Renner Springs
Postcode: 0862
Renner Springs is a location in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is in the in the heart of the Barkly Tablelands cattle country. In fact, the town promotes itself as “The Heart of the Beef Country.”
The tiny settlement is on the Stuart Highway, north of the intersection of the Barkly Highway and Tennant Creek. It is 662 kilometers from Alice Springs, the largest town in the Outback, and 820 km from Darwin.
Renner Springs is usually regarded as the border between the tropical Top End and the temperate Red Centre regions.
Established in the 1950s, the Renner Springs Desert Hotel/Motel also has gas, a bar and restaurant, game room and limited Internet access. A caravan park and shaded camp sites are also available.
Churchill’s Head Rock, considered one of Australia’s most crass tourist attractions, is on the old Stuart Highway 78 km south of Renner Springs. The rock, on the east of the old highway, looks vaguely like a profile of Winston Churchill. In order to make the image more persuasive, someone has stuck a piece of piping where the mouth should be so that the profile appears to be smoking a rather large cigar.
Another 11 km south of Renner Springs is a monument marking the place where on June 25, 1860, John McDouall Stuart, on his first attempt to cross Australia, was repulsed by hostile Aborigines. It became appropriately known as Attack Creek.
Each Easter, Renner Springs has a local rodeo and race meeting that attracts stockmen and punters from all over the Northern Territory. Being such a small community, the annual get-together, known as the Renner Springs Races, is actually held in Tennant Creek.