Post by greysrigging on Mar 25, 2021 5:43:36 GMT -5
The Australian Gold Rush years between 1850 and 1910. The discovery of gold started a series of rushes that transformed the other Australian colonies. ... Between 1851 and 1871 the Australian population quadrupled from 430,000 people to 1.7 million as migrants from across the world arrived in search of gold.
History of discovery
The first gold rush in Australia began in May 1851 after prospector Edward Hargraves claimed to have discovered payable gold near Orange, at a site he called Ophir.[3] Hargraves had been to the Californian goldfields and had learned new gold prospecting techniques such as panning and cradling. Hargraves was offered rewards by the Colony of New South Wales and the Colony of Victoria. Before the end of the year, the gold rush had spread to many other parts of the state where gold had been found, not just to the west, but also to the south and north of Sydney.[4]
The Australian gold rushes changed the convict colonies into more progressive cities with the influx of free immigrants. These hopefuls, termed diggers, brought new skills and professions, contributing to a burgeoning economy. The mateship that evolved between these diggers and their collective resistance to authority led to the emergence of a unique national identity. Although not all diggers found riches on the goldfields, many decided to stay and integrate into these communities.[5]
The towns selected in this climate battle are found all over the Continent, from the Tropical North, to the colder high country climes of Victoria and NSW, and the semi arid desert country of Western Australia. The last 'rush' in Australia occurred during the 1930's Depression years at Tennant Creek and the Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory. The old photos of that time ( 1930's ) still show men walking the streets of the boom town with pistols on their hips....real Aussie wild west !
I like gold myself, have done a fair bit of amateur prospecting with metal detectors and have found some 'colour'. Don't be fooled by the photos, not all of them are mine, some are from mates 'finds' over the years.
Charters Towers
The town was founded in the 1870s when gold was discovered by chance at Towers Hill on Christmas Eve 1871 by 12-year-old Aboriginal boy, Jupiter Mosman. Jupiter was with a small group of prospectors including Hugh Mosman, James Fraser and George Clarke. Their horses bolted after a flash of lightning. While he was searching Jupiter found both the horses and a nugget of gold in a creek at the base of Towers Hill.[3] Charters originated from the Gold Commissioner, W.S.E.M. Charters.[4] A total of ten major gold reefs were eventually mined.[3]
Such were the boom years, between 1872 and 1899, that Charters Towers hosted its own stock exchange. The Great Northern railway between Charters Towers and the coastal port of Townsville was completed in December 1882.[4] During this period, the population was approximately 30,000, making Charters Towers Queensland's largest city outside of Brisbane. The city was also affectionately known as 'The World', as it was said that anything one might desire could be had in the 'Towers', leaving no reason to travel elsewhere.
Charters Towers has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSh), with distinct seasons. Summers are hot and often rainy, whereas winters are mild and dry with low humidity.
Gympie
Graziers were the original European settlers. Subsequently, James Nash reported the discovery of 'payable' alluvial gold on 16 October 1867. At the time of Nash's discovery, Queensland was suffering from a severe economic depression. Nash probably saved Queensland from bankruptcy. A memorial fountain in Gympie's Park honours Nash's discovery. The Gympie Gold Rush Festival celebrates the event today. The Gold Rush Festival holds 10 days of cultural events in October. Gold mining still plays a role in the area's fortunes, along with agriculture (dairy predominantly), timber and tourism. The gold rush's rapid development led to streets that are in an irregular fashion, as are the streets in Charters Towers
Gympie has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa).
Bathurst
Bathurst is often referred to as the Gold Country as it was the site of the first gold discovery and where the first gold rush occurred in Australia.
Flecks of gold were first discovered in the Fish River in February 1823, but it was 12 February 1851 in a Bathurst Hotel when Edward Hargraves announced the discovery of payable gold. Soon, gold was found at Ophir (later Sofala) and Hill End in the 1850s.
Hill End, called 'Bald Hills' in 1850, 'Forbes' in 1860 and finally Hill End in 1862 was part of the Tambaroora district. At its peak had a population of 7 000 people. Hill End's fame is the finding of the 'Holtermann Specimen (Correctly the Beyers Holtermann Specimen)' on 20 October 1871 being the largest single mass of gold ever discovered in the world, a record that still stands today. Found in 1872 this single mass of quartz and gold weighed 630 lbs and when crushed produced and est. of 3000 troy oz (205 lbs or 93 kg) of gold, thus processed held more gold then the processed gold from largest nugget ever found, that being the Welcome Stranger from the Victorian Goldfields. Holtermann recognizing the significance of the find attempted to preserve it by buying it from the Company of which he was one of a number of directors. His efforts were in vain. It is reported that a larger mass was discovered a few days later in the same mine but was broken up underground. Absolutely reliant on Gold, the towns decline was dramatic once the Gold ran out before the 1900s
Due to its elevation, Bathurst has an oceanic climate (Cfb), according to Köppen climate classification. Bathurst is in Australia's cool temperate climate zone which is defined as having mild to warm summers and cool to cold winters. Regular summer thunderstorms are common, resulting from the flat plains country to the west, leading into the mountainous nature of the country around Bathurst and assisting the development of storm cells. These storms rarely strike the city and instead often move either in a south east or north east direction away from Bathurst. Bathurst gets 106.9 clear days annually.
In winter, light to moderate snowfalls regularly occur each year on the higher peaks around Bathurst, whilst snow is relatively uncommon in the city itself—although it does occur most years. On 5 July 1900, Bathurst received its heaviest snowfall on record; measuring at 68 centimetres (27 in) in the main street.
On 11 February 2017, Bathurst Ag recorded a new record high temperature of 41.5 °C (106.7 °F), although temperatures of 40 °C (104 °F) are exceedingly rare for Bathurst
Young ( Lambing Flat )
James White was the first European settler in the district and established Burrangong Station in 1826 with a squatting claim of 260 square kilometres (100 sq mi).[5][6] His story is told in the novel Brothers in Exile. Gold was found in the district in 1860. Until that time the area was called Lambing Flat, a reference to the grazing of sheep that was the main industry until mining. The town was gazetted in 1861. The goldfields produced 15,000 kilograms (470,000 ozt) of gold sent by escort from the fields. Up to 20,000 miners worked the fields including about 2,000 Chinese miners.[6]
From November 1860 through to June 1861, anti-Chinese miners attacked Chinese gold miners in the area, now known as the infamous Lambing Flat riots. As gold became scarce, European miners began to resent what they saw as the greater success of the more industrious Chinese, and hence many Chinese miners were attacked, robbed and killed. The anti-Chinese rebels rallied in numbers of up to 3,000. Eventually the rioters were controlled, Chinese miners had their claims restored to them, but the New South Wales Parliament passed the Chinese Immigration Bill which restricted the number of Chinese that could be brought into New South Wales on any ship and imposed a tax per head on entry.
