Australia -- Mystical Uluru and Kata Tjuta

I felt disoriented in Australia. The time zones. The summer weather in January. The strange animals and topography. The extreme distance from the rest of the world as well as from the coasts of its own continent. Geography DOES make a difference! On the other hand, maybe the Outback was an entrance into another world, one that existed way before our modern times. After all, Uluru was one of the Aborigines' sacred sites. It still is. The people made pilgrimages there for spiritual enlightenment. The effect of their presence and the presence of this huge red rock formation that popped up in an otherwise flat plateau was mystical indeed.

Indigenous people lived here--and they still live here. They created what would eventually be recognized as the oldest culture in the world. It was a culture based on custodianship of the Earth, which means that they protected the land, water, plants, and animals for future generations--just as past generations had done for them. Their communities flourished because the people depended on each other for survival in a harsh environment. 

The landscape served as their "tablet" of knowledge, wisdom, stories, and identity. The animals surrounding them were their totems. The plants were their medicines. But everything changed for them on January 26, 1788, when the first group of British settlers landed in what would be known as Sydney. The white colonialists imposed their laws and customs on the native peoples who had lived on the continent for 60,000 years. These people subsequently lost their lands, which meant they lost their stories, their sense of the world, and their identity.

The Outback remained relatively free of the white colonialists until they decided to hook up their continent to England with the electric telegraph in 1871 near what would become Alice Springs. Other towns grew up along the Overland Telegraph Line and the Outback saw more and more white settlers displace the Aboriginal peoples in these vast, "empty" lands. Today, the Outback still remains pretty much "empty" because its climate is too extreme to endure and its water sources too scarce. Nevertheless, the "Red Center" attracts 250,000 tourists from all over the world each year. It turned out to be my favorite part of Australia because of its spiritual qualities. Deserts seem to speak to me, and I would not be disappointed at Uluru (formerly called Ayres Rock) or at Kata Tjuta (formerly called The Olgas).

  

Geological Formation Story

Standing at 1,142 feet above the desert floor and almost 6 miles in circumference, Uluru is the world’s largest monolith and Australia’s most iconic landmark. Kata Tjuta rises nearly 1800 feet. The origins of these two rock formations date back about 500 million years during the same time the Australian continent was formed as the Earth’s plates were shifting. Large crustal blocks merged together and rose from the sea. As a result, Himalayan-sized mountain ranges formed. The rock formations that ultimately became Uluru and Kata Tjuta were in one of the mountain ranges called the Petermann Range, which was as high as today's French Alps. Only nubs of this range exist today because of a lack of plants or trees. After millions of years of rapid mountain building, erosion, flooding, folding, downward pushing, and more erosion, Uluru emerged as a monolith and Kata Tjuta as a conglomerate.

Uluru is composed of sandstone, a sedimentary rock that eroded and washed downward from the big mountain ranges. And, what was formerly a horizontal layer of sand and gravel eventually flipped on its side and became hardened rock to form it present shape. The red color of the rock is due to the oxidation of the iron within the rock that has been exposed to the desert air for hundreds of thousands of years. The rock is actually gray, which you can see in unexposed areas or if you rub the surface of the rock.  

For the Aboriginal people, the natural landmark was formed by ancestral beings during the "Dreaming", the time of creation. Its numerous caves and fissures were due to the ancestral beings' interactions. The Anangu people’s Dreaming story revolves around 10 ancestral beings. For example, on the southern side of Uluru, the rock structure was due to the war between the poisonous and carpet snakes. The northwest side was created by Mala, the hare wallaby people. Another area was formed by the Tjukurpa of Kuniya, the sand python, who left her eggs a short distance away, and was dancing across the rock. To honor and show respect for the ancestors, the people held sacred ceremonies in certain caves and crevices. They also left ancient rock paintings to acknowledge these stories. 

"Ownership" of Uluru

In 1872, European explorer Ernest Giles discovered the monolith and a year later William Gosse, a surveyor, named it Ayers Rock after the Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers. This name remained until October 26, 1985, when the Australian government returned ownership of Uluru to the Anangu people to show them respect and to acknowledge their original custodianship of the land. It arranged a 99-year lease where the land titles were in the Aborigines' names and the land was leased to the national parks. 

