Beltana - Flinders Ranges - SA
Beltana (Running Water - named by the local Aboriginal people)
You could be forgiven for not having heard of Beltana but I am so glad I discovered it on my travels here in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. It wasn’t on my bucket list but, for some reason, it really resonated with me and made me stop and think about all those people who were instrumental in building Australia from nothing. It made me feel quite proud and emotional thinking of all those people who came to Australlia to build a new life and went on to help develop this land into the amazing modern country it is today.
It would be remiss of me to talk about the history of Beltana without acknowledging and recognising the contribution of the local Aboriginal people who had lived in the area long before Europeans arrived. After doing some research, I am including the following paragraphs which is just a small extract of info available on-line regarding Beltana and the local Aboriginal people.
Long before European people arrived in Beltana, the local Aboriginal people managed the land and utilized the Beltana spring on Warrioota Creek as a critical resting place, water source, and trade route for highly prized red ochre. As the town grew through pastoralists and mining, the Aboriginal people contributed significantly to the development through roles as stockmen and station hands as well as expert trackers. [https://stories.history.sa.gov.au/the-overland-telegraph-line/]
Station and Pastoral Labor: Following the severe disruption of their traditional lifestyles by colonial land grabs, many Kuyani and Adnyamathanha people became essential workers. They worked as stockmen and station hands on the Beltana pastoral runs, providing the core labor force that kept the local economy moving. [https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/AASR/article/download/16630/14050]
I know this site is a travel blog (not a political site by any stretch) but I got to thinking, should all Australians - especially our polititians - spend more time learning about the history of our land and how early settlers built and developed Australia to be the amazing modern country it is today?
My visit to Beltana and reading about what these early pioneers and local Aboriginal people achieved got me thinking about Australian culture which is very topical at the moment on social media. It’s not something I think about a lot but I am currently travelling and visiting a lot of small country towns and am truly appreciating how hard early Australians worked to achieve what we take for granted today.
Instead of reading all the negative stuff on social media, could we all benefit from getting off the beaten track and gaining a greater appreciation of how we got to where we are today? Maybe then, we can truly talk about culture and what it means to the majority of Aussies.
In just about every small country town I visit, I see early innovation, foresight and hard work. The success of our country, especially in the early days is due to the many early pioneers including convicts who came out here and our early immigrants including Cornish people who were instrumental in developing our early mining industry along with the Afghan cameleers who opened up transport links. I can’t imagine these hard-working pioneers asking what Australia could do for them. It would have been a case of what they could do for Australia. To me, that’s the difference.
I am a big fan of the JFK quote: "Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country"
Anyway, back to Beltana. The late 1800s was a busy time in Beltana with the population growing to 400 with houses being built using pug and pine, mud brick, local stone as well as flattened kerosene tins. How’s that for innovation!
Many of these buildings still exist today including the school house, the bakery, the hotel all of which are on the heritage trail. You can walk around the town and read the story-boards on the heritage buildings. These buildings are now privately owned so don’t just wander in - you may see more than you expected! See photos below.
The railway station is an amazing looking building and it was a major centre for the Inland railway back in the 1880s. I believe there were 3 trains per week going to Port Augusta and taking 12 hours. As I walked around the town I could envisage a busy hub with kids playing at the school, a general store selling everything from horse-shoes to perfumery. (The Outback’s first department store!). The police station had a mounted police officer and a number of cells so, not everybody was well-behaved - maybe linked to the Royal Victoria Hotel (a common meeting ground for locals). The telegraph station would also have been a busy spot connecting the outback with the World.
Unfortunately, the day I went to Beltana the hotel was closed. (Just my luck!) It looks amazing so keep an eye on their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089327520315 so you don’t miss out on a drink in such a historic spot. Don’t worry, I didn’t miss out on a drink or lunch though as we headed back down the highway to the Prairie Hotel at Parachilna where I did get to enjoy a Clare Valley Riesling and a great burger and chips (best chips I’ve had in a long time).
This is another great spot out here in the Flinders Ranges worth a stop - check it out. https://www.facebook.com/prairieparachilna/
Actually, now I think about it there are quite a few good pubs in the northern Flinders ranges including the Blinman Hotel - The Pub in the Scrub. - https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=blinman%20hotel
A big congratulations to the Beltana Progress Association who have obviously worked tirelessly to keep the history of their town alive and encourage visitors to drop by and appreciate the valuable history and contribution of this town to Australia. They have a caravan park with facilities as well as picnic tables and a BBQ for visitors as well as a hotel. What more could travellers want? Also, as an added bonus, there is a bitumen road from the Outback Highway into Beltana.
The other thing I notice in many of these small early towns is that women have always played a major role. Reading the info boards on Doig’s House and the Mitchell Nursing Home (Australian Inland Mission) a big shout-out to the nurses is in order. In fact, nurses played a major role in Beltana up until the 1950s when facilities were moved to Leigh Creek hospital (just up the road).
This is just one of the many small towns all around Australia that have amazing stories where you can learn about the history of the area and our Country. If you know a little town somewhere with a big story, please let me know in the comments.
