Arltunga – Abandoned gold mining town

The last item on the agenda for the East MacDonnell ranges was the abandoned gold mining town of Arltunga. This was the official first township of the European settlement in central Australia. It was about 600 km from the nearest settlement away and the trip took at least a week in the old days. The gold rush that lead to the township happened around the year 1900 and did not last very long. There is not much left of Arltunga, there is a museum with a one room exhibit about the history of the place plus lots of miners equipment that lets you crush stones and check if you found any gold.

It is interesting to see the old gold mines that have been dug up without machinery. They are not very deep and easy accessible, the whole mission seemed to be not very successful. A short hike takes you around several old sites and a few viewpoints provide good spots to take the beautiful landscape in.

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