Our History

Pine Creek is situated at the junction of the Stuart and Kakadu Highways and is the ideal base to access everything the Top End has to offer.

An easy 2 hour drive south of Darwin and only 1 hour north of Katherine, Pine Creek is the gold mining capital of the Northern Territory. Pine Creek is the only town remaining from the gold rush days of the 1870's.

Pre European settlement the Pine Creek area was home to the Wagaman, Asgicondi, Arigoola and Jawoyn peoples. Aborigines used the local rock as a source of tools. Surveys have indicated that the largest known complex of Aboriginal quarries in the Northern Territory was established in the region. There are also a number of recorded Aboriginal sacred sites within the area.

Pine Creek is one of the Northern Territory's oldest towns. It is tough resilient community that has faced a cyclical history of boom and bust. Over the past century, Pine Creek has been a significant player in the economic life of the Top End, with housing and community service infrastructure in the town expanding in step with mining activity.

Pine Creek owes its existence to the Pine Creek Geosyncline, a giant intrusion of mineral rich ore seams. It extends northwest from Pine Creek to just south of Adelaide River. This rich ore body has been slowly eroding over the aeons, depositing traces of alluvial minerals throughout the region, in creeks, rivers and flood plains. It was the discovery of alluvial gold in these deposits by construction workers of the Overland Telegraph Line in 1870 that led to the development of Pine Creek.

Pine Creek's location at the intersection of the Kakadu and Stuart Highways makes tourism a key component of the local economy. Visitors are drawn by Kakadu National Park, Umbrawarra Gorge, historic railway and mining exhibits, heritage listed buildings, a rich cultural history, the area's unique natural landscapes, flora and fauna and man-made lakes, accommodation and food supplies.