In 1995, the name change officially took place when this area became known as Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. In this way, the native peoples have a voice in the management of the lands. Twelve people serve on the Board: 4 are white and 8 are brown or black elders. Of these 8 elders, 4 are males and 4 are females. Fires on the land are done in the traditional way but modified with some modern techniques. The Aboriginal people receive a percentage of ticket prices of park entrances. Meanwhile, UNESCO has named Uluru and Kata Tjuta a World Heritage site, one of 1,154 sites in the world.

Numerous trails weave around the base of Uluru with opportunities to learn about the Anangus' stories of the ancient rock paintings, caves, and crevices. Our bus took us around the circumference of Uluru with several stops at these significant places. The texts below are taken from signs like this one on the right to explain what the rock formations meant to the Anangus.

 

Tjukuritja (The Creation Story)

The story is in the rock and preserved for all time. Images of the rock formations and the accompanying text are designated by the numbers from right to left. The park's line drawing is accompanied by some photos.

1 -- Minyma Kuniya (woma python woman) arrives quickly after hearing her nephew has been speared by Liru (poisonous snake) warriors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 -- Kuniya changes into human form and creates inma (ceremony) to make inati (poison) to punish Wati Liru (poisonous snake man) for not looking after her injured nephew as he is culturally required to do. You can see the imprints where she drops to her knees, plants her kuturu (fighting club) in the ground and scoops up sand to throw over her body, protecting herself from the poison.

3 -- Kuniya moves towards Liru singing and dancing with akuta--a dance step women use when they want to fight. Liru has been made weak from the powerful irati and Kuniya hits him over the head. He falls down but gets back up.

4 -- Kuniya hits Liru a second time and finishes him off.

5 -- You can see Liru's eye is closed tight from the force of the blow.

6 -- Kuniya changes back into snake form and curls up on top of the art cave, her head resting on her python body watching over all who visit

The lesson of this story is that women should look after their children and that they have the right to defend them if necessary. Also, everyone needs to honor their responsibilities or be prepared to be punished appropriately.

Rock Art

The rock art at Uluru illustrates the way cultural knowledge and Tjukurpa stories were passed from generation to generation. The art has many layers of pictures, symbols and figures painted on top of each other because the same sites were used in Anangu education for tens of thousands of years. The rock surfaces acted like a classroom blackboard that a teacher used to teach a lesson, however, only those who attended the "class" could fully decipher the notes left behind.

 

It is difficult to accurately date the rock art at Uluru. Carbon dating can only pick up the age of the rock and the materials used for the pigments, rather than the paintings themselves. However, other evidence shows that people probably lived in this region for at least 30,000 years. The rock art is an important historical and scientific record of human occupation in this area.

 

The Anangu traditionally made their paints from natural minerals and ash. Dry materials were placed on flat stones, crushed and mixed with kapi (water) or animal fat. The most common paint colors were red, yellow, orange, white, grey and black. These colors came from a variety of materials. Tutu (red ochre) and untanu (yellow ochre) are iron-stained clays that were very valuable and traded across the land. Burnt kurkara (desert oak) provides both purku (black charcoal) and tjunpa/unu (white ash).

 

The Concept of Men's and Women's Business

In traditional Anangu society, men and women have distinct but equally important roles, performing specific tasks that benefit the whole community. This separation of responsibilities by gender is determined by Tjukurpa, the religious philosophy that links Anangu to the environment and their ancestors. It ensures a balance of work underpinned by a strong sense of cooperation. At the same time, men and women did not interfere with each other's business.

Women's Business -- Women were traditionally responsible for gathering water and bush foods such as fruits, seeds, vegetables, maku (edible grubs) and tjala (honey ants). They also hunted small food animals like tinka (goanna), ngintaka (perentie), kuniya (woma python), rapita (rabbit) and tjilkamata (echidna). Young girls went with their grandmothers, aunties, mothers and older sisters to learn about preparing bush food, the seasonal cycles and habitats of animals and plants, and how to use plants to create bush medicines. Girls learned about women's Tjukurpa and built on their knowledge and skills throughout their lives. They also learned to craft and use women’s tools like the wana (digging stick), wira (coolamon), piti (bowl) and manguri (head ring).

