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Powell Creek Telegraph Station
General
Significance
Description
History
Gallery
Resources
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Status
Permanent Declaration
Type
Place
Nomination Accepted
28/SEP/95
Assessment Report Considered
30/OCT/97
Signed By Minister
28/NOV/00
Gazetted
20/DEC/00
Publish Notice Of Declaration
03/FEB/01
Statement Of Heritage Value
Powell Creek Telegraph Station is of great significance, both nationally and for the NT because it is a tangible reminder of the remarkable feat of constructing about 3000kms of Overland Telegraph Line from Port Augusta to Darwin which saw the end of Australia¿s isolation from the rest of the world. It is a symbol of embracing a new technology that saw communications between Australia and the northern hemisphere reduced from months to a matter of hours.
Eleven repeater stations were built between the major centres at an average spacing of 250kms apart to receive and transmit telegraphic signals as they faded. Three substantial buildings were erected at Powell Creek to house the telegraph operators and four support personnel.
It is of historical significance because it also contains evidence relating to the NT¿s history spanning the period from the early 1870s up to the mid 1950s. It is associated with the early exploration and the development and growth of the pastoral industry in central Australia, with military activity in the NT during WWII and also with Aboriginal settlement in the post-contact period.
Architecturally the site is important because it contains evidence of both the early parallel wing type structure that was originally built and is unique in that it is the only surviving telegraph repeater station which shows evidence of design characteristics especially adapted for the tropics in the form of wide enclosed verandahs with woven bamboo slats.
The site also has associations with those individuals such as Charles Todd and John Ross who made an important contribution to the development of the NT. For all these reasons the Powell Creek Telegraph Station is valued by the community.
Value
Historic
Description
The site includes a number of features including three buildings, a grave, line of telegraph poles, artefact scatter and a well.
The main building, constructed between 1875 and 1884, has a hip roof, central core of four rooms surrounded by a partly enclosed verandah with a detached ablution block located to the west of the building.
Prior to 1884 the second wing of the original station complex was lost or demolished and the current building constructed to replace it. The second wing is a three-roomed random rubble structure with skillon roof that has been extended with stone and stud walls to create an extra three rooms. A verandah is located on the eastern side of the building.
The final building comprises a three-roomed random rubble structure with a cgi gable roof and verandahs on the western and eastern sides that were added at a later date.
The well consists of a timber lined shaft and stone dump with adjacent stone tank stand. No evidence of the head frame or troughing remains.
The grave of Alfred Pybus is located northeast of the Repeater Station. A contemporary pipe frame surrounds the old wrought iron grave surround. Pybus was a member of the Overland Telegraph Construction Team and later worked as a linesman at Daly Waters from 1885 until his retirement.
Construction Materials
Stone / Masonry
Associations
Overland Telegraph Line
Instrument
Additional Information