Climatically....Cfa, Owing to Young's far western location, it yields hot, dry summers and cool, damp winters; reflecting a distinctly "continental" climate of the South West Slopes region. Snow falls occasionally; notwithstanding its fairly low elevation of approximately 400 m, the windward position of Young exposes it to strong south-westerly frontal systems. Thus, places such as Goulburn farther east (but higher up) receive less winter moisture than Young, due to more adequate sheltering from these fronts.
Climate data is sourced from Young Airport; at an elevation of 380 metres (1,250 ft) and operating since 1988.
Kiandra.
A high altitude ( by Australian standards ) former gold mining town located on or about the Great Dividing Ranges. Abandoned nowadays, was once a thriving community during the 19th Century gold rush era.
n November 1859, gold was discovered by mountain cattlemen, the Pollock brothers, and by March 1860, some 10,000 miners and storekeepers had raced to the scene. Initial returns were very good. A 9 kg nugget was discovered in river deposits under what became known as New Chum Hill. Kiandra post office opened on 1 June 1860 and it is estimated that the area at its peak accommodated around 15,000 people, served by 25 stores, 13 bakers, 16 butchers, 14 pubs, several banks and four blacksmiths. Nevertheless, by 1861, the Sydney Morning Herald was reporting a "mass exodus" and the easy pickings were exhausted.
Significant numbers of Chinese people worked the Kiandra goldfields. Chinese miners built Three Mile Dam in 1882 to assist with sluicing operations at "New Chum Hill". The scenic lake still exists and now supplies Selwyn Snowfields with its snow-making water requirements.
The last mining operations finally ceased around 1905. Official total production recorded was 48 676 kg
Owing to its elevation, Kiandra has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb), as at least 4 months see an average temperature above 10 °C (50 °F) and at least one month sees an average temperature below 0 °C (32 °F) according to the 1897–1974 period of record and an extrapolated 1980–2010 timeframe,[35] having cold and very snowy winters alongside summers that are very cool by Australian standards.
This (continental) climate type is very rare in the Southern Hemisphere and almost nonexistent in Australia, with Kiandra being the only Bureau of Meteorology weather station with it. However, as the July average was only slightly below freezing in the period of record, it is predicted given current trends that in the near future it will change into a temperate highland or oceanic (Cfb) climate[36] (indeed, using the alternative −3 °C (26.6 °F) isotherm it already is one), though no official weather station is currently operational to record such a shift.
Climate statistics were compiled at the Kiandra Chalet site, elevation 1,395 metres (4,577 ft) AMSL, from the year 1866 until 1974; temperature averages from 1897 to 1974. The lowest temperature recorded was −17.8 °C (0 °F) on 21 July 1965, and again on 10 August 1966. On 31 January 1968, the highest temperature of 32.9 °C (91.2 °F) was recorded, although absolute records only span back to 1957 at Kiandra Chalet, thus missing the tremendous heat of January 1939.
Beechworth
The largest north eastern Victorian gold rush town. Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s.Between 1852 and 1857, Beechworth was a gold producing region and centre of government; but its power, wealth and influence were short lived. According to Carole Woods, an early party of prospectors retrieved a pan of gold from the area weighing 14 pounds (6.4 kg). Another lucky party cleared some 50 pounds (23 kg) of gold in a week. And so began a rush into this remote region. During the first election campaign in 1855, one candidate, Daniel Cameron, rode a horse shod with solid gold horseshoes. The extravagance of this event is still commemorated as the logo for Beechworth is a golden horseshoe. During its boom times, Beechworth town boasted a range of industries including, a tannery, jewellers, boot makers, a brewery, blacksmiths, livestock sale yards. It had schools, a convent, hotels, a prison with imposing stone walls, a hospital, a mental hospital, court house, police barracks, stage coach companies and a powder magazine.
In its golden days, men and women arrived from the United States, United Kingdom and China. At its peak, Beechworth town had over 3,100 residents. Surrounding areas and mining camps sprang up as thousands of miners rushed into areas such as Spring Creek, Reedy Creek, Silver Creek, the Nine Mile Creek and the Woolshed increasing the population on the Ovens to around 22,000. The Chinese were not allowed to live in Beechworth town and resided on the outskirts. Numerous controls, regulations and licence checks were enforced on the Chinese miners. Beechworth Cemetery has a large preserved section of early Chinese miners/pioneers. The presence of the Chinese goldminers around Beechworth and throughout Victoria's north-eastern region created social unrest.
Climatically, Beechworth features an oceanic climate (Cfb) with warm, dry summers and cold, wet winters. As one of the higher towns in Victoria, several light to moderate snowfalls can be expected each year, sometimes falling heavily.
Bendigo
Bendigo ( and Ballarat ) were the two largest and wealthiest towns during the gold rush era. Both cities have well preserved historical precincts dating back to the 1850's.
The discovery of gold on Bendigo Creek in 1851 transformed the area from a sheep station into one of colonial Australia's largest boomtowns. News of the finds intensified the Victorian gold rush, bringing an influx of migrants from around the world, particularly Europe and China. Bendigo became eastern Australia's largest 19th century gold-mining economy, and the wealth generated during this period is reflected today in the city's Victorian architectural heritage. From 1853 until 1891, Bendigo was officially named Sandhurst.
Bendigo's boom period lasted until the early 20th century and, after a temporary decline in population and employment, renewed growth occurred from the 1930s as the city consolidated as a manufacturing and regional service centre. Although gold mining continues, recent population growth has been most heavily concentrated in suburban areas.
Bendigo has a relatively dry temperate climate with warm to hot summers and cool to cold winters. Under the Köppen-Geiger classification, it lies on a humid subtropical/semi-arid transitional climate zone (Cfa/BSk), due to its location being on the boundary of the hot, sultry inland areas to the north and the cool, damp Southern Ocean to the south. Bendigo gets 109.9 clear days annually.
