Mataranka is a popular stop for Stuart Highway and Savannah Way travellers and inspired the famous novel We of the Never Never written in 1908.
The township of Mataranka sits on the Stuart Highway, 105km southeast of Katherine, revelling in its role as the self-styled ‘Capital of the Never Never’.
These are the traditional lands of the Mangarayi and Yangman Aboriginal people, in whose language Mataranka means ‘home of the snake’. Their Dreamtime lore relates that a wild wind swept across the country, creating Mataranka (Birinjin), Bitter Springs (Korran), Rainbow Springs and Mataranka Thermal Pool (Najig), among many other places that are now popular tourist attractions around the town. Some of their contemporary artwork can be seen in the Stockyard Gallery on the main street.
The town is spread along the Stuart Highway, making it an easy place for travellers to stop, refuel and resupply. It’s well-equipped for that purpose with a roadhouse, petrol station, cafe, restaurant, general store and pub. The Stan Martin Park occupies a shady green space opposite the retail outlets and makes a pleasant spot to break your journey with a picnic. It boasts an enormous banyan and the world’s largest man-made model of a termite mound. Also on the main street, the Never Never Museum has displays on the history of the local First Nations people, the North Australia Railway, the Overland Telegraph, and the role the town played in the defence of Australia during World War II.
European settlement
The first European through the area was Ludwig Leichhardt (1845) who named the Roper River after a member of his party, followed by Augustus Gregory (1856) who named Elsey Creek after Joseph Elsey, a young surgeon and naturalist in his party, and John McDouall Stuart (1862) on his way to the north coast. When the Overland Telegraph Line arrived in 1872, Elsey Creek (as it was known) became a key link in communications between the Top End and the south.
The first cattle were driven to the Gulf country in the early 1870s along Leichhardt’s and Gregory’s routes. During this period of development, coastal shipping was relied on to supply the necessities of settlement. Both Roper Bar and Borroloola became very busy trading ports until they were superseded by road transport.
In 1879, Abraham Wallace overlanded 2700 head of cattle from Bowen Downs in Queensland to establish Elsey Station, about 21km south of the present-day town. In 1902, Aeneas Gunn and his wife, Jeannie, took over management of the station, and lived there for 15 months until Aeneas died of malaria. Aeneas was buried in the Elsey Cemetery, near the homestead. Jeannie returned to her home in Melbourne and penned her famous book We of the Never Never (1908), which describes her life on Elsey Station and shines a light on the Top End at the turn of the century. Jeannie was awarded an OBE in 1939 for her contribution to Australian literature and died in Melbourne in 1961 at the age of 91. Her book remains one of the classics of outback literature and was made into a film in 1981. The homestead was dismantled in 1906 and moved 32km to a new site at McMinn’s Bar on the Roper River due to shortage of water at the original site. What remained of it was largely demolished during roadworks in the 1940s, and its original site is now marked with a large stone cairn and commemorative plaque within a national reserve.
Thermal springs
During World War II, 1500 servicemen were based in or near Mataranka in more than 100 military units, including a hospital, ammunition dump, workshops, abattoir and sawmill, all served by railway sidings off the main line. While here, the diggers decided to enlarge the narrow channel leading from a spring in the river, creating a ‘Thermal Pool’, for use by officers only.
One of the diggers, Herbert Victor Smith, saw the tourism potential of the Thermal Pool and, in 1946, obtained a sub-lease of the adjacent Mataranka Homestead to establish a small resort. This was the start of a tourist industry that put Mataranka on the map. Today, the Mataranka Homestead Tourist Resort offers accommodation in cabins, motel rooms and caravan/camping sites (powered and unpowered sites), with a restaurant, bar and shop. In the resort grounds stands a replica of the original Elsey Homestead that was constructed for the movie, We of the Never Never, which is screened daily at noon in the bar.
Other accommodation in the town is available at Bitter Springs Cabins and Camping, Territory Manor Motel and Caravan Park and the Mataranka Hotel Motel.
Mataranka’s main claim to fame is that it sits on the doorstep of the 138sq km Elsey National Park, renowned for its clear, crystal-blue thermal springs set in lush pockets of tropical vegetation — a true outback experience not to be missed.
The park extends from 2km to 19km east of Mataranka. Three roads lead to the park, all are sealed but flooding may affect access during the wet season (October to April). Bitter Springs is reached via Martin Road off the Stuart Highway at the northern end of Mataranka. Mataranka Thermal Pool is at the end of Homestead Road, also off the Stuart Highway, 1.5km south of Mataranka. All other sites are located along John Hauser Drive, reached by turning off Homestead Road about 4km from the Highway. Visitors need a Northern Territory Parks Pass (fees apply), NT residents are exempt.
The national park straddles the headwaters of the Roper River, one of the largest waterways in the Top End. Draining a catchment area of almost 82,000sq km, it starts as Roper Creek (also called Little Roper River) in the western end of the park and becomes the Roper River downstream of its junction with the Waterhouse River. On the eastern edge of the park are colourful tufa limestone formations, which form the Mataranka Falls.
