The old Chinese bakery in Pine Creek

Pine Creek
Fascinating historic town full of unusual buildings and memories of the old railway and telegraph line.
Located 248 km south of Darwin on the Stuart Highway Pine Creek was named after the local creek which was crossed in December 1870 by the teams constructing the Overland Telegraph Line. The creek was notable, as the name suggests, for the many pines on its banks. One of the OTL workers, Sydney Herbert, noted 'This creek was by no means large, but was remarkable for the pines growing there'.

Ironically, although the town was always known as Pine Creek it was officially named Playford on the 24 January 1889. At the time Thomas Playford Sr was the South Australian Commissioner of Crown Lands. Playford's desire for immortality was misplaced. The town continued to be known as Pine Creek in spite of the government's attempt to honour him. It was not officially gazetted as Pine Creek until 20 September 1973.

Pine Creek was, until the turn of the century, one of the major centres of the Territory's mining industry. Consequently the history of the town is largely the history of the Territory's goldmining industry.

In December 1870 a work party drilling holes for the Overland Telegraph Line discovered alluvial gold near Yam Creek. The following year attention turned to Pine Creek and overnight, in spite of warnings that it 'would be foolish for people to come running here' it became the site of one of the Territory's most frenetic goldrushes.

Significant deposits of alluvial gold had been discovered either by the overlander, D'Arcy Wentworth Uhr or by G. G. McLachlan - credit for the discovery is somewhat blurred. The Eleanor Gold Reef was opened in late 1872 and the following year the Union Gold Reef established the area as a major goldfield.

The town grew rapidly. In 1873 both the Pine Creek Repeater Station and the Police Camp were established. The following year the Royal Mail Hotel, the town's first, was opened and a year later it had competition from The Standard.

The surface gold disappeared rapidly but the goldfields were kept active by Chinese miners who entered the area in considerable numbers. Initially they were brought in as 'coolie labour' with the South Australian government paying £20 per person. However the coolies, who were virtual slaves, were in ill-health and unwilling to work.

The coolies, who had come from Singapore and Malaysia, were followed by Chinese diggers from Hong Kong who poured onto the goldfields. By the mid-1880s there were over 2000 Chinese in Pine Creek.

In 1889 Chinese immigration was stopped. However, between 1883 and 1889, Chinese labour had been used to build the railway line from Darwin. This was another attempt, albeit unsuccessful, to establish a railway line from Darwin to Port Augusta.

The idea of a Transcontinental Rail Link had been first raised in the 1870s but it had always seemed far-fetched. The English novelist and essayist Anthony Trollope thought the whole scheme absurd and summed up the attitude of many cynics when he wrote: 'I can't believe in the expenditure of £10 million on the construction of a railway which is run through a desert to go nowhere.'

This advice was ignored. In 1883 the South Australian government decided to build a line from Darwin to Palm Creek. In 1886 a contract was awarded to a Melbourne company which had underbid its competitors by demanding the right to use coolie labour. The process was that Singhalese and Indian gangs did the grubbing and earthwork. Behind them came the Chinese laying plates and up to 1200 metres of track a day.

The construction was daunting. Between Darwin and Pine Creek a total of 310 bridges and flood openings were built. The first train arrived at Pine Creek in June, 1889. The great plans for a Transcontinental Line were not continued and by 1890 it was clear that estimates of use of the line had been optimistic and the service was reduced to two days per week. It was not until 1917 that the line to the Katherine River was completed. Pine Creek became an overnight stop on the journey to Darwin.

There were various services for the transportation of cattle and goods but by 1930 the mixed train, also known as Leaping Lena had an established timetable. The mixed train left Darwin at 8.00 am on Wednesdays and was scheduled to arrive at Pine Creek at 4.46 pm. Those travelling on to Katherine stayed overnight and again left at 8.00 am the next morning arriving in Katherine at 11.00 am. After an hour's stop the train continued on to Burdam (the end of the line) arriving at 5.51 pm. It is still remembered by many who used the service in the 1930s that the train was rarely, if ever, on time.