The mean minimum temperature in January is 14.3 °C (57.7 °F) and the maximum 28.7 °C (83.7 °F), although temperatures above 35 °C (95.0 °F) are commonly reached.[7] The highest temperature officially recorded was 45.4 °C (113.7 °F), during the 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave.
The mean minimum temperature in July is 3.5 °C (38.3 °F) and winter minima below 0 °C (32 °F) are recorded 28 nights per year on average. Mean maximum winter temperatures in July are 12.1 °C (53.8 °F). Most of the city's annual rainfall of 582.1 millimetres (22.92 in) falls between May and September. Snowfalls are rare; however, frosts can be a common occurrence during the winter.
Ballarat
Within months of Victoria separating from the colony of New South Wales in 1851, gold was discovered near Ballarat, sparking the Victorian gold rush. Ballarat subsequently became a thriving boomtown that for a time rivalled Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, in terms of wealth and cultural influence. In 1854, following a period of civil disobedience in Ballarat over gold licenses, local miners launched an armed uprising against government forces. Known as the Eureka Rebellion, it led to the introduction of male suffrage in Australia, and as such is interpreted as the origin of Australian democracy. The rebellion's symbol, the Eureka Flag, has become a national symbol and is held at Ballarat's Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka.
Proclaimed a city in 1871, Ballarat's prosperity, unlike that of many other gold boom towns, continued until the late 19th century, as the city's fields experienced sustained high gold yields for many decades. By the turn of the century, Ballarat's importance relative to Melbourne rapidly faded with the slowing of gold extraction. It has endured as a major regional centre, and is the commercial capital and largest city of the Central Highlands, as well as a significant tourist destination. Ballarat is known for its history, culture and its well-preserved colonial-era heritage, with much of the city subject to heritage overlays.
The city earned the nickname "The Golden City" in the 1850s. The gold rush population peaked at almost 60,000, mostly male diggers, by 1858. However the early population was largely itinerant. As quickly as the alluvial deposits drew prospectors to Ballarat, the rate of gold extraction fluctuated and, as they were rapidly worked dry, many quickly moved to rush other fields as new findings were announced, particularly Mount Alexander in 1852, Fiery Creek in 1855, and Ararat in 1857. By 1859, a smaller number of permanent settlers numbering around 23,000, many of whom had built personal wealth in gold, established a prosperous economy based around a shift to deep underground gold mining.
Confidence of the city's early citizens in the enduring future of their city is evident in the sheer scale of many of the early public buildings, generous public recreational spaces, and opulence of many of its commercial establishments and private housing.
Ballarat lies at the foothills of the Great Dividing Range in Central Western Victoria. Also known as the Central Highlands, it is named so because of its elevated position and moderate hills and terrain with a lack of any alpine mountains that are situated a few hundred kilometres NE.
Ballarat has a moderate oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) with four distinct seasons. Its elevation, ranging between 400–630 metres (1,310–2,070 feet) above sea level, causes its mean monthly temperatures to tend to be on average 3 to 5 °C (5 to 9 °F) below those of Melbourne, especially in winter.[citation needed] The mean daily maximum temperature for January is 25.1 °C (77 °F), while the mean minimum is 10.9 °C (52 °F). In July, the mean maximum is 10.0 °C (50 °F); average July minimum is 3.2 °C (38 °F). Ballarat has 55.2 clear days annually.
The city has a well known reputation for unpredictable and extreme weather, ranging from snowfall to intense heatwaves. Perhaps the most infamous feature of Ballarat's climate is the chilly winter, often accentuated by driving winds.
Fog is common on autumn and winter mornings but usually dissipates by mid-morning.
Temperatures can dip below freezing from May to September, however a low of 0-2 C° is more common - widespread frosts and fog are a regular sight. Snowfall typically falls on nearby Mount Buninyong and Mount Warrenheip a few times a year, but in the urban area only once or twice, particularly during heavy winters. Snow has been known to fall heavily with several inches accumulating even in the CBD. Heavy snow seasons occurred in 1900–1902 and 1905–1907 (with record falls in 1906), and moderate snow seasons were recorded during the 1940s and 1980s. Snowfalls in the urban area have occurred in recent years: November 2006 (light),[75] July 2007 (heavy), June 2008 (light),[78] August 2008 (light), August 2014 (moderate) and June 2016 (light),[81] July 2017 (light), June 2018 (moderate), May 2019 (light), and August and September 2020 (light and heavy).
The mean annual rainfall is 693 millimetres (27.3 inches),[72] with August being the wettest month (75 mm or 3.0 in). There are an average of 198 rain-free days per year.[72] Like much of Australia, Ballarat experiences cyclical drought and heavy rainfall. Flooding of the Yarrowee catchment occurs occasionally. In 1869 a serious flood of the Yarrowee River put most of the lower section of business district including Bridge and Grenville streets under water and caused the loss of two lives.[84] Prolonged drought (an average annual rainfall with falls averaging as low as 400 mm (16 in) per year since 2001) caused Lake Wendouree to dry up completely for the first time in its history between 2006 and 2007.
Ballarat's highest maximum recorded temperature was 44.1 °C (111 °F) on 7 February 2009 during the 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave. This was 2.1 °C (3.8 °F) above the previous record of 42.0 °C (108 °F), set on 25 January 2003. The lowest-ever recorded minimum was −6.3 °C (21 °F) at sunrise on 19 July 2015.
Kalgoorlie
In the winter of 1893, prospectors Patrick (Paddy) Hannan, Tom Flanagan, and Dan Shea were travelling to Mount Youle, when one of their horses cast a shoe. During the halt in their journey, the men noticed signs of gold in the area around the foot of what is now the Mount Charlotte gold mine, located on a small hill north of the current city, and decided to stay and investigate. On 17 June 1893, Hannan filed a Reward Claim, leading to hundreds of men swarming to the area in search of gold, and Kalgoorlie, originally called Hannan's Find, was born.
The population of the town was 2,018 (1,516 males and 502 females) in 1898.
The mining of gold, along with other metals such as nickel, has been a major industry in Kalgoorlie ever since, and today employs about one-quarter of Kalgoorlie's workforce and generates a significant proportion of its income. The concentrated area of large gold mines surrounding the original Hannan's find is often referred to as the Golden Mile, and was sometimes referred to as the world's richest square mile of earth.
