no rain (1960-61) and six months with over 300 mm of rain (1975-76) and drought has caused the area to be unstocked for long periods (1903-09). Rainfall
Rain gauge
A rain gauge is a type of instrument used by meteorologists and hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of liquid precipitation over a set period of time....
has ranged from 57 mm in 1902 to a record 408.6 mm in 1974 with a long term average of 205 mm. There are occasional winter frosts, hailstorms and one recorded snowfall (on Mount Hack and Mount Stuart in July 1971).
Saltbush
Atriplex
Atriplex is a plant genus of 100-200 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache . The genus is quite variable and widely distributed. It includes many desert and seashore plants and halophytes, as well as plants of moist environments...
, 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 gum
River Red Gum
The River Red Gum is a tree of the genus Eucalyptus. It is one of around 800 in the genus. It is a plantation species in many parts of the world, but is native to Australia, where it is widespread, especially beside inland water courses...
s line the creeks and there is a nearby yellow-footed rock-wallaby
Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby
The Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby is a member of the macropod family ....
population.
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. 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. It may also have come from the village of Beltana, TasmaniaTasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, or a word about bravery or courage from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, and finally one of the station managers believed it simply indicated the place where the station bell was rung.
The Town
Land in the area first taken up for pastoral use by John Haines in 1854, taken over by Thomas ElderThomas Elder
Sir Thomas Elder GCMG was a Scottish-Australian pastoralist, highly successful businessman, philanthropist, politician, race-horse owner and breeder and public figure...
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.
The town’s first building was Martin’s eating house which was built in 1870 to take advantage of the discovery of copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
at Sliding Rock 20 km east of Beltana. The town's location had already been chosen as a repeater
Telegraphy
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver...
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
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
and laid out with an enthusiastic 115 allotments, room allowed for park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
lands and further expansion, with reserved allotments for a school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
, police station
Police station
A police station or station house is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.- Facilities...
and hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
.
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 five 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
Port Augusta, South Australia
-Electricity generation:Electricity is generated at the Playford B and Northern power stations from brown coal mined at Leigh Creek, 250 km to the north...
to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
run and operated until 1897.
Beltana’s best time was between 1875 and the 1920s. During these years mining activity was at its height. The town supported a breweryBreweryA brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
, two hotelHotelA hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s, post and telegraph office, school, police station, doctor, court-house, church, bakerBakerA baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...
, butcherButcherA butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat or any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat, poultry, fish and shellfish for sale in retail or wholesale food establishments...
, blacksmithBlacksmithA blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
, hospital, railway station, cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
team, race meetings, a saddleSaddleA saddle is a supportive structure for a rider or other load, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is the equestrian saddle designed for a horse, but specialized saddles have been created for camels and other creatures...
maker, carriageCarriageA carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...
maker, mining exchange, several shops and, at times, as many as 500 people.
Mechanisation, mine closure
Mine closure
Mine closure is the period of time when the ore-extracting activities of a mine have ceased, and final decommissioning and mine reclamation are being completed. It is generally associated with reduced employment levels, which can have a significant negative impact on local economies...
, drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
and depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
lead to the slow decline of Beltana as a service centre for the region from 1920 onwards. The railway realignment consequent to gauge
Rail gauge
Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
change in 1956 and road movement in 1983 completed the reversal of the town's fortune.
Explorers
The town was, for some time, the starting point of many central Australian expeditions and explorations including those by Ernest GilesErnest Giles
William Ernest Powell Giles , best known as Ernest Giles, was an Australian explorer who led three major expeditions in central Australia.- Early life :...
in 1872, Peter Warburton
Peter Warburton
Colonel Peter Egerton Warburton CMG 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.The younger brother of Rowland Egerton-Warburton, Warburton was educated at home and...
in 1873, Ross in 1874, Lewis in 1874-75, and Lawrence Wells
Lawrence Wells
Lawrence Allen Wells was an Australian explorer.Wells grew up in the Mount Gambier, South Australia district, and after a short stint in a merchants office, joined the South Australian Survey Department in October 1878. In 1883 the surveyor General, G.W...
in 1883.
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. Beltana Pastoral run for many years was the head station of the Beltana Pastoral Co. The station ran livestock, and a camel breeding programme for work on the telegraph, exploring and its own use. Today the station covers 410000 acres (1,659.2 km²), holds up to 8,500 livestock and offers 4WD driving tracks and accommodation.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.The town does not have any piped water
Water pipe
Water pipes are pipes or tubes, frequently made of polyvinyl chloride , ductile iron, steel, cast iron, polypropylene, polyethylene, or copper, that carry pressurized and treated fresh water to buildings , as well as inside the building.-History:For many centuries, lead was the favoured material...
as the 1940s water pipe from Leigh Creek to Sliding Rock bypassed Beltana. Water is supplied from various well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
s and the old railway dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
with Puttapa Springs
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
, a permanent water source, 8 km from the town.
