Legend has it that the town of Tennant Creek grew round a spot 500km north of Alice Springs where a beer wagon destined for the nearby Overland Telegraph Station broke down in 1934, and pioneer Joe Kilgariff built a store at the breakdown site, a pub went up alongside and a town was born.
Recently during research I stumbled on an interview by the Adelaide Advertiser in 1948 with Joe Kilgariff, which shed the light on the whole story.
Tennant Creek Pub Site
“Along with my wife I took over the Alice Springs hotel (Stuart Arms Hotel) in 1927, and shortly afterwards started a general store there. Seeing that the railway line was approaching from Oodnadatta and looking ahead, I decided there would be lots of road traffic to the north toward Darwin. As there was no accommodation or stores between the Alice and Newcastle Waters, I selected Barrow Creek, 180 miles north, and Tennant Creek, 320 miles north, as two suitable places for stores and hotels.
I applied for a lease of land on the Barrow Creek telegraph reserve, near the post office, for a store and hotel site, and this was granted me on September 10th 1930. A store was opened immediately, and a hotel followed a little later. I then applied for land on the Tennant Creek telegraph reserve for the same purposes, and this was granted me on February 24th 1931. This acre of land was 200 yards north of the telegraph station. I immediately fenced the land and erected and opened a store and also a petrol agency. (This took place, a long time before there was any great activity in gold mining round Tennant Creek. )
I then approached Darwin about a hotel licence but was informed that a licence could not be granted on an Aboriginal Reserve – the telegraph station being on this reserve land they suggested I pick another site. I did so about three miles south on rising ground and started to get material on the ground.
About this time gold mining activity thereabouts was getting more active, and a Land’s Department officer was sent down from Darwin to look things over and pick a town site. In his wisdom be told me to move my business site to the present township location, saying that it was a much more level position. I immediately pegged out this business site for the hotel and it was granted to me on October 13th 1933.
“I erected and opened a general store on the site right away and removed my stocks from the site north of the telegraph station. I lodged plans for this Tennant Creek hotel at Darwin on September 12th 1933, and a provisional licence was granted me on December 12th 1933 to proceed with the erection of the hotel.
I built the hotel of cement blocks made on the Tennant Creek bank at the old telegraph station seven miles north, and carted them to the hotel site. Some months later the hotel was completed and permission given to open up for business.
After building and opening the hotel I held it for about three months, and then sold out to Jack Noble.”
Friday 6 August 1948; ‘OUT AMONG THE PEOPLE’ by VOX – The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA: 1931 – 1954)
I also found where a beer truck did roll over, not bogged, so just maybe the connection with the two stories was embellished just a little?
Heavily Laden Truck Overturns
This evening a heavily laden truck belonging to Mr. S. Irvine, mail contractor, driven by G. Nicholls, over turned on what is generally known as the big dipper, about four miles on the main North road (near Alice Springs.) Nicholls was carrying about 4 tons of beer on the truck to the Tennant’s Creek Hotel, and was accompanied by Constable Cameron from Tennant’s Creek. Nicholls was injured in a foot and is now in the Inland Mission Hostel Cameron is suffering from shock.
Thursday 1 November 1934 – The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA: 1931-1954)
There are many fabulous tales to tell about the early days of Tennant Creek but here I will try and keep only the tales that relate to Joe and his hotel.
The following segments were taken from an ABC article written by Ian Jamieson, when he interviewed Mr. Bernie Kilgariff, nephew of Joe Kilgariff, in 2004.
Beer came up on the train – the Ghan, as bottles packed in straw inside wooden crates.
In 1931 Joe, Frank and Steve Kilgariff built the Barrow Creek Hotel.
It was said that Joe Kilgariff was always in a hurry and he did some of the bricklaying in the moonlight, Bernie relates that explanation to the waves and kinks in the walls still evident today.
In 1933 the brothers went north and built the Tennant Creek Hotel, when the Tennant was seeing the beginning of Australia’s last gold rush.
Newspaper articles
Liquor at Tennant’s Creek Store without Licence
ALICE SPRINGS, April 13.
At the Local Court today, Joseph Kilgariff, builder, was charged with having had liquor at his store at Tennant’s Creek without having a licence for the supply and sale of liquor. Mr. V. Cairington S.M. was on the bench. Sergeant P. Muldoon prosecuted. Mounted Constables Cameron and Murray gave evidence how they found liquor in Kilgariff’s store on April 7. Kilgariff was found guilty and fined £50 and court costs.
Saturday 14 April 1934 – The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA: 1931 – 1954)
Claims had been pegged out over an area thirty miles square, at Tennant’s Creek gold-field, and 228 men were working on the field, some of them having been there for more than two years. A substantial hotel is in course of erection, a store has been built, and others are contemplated.
