Tennant Creek, town, Northern Territory, Australia. Tennant Creek lies far inland, at the centre of the Northern Territory's richest mineral reserves. It is on the Stuart Highway but in fact is 11 km (7 mi) south of the creek itself, which was discovered in 1860 and named after John Tennant of Port Lincoln, South Australia. Tennant Creek is the main town of a cattle ranching area. The region became the site of an Overland Telegraph Station in 1872 (now a museum), but it was not until the 1930s and the nation's "Last Great Gold Rush" that Tennant Creek became properly established as a settlement. It was designated a town in 1954. Local legend says that a wagon loaded with beer and with timber for the construction of a new hotel further north broke down in Tennant Creek in the 1930s. The wagoners decided to stay where they were, drink the beer, and open the hotel in Tennant Creek instead. Gold was subsequently discovered near by and a small gold rush began. The 1950s saw the discovery of other mineral reserves around Tennant Creek. Silver and copper are today extracted locally. Population (1991) 3,480.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Tennant Creek Information info
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