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.
Australian Inland Mission
The first Presbyterian manseManse
A manse is a house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of a Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist or United Church...
was purchased in 1898, having been rented by Rev Robert Mitchell for four years before that, and served as the manse for Reverend John Flynn
John Flynn (minister)
John Flynn OBE was an Australian Presbyterian minister who founded the Royal Flying Doctor Service, the world's first air ambulance.-Biography:...
, later of the Flying Doctor Service
Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia
The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia is an emergency and primary health care service for those living in rural, remote and regional areas of Australia...
, in 1911. It became the Beltana Australian Inland Mission
Australian Inland Mission
The Australian Presbyterian Mission was founded by the Presbyterian Church of Australia to reach those "beyond the farthest fence" with God's Word. It is better known as the Australian Inland Mission . Rev...
nursing home
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
in 1919. The nursing home continued until hospital facilities became available in the mid 1950s at Leigh Creek. The second Presbyterian manse, on Lot 93 at the corner of Second and Fourth Street, was purchased in 1912 and held by the church until 1953.
The Beltana Mission Hall, which dates from about 1878, was offered to the Church in 1902 for £60 and purchased. Previously it had been used for a Sunday School but originally had been part of Doig's carriage works and had double doors towards the rear of the north-east wall. An extra room accessed through this opening was added when the building was thoroughly renovated during the term of Rev H.E. Carey, the Smith of Dunesk Missioner 1916-18. The extension was later removed but the building has been kept in fair condition and is still used for occasional services.
Police Station
Due to concerns over the behaviour of workers on the railway line a mounted policePolice
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
man was appointed in 1879 to manage the land from Parachilna
Parachilna, South Australia
Parachilna was once a town in South Australia. The town was first surveyed in 1863 due to its closeness to a government water well. It is on the railway line and road between Port Augusta and Leigh Creek. Today, the Prairie Hotel, railway station, airstrip and a few buildings remain...
to Kopperamanna. In 1881 a permanent police building was finished and a police sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
with two mounted constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
s were housed. Cyril Allen, Beltana’s last official policeman, closed the office in 1958 with policing now covered from Leigh Creek.
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 busBus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
sed to Leigh Creek area school.
Telegraph Station
A temporary repeater station was opened in 1872 followed by a permanent station in 1875. Staffed by a staff of up to six it relayed morse telegraph messages on the Port DarwinDarwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
-Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
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
Telephone exchange
In the field of telecommunications, a telephone exchange or telephone switch is a system of electronic components that connects telephone calls...
had been installed.
Railway Station
On 19 January 1878 Sir William JervoisWilliam Jervois
Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois, GCMG, CB was a British military engineer who saw service, as Second Captain, in South Africa...
symbolically turned the first sod on the new northern railway (called The Ghan) at Port Augusta. The line reached Hawker
Hawker, South Australia
Hawker is a town in the Flinders Ranges area of South Australia, 365 km north of Adelaide. It is in the Flinders Ranges Council, the state Electoral district of Stuart and the federal Division of Grey. At the 2006 census, Hawker had a population of 229....
in June 1880, Beltana on 2 July 1881, Marree
Marree, South Australia
Marree is a small town located in the north of South Australia. It lies North of Adelaide at the junction of the Oodnadatta Track and the Birdsville Track, above sea level. The area is the home of the Dieri people. At the 2006 census, Marree had a population of 70.The town was home to Australia's...
on 6 January 1884, Oodnadatta
Oodnadatta, South Australia
Oodnadatta, South Australia, is a small town surrounded by an area of with cattle stations in arid pastoral rangelands close to the Simpson Desert, north of Adelaide and 112 m above sea level. It can be reached by an unsealed road from Coober Pedy or via the unsealed Oodnadatta Track from...
on 7 January 1891 and Alice Springs
Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Alice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as "the Alice" or simply "Alice", Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory...
on 2 August 1929. In 1956 the narrow gauge line through Beltana was replaced by a standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
line that bypassed the town and the line is now closed.
Note for visitors
- Although it appears that the town is uninhabited and that visitors can freely walk into any building they like, the buildings are privately owned and some are inhabited so many inhabited houses have "Keep Out" signs posted on them.