 Men's Business -- Boys lived with their mothers and sisters until they were old enough to learn about men’s Tjukurpa. During this process, male Elders introduced them to secret ceremonies, songs, and men’s sacred sites. Young boys traveled across the country learning where the ancestral beings went and how they changed the country. They also learned how to find water, where to hunt for kuka (meat), and how to recognize the habits and tracks of the animals. They also learned how to make and use men’s tools and weapons and how to make fire and carry it from place to place.

Children had an important role to play in gathering and hunting. They accompanied their parents and other adults to collect bush food while they watched and learned.

There are also certain caves where men, women, and children went. However, there were certain parts of Uluru that females could not look at and parts that males could not look at. Below are a few of the caves and how they were used. 

 

Mutitjulu (Family) Cave

For many generations Anangu families camped here. The men hunted for kuka (meat) and the women and children collected mai (bush foods). The food would be brought back here to share. At night around the campfire, generations of the people told stories, which taught the children about this place and paintings on the rock. Today, these stories are still told and handed down to the children.

 

 Men's Cave

The Mala people came from the north and Uluru looked like a good place to stay for a while and make inma (ceremony). Inma began when men raised Ngaltawata (ceremonial pole).

In the senior Mala men's cave the men made their fires here and camped busily preparing for inma. They fixed their tools with malu pulku (kangaroo sinew) and kiti (spinifex resin). From here the men could keep an eye on the nyiinka (bush boys) in the cave around the corner and watch out for men coming back from a hunt with food. 

 

STORY -- In the middle of preparations, two Wintalka men from the west approached and invited the Mala people to join the inma in their country. The Mala people said they could not because their ceremony had already begun and could not be stopped. The disappointed Wintalka men went back and told their people of the Malas' decision. They then summoned up an evil spirit, a uge devil-dog called Kurpany, to destroy the Mala inma. As Kurpany travelled towards Uluru he changed into many forms, from mikara (bark), to tjulpu (bird) and to different grasses. He was a manu, a ghost.

Luurnpa (kingfisher woman) was the first to spot Kurpany. She warned the Mala people but they didn't listen to her. When Kurpany arrived, he attacked the men in this cave. Some were killed and turned to stone. The remaining Mala people fled to the south with Kurpany chasing them.

The back wall depicts the old men's faces and white hair and beards. It is believed that their spirits are still here.

 

Women's Cave

This is the Kitchen Cave. Below is the Birthing Cave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teaching Cave

For many generations, Anangu elders taught nyiinka (bush boys) in this cave how to travel in this country and survive. Generations of grandfathers painted these pictures, like a teacher uses a blackboard, to teach nyiinka how to track and hunt kuka (food animals). Nyiinka would then be taken into the bush to learn about country like knowing where the waterholes were, where to find the animals, and where to source materials for their tools and weapons.

In the very beginning when the Mala ancestors arrived at Uluru, nyiinka camped here in this cave. A nyiinka is a boy at the important stage in life where he is ready to learn to become a wati (man). Nyiinka are taught by their grandfathers and separated from the rest of their families for this period. Traditionally, this stage lasted several years until a boy proved himself with hunting skills, self-reliance, and discipline. When they weren't out hunting, nyiinka stayed in this cave. This period has the same objective as high school: students learn a variety of skills and subjects to enable them to survive on their own as adults.

Callum (left) continues the teaching tradition by telling our group about the teaching cave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Itjaritjariku Yuu

In the Tjukurpa (creation time), the ancestral Minyma Itjaritjari (marsupial mole woman) built this shelter and yuu (windbreak). The yuu is the large wedge-shaped stone at the opening to this cave. The holes in the rocks above the cave have been tunnelled out by Itjaritjari who have lived here since Creation and  before the Mala people arrived.

