Situated at the junction of the Stuart and Kakadu Highway, about 2 hours drive south of Darwin and 1 hour north of Katherine, Pine Creek is one of the Northern Territory's oldest towns. It was the discovery of alluvial gold in these deposits by construction workers on the Overland Telegraph Line in 1870 that led to the development of town. ¹ The North Australian Railway reached its terminus at Pine Creek in May 1889. ² The railway closed in 1976. The old Pine Creek railway station (built 1888) and some rolling stock remained and were preserved as the Pine Creek Railway Precinct. Its standard gauge successor, Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor, was completed in 2004 between Alice Springs and Darwin. During World War 2, the Stuart Highway was sealed in the area, with it being completed in 1944. ³

Prior to European settlement, the Pine Creek area was home to the Wagaman, Asgicondi, Arigoola, and Jawoyn peoples. Surveys have indicated that the largest known complex of Aboriginal quarries in the Northern Territory was established in the region. There are also several recorded Aboriginal sacred sites within the area. ¹

The town is named after the stream on the banks of which it is built and was originally officially called Playford, and was gazetted originally in the SA Gazette of 24 January 1889 after Thomas Playford Senior, former South Australian Premier. It was finally re-gazetted as the town of Pine Creek, as it always had been known for the pine trees which once grew in the Creek, on 20 September 1973. ¹

Pine Creek holds regular events throughout the year, including Harmony Day, a cultural event for all races to come together in celebration, and the annual Goldrush Festival that features exhibitions and an artwork prize, National Gold Panning Championships, plus food and craft stalls, night time entertainment and opportunities to practice panning and damper making. ¹

Population:

318 ⁴

Postcode:

0847

Location:

186 km southeast of Darwin

Main Roads:

Stuart Hwy (A1) and Kakadu Hwy (B21)

Radio Stations:

FM:

ABC Radio (106.1 MHz), ABC Radio National (107.7 MHz), CAAMA Radio (102.9 MHz), KatCountry 88 FM (88.0 MHz), Katherine FM (90.1 MHz and 101.3 MHz), Mix FM (96.7 MHz) and RadioTAB (103.7 MHz)

AM:

RadioTAB (1242 kHz)

Click or tap the map to enable panning and zooming

Moule Street:

Looking southwest on Moule St in Pine Creek, near the Pine Creek Hotel, 2003.

Image © Jamie Scuglia

Moule Street:

Looking southwest on Moule St in Pine Creek, near the Pine Creek Hotel, 2003.

Image © Jamie Scuglia

¹ Victoria-Daly Regional Council, Our Communities, Pine Creek.
² NT Government, NT Place Names Register, Place Names Register Extract, Pine Creek.
³ Litchfield Council, History of Litchfield, Stuart Highway.
⁴ Australian Government, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census Data, 2021, Pine Creek, Census All persons QuickStats, Suburbs and Localities, SAL70224.