Bloods Creek on the
Overland Telegraph

The Overland Telegraph originally passed through Bloods Creek following Surveyor Todd’s tradition of taking advantage of the waterholes in the vicinity. If you look carefully at the Eastern end of the area you may find a single remaining steel telegraph pole.

Bloods Creek was also an important rail-head on the Old Ghan Railway.

In 1901 the Government put down a 2002 ft bore and a giant windmill was built to reach the hot sub-artesian water which rose to within 140 feet of the surface. The windmill still spins slowly today.

Further east is a large scattering of broken bottles, presumably from the original tavern days. Ted Colson, the first white man to cross the Simpson Desert, had the original Bloods Creek pastoral lease until it was amalgamated into the Dalhousie pastoral Company by Edwin Lowe (Loewe).

Binji Lowe, His aboriginal friend and companion lived at Aputula Community, Finke in 1990. He proudly told me he had come down from further north with Mr Lowe when he took over these pastoral leases. That would make him a fair age.

A Lands Department source says the area was named by Christopher Giles of the Telegraph Department after a member of his party, J.H.S. Blood, probably the son of Dr M.H.S. Blood, of Kapunda. and stationmaster of the Peake telegraph office in 1872.

One unknown traveller died here and Billie McCoy, a local identity, helped bury him. They only had enough whiskey crates to make a short coffin with an open end and had to bury the man with his legs sticking out of the end.

If you look carefully you might see the goat manure covering an area where Bailes’ goat yard once stood.

Mr J. Baile's Angora goat venture is described in the Register of 10 January 1905.

“Mr. John Bailes of Blood Creek is a strong believer in the future of the Angora goat industry... When he went there he had 140 common goats and 240 merino sheep. In 2 years he increased the goats to nearly 700 and they were improved from the common goat to the third cross Angora, the bucks having been purchased from Mr. E.C. Kempe of Peake Station...

It’s hard to imagine any one living there now, let alone raising goats there.

Mary Bailes is buried within the railings of the only grave visible in the area. The grave is about 400m to the east of the windmill. Apparently Mary lived in a tent with her husband and two young children. One evening the tent caught fire when a candle overturned. Mary was able to save the two children but her clothing caught fire and she was badly burned. She died two days later.

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