OUR HISTORY
MATARANKA HOTEL
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Mataranka Hotel
We have reached 2026 > "est since year 1929"
That is “96 YEARS” - 35,085 days of being established
in Mataranka Northern Territory Australia.
The history of Mataranka hotel withholds every memory
of all our locals.
Cheers & thanks to everyone that still supports us here
at Mataranka Hotel.
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THE HISTORY OF
MATARANKA HOTEL
The Mataranka Hotel, a well-known pub in the Northern Territory, was established in 1929 by Nellie 'Ma' Fisher, a notable figure
who turned it into a significant local spot near the famous Mataranka Thermal Pools area, which was already known from World War II.
Founder: Nellie 'Ma' Fisher. Year: 1929.
Significance: It became a popular stop for travelers and locals,
with the area's thermal springs also developing into a tourist attraction around
the same time.
The Mataranka Hotel was established by 55-year-old widow,
Nellie ‘Ma’ Fisher after she was granted a license at the Darwin Court House on March 12, 1929. Ma Fisher was one of the Territory’s
more colourful publicans. Born in Pleasant Creek, Victoria, she arrived in Darwin with her husband, Harry and children in 1917.
She ran a boarding-house at the ‘2½ Mile’, along the southern railway,
outside of Darwin, while her husband prospected for gold near Grove Hill.
Her husband died after suffering a lung condition at the age of 55 in 1923. As the railway pushed further south from Darwin,
Nellie purchased land at the Mataranka rail-head, where she opened another boarding house in 1928.
Nellie was described in 1928 as providing “clean, wholesome and smartly served tucker” daily at her boarding house
and was never known “to knock back any swaggie”
who was in want of a feed. Nellie successfully applied for a hotel license for her boarding house in 1929.
The pub was described as “one of the best little hotels outside of Darwin”.
By 1937, Ma’s health was failing and she died the following year at
the age of 64. After Nellie’s death, her daughter, Alice Kirkwood took over as licensee. Ma’s other daughter, Mary Seale,
and her husband, George, also were hoteliers, and were long-time hosts
of the Parap Hotel. Alice Kirkwood continued as host of the Mataranka Hotel through the war years, and the family’s association
with the historic pub ended in 1947 when Tom Kennedy took over as publican. More pictures and the history
of the Mataranka Hotel at The Time.
Mataranka Hotel
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THE HISTORY OF
MATARANKA TOWN NT
Mataranka is a town and located in the Northern Territory of Australia located about 420 km (260 mi.) southeast of the territory capital of Darwin, and 107 km > south of Katherine. At the 2016 census, Mataranka recorded a population of 350. 29.5% of residents are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
The town is located near Roper River and Mataranka Hot Springs. This area is the setting for Jeannie Gunn's autobiographical account of the year 1902, We of the Never Never. The homestead, which she shared with her husband, Aeneas Gunn, until his death, has been reconstructed near to the hot springs.
The Mataranka Station is part of the Katherine Rural College
of Charles Darwin University.
The name Mataranka means "home of the snake" in the Yangmanic language of the Aboriginal people who inhabit the area.[citation needed] The name was given to a sheep farm around 1915 by John A. Gilruth, who was the Administrator of
the Northern Territory at that time.[citation needed] The town of Mataranka was first gazetted on 24 May 1928 after the arrival of the North Australia Railway.[citation needed] The locality of Mataranka, which include the town and surrounding land were
re-gazetted on 4 April 2007.
World War II
The Australian Army set up No. 42 Australian Camp Hospital
near Mataranka. The 10th Australian Advanced Ordnance workshops camped in buildings made from paper bark trees
and serviced wrecked and damaged vehicles. An ammunition depot was also in the locality. These depots were served by railway sidings off the main line.
It was also home to a 'Native labour gang' with a large control camp established in the town; these are now sometimes
referred to as the 'Aboriginal labour force' in recognition of the offensiveness of the original name given. The army, through the Native Affairs Branch, employed Aboriginal men to perform key roles throughout the Northern Territory and these gangs completed many large scale infrastructure projects and were instrumental to the war effort. In 1943 200 Aboriginal labourers were employed through this scheme and based at Mataranka; many of these men were working on railway gangs
Railways
Mataranka was served by the original narrow-gauge railway that closed in 1976 after cyclone damage.
The new standard gauge railway opened in 2003. It passes about 20 km to the west of the town.
EXPLORE
MATARANKA HOTEL
The Pubs location is in the center heart of Mataranka town.
13 ROPER TERRACE. MATARANKA NT, 0852 AUS
PUB OPENING HOURS
BAR: 12NOON - 6PM
MENU HOURS: 12NOON - 5PM
LICENSING TAKEAWAY ALCOHOL HOURS
2PM - 6PM