Lex Rudd, Marree (DOCO 2023)

Marree is a small town located in South Australia. Marree is 589 kilometres North of Adelaide at the junction of the Oodnadatta Track and the Birdsville Track. Europeans first started to explore areas around Marree in 1840. Initially Marree was called Hergott Springs. In the mid-1870’s Afghan camel drivers established a base in Hergott Springs. In 1892 Marree Hotel was built. The Ghan railway reached Hergott Springs in 1883. After World War One anti-German sentiments saw the town re-named to Marree. Camels continued to be used out of Marree until 1949. The prosperity of Marree has been linked to the Ghan railway. In it’s prime Marree had a population of 400 (mainly railway workers). In 1967 a decision was made to re-route the railway. Annual maintenance costs for the Marree – Oodnadatta track were about one million dollars (caused by flooded river crossings). The last train left Marree for Oodnadatta in November 1980. Once the railway closed many people left Marree; today the population is roughly 70 people. Marree Hotel from the outside looks like many country hotels. Inside the hotel the history of this hotel is visually apparent. The first image is an external view of Marree Hotel. We had lunch in the hotel; the phone (the second image) was on the wall of the dining room. The third image is a lead light window in the hotel; this image depicts Afghanis leading their camels. The town has an open air mosque for the Afghanis. The fourth image is of a railway locomotive parked near the Railway Museum. The side of the locomotive says “Hergott Springs – the Old Ghan. Given that the town name of Hergott Springs disappeared in 1918 this locomotive is presumably at least100 years old. The fifth image is of Lake Eyre Yacht Club which has clubrooms in Marree. Boating on the lake is possible every few years.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.