Hart Range, Northern Territory

History

The area is rich in minerals, and from the 1880s until 1960 the Harts Range area produced most of Australia's mica and one of these mines was the Spotted tiger mine. Many of the miners who arrived after the First World War (1918) were Italian, with no experience of mining. After 1945 Italian immigration to the area increased, many of them with families. Mining occurred mainly in the Central Harts Range District, where the new migrants established settlements. The Plenty Highway and other transport services were developed as a result of these migrants' activities, and they formed the basis of Central Australia's Italian community that still exists today.

The Governor of New South Wales, Lord Wakehurst, and his wife visited the area in March 1945.

The miners used local Aboriginal people for labour and for their knowledge.

In 2005 the area was shortlisted as a potential site for a low-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste storage and disposal facility, raising concerns that the local hydrogeology could result in spills contaminating the ground water.

Geology and geography

The basement rocks of the Harts Range group were formed in the lower to middle Proterozoic Eon, and have undergone complex metamorphic heating and deformation events.

The former mica mines at Mount Palmer are now abandoned, and popular as a fossicking area.

Demographics

Most of the town's population are of Aboriginal descent, residing in the nearby community of Atitjere.

Recreation and events

Since 1947, each year an annual racing meet, the "Harts Range Races" has been held at the Harts Range Racecourse on the Picnic Day long weekend. The event has grown to include rodeo, novelty, and family events in a three-day festival.

Facilities

Harts Range Police Station services the surrounding district, comprising remote cattle stations and Aboriginal communities.

A transmitter for the Jindalee Operational Radar Network is located near Harts Range.

References

References

1. "Place Names Register Extract for the Town of Hart Range". [[Northern Territory Government]].
2. (27 August 1953). "Hart’s Range races revived". [[Kalgoorlie Miner]].
3. "Spotted Tiger Mine, Mt Riddock Station, Harts Range (Harts Ranges; Hartz Range; Hartz Ranges), Central Desert Region, Northern Territory, Australia".
4. Hugo, David Frederick. (1995). "Mica mining at Harts Range, Central Australia, 1880s-1960: a study of ethnicity and the impact of isolation". Charles Darwin University.
5. (16 March 1945). "Lord Wakehurst in Territory". [[Army News]].
6. (3 February 1950). "Miners don't get it". [[Northern Standard]].
7. Salleh, Anna. (3 August 2005). "Shifting rivers cast doubt on nuclear dump".
8. (31 May 2016). "Geology of Central Harts Range". NT Government.
9. (31 May 2016). "Central Harts Range". NT Government.
10. "About Harts Range Amateur Racing Club".
11. Darken, Bob. (April 1993). "Club History".
12. "Harts Range".
13. Chlanda, Erwin. (28 April 2004). "Nowhere to hide when Alice's radar zeroes in".