The Old Bullock Dray at the end of the main street

Beltana
Superb semi-ghost town on the edge of the desert
Located 540 km north of Adelaide and 240 m above sea level, Beltana is one of the truly remarkable outback settlements in South Australia. Its refusal to lie down and die is a source of amazement to anyone who visits this semi­ghost town.

Although it has the feeling of a ghost town, Beltana is actually inhabited. Consequently most of the houses have signs declaring 'Keep Out'. This is undoubtedly because they are tired of people assuming that the house is empty and simply walking in.

No one knows exactly how Beltana was named. One of the owners of the Beltana property insisted it was a local Aboriginal word meaning 'running water'. One of Beltana's managers believed it was simply made up to indicate the place where the station bell was rung. There was once a small village in Tasmania named Beltana and another source claims it is a word of Irish derivation which somehow captured a sense of bravery and courage. Another source claims it finds it roots in the Adnjamathanja (they are believed to have been the original inhabitants of the region) word 'veltana' meaning a skin or cloak.

The area was inhabited by Aborigines prior to European settlement. The good supplies of water from the Warrioota and Sliding Rock Creeks and the proliferation of red gums ensured that it was a popular place for settlement.

With a couple of years of the settlement of South Australia (in 1836) explorers and settlers were in the area. The explorer Edward John Eyre passed through the district in 1840 but his reports were only of desert and disappointment. By the late 1850s John McDouall Stuart had passed through the area and it was as a result of this that Beltana Station, owned by Thomas Elder, was established so that sheep could be grazed on the surrounding countryside. It was from Beltana Station, a kind of limit of civilisation, that many of the major explorations of central and South Australia started. Giles left from Beltana in 1872; Warburton in 1873; Ross in 1874; Lewis in 1874-75 and Wells in 1883.

By the mid-1860s there was considerable European activity in the district. Small mines, searching for silver, lead and copper, had been dug in the northern Flinders Ranges. In 1870 copper was discovered at Sliding Rock near Warrioota Creek and, as a result, a Mr Martin established an eating house on the road to and from the mine.

In the same year the Overland Telegraph Line, the line which would link Australia to the rest of the world, was being built. It was to pass from Adelaide to Darwin and it was decided that Beltana would become one of the repeater stations. The construction of the Overland Telegraph was greatly helped by the camels which has been imported in 1866 and which were being bred at Thomas Elder's Beltana Station. Not surprisingly the camels were accompanied by Afghan camel drivers and a number of mud and slate structures in the area have been identified as Afghan residences.

In 1873 a town was surveyed and Martin's eating house became the Beltana Hotel. It was laid out in a simple grid system and 115 allotments were put up for sale. This was optimistic. For its early years the town was little more than the hotel and the repeater station. Growth was slow. A policeman arrived in 1878

The town's future seemed assured when the railway arrived in 1881. It became an important railhead for the copper mines as well as for the local sheep industry. At this time there were some 70 residences and the town provided services as diverse as a hospital, a saddler, blacksmith, butcher, baker. The town boasted its own cricket team and race meetings were regularly held.

The town's greatest claim to fame, the establishment of the Smith of Dunesk Mission, occurred in 1895. This was opened by Reverend R. Mitchell and one of the later clergymen was John Flynn (he was in Beltana from 1911-12) who went on to establish the Australian Inland Mission in 1914 and the Royal Flying Doctor service in 1928. It has long been maintained that Flynn got his inspiration for both the Flying Doctor and the AIM while he was in Beltana.

The population of the town had reached 400 by the end of the nineteenth century. By 1911 it had dropped to 192 and by 1933 to 101. The reasons for the town's continued existence began to evaporate. Coal was discovered at Leigh Creek and the development of the new township meant that there was a more modern centre in the district. The railway line was moved.

By the 1960s Beltana had lost its hospital, policeman, school, railway and there really was little reason for its continued existence. Still it persisted although by 1984 the population was down to only nine people.

Today it is a superb example of a 'living' ghost town full of excellent photo opportunities.

Things to see:  

Beltana Trails
The best book on the town, in fact a vital accompaniment to any serious exploration of the district, is Graham Aird's Beltana Trails which is available from the Railway Station (which is now the Tourist Information Office) in Beltana. The following is a brief description of the town's highlights as identified by Graham Aird.

Railway Station
The railway station was completed in 1881. It was an indication of the town's future at the time being a large stone building with a smaller stone building nearby where the standby crews used to stay the night. The steepness of the climb through Puttapa Gap meant that when coal was discovered and mined at Leigh Creek a new route was sought. In 1956 the Leigh Creek line was opened and the Beltana Railway Station was closed down.

The road from Beltana to Parachilna runs beside the old railway line. There are many remnants of old railway stations, bridges across creeks and straight stretches where the railway used to run.

Police Station
A mounted policeman was appointed to Beltana in 1879 and this stone building was completed in 1881. It is a typical building of its time with walls that are 450 mm thick and doors which are 55 mm thick. It was closed in 1958 and is now privately owned.

Post and Telegraph Office
When Beltana's public telegraph office was opened on 23 August, 1872 it was nothing more than a small iron hut. The proper Beltana Telegraph Station, with a 2 metre fence, was completed in 1875 and used until the government sold it in 1940. It was eventually purchased in 1979 and slowly restored to its original condition.

Lookout Point
At the edge of town it offers the best view across the town and provides a good view of the Flinders Ranges.

The Old School House with windmills behind it

Old school
The first school in Beltana was opened in 1878 to serve the town's 31 children. It was a simple wooden building which had been transported from Sliding Rock. This small stone building was probably first used in 1894. The school eventually closed in 1967 when a school bus began carrying the local students to the school at Leigh Creek.

Smith of Dunesk Mission Church
The history of this mission is that Henrietta Smith purchased a number of lots of land in South Australia and gave them to the Church of Scotland. She wanted the money to be used spreading the gospel. By 1893 the asset had a value of £3000 and Rev Robert Mitchell, anticipating Flynn of the Inland by more than 20 years, set up an Inland Mission at Beltana in 1895. This mission became known as the Smith of Dunesk Mission.

The Smith of Dunesk (precursor of the Flying Doctor)

Old Bullock Dray
The Old Bullock Dray at the end of the main street - it is surrounded by saltbush. It is a 4 wheel dray which was once pulled by a team of 18 donkeys. It used to carry firewood.

	Tourist Information
	Flinders Ranges & Outback Information Beltana SA Telephone: 1800 633 060 Facsimile: (08) 8223 3995
	Restaurants
	Beltana Roadhouse Main St Beltana SA 5730 Telephone: (08) 8675 2744