In 1901, the population of Kalgoorlie was 4,793 (3,087 males and 1,706 females) which increased to 6,790 (3,904 males and 2,886 females) by 1903.
Since 1992, Kalgoorlie has been home to the Diggers & Dealers conference, held annually in August. It is Australia's premier international mining conference.
The Fimiston Open Pit (Super Pit) is an open-cut gold mine about 3.6 km (2.2 mi) long, 1.6 km (1.0 mi) wide, and over 600 m (1,969 ft) deep. Originally consisting of a large number of underground mines, including the Paringa, Oroya, Brown Hill, Chaffers, and Hainault mines, they were consolidated into a single open pit mine in 1989. A visitor centre overlooks the mine, which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The mine blasts at 1:00 pm every day, unless winds would carry dust over the town. Each of the massive trucks carries 225 tonnes of rock and the round trip takes about 35 minutes, most of that time being the slow uphill haul. Employees must live in Kalgoorlie; there's no fly-in, fly-out operation. The current life of mine plan covers operation until 2035, with investigations for mine extension ongoing.
Kalgoorlie has a semi-arid climate (Bsk) with hot summers and mild winters. The average annual rainfall is 260 mm (10 in) on an average of 68 days and, while the average rainfall is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, there is considerable variation from year to year.
January is the hottest month, with an average maximum temperature of 33.6 °C (92.5 °F), but temperatures above 40.0 °C (104.0 °F) occur nearly once a week when hot, dry, north to northeasterly winds arrive. Such high temperatures are usually followed by a cool change from the south, and occasionally with a thunderstorm.
By contrast, winters are cool, with July average maximum and minimum temperatures being 16.5 °C (61.7 °F) and 4.8 °C (40.6 °F), respectively. Cold, wet days with a maximum below 12.0 °C (53.6 °F) occur about once every winter. The lowest maximum temperature recorded is 7.2 °C (45.0 °F), on 19 July 1961. Overnight temperatures fall below freezing about four times in a typical winter. Such events occur on clear nights following a day of cold southerly winds.
Cue
Gold was discovered in 1892 though there is uncertainty as to who made the first find. Michael Fitzgerald and Edward Heffernan collected 260 ounces after being given a nugget by an Aboriginal known as "Governor". Tom Cue travelled to Nannine to register their claim. The townsite was gazetted in 1893 and named after Tom Cue.
In 1895 the town had 7 ten-head stamp mills operating around the town; these were the Cue Public Battery, Cue One Proprietary, Kangaroo, Lady Mary Amalgamated, Red, White and Blue, Rose of England, Reward and the Cue Victory.[3]
The town's first water supply was a well in the centre of the main street; after an outbreak of typhoid fever, the well was capped with a rotunda built over the top. The water supply was replaced by another well dug near Lake Nallan; water was carted 20 km south to the townsite.
The town of Day Dawn, 8 km south, was established within a year; by 1900 a hospital and cemetery were established between the two towns and they had three newspapers operating. The rivalry between the towns fuelled a diverse sporting culture in the area. Cycling and horse-racing groups held regular events attracting competitors from as far away as Perth and Kalgoorlie.
By around 1900 Cue was the centre of the Murchison goldfields and boasted a population of about 10,000. As World War I drew men from the goldfields into the Australian Army the townsite of Day Dawn was abandoned. After the war many of the mines did not reopen and this started the decline of Cue as a major population centre. After the Great Depression and the fall in the price of gold, by 1933 the population of Cue had dropped to fewer than 500. The current population is around 200; the major employer is the Crosslands iron ore mine west of Cue. The Shire of Cue has ten employees and most other residents are self-employed as prospectors or in supplying the tourist and sheep-grazing industries.
Cue was recently heritage listed as a town of significant historical value. The main street has changed little since it was first built. There are several buildings within the townsite that are icons in their own right.
Cue has a semi-arid climate with hot summers and mild to cool winters.
Halls Creek
Late in the 19th Century, European explorers and settlers arrived, searching for land for cattle and sheep, as well as minerals. On Christmas Day 1885 prospector Charlie Hall found a huge 870-gram (28-troy-ounce) gold nugget at a site that would eventually be named after him. News of the discovery drew more than 15,000 people to what is now Old Halls Creek to try their luck. It proved an inhospitable land for these people and the graves of some can be found in Old Town's small cemetery.[citation needed]
The gold rush lasted less than three months and Halls Creek became a trading centre for cattle stations, Aboriginal communities and miners who stayed in the area. The post office with its telegraph line that terminated here, the police station, government office, racecourse and stores gave the town a purpose. In 1918 the Australian Inland Mission built a hospital and the old town continued, with few inhabitants and little water.[citation needed]
In 1948 an airfield was built near the site of the present town and over the next decade the old town moved nearer to this new site. Except for the police station, which finally relocated in 1961, the old town was abandoned by 1954.
Halls Creek has a tropical semi-arid climate due to its location between the wetter northern regions of the Kimberley and the arid Great Sandy Desert to the south ...
This climate is considered to be BSh according to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification.
Tennant Creek
Tennant Creek was the site for the last gold rush in Australia during the 1930s. At that time it was the third-largest gold producer in Australia.
Gold was discovered in the ranges three miles north of the current town area in 1926 by J Smith Roberts. In 1927 Charles Windley, a telegraph operator, found gold on what would become Tennant Creek's first mine, The Great Northern. Australia's last great Gold Rush did not commence, however, until after Frank Juppurla, a local Indigenous man, took gold to telegraph operator Woody Woodruffe in December 1932. The population quickly grew to about 600, 60 of whom were women and children. “Battery Hill” which overlooks the town of Tennant Creek is the site of one of the last two operating ten-head stamp batteries, a Government owned ore crushing machine.
Although Tennant Creek has a warm desert climate (Köppen Classification BWh), it still receives a sizeable 475 mm (18.2 in) of annual precipitation. It also has distinct wet and dry seasons. Most rain falls during the period from December to March, when temperatures are also at their highest. Temperatures fall during the dry months with sunny days and mild nights. There is 9.1 to 10.4 hours of sunshine per day with an average of 155 clear days per year. Prevailing winds are from the east to south-east.
Tennant Creek is located in the middle of the Northern Territory, 376.5 metres above sea level. Average maximum temperatures range from 24 degrees to 38 degrees, with an average of 22 days per year exceeding 40 degrees. Minimum temperatures range from 12 degrees in winter to 25 degrees in the hotter months.