Itjaritjari are very secretive. They spend much of their time underground and occasionally come out after a rain. They are blind, have soft, golden-colored fur, a backward facing pouch and are small enough to fit in your hand. Using their front paws like spades, they tunnel horizontally just under the surface in a swimming motion. They are unique creatures perfectly adapted to living underground in sandy deserts.

Mai Tjuta

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People camped here at the Mutitjulo Waterhole for two or three days before moving on. This place supports tjuta (many) mai (bush food) plants. The people needed to know their mai really well before collecting it because some fruits were poisonous.

Traditionally, the Aborigines were nomads who traveled all over the interior lands of Australia. They were constantly looking for food and water in their family groups. They would walk from Uluru to Kata Tjuta and back to Uluru, following the food and water. They would burn parts of the land as they traveled in order to encourage new mai to grow. People were healthy and strong, and so was their country.

Various Rock Formations

The stories in the rock and the Aborigines' uses of certain areas are one important thing a traveler learns about Uluru. Another is how the rocks are clearly a place for the imagination to wander and the heart and soul to open. Their shapes, especially those with holes and breaks in their red crusty surfaces fascinated me as well as those rounded clomps whose motion had been frozen in their tracks some time ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The energy of the rocks is still very much present. Mark, our bus driver (pictured in long blond hair and blue shirt) revealed that the spiritual energy of Uluru moves him to the point that when he puts his hands on the rock he cannot pull himself away. It's as if the rock holds him there.

Climbing Uluru Now Forbidden

People used to climb Uluru in this area. You can see the trail they made has still not worn away, as though it were a scar of its recent past. However, out of respect for this most sacred place of the Aboriginal people, this practice was discontinued on October 26, 2019. The English name, Ayer's Rock, was also changed back to the Aboriginal name, Uluru, on October 26th 1985. These are among the government's efforts to recognize and respect the ancient past of the people who lived on the continent. 

 

Sunset Toast to Uluru

Callum, our guide, provided appetizer treats with wine and champagne for our sunset toast to Uluru. Here I am as an enthusiastic participant in my new lavender Outback hat. Other tour groups were also there in this tourist bus-only setting. It was a nice touch to our tour after a long day of bus riding and a visit to Uluru.

 

Uluru is famous for its breathtaking views during sunrise and sunset where the rock actually changes color from the rich pink of dawn to orange at noon to a radiant ocher at sunset. This phenomenon occurs due to the dust particles and water vapor in the atmosphere, which act as a filter to the blue light coming from sun's rays. It allows the red light to stream through, reflect against the rock and surrounding environment. Clouds also enhance the area in vivid colors as well. 

Several members of our group returned to Uluru for a sunrise viewing the next day. Although the skies were too cloudy to see the glow around Uluru, one of the members did capture this awesome photo of the moon still hanging in the sky. There was no mistaking the powerful effect of Uluru. Such a formation in the middle of a flat desert does not just happen. There is some sort of energy and purpose present.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kata Tjuta -- The Olgas 

  

Here is another photo from Steve's helicopter ride that dramatically brings out the geological and mystical qualities of Kata Tjuta as it mysteriously rises nearly 1800 feet from of the plateau that surrounds it. It has 36 domes over its 12 square miles and thousands of stories about man's relationship with nature and other men. While Uluru, the rock of Creation, was the women's rock, Kata Tjuta was the men's rock.

Kata Tjuta ("many heads") was renamed "The Olgas" by the British explorer Ernest Giles in 1872. He was first non-Aboriginal person to see Kata-Tjuta while leading a party near Kings Canyon in 1872. Giles named the largest dome Mount Olga, after Queen Olga of Württemberg. 

 

Although not as famous or as imposing as Uluru, Kata Tjuta was no less powerful in its spiritual energy. Callum invited us to walk through this chasm, which at the time was cloaked in the morning's fog. And while Uluru stands like a Catholic church tabernacle where one gazes upon it in awe, Kata Tjuta beckons its visitors into its chasm daring them to be changed. Kata Tjuta was the walk of pilgrimage, and it would prove to be an unforgettable spiritual experience for me. 

