Day 37. Katherine to Batchleor - Litchfield National Park. 17/06/2015

Left the very lovely Katherine caravan park this morning and we were sorry to be leaving as we both felt it was without a doubt the best park we have stayed in so far. Our journey forward was to be about 245kms and took us through the townships of Pine Creek and Hayes Creek and if we had blinked, we would have missed them. We stopped at Adelaide River for a coffee break and although it is not a very big township there were many caravans stopped there and the caravan park looked as though it was packed. There was a very nice market in the main street under the shade of the trees that had a variety of crafts and homemade jams, relishes etc. The travellers were supporting the locals with some enthusiasm.
We then travelled a little further to Batchelor a very small township where we are to spend the next 3 days exploring the surrounds and in particular, the Litchfield National Park.
The Batchelor Holiday Park is only a small one but the sites are big and the palm trees give it a good feel. After having some lunch we drove back some 30kms to Adelaide River. The town has a very interesting history commencing with the construction of the Overland Telegraph Line and then became a popular overnight stopover for travellers and prospectors en route to Pine Creek following the discovery of gold there in 1871.
From 1939, with the buildup of World War 11, the town became a major location for a huge military base with the 119 Australian General Hospital, army camps and thousands of service personnel stationed in the town and surrounding areas.  Following the bombing of Darwin in 1942, Australian and American military headquarters were relocated from Darwin to the Adelaide River township.
The town is now the site of the third largest war cemetery in Australia.  We visited the cemetery and it is quite beautiful.  It is set amongst the most beautiful Frangipani trees, other flowering trees and plants with beautiful manicured lawns and is the resting place for some 63 civilians and 434 service personnel who lost their lives in the bombing of Darwin. A magnificent tribute to our fallen heroes. Some 16 Post Office staff were tragically killed during a bombing raid on 19th February 1942. A special monument has been erected to honour these workers.
There is not much to see in Batchelor as it is the gateway to Litchfield National Park.  It was first settled with the Rum Jungle Hotel in 1874 but the area did not begin to flourish until the discovery of uranium in 1949. The township became the home for workers employed at the Rum Jungle Uranium Mine which was Australia's first uranium mine. Mining ceased in the 1970's.
We returned to camp to have Happy Hour with Rod and Jude and to catch up with Don and Heather who have been ahead of us in our travels but stayed just one more day in Batchelor before they move on to Darwin where we will catch up again in a few days.

Large sites and plenty of room between sites.

Some history of Batchelor.

Entrance to the Adelaide River War Cemetry.

Gravesites of 434 military personnel in a beautiful site. 

Monument erected to the memory of 16 Darwin Post Office Staff bombed on 19th February 1942.

Another happy hour at Batchelor. Will the weight go on?