Tennant Creek gets 181.0 clear days annually.
History of discovery
The first gold rush in Australia began in May 1851 after prospector Edward Hargraves claimed to have discovered payable gold near Orange, at a site he called Ophir.[3] Hargraves had been to the Californian goldfields and had learned new gold prospecting techniques such as panning and cradling. Hargraves was offered rewards by the Colony of New South Wales and the Colony of Victoria. Before the end of the year, the gold rush had spread to many other parts of the state where gold had been found, not just to the west, but also to the south and north of Sydney.[4]
The Australian gold rushes changed the convict colonies into more progressive cities with the influx of free immigrants. These hopefuls, termed diggers, brought new skills and professions, contributing to a burgeoning economy. The mateship that evolved between these diggers and their collective resistance to authority led to the emergence of a unique national identity. Although not all diggers found riches on the goldfields, many decided to stay and integrate into these communities.[5]
The towns selected in this climate battle are found all over the Continent, from the Tropical North, to the colder high country climes of Victoria and NSW, and the semi arid desert country of Western Australia. The last 'rush' in Australia occurred during the 1930's Depression years at Tennant Creek and the Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory. The old photos of that time ( 1930's ) still show men walking the streets of the boom town with pistols on their hips....real Aussie wild west !
I like gold myself, have done a fair bit of amateur prospecting with metal detectors and have found some 'colour'. Don't be fooled by the photos, not all of them are mine, some are from mates 'finds' over the years.
Charters Towers
The town was founded in the 1870s when gold was discovered by chance at Towers Hill on Christmas Eve 1871 by 12-year-old Aboriginal boy, Jupiter Mosman. Jupiter was with a small group of prospectors including Hugh Mosman, James Fraser and George Clarke. Their horses bolted after a flash of lightning. While he was searching Jupiter found both the horses and a nugget of gold in a creek at the base of Towers Hill.[3] Charters originated from the Gold Commissioner, W.S.E.M. Charters.[4] A total of ten major gold reefs were eventually mined.[3]
Such were the boom years, between 1872 and 1899, that Charters Towers hosted its own stock exchange. The Great Northern railway between Charters Towers and the coastal port of Townsville was completed in December 1882.[4] During this period, the population was approximately 30,000, making Charters Towers Queensland's largest city outside of Brisbane. The city was also affectionately known as 'The World', as it was said that anything one might desire could be had in the 'Towers', leaving no reason to travel elsewhere.
Charters Towers has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSh), with distinct seasons. Summers are hot and often rainy, whereas winters are mild and dry with low humidity.
Gympie
Graziers were the original European settlers. Subsequently, James Nash reported the discovery of 'payable' alluvial gold on 16 October 1867. At the time of Nash's discovery, Queensland was suffering from a severe economic depression. Nash probably saved Queensland from bankruptcy. A memorial fountain in Gympie's Park honours Nash's discovery. The Gympie Gold Rush Festival celebrates the event today. The Gold Rush Festival holds 10 days of cultural events in October. Gold mining still plays a role in the area's fortunes, along with agriculture (dairy predominantly), timber and tourism. The gold rush's rapid development led to streets that are in an irregular fashion, as are the streets in Charters Towers
Gympie has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa).
Bathurst
Bathurst is often referred to as the Gold Country as it was the site of the first gold discovery and where the first gold rush occurred in Australia.
Flecks of gold were first discovered in the Fish River in February 1823, but it was 12 February 1851 in a Bathurst Hotel when Edward Hargraves announced the discovery of payable gold. Soon, gold was found at Ophir (later Sofala) and Hill End in the 1850s.
Hill End, called 'Bald Hills' in 1850, 'Forbes' in 1860 and finally Hill End in 1862 was part of the Tambaroora district. At its peak had a population of 7 000 people. Hill End's fame is the finding of the 'Holtermann Specimen (Correctly the Beyers Holtermann Specimen)' on 20 October 1871 being the largest single mass of gold ever discovered in the world, a record that still stands today. Found in 1872 this single mass of quartz and gold weighed 630 lbs and when crushed produced and est. of 3000 troy oz (205 lbs or 93 kg) of gold, thus processed held more gold then the processed gold from largest nugget ever found, that being the Welcome Stranger from the Victorian Goldfields. Holtermann recognizing the significance of the find attempted to preserve it by buying it from the Company of which he was one of a number of directors. His efforts were in vain. It is reported that a larger mass was discovered a few days later in the same mine but was broken up underground. Absolutely reliant on Gold, the towns decline was dramatic once the Gold ran out before the 1900s
Due to its elevation, Bathurst has an oceanic climate (Cfb), according to Köppen climate classification. Bathurst is in Australia's cool temperate climate zone which is defined as having mild to warm summers and cool to cold winters. Regular summer thunderstorms are common, resulting from the flat plains country to the west, leading into the mountainous nature of the country around Bathurst and assisting the development of storm cells. These storms rarely strike the city and instead often move either in a south east or north east direction away from Bathurst. Bathurst gets 106.9 clear days annually.
In winter, light to moderate snowfalls regularly occur each year on the higher peaks around Bathurst, whilst snow is relatively uncommon in the city itself—although it does occur most years. On 5 July 1900, Bathurst received its heaviest snowfall on record; measuring at 68 centimetres (27 in) in the main street.
On 11 February 2017, Bathurst Ag recorded a new record high temperature of 41.5 °C (106.7 °F), although temperatures of 40 °C (104 °F) are exceedingly rare for Bathurst
Young ( Lambing Flat )
James White was the first European settler in the district and established Burrangong Station in 1826 with a squatting claim of 260 square kilometres (100 sq mi).[5][6] His story is told in the novel Brothers in Exile. Gold was found in the district in 1860. Until that time the area was called Lambing Flat, a reference to the grazing of sheep that was the main industry until mining. The town was gazetted in 1861. The goldfields produced 15,000 kilograms (470,000 ozt) of gold sent by escort from the fields. Up to 20,000 miners worked the fields including about 2,000 Chinese miners.[6]
From November 1860 through to June 1861, anti-Chinese miners attacked Chinese gold miners in the area, now known as the infamous Lambing Flat riots. As gold became scarce, European miners began to resent what they saw as the greater success of the more industrious Chinese, and hence many Chinese miners were attacked, robbed and killed. The anti-Chinese rebels rallied in numbers of up to 3,000. Eventually the rioters were controlled, Chinese miners had their claims restored to them, but the New South Wales Parliament passed the Chinese Immigration Bill which restricted the number of Chinese that could be brought into New South Wales on any ship and imposed a tax per head on entry.