 

 

 

Geologically speaking, the rock here is finer and more sand-like than at Uluru and a example of conglomerate rock, which is a unique phenomenon at a huge scale here.

 

Although the rock looks smooth, its hard "flaky" crust makes the ground uneven and difficult to walk on, especially in the rain where slippage was all too easy. Yet, that is the nature of pilgrimage: there has to be some struggle in order to reach the Divine.  

 

 

I walked halfway through the chasm and before turning back because I was afraid of falling on the rocks. I pleaded with the rocks to give me a spiritual message--and they delivered. 

The left side of the chasm with its black streaks and many holes attracted me. I  stopped and faced it with my hands at my sides a few inches away from my body, and my palms out. I took some deep breaths and then it came. The holes in the rock represented my imperfections that had plagued me over a lifetime, many of them unconscious--until they surfaced during the two years of Covid isolation. I begged the rocks to release me from these bad memories, mistakes, slights, faults, errors, insults, and instances of disrespect that I had committed. Cleanse me, I asked the rocks. Heal me. Release me. I felt an energy beneath my feet. Then it came to me: the rock would take all those bad things and stuff them one by one into the holes. These faults would never disappear, but the rock would hold them for me and allow me to move on instead of ruminating on the past.

A man from home came to mind. He once told me: "God gave us a brain to figure things out". One of my fellow travelers said that this phrase was common Jewish wisdom. Wisdom was something I had prayed for in my early 30s because I thought it was the most efficient path to God. Little did I realize then that acquiring wisdom would take decades.

Then a woman passing by noticed my meditative stance and stopped to advise me to take off my shoes in order to be more connected to the Earth. She somehow recognized that I was experiencing an issue of the solar plexus, which is about confidence and control of one's life. I subsequently read that if the solar plexus is imbalanced, it leads to physical problems like overweight, over-eating, fatigue, stomach and digestion issues that can lead to acid reflex, hypoglycemia and/or diabetes. Balance of the solar plexus leads to self-confidence, happiness, joy, and personal power that prevents one from feeling desperate. Balance give a sense of belonging, a sense of knowing, peace and harmony with the self.

To help with the healing, one should gaze upon fire and yellow crystals; do aromatherapy, yoga, small acts of kindness, and deep breathing; say positive affirmations; surround oneself with yellow and gold colors; and eat yellow foods (lentils, bananas, peppers, pineapples, squash, grains). 

So here I was in Australia at one of the world's great spiritual places, and I got these messages. I am truly blessed!

 

 Resources

Photos by Steve S.

https://ulurutoursaustralia.com.au/blog/uluru-vs-ayers-rock-the-name-change-of-australia-s-most-iconic-monument/

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2017-06-27/how-did-uluru-and-kata-tjuta-form/8572068

https://ulurutoursaustralia.com.au/blog/the-significance-of-uluru-to-australian-indigenous-culture/

https://ulurutoursaustralia.com.au/attractions/uluru-kata-tjuta-cultural-centre/

https://parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/discover/culture/mens-and-womens-business/

https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/articles/1862 

https://parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/do/rock-art/

https://parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/discover/history/

 

 

Australia -- Alice Springs Telegraph Station

A telegraph station on the itinerary? In the middle of nowhere? Are you kidding? 

It turned out that we were visiting the station because it not only played a significant role in connecting Australia with the rest of the world, but it transformed the social and cultural lives of those who had lived here for thousands of years and those newcomers who wanted to mold the continent in their own image. Yes, this placeless place near a waterhole was essential to our understanding of Australia's history, present-day politics--and how extreme desires can lead to extreme efforts to achieve extreme ends. This is the story of the Overland Telegraph Line at Alice Springs.

