Elsey Station

Elsey Station

Elsey Station is now a national park and also the site of natural hot springs.

A replica of the original homestead of Jeannie and Aeneas Gunn, has been built at the site of the hot springs and was used in the production of the movie based on the book, “We of the Never Never”.

The title of the book has also been used as the theme of the very successful NT tourist advertising campaign,

“You Never Never know if you Never Never go.”

Some paperbark “humpies” built for the movie set.

The view of the bush from the replica homestead, that appears to end just after the trees but is in fact almost endless.

This is the original Mataranka homestead from the pre-war era, now protected by the heritage trust.

You walk past it to reach the hot springs.

Walking through the palm forest to reach the hot springs, you are reminded of the strong watercourse that everything becomes during the wet season.

The spring appears oasis like in the middle of the palm forest.

There is a pool that was concreted for tourists to swim in many years ago but it is crowded and noisey. However many of the others pools that surround it are still in their natural state.

Surrounding this pool are the water pandanus, called

“Jim Jim” by the Aborigines.

Warm water “springs” from this pool at the rate of millions of litres per day, which is why the pools are so clean.

Spider webs extend across the jim jim plants. A reminder that this is not a “Blue Haven” award winning landscaped swimming pool, but a true natural occurrence.

Just down the road about 20 k’s on the way to the original Elsey Station homestead site, is the Elsey cemetery. Many characters from the book are buried here including Aeneas Gunn himself.

This sign gives the history of the cemetery.

Details are enlarged below.

Lee Ken

“A Chinese cook who died at Elsey Station on 18 Feb 1903. Lee Ken was riding from Darwin to Daly Waters to take up the position of cook, when he became ill during Chinese New Year at Elsey Station. The burial service was performed by ‘Maluka’ Aeneas Gunn.”

Henry Ventalia Peckham “the Fizzer”

“Born in 1872 at Adelaide, Peckham was later a stockman at Renner Springs when he secured the mail contract on the deaths of Fred Stibe (the previous mailman) and Jack Hehir near Lake Brunette in the 1902 drought.

The Fizzer became well know and liked amongst the remote outback stations and was very conscious of the responsibilities of his position. In a vain attempt to deliver a letter seeking urgent medical attention for a seriously ill woman on the Victoria River Downs Station, The Fizzer drowned attempting to cross the flooded Dashwood Crossing at Campbell’s Creek. His remains were recovered from the banks of Campbell’s Creek and re-interred at Elsey Cemetery on 14^th September 1944 by Brigadier Dolley of the NT Force.”