It wasn’ t until 1957 that a road was graded for an Ampol car trail to Birdsville that made life easier for Tom and the crew.
Heading out of Yunta, I spotted an alternative route towards Arkaroola and Innaminka, and was hoping that we could track across to Wilpena.
Tea Tree Road headed north, which was at least in the right direction. Warning signs indicated that the entire road was open, becoming dirt just out of the town’ s limits. The land was barren, with mountain ranges in the distance, but it was surprising to see pastoral stations.
Water runoff was channelled to underground storage tanks beneath this tin roof.
DISCOVERING WAUKARINGA
With just 35km under our belt, we came across roadside ruins. They turned out to be more than we bargained for. Reading the roadside info signs, this was the Waukaringa goldfield area. The sandstone-blocked building beside the road was the post office that was manned from 1875 through to 1984. It also served as a general store and the local bank. It moved to the present location in 1903 after a fire burnt down the original building.
Reading the postmaster’ s sign, it seemed that the job was handed down through many family members over the years.
Across the paddock, large and significant ruins still stand today: the Waukaringa Hotel, which was built in 1889 and served its last drink in 1964.
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