Samuel B. Morse conceived the idea of an electric telegraph in 1832 after hearing about the newly-discovered electromagnet. Electric messages had been sent short distances as early as 1774, however, Morse made his first working model by 1835. Through friends and colleagues he devised a telegraph that could send messages over 10 miles. In 1838, Morse and Alfred Vail developed a system of dots and dashes, which later became known as Morse Code. After several tries, he finally obtained  financial support from Congress in 1843 for America's first telegraph line from Baltimore to Washington. The line was completed in 1844, and on May 24 he sent the first message, “What hath God wrought.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the mid-19th century, the world was connected via the telegraph with lines a common sight in England, Europe, and America. Insulated cables laid on the sea floor enabled rapid communication across the oceans. Australia, however, was left behind due to its geographical isolation. That meant that writing family or friends in Europe would take 2 months by ship and another several months for a reply. With the Overland Telegraph Line, two-way communications could take place within a few hours.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

Australia's first telegraph line was erected in 1854 between Melbourne and Port Melbourne, about 3 miles away. Within five years, lines were hooked up between most of the colonies and to Tasmania by undersea cable over 400 miles long. However, the biggest change that ended Australia's isolation from the rest of the world was the cable laid across the Indian Ocean to the north coast at Port Darwin.

A single wire installed from Darwin through Australia's interior and linked to Adelaide in the south could become the path for a new frontier and open up the Outback to Europeans' colonial interests. 

 

 

 

 A Dream Conceived

Prior to the telegraph, news and letters from Europe took at least two months to reach the Australian colonies by ship. The inability to communicate directly with England hampered trade, business transactions, and personal communication. 

In the 1850s a number of British businessmen floated proposals for linking Australia to the new global telegraph network.

Australia was not a unified country with a central government at the time, but rather six separate British colonies. The colonial governments were keen to see an undersea cable laid to the Australian coast but it took a while before they could agree on where and how the colonies would share the costs.

In 1858, the South Australia Governor, Sir Richard MacDonnell, proposed landing the cable on Australia's north coast in Darwin and building an overland telegraph line to Adelaide. MacDonnell was optimistic this would benefit South Australia. However, the South Australian Government faced fierce opposition from Queensland (northeast Australia) which wanted a line built across northern Australia to link with their existing telegraph network. The South Australians prevailed on April 29, 1870, when they offered to pay the full cost of building the line and to complete it by January 1, 1872. 

 

 

European explorers found the Central Australia a challenging and hostile landscape. Crossing it proved to be a trial of human endurance.

John McDouall Stuart had made several attempts to cross the continent before successfully reaching the northern coast from the south on July 24, 1862. Stuart's route, which followed sources of water that he found and mapped across the dry interior, became the basic path for the Overland Telegraph Line. 

Living in the bush was difficult due to the unforgiving sun, limited provisions, and endless flies constantly buzzing around. Stuart was overwhelmed and he nearly died from malnutrition due to a lack of fruits and vegetables. However, he was the first man to cross the continent, which could be compared to being the first man on the moon. On the other hand, as harsh as the desert was, Stuart couldn't give it up; he was almost obsessive about it. He was an alcoholic and found that he could stay away from drink while in the bush. As a result, his motivation allowed him to do more than anyone else to open the continent and the Northern Territory. The Stuart Highway, named in his honor, runs through the Red Centre.

 

 A Dream Realized

Construction of the Overland Telegraph (OT) Line from Port Darwin to Adelaide is recognized as one of the great engineering achievements of the 19th century. Charles Todd, South Australian Superintendent of Telegraphs, masterminded the work. He was a man of exceptional drive and an eternal optimist and gained international prestige for the colony and himself at the completion of the project.

Initially, he was unenthusiastic about MacDonnell's plan to build an overland telegraph line across the unexplored center of the continent. Three events changed his mind:

(1) John McDouall Stuart successfully crossed the continent in 1862.

 (2) Undersea cable became much more expensive and made the overland telegraph line a more viable option.

(3) The South Australian Government succeeded in establishing a settlement at Port Darwin on the north coast in 1869, which would provide a landing place for the overseas cable and a base for constructing a line south.

The "singing wire" was strung across 1,865 miles of territory that was largely unexplored. There were no towns along the way and everything had to be transported overland.

The deadline imposed by the British Australian Telegraph (BAT) Company  allowed only 18 months to construct the OT Line. Only after planning had begun in earnest did Todd come to terms with the task.

