Place Type
Population - Town
Location
68.93kms South of Darwin - Driving 97.0 km (1 hour 13 mins)
Address & Contact
6 Awilla Rd
Batchelor NT 0845
Phone: N/A
Email: N/A
Web: N/A
Information
Batchelor is a well-maintained town, about 100 km south of Darwin. It is the entry point for visitors to the stunning Litchfield National Park. A sealed road provides access to the town which has a small shopping/services centre and accommodation.
Named after the politician E.L. Batchelor, the town remained a quiet backwater until World War II. The township was then used as an important Allied airforce base and the population increased rapidly. The aerodrome can still be seen today.
Later, in 1949, uranium was discovered in the nearby area of Rum Jungle, 11 km north of Batchelor. Again, the town's population swelled, until the mine was closed in 1963.
Rum Jungle has a rich history, typically associated with Australian mining camps and towns. In his famous novel Capricornia, Xavier Herbert wrote about Rum Jungle under the fictitious name of Black Adder Creek. Although the mine is no longer open for inspection, many places around the town still keep the Rum Jungle name alive.
Today, Batchelor thrives on tourism to Litchfield National Park and also has exceptional TAFE and training centres that specifically cater for indigenous students.