The river flows in a generally easterly direction, for 250km through a very braided middle section to its normal tidal limit at Roper Bar Crossing. From here, the Roper traverses an alluvial coastal plain for 145km before entering the Limmen Bight, on the Gulf, at Port Roper. The tidal wetlands around the estuary comprise a crucial migration stop-over for flocks of shorebirds, especially godwits and knots. The seagrass beds are a major breeding area for prawns and an important feeding area for dugong and green turtles.
The park encompasses 20 different vegetation communities harbouring about 360 plant species. Its open woodlands are dominated by a variety of tall eucalypts and Livistona palms, while the river is lined with dense stands of river red gums and monsoon forest, and the thermal pools are fringed by with pandanus and melaleucas. These varied habitats are home to more than 220 kinds of animals, 11 fish, 12 frog, 54 reptile, 127 bird and 19 mammal species.
Of all the park’s natural features, the best known and most popular are its thermal springs. The springs emanate from fissures in the limestone aquifer beneath the riverbed, and flow at the rate of 30.5 million litres per day at a constant temperature of around 35°C. They fill serene pools and channels, surrounded by paperbark and palm forests, that ultimately feed the river. The incredible sapphire-blue colour of the pools is due to dissolved minerals in the water.
The two main springs popular with tourists are Bitter Springs, 2km from Mataranka on the Little Roper River, and Mataranka Thermal Pools, 10km from town on the Waterhouse River. At Bitter Springs, a short walk leads from the car park through palms and tropical woodlands to the main swimming area and a walking path along the waterway. A stairway descends into the main pool where you can loll about luxuriating in the balmy waters, or allow yourself to drift along the ‘aquatrail’ for several hundred metres to an exit ladder on the walkway. From here you can return to the main pool for another circuit. The day-use area here has barbecues, picnic tables, eco-friendly toilets, and informative signage about the natural springs and vegetation of the local area. Mataranka Thermal Pools are fed by Rainbow Spring into a landscaped pool shrouded by dense rainforest. Don’t expect the secluded tranquility of other hot springs in the Top End; the pool is only a short walk from the touristy Mataranka Homestead Resort and can get pretty crowded. The springs are the only safe places to swim in the area due to the presence of estuarine crocodiles in the river. Bring or purchase a pool noodle for extra relaxation when in the pools, but don't forget to take it with you when you go.
Fishing and walks
Fishing is a popular pastime for many visitors. Long stretches of the river are accessible from the bank and there is a concrete boat ramp at both 4 Mile and 12 Mile Yards. Traps, nets and spears are prohibited and barramundi fishing regulations apply within the park. Outboard motor sizes are limited to a maximum of 15hp.
There are also some great bushwalks in a variety of locations within the park, ranging from short, 20-minute strolls to the 16km Riverside Walk from the Mataranka Thermal Pool along the Roper River to Mataranka Falls, with access to the river and some great picnic areas. The falls, and the tufa dam that create them, can also be accessed by the Korowan (Mataranka Falls) Walk (8km return, 4hr, moderate) from the carpark at 12 Mile Yards. Beginning at the John Hauser Drive access road, the Botanical Walk (1.5km loop, 1hr, easy) passes through dense vegetation bordering a creek and connects with the Riverside Walk near Stevie’s Hole, which is a pretty spot for a picnic. Along the way, interpretative signs explain the Aboriginal uses of various species. Nearby, another walking track (650m return, 30min, easy) explores part of the little known World War II history of this region at the Aboriginal Army Camp.
Unpowered camping suitable for tents and caravans is provided at Jalmurark Campground, near 12 Mile Yards. Facilities include showers, barbecues and picnic tables. Generators are not permitted. Sites must be booked online (parkbookings.nt.gov.au/Web) before you arrive and fees apply.
Fast facts
The best time to visit the NT
The wet season runs from October to April, bringing with it an increase in rainfall, flooding and impacted road conditions or road closures. For more reliable weather and access to the NT's national parks, it is best to visit in the dry season (May to September), but be prepared for the crowds.
Contacts
Bitter Springs Cabins and Camping
255 Martin Road
Bitter Springs, Mataranka
P: 08 8975 4838
E: bitterspringscabins@outlook.com
Elsey National Park
P: 08 8975 4560
Katherine Visitor Information Centre
P: 1800 653 142
Mataranka Homestead Tourist Resort
642 Homestead Road, Mataranka
P: 08 8975 4544
E: matarankahomestead@bigpond.com.au
Mataranka Hotel Motel
13 Roper Terrace, Mataranka
P: 08 8975 4512
Never Never Museum
120 Roper Terrace, Mataranka
P: 08 8975 4576
Territory Manor Motel and Caravan Park
51 Martin Road, Mataranka
P: 08 8975 4516
E: territorymanor@gmail.com
Keep the adventures going
The Northern Territory is the perfect place for caravanners who enjoy exploring the great outdoors.
Once you've explored Mataranka, head north to Katherine to see Katherine Gorge, Katherine Hot Springs (another great place for a refreshing dip) and Nitmiluk National Park (Edith Falls are particularly beautiful), then on to Pine Creek. From here you can continue following the Stuart Highway towards Litchfield National Park or turn onto the Kakadu Highway for easy access the iconic Kakadu National Park.
Head south from Mataranka along the Stuart Highway to visit Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and tick off a major bucket list item at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.
Heading east along the Roper Highway from Mataranka will lead you to Limmen National Park with its renowned termite mounds and the many other spectacular views the gulf region has to offer.
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