"And then, perhaps for the first time, I fully realised the vastness of the undertaking I had pledged myself to carry out."

The path of the OT Line was divided into three sections to be built simultaneously. Contractors would build the northern and southern sections and government parties would construct the central section.

Todd thought that the central section would be hardest to build but the line was erected with few problems. The work was divided between five government working parties, each comprised of about 25 men led by an experienced surveyor.

E.M. Bagot, the contractor for the southern section, and his team worked steadily north from the existing telegraph station at Port Augusta. Much of this area had already been explored and their only difficulty was finding suitable timber for the poles. This section was completed within the contracted time.

The first pole in the northern section was erected on September 15, 1870, just one week after the contractors Darwent and Dalwood arrived at Port Darwin. Progress was good for two months but then the wet season arrived. The pace of work slowed in the rain-soaked boggy soil, but by Christmas they had installed poles to Pine Creek, 115 miles south of Port Darwin. However, the workers refused to go any further in the terrible conditions. Government supervisor William McMinn then rashly cancelled the contract and many of the men returned to Adelaide. Barely any work was undertaken in the next dry season.

Upon hearing the problem, Todd sent Robert Patterson north to sort out the mess. After more mishaps and little further progress, another wet season arrived. It was clear that the northern section would not be completed on time. Todd responded by taking control himself. He sailed north with new workers and fresh supplies.

The BAT Company succeeded in bringing the cable ashore before the due date. The 1,668-mile line was finished on August 22, 1872. This plaque celebrates its achievement.

The OT Line went through the desolate heart of Australia and across the Indian Ocean by cable to the Northern Territory. Completed in 1872, the wire stretched overland 1,865 miles and followed John McDouall Stuart's plan for a significant part of the route. This engineering marvel employed hundreds of people working in  construction, operations, and maintenance.

 

Establishing the Alice Springs Telegraph Station

The telegraph station was set up near what would become Alice Springs because of this water hole. William Mills, telegraph line surveyor, assumed that it was part of an inland river system. It was actually a depression in the river bed where water became trapped on top of a layer of impervious granite. The water is close to the surface and station staff subsequently used a whip to draw it up. The "Afghans" called this ancient device a "shaduf". The first windmill was later erected in August 1914 to do the job.

Apart from Antarctica, Australia is the driest place on Earth with 35% of the land receiving so little rain it is considered a desert. In Central Australia water was a vital resource for the Aboriginal people. They camped around this waterhole they called Atherreyurre. According to their ancient lore, Arenge, an old hill-kangaroo spirit ancestor, dug the waterhole during the Dreamtime (Creation).

 

The electric telegraph was the Internet of the 1800s, and it changed the way governments and businesses were run. A single wire conveyed news and business. It was the "umbilical cord" that connected the remote colonies with the world.

The telegraph also opened central and northern Australia to European expansion. Along the OT Line, as it became known, the "maintenance track" became a path for travellers to venture out into new frontiers that encouraged further settlement of the region by providing support and communication to remote areas. The track became a line of wells and natural springs and waterholes for thirsty livestock.

As the cattle and sheep industry grew, "the track" became part of a network of government stock routes and stations along the OT Line. The average size of these stations was 1,000 square miles or about the size of Wales. Contractors tapped the underground water supplies and "the track" became a line of wells and bores.

Camels worked best in the desert and were used to transport supplies for building the OT Line. Later they brought resources and supplies to the growing town populations. The "Afghans" who built the OT Line and the interior's roads were from the western parts of India, Iran, and Pakistan (British colonies); they brought the camels to Australia.

The telegraph station was the first European settlement in Central Australia. The building was originally a house. It became the Post and Telegraph Office where people posted letters or collected their mail from the late 1880s until 1932 when it re-located to Alice Springs. The building then became a hospital and clinic and Aboriginal children's home. This gum tree was here when the station was built.

 

For a long time, the OT Line was Australia's only communication link with the rest of the world. Every word of world news passed through it.

