Maranboy

Maranboy tin mine

Maranboy is the location of a former settlement and tin mine near Barunga, about 70 kilometres east of Katherine in the Northern Territory of Australia. ^[1]

Establishment

Aboriginal people such as the Jawoyn have lived in the area surrounding Maranboy for thousands of years. At the time of European settlement in 1869 at Palmerston, now Darwin, many of the country's other mineral resources had already been exploited. Therefore, new mining opportunities accelerated development in the north. ^[2]

Alluvial tin was found in the area by Tim O'Shea in 1910, a stockman from Pine Creek, but he never registered a claim. ^[2] In September 1913, Maranboy was declared as a goldfield for a period of two years. ^[3]

Tin was discovered at Maranboy in 1913 by prospectors Scharber and Richardson. ^{[4] [5]} Tin mines and a battery were operational in the same year. ^[6]

In 1917, a small hospital, known as Penola Hostel, was established at Maranboy by John Flynn and the Australian Inland Mission. After its closure in 1931, the building remained in use as a Post Office and Police Station. ^[7]

By 1918 the price of tin was booming. ^[8]

The battery closed in 1949 for repairs but never reopened. ^[9]

Workers

Prospectors of European, Chinese and Aboriginal descent worked at Maranboy. One of these workers was Harold Snell, who later built many significant buildings in Darwin and another was Eustratios Georgiou Haritos who was the first Greek migrant to be employed there. ^[10]

The battery closed in 1949 for repairs but never reopened. ^[11]

Many of the Aboriginal people who serviced the mine returned to Beswick Creek (later Barunga).

Police station

While little remains at Maranboy, the Northern Territory Police Force continues to operate an outpost at the site. The Maranboy police station has a patrol area of 23,000 km² (8,900 sq mi) serving a number of large cattle stations as well as the communities of Barunga, Wulgularr (Beswick) and Manyallaluk. ^[12]

References

1. "Barunga". Roper Gulf Regional Council. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
2. Harlow, Sue (1997). Tin gods: a social history of the men and women of Maranboy 1913-1962. Darwin, N.T.: Historical Society of the Northern Territory. ISBN   0959970282.
3. "PROCLAMATION". Northern Territory Times and Gazette . Vol. XXXVIII, no. 2082. Northern Territory, Australia. 2 October 1913. p. 8. Retrieved 10 August 2016– via National Library of Australia.
4. "Maranboy Tinfield". Northern Territory Times and Gazette . Vol. XLI, no. 2343. Northern Territory, Australia. 5 October 1918. p. 12. Retrieved 10 August 2016– via National Library of Australia.
5. "Mining in the early Commonwealth years - Commonwealth Government Records about the Northern Territory". Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
6. "Mining News". Northern Territory Times and Gazette . Vol. XLI, no. 2322. Northern Territory, Australia. 11 May 1918. p. 7. Retrieved 10 August 2016– via National Library of Australia.
7. "Maranboy". Northern Territory Police Museum and Historical Society. 19 September 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
8. "MINING NEWS". Northern Territory Times and Gazette . Vol. XLI, no. 2322. Northern Territory, Australia. 11 May 1918. p. 7. Retrieved 10 August 2016– via National Library of Australia.
9. "Living on Credit Maranboy Battery Still Closed Mines Dept. Inefficiency". Northern Standard . Vol. 4, no. 186. Northern Territory, Australia. 16 December 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 12 August 2016– via National Library of Australia.
10. Wilson, Helen J., "Eustratios Georgiou Haritos (1888–1974)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 4 March 2025
11. "Living On Credit Maranboy Battery Still Closed Mines Dept. Inefficiency". Northern Standard . Vol. 4, no. 186. Northern Territory, Australia. 16 December 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 12 August 2016– via National Library of Australia.
12. "Police Station Profiles - Maranboy". Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services. Retrieved 19 April 2025.

14°32′S132°47′E / 14.533°S 132.783°E / -14.533; 132.783