Climatically....Cfa, Owing to Young's far western location, it yields hot, dry summers and cool, damp winters; reflecting a distinctly "continental" climate of the South West Slopes region. Snow falls occasionally; notwithstanding its fairly low elevation of approximately 400 m, the windward position of Young exposes it to strong south-westerly frontal systems. Thus, places such as Goulburn farther east (but higher up) receive less winter moisture than Young, due to more adequate sheltering from these fronts.
Climate data is sourced from Young Airport; at an elevation of 380 metres (1,250 ft) and operating since 1988.
Kiandra.
A high altitude ( by Australian standards ) former gold mining town located on or about the Great Dividing Ranges. Abandoned nowadays, was once a thriving community during the 19th Century gold rush era.
n November 1859, gold was discovered by mountain cattlemen, the Pollock brothers, and by March 1860, some 10,000 miners and storekeepers had raced to the scene. Initial returns were very good. A 9 kg nugget was discovered in river deposits under what became known as New Chum Hill. Kiandra post office opened on 1 June 1860 and it is estimated that the area at its peak accommodated around 15,000 people, served by 25 stores, 13 bakers, 16 butchers, 14 pubs, several banks and four blacksmiths. Nevertheless, by 1861, the Sydney Morning Herald was reporting a "mass exodus" and the easy pickings were exhausted.
Significant numbers of Chinese people worked the Kiandra goldfields. Chinese miners built Three Mile Dam in 1882 to assist with sluicing operations at "New Chum Hill". The scenic lake still exists and now supplies Selwyn Snowfields with its snow-making water requirements.
The last mining operations finally ceased around 1905. Official total production recorded was 48 676 kg
Owing to its elevation, Kiandra has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb), as at least 4 months see an average temperature above 10 °C (50 °F) and at least one month sees an average temperature below 0 °C (32 °F) according to the 1897–1974 period of record and an extrapolated 1980–2010 timeframe,[35] having cold and very snowy winters alongside summers that are very cool by Australian standards.
This (continental) climate type is very rare in the Southern Hemisphere and almost nonexistent in Australia, with Kiandra being the only Bureau of Meteorology weather station with it. However, as the July average was only slightly below freezing in the period of record, it is predicted given current trends that in the near future it will change into a temperate highland or oceanic (Cfb) climate[36] (indeed, using the alternative −3 °C (26.6 °F) isotherm it already is one), though no official weather station is currently operational to record such a shift.
Climate statistics were compiled at the Kiandra Chalet site, elevation 1,395 metres (4,577 ft) AMSL, from the year 1866 until 1974; temperature averages from 1897 to 1974. The lowest temperature recorded was −17.8 °C (0 °F) on 21 July 1965, and again on 10 August 1966. On 31 January 1968, the highest temperature of 32.9 °C (91.2 °F) was recorded, although absolute records only span back to 1957 at Kiandra Chalet, thus missing the tremendous heat of January 1939.
Beechworth
The largest north eastern Victorian gold rush town. Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s.Between 1852 and 1857, Beechworth was a gold producing region and centre of government; but its power, wealth and influence were short lived. According to Carole Woods, an early party of prospectors retrieved a pan of gold from the area weighing 14 pounds (6.4 kg). Another lucky party cleared some 50 pounds (23 kg) of gold in a week. And so began a rush into this remote region. During the first election campaign in 1855, one candidate, Daniel Cameron, rode a horse shod with solid gold horseshoes. The extravagance of this event is still commemorated as the logo for Beechworth is a golden horseshoe. During its boom times, Beechworth town boasted a range of industries including, a tannery, jewellers, boot makers, a brewery, blacksmiths, livestock sale yards. It had schools, a convent, hotels, a prison with imposing stone walls, a hospital, a mental hospital, court house, police barracks, stage coach companies and a powder magazine.
In its golden days, men and women arrived from the United States, United Kingdom and China. At its peak, Beechworth town had over 3,100 residents. Surrounding areas and mining camps sprang up as thousands of miners rushed into areas such as Spring Creek, Reedy Creek, Silver Creek, the Nine Mile Creek and the Woolshed increasing the population on the Ovens to around 22,000. The Chinese were not allowed to live in Beechworth town and resided on the outskirts. Numerous controls, regulations and licence checks were enforced on the Chinese miners. Beechworth Cemetery has a large preserved section of early Chinese miners/pioneers. The presence of the Chinese goldminers around Beechworth and throughout Victoria's north-eastern region created social unrest.
Climatically, Beechworth features an oceanic climate (Cfb) with warm, dry summers and cold, wet winters. As one of the higher towns in Victoria, several light to moderate snowfalls can be expected each year, sometimes falling heavily.
Bendigo
Bendigo ( and Ballarat ) were the two largest and wealthiest towns during the gold rush era. Both cities have well preserved historical precincts dating back to the 1850's.
The discovery of gold on Bendigo Creek in 1851 transformed the area from a sheep station into one of colonial Australia's largest boomtowns. News of the finds intensified the Victorian gold rush, bringing an influx of migrants from around the world, particularly Europe and China. Bendigo became eastern Australia's largest 19th century gold-mining economy, and the wealth generated during this period is reflected today in the city's Victorian architectural heritage. From 1853 until 1891, Bendigo was officially named Sandhurst.
Bendigo's boom period lasted until the early 20th century and, after a temporary decline in population and employment, renewed growth occurred from the 1930s as the city consolidated as a manufacturing and regional service centre. Although gold mining continues, recent population growth has been most heavily concentrated in suburban areas.
Bendigo has a relatively dry temperate climate with warm to hot summers and cool to cold winters. Under the Köppen-Geiger classification, it lies on a humid subtropical/semi-arid transitional climate zone (Cfa/BSk), due to its location being on the boundary of the hot, sultry inland areas to the north and the cool, damp Southern Ocean to the south. Bendigo gets 109.9 clear days annually.
