ECHOES of the PAST

Australia’s history is littered with booms and busts and every state has its ‘ghost towns’. Many were bustling mining towns or centres of commerce before misfortune or fickle circumstance rendered them obsolete. For one reason or another their populations just drifted away.

A few such towns have experienced a revival, but most languish in quiet oblivion, with empty streets, forlorn hovels and a dry pub with a drooping veranda. The sun-bleached timbers, crumbling masonry and rusting relics have a story to tell and despite their eerie stillness, or perhaps because of it, many of these melancholy places attract tourists who want to hear it. It’s not known exactly how many ghost towns we have, but here are ten that offer a tangible glimpse of the past.

ARLTUNGA, NT

In 1887, explorer David Lindsay saw what appeared to be 'rubies' near Paddy's Rockhole in the East MacDonnell Ranges, triggering a rush of prospectors who found gold instead. The town that grew around the diggings was the first significant European settlement in Central Australia, supporting 400 residents in its heyday. But conditions were harsh — temperatures were extreme and there was little water. Supplies were expensive as they had to be brought from Oodnadatta, 650km away. The gold rush was short-lived, but the town struggled on when the SA Government built a battery and cyanide works to extract the gold in 1898. The battery closed in 1933 and the settlement was converted to an Aboriginal mission until it was moved in 1952. The 5000ha Reserve and its well-preserved buildings were listed on the