Hall's Creek

Hall's Creek
" China Wall " at Halls Creek
State :  Australia State : Western Australia
Coordinates : 18 ° 13 ′  S , 127 ° 40 ′  E Coordinates: 18 ° 13 ′  S , 127 ° 40 ′  E Height : 422  m
Residents : 1,546 (2016)
Time zone : AWST (UTC + 8) Postal code : 6770 LGA : Shire of Halls Creek
Hall's Creek

Halls Creek is a small town with about 1500 inhabitants (2016), which is located in the Kimberley region in Western Australia between Fitzroy Crossing and Warmun . The city was founded as a mine near the local tribes Jaru ( Djar-u ), Kija ( gKid-ja ) and Tjurabalan. In terms of area, the administrative district is one of the largest in Australia and thus in the world.

The main branches of industry in the past were the cattle trade and gold ore mining; In the meantime tourism has become the main source of income.

geology

The landscape around Halls Creek is characterized by rock formations (500 to 600 m high) overgrown with Spinifex grass and eucalyptus , which rise in groups above their surroundings (approx. 200 m); small streams that only carry water after heavy rains cut the land. The rock is partly of volcanic origin ( basalt and trachyte ) and partly sedimentary rock . The rock is up to 2 billion years old, but today's landscape formation was only created around 20 million years ago through elevation and subsequent erosion.

Quartz veins in the rock often contain gold and other minerals (copper, zinc), once dissolved in the water that flowed through crevices and cracks in the rock; Gold also collected in the stream beds, buried under the sandstone layers .

history

The ruins of Old Halls Creek

On Christmas 1885, Charlie Hall, after whom the city is named, found a 28-ounce nugget of gold.

The gold rush triggered by this , in which approx. 10,000 men came into the country lasted just under two years. Transport problems and the hostile climate ensured that the gold prospectors soon turned to more lucrative resources in the south near Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie . Still, smaller gold mines - Mount Dockrell, Grants Patch, Ruby Queen - persisted into the 1960s. A mine at Palm Spring that had developed newer technology to mine gold from depths greater than 30 meters even operated well into the 1990s.

However, cattle trade had already replaced gold ore mining as the main economic factor at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1948 a small supply airport was built, which today mainly serves tourists.

When the route of the Great Northern Highway was determined, which did not follow the old connecting routes, the Halls Creek supply station - consisting primarily of a gas station, hospital and a few shops - was moved 15 km to the west and the original settlement - now the "ghost town" of Old Halls Creek - abandoned until 1955. With its brick building ruins, the historic post office and old cemetery, Old Halls Creek is one of the local tourist destinations of the city, which has now created the necessary infrastructure for tourism with the establishment of a visitor center and a hotel complex.

tourism

The so-called " China Wall "

On the connection between the tourist centers of Broome and Kununurra on the southern edge of the Kimberleys, Halls Creek is an important stopover for travelers.

Approx. 5 km east of the town center is the " China Wall ", a natural granite formation with quartz veins. It can be reached via an unpaved road.

A four-wheel drive trip approx. 130 km south over the Tanami Track to the Wolfe Creek crater is becoming increasingly important for tourists.

Sightseeing flights over the crater and the Bungle-Bungle mountain range about 150 km to the north are also on offer.

Hall's Creek
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     150   37 24     142   36 24     78   36 23     22nd   34 20th     13   30th 17th     4.8   27 14th     6.1   27 13     2.1   30th 15th     4.3   34 19th     18th   37 23     36   38 25th     78   38 25th Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: Bureau of Meteorology, Australia, data: 1944–2002

literature

• Ian Tyler: Geology and Landforms of the Kimberley . 2005, ISBN 0-7309-6852-9 .

Web links

Commons : Halls Creek, Western Australia  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Shire of Halls Creek (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics : Halls Creek (Urban Center / Locality) ( English ) In: 2016 Census QuickStats . June 27, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
2. ↑ Bureau of Meteorology, Australia: Climatic Information Halls Creek. World Meteorological Organization, accessed April 6, 2012 .