Bonney Well

Bonney Well, sometimes referred to as Bonny Well is a former stock well on the North South Stock Route. It is 90 km south of Tennant Creek, 8 km south of Karlu Karlu and is on the Lands of the Warumungu people.

Bonney Well is one of only three wells remaining with its stone dumps intact. It is a popular tourist stop for people travelling through the Barkly Region along the Stuart Highway and it offers a carpark, picnic area and public toilet. It was listed on the Northern Territory Heritage Register on 22 August 1996.

History
The waterhole that became Bonney Well was first used by John McDouall Stuart in 1860 - 1962 during his expeditions across Australia. He named it after Charles Bonney, the Commissioner of Crown Lands of South Australia back then.

The well was first dug in 1878 - 1897 by Arthur and Alfred Giles when they were overlanding 12,000 sheep to Springvale Station. It was then deepened by staff of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line in 1884 and a stone dump and whip system were added in 1892. The well's whip no longer remains.

The bore, windmill and tank were installed in the late 1930s and, some time later, a cement tank. These have been protected and they provide an example of the areas industrial heritage. In the 1930s there was interest in Bonney Well from a variety of mining companies but no major mining activity took place there. In 1936 the death of a prospector, Charles Simmons, who collapsed in the intense heat on the road to Bonney Well was reported nationally.

In the early 1930s missionary Annie Lock set up a mission at the nearby Yirrarji Rockhole (Boxer Creek), 35 km north of Bonney Well. During this period she was known as "The good missus of Bonny Well."