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Seeing New Investment Fund
The Pine Creek Geotrail Project is centered around the existing Miners Park in the township of Pine Creek, 220 km south of Darwin on the Stuart Highway. The park was created in 1988 by a group of mining enthusiasts with help from heritage buffs and historians as a contribution to Australia’s Bicentennial and as a memorial to the long mining history of the area, starting with the “gold rush” of the late 1800s when gold was found by workers putting up the overland telegraph line.
Over the years, the Darwin Branch of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) has been responsible for maintaining Miners Park. In 2022, as part of an upgrade program to repair vandalism, replace a collapsing gazebo, and update faded signage, it was decided to expand the facility with the addition of a Geotrail. This self-guided walk includes geological, cultural, and historical features along a trail, providing additional information and linking all elements together. To design the project, AusIMM Darwin Branch obtained a grant from Regional Development Australia NT, enabling the creation of a comprehensive business plan, including designs and costs for the Geotrail.
This business plan supported a successful application to the Community Benefit Fund (CBF), allowing the completion of Phase 1 of the Geotrail. The CBF grant funded the design and construction of a new gazebo with new information signage. The team also placed new signs at other locations along the Geotrail and funded the development of two dedicated webpages: one for Miners Park and one for the Geotrail. The websites went live on January 25, 2024, with a media event held in Darwin.
More recently, in 2024, the team obtained a second CBF grant to introduce Augmented Reality (AR) to Miners Park. This will allow visitors with 4G smartphones to view additional material, including short movies about some of the mining equipment on display. This feature is due to be installed by late 2024. Eventually, AR is planned to be added to more of the Geotrail as materials and funds become available.