History and heritage
Springvale Homestead
Built in 1879, Springvale Homestead is the remnants of one of the Northern Territory's first cattle stations, established not long after the completion of the Adelaide to Darwin Telegraph Line. The Homestead is open to the public every day.
Railway Station Museum
Pine Creek's Railway Station Museum has displays giving a detailed history of the district. Completed in 1889, the complex includes a station building, water tank, residence, weighbridge and goods shed. Pine Creek played an important part in the history of the region, with the railway being a focal point.
Katherine School of the Air
Katherine School of the Air commenced in 1966 to provide distance education to primary school age pupils in remote areas. The school delivers education via radio, internet and satellite technologies to children in an area of 800,000 square kms. Visitors can watch live lessons and learn about the school's history.
Pine Creek National Trust Museum
This museum was originally erected at Burrundie Mine in 1888 and moved to Pine Creek in 1913. Throughout its history, the museum has been used as a doctor's residence, clinic and dispensary, military hospital, post office and telephone exchange.
Nat Buchanan
Nat Buchanan pioneered the pastoral industry in the Top End of the Northern Territory and the Kimberley. He drove a herd of 20,000 cattle from Queensland to establish Wave Hill, the first cattle station in the Victoria River District, and explored significant areas of the outback, including the Tanami Desert.
The first people to inhabit the Katherine region were the Jawoyn and Dagomen Aboriginal people.
Explorer John McDouall Stuart passed through the region in 1862 and named the river 'Katherine' after the daughter of his sponsor, James Chambers. Her name was actually spelt with a 'C'.
As with many settlements in the Territory, the town developed with the arrival of the Overland Telegraph Line and establishment of the Telegraph Station in 1872.
The town moved twice during this early development, finally establishing at its current site with the completion of the railway bridge in 1926.
In 1879, after good reports from Stuart and other explorers, Alfred Giles and Alfred Woods brought stock to Katherine and built a homestead they called 'Spring Vale', with a view to establishing a pastoral empire. Today, Springvale Homestead is the oldest homestead in the Northern Territory and is open to the public.
Katherine's early history is depicted at a number of sites around the region. The Katherine Museum, housed in the original aerodrome, features the De Havilland Gypsy Moth aircraft flown by the first 'flying doctor', Dr Clyde Fenton.
O'Keefe House was built from bush materials by officers in WWII as a recreation hut and was later owned by John and Olive O'Keefe. Olive flew with Dr Clyde Fenton in the 1930s.
Pine Creek, 90 kilometres north of Katherine, operated as a gold mining town until 1995 and is famed for its gold mining and railway heritage. This is exhibited around the tiny town at sites like the Pine Creek National Trust Museum and the Railway Station Museum.
The latter includes an 1877 steam locomotive - thought to be the oldest restored locomotive in Australia.
Explore Katherine & surrounds