The mean minimum temperature in January is 14.3 °C (57.7 °F) and the maximum 28.7 °C (83.7 °F), although temperatures above 35 °C (95.0 °F) are commonly reached.[7] The highest temperature officially recorded was 45.4 °C (113.7 °F), during the 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave.
The mean minimum temperature in July is 3.5 °C (38.3 °F) and winter minima below 0 °C (32 °F) are recorded 28 nights per year on average. Mean maximum winter temperatures in July are 12.1 °C (53.8 °F). Most of the city's annual rainfall of 582.1 millimetres (22.92 in) falls between May and September. Snowfalls are rare; however, frosts can be a common occurrence during the winter.
Ballarat
Within months of Victoria separating from the colony of New South Wales in 1851, gold was discovered near Ballarat, sparking the Victorian gold rush. Ballarat subsequently became a thriving boomtown that for a time rivalled Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, in terms of wealth and cultural influence. In 1854, following a period of civil disobedience in Ballarat over gold licenses, local miners launched an armed uprising against government forces. Known as the Eureka Rebellion, it led to the introduction of male suffrage in Australia, and as such is interpreted as the origin of Australian democracy. The rebellion's symbol, the Eureka Flag, has become a national symbol and is held at Ballarat's Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka.
Proclaimed a city in 1871, Ballarat's prosperity, unlike that of many other gold boom towns, continued until the late 19th century, as the city's fields experienced sustained high gold yields for many decades. By the turn of the century, Ballarat's importance relative to Melbourne rapidly faded with the slowing of gold extraction. It has endured as a major regional centre, and is the commercial capital and largest city of the Central Highlands, as well as a significant tourist destination. Ballarat is known for its history, culture and its well-preserved colonial-era heritage, with much of the city subject to heritage overlays.
The city earned the nickname "The Golden City" in the 1850s. The gold rush population peaked at almost 60,000, mostly male diggers, by 1858. However the early population was largely itinerant. As quickly as the alluvial deposits drew prospectors to Ballarat, the rate of gold extraction fluctuated and, as they were rapidly worked dry, many quickly moved to rush other fields as new findings were announced, particularly Mount Alexander in 1852, Fiery Creek in 1855, and Ararat in 1857. By 1859, a smaller number of permanent settlers numbering around 23,000, many of whom had built personal wealth in gold, established a prosperous economy based around a shift to deep underground gold mining.
Confidence of the city's early citizens in the enduring future of their city is evident in the sheer scale of many of the early public buildings, generous public recreational spaces, and opulence of many of its commercial establishments and private housing.
Ballarat lies at the foothills of the Great Dividing Range in Central Western Victoria. Also known as the Central Highlands, it is named so because of its elevated position and moderate hills and terrain with a lack of any alpine mountains that are situated a few hundred kilometres NE.
Ballarat has a moderate oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb) with four distinct seasons. Its elevation, ranging between 400–630 metres (1,310–2,070 feet) above sea level, causes its mean monthly temperatures to tend to be on average 3 to 5 °C (5 to 9 °F) below those of Melbourne, especially in winter.[citation needed] The mean daily maximum temperature for January is 25.1 °C (77 °F), while the mean minimum is 10.9 °C (52 °F). In July, the mean maximum is 10.0 °C (50 °F); average July minimum is 3.2 °C (38 °F). Ballarat has 55.2 clear days annually.
The city has a well known reputation for unpredictable and extreme weather, ranging from snowfall to intense heatwaves. Perhaps the most infamous feature of Ballarat's climate is the chilly winter, often accentuated by driving winds.
Fog is common on autumn and winter mornings but usually dissipates by mid-morning.
Temperatures can dip below freezing from May to September, however a low of 0-2 C° is more common - widespread frosts and fog are a regular sight. Snowfall typically falls on nearby Mount Buninyong and Mount Warrenheip a few times a year, but in the urban area only once or twice, particularly during heavy winters. Snow has been known to fall heavily with several inches accumulating even in the CBD. Heavy snow seasons occurred in 1900–1902 and 1905–1907 (with record falls in 1906), and moderate snow seasons were recorded during the 1940s and 1980s. Snowfalls in the urban area have occurred in recent years: November 2006 (light),[75] July 2007 (heavy), June 2008 (light),[78] August 2008 (light), August 2014 (moderate) and June 2016 (light),[81] July 2017 (light), June 2018 (moderate), May 2019 (light), and August and September 2020 (light and heavy).
The mean annual rainfall is 693 millimetres (27.3 inches),[72] with August being the wettest month (75 mm or 3.0 in). There are an average of 198 rain-free days per year.[72] Like much of Australia, Ballarat experiences cyclical drought and heavy rainfall. Flooding of the Yarrowee catchment occurs occasionally. In 1869 a serious flood of the Yarrowee River put most of the lower section of business district including Bridge and Grenville streets under water and caused the loss of two lives.[84] Prolonged drought (an average annual rainfall with falls averaging as low as 400 mm (16 in) per year since 2001) caused Lake Wendouree to dry up completely for the first time in its history between 2006 and 2007.
Ballarat's highest maximum recorded temperature was 44.1 °C (111 °F) on 7 February 2009 during the 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave. This was 2.1 °C (3.8 °F) above the previous record of 42.0 °C (108 °F), set on 25 January 2003. The lowest-ever recorded minimum was −6.3 °C (21 °F) at sunrise on 19 July 2015.
Kalgoorlie
In the winter of 1893, prospectors Patrick (Paddy) Hannan, Tom Flanagan, and Dan Shea were travelling to Mount Youle, when one of their horses cast a shoe. During the halt in their journey, the men noticed signs of gold in the area around the foot of what is now the Mount Charlotte gold mine, located on a small hill north of the current city, and decided to stay and investigate. On 17 June 1893, Hannan filed a Reward Claim, leading to hundreds of men swarming to the area in search of gold, and Kalgoorlie, originally called Hannan's Find, was born.
The population of the town was 2,018 (1,516 males and 502 females) in 1898.
The mining of gold, along with other metals such as nickel, has been a major industry in Kalgoorlie ever since, and today employs about one-quarter of Kalgoorlie's workforce and generates a significant proportion of its income. The concentrated area of large gold mines surrounding the original Hannan's find is often referred to as the Golden Mile, and was sometimes referred to as the world's richest square mile of earth.
In 1901, the population of Kalgoorlie was 4,793 (3,087 males and 1,706 females) which increased to 6,790 (3,904 males and 2,886 females) by 1903.
