Chambers Pillar (Aboriginal name ''Idracowra'' or ''Etikaura'') is a
sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
formation some south of
Alice Springs
Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...
in the
Northern Territory of Australia
The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
.
Formation
Erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...
by wind and rain has left an isolated pillar of 350-million-year-old sandstone, rising above the surrounding plain. The rock formation and the surrounding area of 340 hectares, or , are officially named the ''Chambers Pillar Historical Reserve''.
History
John McDouall Stuart
John McDouall Stuart (7 September 18155 June 1866), often referred to as simply "McDouall Stuart", was a Scottish explorer and one of the most accomplished of all Australia's inland explorers.
Stuart led the first successful expedition to tra ...
was the first European to see Chambers Pillar, reaching the site in April 1860, and naming it after
James Chambers, one of his
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
n sponsors. The rock formations was once an important landmark for pioneers travelling from Adelaide to Alice Springs
[ prior to the establishment of the railways in the 1920s. Several early explorers including Alfred Giles and John Ross, leaders of the second cross-continental expedition in 1870, have left their mark on the rockface. The initials of each are still visible as ''J Ross'' and ''AC 1870''.]graffiti
Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...
by carving names in the soft sandstone at the base of the pillar.[
The pillar is a Site of Aboriginal Significance and features in the ]dreamtime
The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology, Australian Aboriginal mythology. It was originally u ...
traditions of local Indigenous Australians. Their legend says that the pillar is the Gecko ancestor Itirkawara, who was exiled for taking a wife from the wrong skin group. When he and his wife stopped to rest among the sand dunes they each turned into one of the locally prominent rock formations: Itirkawara became the Pillar; and his wife became Castle Rock, about to the north-east.
Services
Chambers Pillar is reached via the unsealed Old South Road from Alice Springs to Maryvale Station. A 4WD vehicle is required after the Maryvale turnoff to Chambers Pillar. Drivers will encounter deep sand drifts and steep jump ups, as well as rolling sandy hills with limited sight lines and the deeply corrugated surfaces typical of Australian outback roads.[
The road to Chambers Pillar is adventurous. Near the village Titjikana the road becomes worse. The sand road is deep.
]
See also
* Ewaninga Rock Carvings Conservation Reserve
* Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve
* Rainbow Valley Conservation Reserve
* Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park
Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia. The park is home to both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. It is located south of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin by road and south-west of Alice Springs al ...
* Watarrka National Park
* West MacDonnell National Park
References
Roswitha Soechtig: OVERLAND-BIKING AUSTRALIA auf roter Erde, 2021, ISBN 978-3-7534-1275-7, German and English
External links
Fact Sheet: Chambers Pillar Historical Reserve
(Parks and Wildlife Commission NT)
{{Coord, 24, 52, S, 133, 49, E, type:landmark_region:AU-NT, display=title
Landforms of the Northern Territory
Rock formations of Australia