Address & Contact
7235 Stuart Hwy
Anmatjere NT 0872
Phone: N/A
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Located 129 kilometres north of
Alice Springs, the
well was hand-dug in 1889 to supply water to travellers and stock along the
Overland Telegraph Line.
Ryan
Well Historical Reserve serves as a
rest area of considerable historical interest for travellers using the Stuart highway north of
Alice Springs. The Reserve contains the remains of two important historic sites, a water
well constructed in the 1890s and associated with the early settlement of central Australia and the remains of Glen Maggie
Homestead erected early this century.
The South Australian Government named the
well after Ned Ryan, who with the aid of his nephew, Jeremiah Ryan and his
well sinking team known as “Ryan’s Camel Party”, completed Ryan
Well in 1889. Samuel Nicker and his family established Glen Maggie as a sheep and cattle station in 1914.
The station
homestead was named after Margaret, the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Nicker. The Reserve today allows visitors to appreciate the history associated with the site and of some of the hardships endured by early pioneers who used Ryan
Well as a watering point.