Since 1992, Kalgoorlie has been home to the Diggers & Dealers conference, held annually in August. It is Australia's premier international mining conference.
The Fimiston Open Pit (Super Pit) is an open-cut gold mine about 3.6 km (2.2 mi) long, 1.6 km (1.0 mi) wide, and over 600 m (1,969 ft) deep. Originally consisting of a large number of underground mines, including the Paringa, Oroya, Brown Hill, Chaffers, and Hainault mines, they were consolidated into a single open pit mine in 1989. A visitor centre overlooks the mine, which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The mine blasts at 1:00 pm every day, unless winds would carry dust over the town. Each of the massive trucks carries 225 tonnes of rock and the round trip takes about 35 minutes, most of that time being the slow uphill haul. Employees must live in Kalgoorlie; there's no fly-in, fly-out operation. The current life of mine plan covers operation until 2035, with investigations for mine extension ongoing.
Kalgoorlie has a semi-arid climate (Bsk) with hot summers and mild winters. The average annual rainfall is 260 mm (10 in) on an average of 68 days and, while the average rainfall is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, there is considerable variation from year to year.
January is the hottest month, with an average maximum temperature of 33.6 °C (92.5 °F), but temperatures above 40.0 °C (104.0 °F) occur nearly once a week when hot, dry, north to northeasterly winds arrive. Such high temperatures are usually followed by a cool change from the south, and occasionally with a thunderstorm.
By contrast, winters are cool, with July average maximum and minimum temperatures being 16.5 °C (61.7 °F) and 4.8 °C (40.6 °F), respectively. Cold, wet days with a maximum below 12.0 °C (53.6 °F) occur about once every winter. The lowest maximum temperature recorded is 7.2 °C (45.0 °F), on 19 July 1961. Overnight temperatures fall below freezing about four times in a typical winter. Such events occur on clear nights following a day of cold southerly winds.
Cue
Gold was discovered in 1892 though there is uncertainty as to who made the first find. Michael Fitzgerald and Edward Heffernan collected 260 ounces after being given a nugget by an Aboriginal known as "Governor". Tom Cue travelled to Nannine to register their claim. The townsite was gazetted in 1893 and named after Tom Cue.
In 1895 the town had 7 ten-head stamp mills operating around the town; these were the Cue Public Battery, Cue One Proprietary, Kangaroo, Lady Mary Amalgamated, Red, White and Blue, Rose of England, Reward and the Cue Victory.[3]
The town's first water supply was a well in the centre of the main street; after an outbreak of typhoid fever, the well was capped with a rotunda built over the top. The water supply was replaced by another well dug near Lake Nallan; water was carted 20 km south to the townsite.
The town of Day Dawn, 8 km south, was established within a year; by 1900 a hospital and cemetery were established between the two towns and they had three newspapers operating. The rivalry between the towns fuelled a diverse sporting culture in the area. Cycling and horse-racing groups held regular events attracting competitors from as far away as Perth and Kalgoorlie.
By around 1900 Cue was the centre of the Murchison goldfields and boasted a population of about 10,000. As World War I drew men from the goldfields into the Australian Army the townsite of Day Dawn was abandoned. After the war many of the mines did not reopen and this started the decline of Cue as a major population centre. After the Great Depression and the fall in the price of gold, by 1933 the population of Cue had dropped to fewer than 500. The current population is around 200; the major employer is the Crosslands iron ore mine west of Cue. The Shire of Cue has ten employees and most other residents are self-employed as prospectors or in supplying the tourist and sheep-grazing industries.
Cue was recently heritage listed as a town of significant historical value. The main street has changed little since it was first built. There are several buildings within the townsite that are icons in their own right.
Cue has a semi-arid climate with hot summers and mild to cool winters.
Halls Creek
Late in the 19th Century, European explorers and settlers arrived, searching for land for cattle and sheep, as well as minerals. On Christmas Day 1885 prospector Charlie Hall found a huge 870-gram (28-troy-ounce) gold nugget at a site that would eventually be named after him. News of the discovery drew more than 15,000 people to what is now Old Halls Creek to try their luck. It proved an inhospitable land for these people and the graves of some can be found in Old Town's small cemetery.[citation needed]
The gold rush lasted less than three months and Halls Creek became a trading centre for cattle stations, Aboriginal communities and miners who stayed in the area. The post office with its telegraph line that terminated here, the police station, government office, racecourse and stores gave the town a purpose. In 1918 the Australian Inland Mission built a hospital and the old town continued, with few inhabitants and little water.[citation needed]
In 1948 an airfield was built near the site of the present town and over the next decade the old town moved nearer to this new site. Except for the police station, which finally relocated in 1961, the old town was abandoned by 1954.
Halls Creek has a tropical semi-arid climate due to its location between the wetter northern regions of the Kimberley and the arid Great Sandy Desert to the south ...
This climate is considered to be BSh according to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification.
Tennant Creek
Tennant Creek was the site for the last gold rush in Australia during the 1930s. At that time it was the third-largest gold producer in Australia.
Gold was discovered in the ranges three miles north of the current town area in 1926 by J Smith Roberts. In 1927 Charles Windley, a telegraph operator, found gold on what would become Tennant Creek's first mine, The Great Northern. Australia's last great Gold Rush did not commence, however, until after Frank Juppurla, a local Indigenous man, took gold to telegraph operator Woody Woodruffe in December 1932. The population quickly grew to about 600, 60 of whom were women and children. “Battery Hill” which overlooks the town of Tennant Creek is the site of one of the last two operating ten-head stamp batteries, a Government owned ore crushing machine.
Although Tennant Creek has a warm desert climate (Köppen Classification BWh), it still receives a sizeable 475 mm (18.2 in) of annual precipitation. It also has distinct wet and dry seasons. Most rain falls during the period from December to March, when temperatures are also at their highest. Temperatures fall during the dry months with sunny days and mild nights. There is 9.1 to 10.4 hours of sunshine per day with an average of 155 clear days per year. Prevailing winds are from the east to south-east.
Tennant Creek is located in the middle of the Northern Territory, 376.5 metres above sea level. Average maximum temperatures range from 24 degrees to 38 degrees, with an average of 22 days per year exceeding 40 degrees. Minimum temperatures range from 12 degrees in winter to 25 degrees in the hotter months.
Tennant Creek gets 181.0 clear days annually.
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