William Creek, South Australia
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| William Creek South Australia |
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| Population: | 6 (2001) |
| Elevation: | 521 m (1,709 ft) |
| Time zone:
• Summer (DST) |
ACST (UTC+9:30) |
| Location: |
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| LGA: | Stuart |
| Federal Division: | Division of Grey |
William Creek (), Australia is located halfway on the Oodnadatta Track, 210 kilometres north of Marree and 166 kilometres east of Coober Pedy in South Australia. The town has a population of 6. William Creek is in the federal Division of Grey and the state electorate of Stuart. It is outside of council areas, and administered by the Outback Areas Community Development Trust.
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[edit] Location
William Creek is the entry point from Coober Pedy to Lake Eyre in the Tirari Desert. William Creek offers the only petrol station between Marree, Coober Pedy and Oodnadatta on the Oodnadatta Track and has a campground, two motels and the world's most remote pub. The world's largest cattle station is located in nearby Anna Creek station and the Woomera Prohibited Area, former testing ground for atomic weapons, is also nearby.
William Creek is a good halfway stop along the track, with accommodation and meals at the Hotel as well as a well maintained, if somewhat dusty campground. In the Memorial Park you can see diverse items such as the first stage of the Black Arrow Rocket, Britain's only successful independent space launch that was recovered from the surrounding Anna Creek Station. More sobering is the commemorative inscription is to a young Austrian woman, who lost her life trying to walk back to William Creek from a 4WD vehicle bogged in the sand beside Lake Eyre. (The police recovered the vehicle simply by deflating the tyres and driving it out).
William Creek is serviced twice weekly by the Coober Pedy Oodnadatta One Day Mail Run. The 4WD mail truck also carries some general freight and passengers[1].
[edit] Near William Creek
Lake Eyre can be seen from several vantage points along the Oodnadatta Track and it appears as a large, rather featureless, white saltpan. It is only from the air that its immensity can be appreciated. You see the curve of the Earth on the horizon and beneath you can identify the courses of the ancient rivers that still occasionally flow into the Lake. Trevor Wright takes up to 5 passengers for a 60-minute flight out of William Creek, passing over the spectacular Painted Hills to the west, then along the southern edge of the Lake, pointing out the features beneath and explaining the topography. The Painted Hills are brilliantly coloured eroded sandstone ridges. These, and all of the country traversed in the one-hour flight are part of Anna Creek Station. From the air you can also see the Track, stretching to the horizon in two directions.