The Town of Alice Springs Is Founded

During the mid-1800s southern Australia was in the grip of a depression, so people living on the sea coasts of the country traveled to the interior to seek their fortune or simply to scratch out a living. With the demands of this emerging population, the South Australian Government created small towns near the repeater stations that ran along the OT Line. This was how the town of Stuart was established in November 1888, three miles south of the telegraph station. This growth also meant that the government instituted European-style administration, laws, and customs.

 

In 1933, William Mills renamed Stuart to Alice Springs after Alice Todd, the wife of Charles Todd. Mills was a government surveyor and overseer of the central section's construction of the telegraph line. He is credited with finding a route through the MacDonnell Ranges. Alice never visited the "waterhole" that was name after her.
 

The Aboriginal People Lose Their Homes to Progress

The impact of the Overland Telegraph Line on life in Australia was tremendous for the Europeans. Ostensively, it allowed an isolated Australia to connect itself to England, the center of its colonial empire. However, the impact of this technology on the Aboriginal people who lived in the interior produced many unintended consequences. A people who had survived there for thousands of years were stripped of their ways and traditions because they were deemed too uncivilized and too primitive for the modern world. These photos showed how the nomadic Aboriginal people lived, quite a shock to the Europeans who came from bustling cities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thousands of years ago in the Dreamtime, Creation beings formed and named the landscape. They gave Aboriginal people the lore. The Arrernte people had lived in harmony with the land since the Dreamtime and maintained a strong connection to their country. They called the waterhole (at the telegraph station) Atherreyurre. This place was an important site for their communication and connection with each other. It was particularly essential for the women who performed ceremonies even though hunting, gathering, farming and other traditional practices also took place here. Many spiritual pathways crisscrossed this land, which was also a gathering place where people collected resources and exchanged goods, including water. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During 1859, contact between the explorers and Aboriginal people was minimal. They tended to avoid each other. When the cattlemen followed the telegraph lines into northern Australia, conflict over control of the land and water ensued. By the mid-1880s, Central Australia was in severe drought and many of the pastoralists left. The Arrernte people and some Europeans remained and became dependent on each other for survival.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The OT Line resulted in massive social dislocation and disorientation of the Aboriginal people. For more about this phenomenon, see the blog on Multiculturalism.

 

Environmental Effects of Colonialization

When the British settled Australia, they also introduced many new animals to the continent. The effect was devastating in habitat loss: 15% of the native animals became extinct. Some species introduced were intentional while others were not. The British needed cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and camels for their livelihoods. However, these animals put a strain on the waterholes. They also brought rabbits and foxes, which threatened wildlife. 

Worse yet, they brought cats the keep the vermin away. Then they let some of them to go wild. Twenty years ago the government estimated that Australia had 10 million cats on the loose who each killed 6 animals per night. Lizards and birds who had once a perfect environment for living their lives were being hunted down by cats. Programs designed to breed native species have been difficult because the animals end up being attacked by cats.  Feral cats have being implicated in at least 25 mammal extinctions in Australia and are threatening another 124 species. The feral cats kill about 2 billion animals each year, while domestic cats kill about 230 million Australian birds, reptiles and mammals, according to The Guardian (Jan. 6, 2021).

 

Today's Telegraph Station

The station was declared the Alice Springs Telegraph Station Historical Reserve in 1963. The buildings have been restored to their appearance during the years 1895-1905.

The texts and photos of this blog post largely came from the exhibits and explanations of the historical reserve. 

 

 

The waterhole today at the Alice Springs Telegraph Station.

The Trail Station Cafe offers an outdoor seating (where our group had lunch) and a selection of gifts, souvenirs and books on subjects ranging from Stuart’s exploration of the Northern Territory (NT) to stories about the Aborigines. The Cafe also serves ice-cream, snacks, hot and cold drinks (including cappuccino!), NT roasted coffee, and a breakfast and lunch menu. Staff provides tours of the Alice Springs Telegraph Station Historical Reserve.

Resources

Callum Pyper, guide for Overseas Adventure Travel, January 2023

https://alicespringstelegraphstation.com.au/

 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Samuel-F-B-Morse

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/06/australian-wildlife-20-times-more-likely-to-encounter-deadly-feral-cats-than-native-predators