Bonney Well, sometimes referred to as Bonny Well is a former stock well on the North South Stock Route. It is 90 km south of Tennant Creek, 8 km south of Karlu Karlu and is on the Lands of the Warumungu people.[1][2]
Bonney Well is one of only three wells remaining with its stone dumps intact. It is a popular tourist stop for people travelling through the Barkly Region along the Stuart Highway and it offers a carpark, picnic area and public toilet.[3] It was listed on the Northern Territory Heritage Register on 22 August 1996.[4][5]
History
editThe waterhole that became Bonney Well was first used by John McDouall Stuart in 1860 - 1962 during his expeditions across Australia. He named it after Charles Bonney, the Commissioner of Crown Lands of South Australia back then.[1]
The well was first dug in 1878 - 1897 by Arthur and Alfred Giles when they were overlanding 12,000 sheep to Springvale Station. It was then deepened by staff of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line in 1884 and a stone dump and whip system were added in 1892.[3] The well's whip no longer remains.[6]
The bore, windmill and tank were installed in the late 1930s and, some time later, a cement tank. These have been protected and they provide an example of the areas industrial heritage.[6] In the 1930s there was interest in Bonney Well from a variety of mining companies but no major mining activity took place there.[7][8] In 1936 the death of a prospector, Charles Simmons, who collapsed in the intense heat on the road to Bonney Well was reported nationally.[9][10][11][12]
In the early 1930s missionary Annie Lock set up a mission at the nearby Yirrarji Rockhole (Boxer Creek), 35 km north of Bonney Well.[13] During this period she was known as "The good missus of Bonny Well."[14][15]
References
edit- ^ a b "Bonney Well, Barkly Region, Northern Territory, Australia". mindat.org. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "Bell, Diane --- "Warumungu Land Claim: A Fight for Land" [1982] AboriginalLawB 58; (1982) 1(6) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 1". classic.austlii.edu.au. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Bonney Well". northernterritory.com. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "Bonney Well: site details". Northern Territory Heritage Register. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ Reed, Michael Anthony (22 August 1996). "Declaration of heritage place: Bonney Well heritage place". Northern Territory Heritage Register. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Bonney Well: significance". Northern Territory Heritage Register. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "Bonney Well field". Telegraph (Brisbane). Queensland, Australia. 3 August 1935. p. 7. Retrieved 10 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Development of Bonney Well mine: English expert arrives with machinery". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 13 June 1935. p. 16. Retrieved 10 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Died from heat: Bonney Well miner". The Maitland Daily Mercury. No. 20, 225. New South Wales, Australia. 6 February 1936. p. 4. Retrieved 10 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Exhausted miner dies". Shepparton Advertiser. Vol. I, no. 542. Victoria, Australia. 7 February 1936. p. 5. Retrieved 10 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Miner dies in Central Australia". Mudgee Guardian And North-western Representative. New South Wales, Australia. 6 February 1936. p. 1. Retrieved 10 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Heat causes death of miner". Barrier Miner. Vol. XLVIII, no. 14, 512. New South Wales, Australia. 7 February 1936. p. 3. Retrieved 10 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ McCarthy, Teresa (2008). "The Faith Mission at Mer Ilpereny (Arden's Soak),1927 - 1928". Territory Stories. hdl:10070/715094. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ "The "GOOD MISSUS " of BONNY WELL". The Mail (Adelaide). Vol. 21, no. 1, 067. South Australia. 5 November 1932. p. 1 (Women's Section). Retrieved 3 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Of Interest to Women". News. Vol. XIX, no. 2, 881. South Australia. 12 October 1932. p. 3. Retrieved 3 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.