By the 1930s Pine Creek was diminishing in importance. World War II saw the town become an important staging camp and after the war some mines were reopened. Minerals such as uranium, iron ore, silver, lead and zinc were sought and Pine Creek became a service centre for over 500 miners.

Between 1942 and 1965 tin was mined at Mount Masson and the government built a battery at Mt Wells for local prospectors.In 1959 United Uranium Ltd commenced processing uranium ore at Moline Mill from their El Sharana mine on the South Alligator River.

In 1966 the Francis Creek Iron Mining Co was formed and production of high grade iron ore commenced shortly afterwards. During the 1980s the improved price of gold on international markets encouraged further mineral exploration and in 1985 a joint venture between Enterprise Gold Mines NL and Renison Goldfields Consolidated Ltd commenced extensive open cut operations around the old Enterprise mine. Pine Creek is still a rich goldfield. New mining companies have arrived to exploit it with new machinery and new techniques.

The town is now located off the Stuart Highway to the east. It is worth a visit as the Railway Museum, Old Repeater Station, and Mining exhibition are all of considerable interest. Ah Toy's Bakery and some of the other old buildings are fascinating more for their makeshift construction than anything else.

Things to see:  

The Railway Museum
The railway buildings in Miller Terrace are now of heritage significance. Built in 1888-9 they include a station building, water tank, residence, weighbridge and goods shed.

The Railway Museum, located in the old station building, has displays which give a detailed history of the district. A couple of excellent booklets Early Days in Pine Creek and Pine Creek Heritage Trail are available. The latter is a fascinating tour of Pine Creek's historical past.

Adjacent to the Railway Museum (just across the line to the north) is a mining equipment display. The short walk from the museum to the display takes you past the only remaining railway employees residence which is now used as a Youth Hostel.

The National Trust Museum
The National Trust Museum is in the Old Pine Creek Repeater Station and has excellent displays which relate to the mining and the Chinese in the area. There are interesting displays of old bottles, a display of Chinese artifacts from the area, and an excellent display of the rocks of the area including a piece of yellow cake and some superb fossils of shrimps.

The Bakery
Of all Pine Creek's attractions none are more interesting than the relics of the Chinese occupation of the area.

The Bakery, which is nothing more than an old and very unassuming tin shed, seems to capture exactly what life must have been like in Pine Creek around the turn of the century. It was built in 1908 as Jimmy Ah You's Butcher's Shop at Mount Diamond. When he moved to Pine Creek he took the shopfront with him. He rebuilt it using local timber. To bake bread he carted ant bed mortar from the bush to make the ovens which are still standing out the back. Jimmy Ah You and son Jimmy Ah Toy baked bread in the ovens until World War II. During the war the Army took it over as a bakery for troops. After 1945 bread came from large suppliers and Pine Creek's bakery became redundant.

	Motels
	Pine Creek Diggers Rest Motel 32 Main Tce Pine Creek NT 0847 Telephone: (08) 8976 1442 Facsimile: (08) 8976 1458
	Hotels
	Pine Creek Hotel/Motel 40 Moule St Pine Creek NT 0847 Telephone: (08) 8976 1288 Rating: **
	Lodges & Chalets
	Bonrook Lodge Stuart Hwy Pine Creek NT 0847 Telephone: (08) 8976 1232 Facsimile: (08) 8976 1469 Rating: **
	Caravan Parks
	Emerald Springs Roadhouse Stuart Hwy Pine Creek NT 0847 Telephone: (08) 8978 2320
	Pine Creek Caravan Park Moule St Pine Creek NT 0847 Telephone: 908) 8976 1217 Rating: **
	Kakadu Gateway Caravan Park 181 Buchanan St Pine Creek NT 0847 Telephone: (08) 8976 1166 Facsimile: (08) 8976 1177
	Restaurants
	Bonrook Lodge Stuart Hwy Pine Creek NT 0847 Telephone: (08) 8976 1232 Facsimile: (08) 8976 1469
	Emerald Springs Roadhouse Inn Stuart Hwy Pine Creek NT 0847 Telephone: (08) 8978 2320