Newcastle Waters facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Newcastle Waters Northern Territory
Newcastle Waters, ca. 1905
Newcastle Waters Location in Northern Territory
Population	64 (2016 census)
Established	9 January 1964 (town) 4 April 2007 (locality)
Postcode(s)	0862
Time zone	ACST (UTC+9:30)
Location	606 km (377 mi) S of Darwin 285 km (177 mi) NW of Tennant Creek
LGA(s)	Barkly Regional Council
Territory electorate(s)	Barkly
Federal Division(s)	Lingiari
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 34.5 °C 94 °F 19.1 °C 66 °F 601.8 mm 23.7 in
Localities around Newcastle Waters: Pamayu Pamayu Pamayu Pamayu Newcastle Waters Pamayu Pamayu Pamayu Pamayu
Footnotes	Adjoining localities

Newcastle Waters is a small town and area in Australia's Northern Territory. It's located right off the Stuart Highway. This place is known as a ghost town because most people have moved away. But it still has some old, historic buildings like Jones's Store and the Junction Hotel.

Where is Newcastle Waters?

Newcastle Waters is about 771 kilometers (479 miles) north of Alice Springs. It's part of a big area called the Barkly Region. This town is actually inside Newcastle Waters Station. This is a very large cattle station. It has more than 40,000 cattle!

If you need petrol or a place to stay, the closest town is Elliott. It's about 23 kilometers (14 miles) south of Newcastle Waters.

A Look Back in Time

Early Explorers

An explorer named John McDouall Stuart first reached this area on May 23, 1861. He was trying to cross Australia, but didn't make it that time. He came back in 1862 and successfully crossed the continent. The town was later named after the Duke of Newcastle.

The Telegraph Station

In 1872, an important building was set up here. It was the Overland Telegraph Station. This station helped send messages across Australia using telegraph lines.

A Capital City That Wasn't

In 1926, a law was passed saying Newcastle Waters would become the capital city. It was meant to be the main government spot for the Territory of North Australia. But this territory doesn't exist anymore. The temporary capital was Darwin. Nothing was ever built in Newcastle Waters to make it a capital. The law was changed in 1931.

Air Travel and Droving

In 1935, Qantas Empire Air Services used Newcastle Waters as a stop. It was part of their mail and passenger flights. But the landing strip wasn't very good. So, flights stopped in November 1937.

For a long time, the town depended on droving. This is when people move large groups of cattle over long distances. But then road trains came along. These are huge trucks that can carry many cattle. They made droving less common. By the early 1960s, Newcastle Waters became a virtual ghost town.

Who Lives Here?

In August 2016, a count of people was done. It showed that 64 people lived in Newcastle Waters.

Another count in 2021 found more people. Newcastle Waters had 122 residents then. About half were female and half were male. The average age of people living here was 25 years old. This is much younger than the average age for all of Australia, which is 38.

Learning in Newcastle Waters

The Newcastle Waters School teaches students from the area. Most of its students come from the Marlinja homeland community. This community is located right next to the town.