Saturday 26 May 1934 – The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA: 1931 – 1954
“Sacred Groves in the Territory”
A sweeping prohibition of the felling of trees on aboriginal reserves occurred, born from the desire to prevent the felling of timber at Alice Springs, applied of course, to the Tennant’s Creek reserve more than three hundred miles away, and unhappily, it was only on the heavily timbered area in the Tennant’s Creek telegraph reserve that two trees could be found, suitable as to their size and location, to supply the wooden foundations of a proposed battery in the goldfield.
The storekeeper tried to purchase these same trees; but “after innumerable telegrams to Alice Springs, Darwin, Adelaide and Canberra,” he had to relinquish the effort in despair. Canberra’s solicitude for the trees was typical of an official attitude towards the locality which, it was said, made the establishment of a Tennant’s Creek township impossible. The hotel had to be built at a distance of seven miles from the sacred precincts of the telegraph station and post office and the keeper, Joe Kilgariff, although being careful to place his hotel near the telegraph line, (by law not within 1 chain of it) presumed in hope that a telephone would do something to diminish his isolation, was informed that the Postal Department would gladly install a telephone for him, for the trifling sum of £189!
Tuesday 26 June 1934 – Northern Standard (Darwin, NT: 1921 – 1955)
DO WHITE ANTS LIKE BEER?
No Risks Taken at Tennant’s Creek
Do white ants like beer?
Whatever the answer maybe, the lone publican at the Tennant’s Creek goldfield takes no risks, for his hotel is one of two concrete buildings in the township The ants were said to be even more industrious than the miners, and a wooden building would have a life of about a year, and for that reason the majority of the houses were built of galvanized iron.
Like the hotel, the general store is built of more solid stuff, the walls being of concrete blocks.
Friday 10 May 1935 – The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld.: 1933 – 1954)
Proof to back Joe Kilgariff’s story – the following are the gazetted applications and licences.
CENTRAL AUSTRALIA DISTRICTLICENSING BENCHI, the undersigned, Joseph Kilgariff builder, of Alice Springs, on June 20th, 1933, lodged plans with the Clerk of the Licensing Court, Alice Springs, in regard to an application, to be made at the next meeting of the said Licensing Court, Alice Springs, for the erection of proposed hotel premises at Tennants Creek.(Signed) JOSEPH KILGARIFF |
Tuesday 20 June 1933 – Northern Standard (Darwin, NT: 1921 – 1955)
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G.N. 296/33.NORTH AUSTRALIA DISTRICT LICENSING BENCHPursuant to section 32 of The Licensing Act 1908 notification is hereby given that at the Quarterly Meeting of the North Australia District Licensing Bench held this day, plans of buildings proposed to be erected by Joseph Kilgariff at Tennants Creek in respect of which application will be made for a Publican’s License were deposited with me.J. W. NICHOLSClerk to Bench.Darwin,12th September, 1933 |
Friday 29 September 1933 – Northern Standard (Darwin, NT: 1921 – 1955)
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G.N. 378/33.NORTH AUSTRALIA DISTRICT LICENSING BENCHList of applications to be made to the North Australia District Licensing Bench at the Quarterly Meeting to be held at the Court House, Darwin, on Tuesday the 12th day of December 1933 at 11 o’clock in the forenoon.PUBLICAN’S LICENCEKILGARIFF, Joseph;The Tennants Creek Hotel, Tennants Creek |
Joseph Kilgariff
Application for Publican’s Licence Tennants Creek Hotel,
Clerk of the North Australia Licensing Bench Darwin. 12th December, 1933.
In pursuance of the powers conferred by section nine of the Licensing Ordinance 1924-1932, I, John Arthur Perkins, the Minister of State for the Interior, hereby approve of the issue of a publican’s licence to Joseph Kilgariff in respect of the Tennants Creek Hotel, Tennants Creek, such licence to issue only on the completion of the erection of premises in accordance with the plans deposited with the application.
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A. PERKINS,
Minister for the Interior.
(In lieu of notice appearing in Gazette of 4th January, 1934.)
Canberra, 5th January, 1934
Friday 2 February 1934 – Northern Standard (Darwin, NT: 1921 – 1955)
An interesting point in history … the reason Alice Springs is listed as Central Australia and Darwin as North Australia.
For a brief time between 1927 and 1931 the Northern Territory was divided into North Australia and Central Australia at the 20th parallel of South latitude.
(Currently that line that still exists, only higher –it’s called the “Berrimah Line” J)
c. 1940 …
