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| Mataranka Northern Territory | |||||||||||||||
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  Mataranka | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 14°57′18″S133°03′04″E / 14.9549°S 133.0512°E /-14.9549; 133.0512 [1] | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 350 (2016 census)[2] | ||||||||||||||
| Established | 24 May 1928 (town) 4 April 2007 (locality)[3][1] | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 0852 | ||||||||||||||
| Time zone | ACST (UTC+9:30) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Roper Gulf Region | ||||||||||||||
| Territory electorate(s) | Barkly[4] | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Lingiari[5] | ||||||||||||||
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| Footnotes | Adjoining localities[7][8] | ||||||||||||||
Mataranka is a town and locality in theNorthern Territory of Australia located about 420 km (260 mi.) southeast of the territory capital ofDarwin, and 107 km (66 mi.) south ofKatherine. At the2016 census, Mataranka recorded a population of 350. 29.5% of residents are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
The town is located nearRoper River andMataranka Hot Springs. This area is the setting forJeannie Gunn's autobiographical account of the year 1902,We of the Never Never. The homestead, which she shared with her husband, Aeneas Gunn, until his death, has been reconstructed near to the hot springs.
The Mataranka Station is part of the Katherine Rural College ofCharles Darwin University.
The name Mataranka means "home of the snake" in theYangmanic language of theAboriginal people who inhabit the area.[citation needed] The name was given to a sheep farm around 1915 byJohn A. Gilruth, who was theAdministrator of the Northern Territory at that time.[citation needed] The town of Mataranka was firstgazetted on 24 May 1928 after the arrival of theNorth Australia Railway.[citation needed] The locality of Mataranka, which include the town and surrounding land were re-gazetted on 4 April 2007.[3][9][1]
TheAustralian Army set up No. 42 Australian Camp Hospital near Mataranka. The 10th Australian Advanced Ordnance workshops camped in buildings made from paper bark trees and serviced wrecked and damaged vehicles. An ammunition depot was also in the locality. These depots were served by railway sidings off the main line.
It was also home to a 'Native labour gang' with a large control camp established in the town; these are now sometimes referred to as the 'Aboriginal labour force' in recognition of the offensiveness of the original name given.[10] The army, through the Native Affairs Branch, employed Aboriginal men to perform key roles throughout the Northern Territory and these gangs completed many large scale infrastructure projects and were instrumental to the war effort. In 1943 200 Aboriginal labourers were employed through this scheme and based at Mataranka; many of these men were working on railway gangs.[10]
Mataranka was served by theoriginal narrow gauge railway that closed in 1976 after cyclone damage. The new standard gaugerailway opened in 2003. It passes about 20 km to the west of the town.
