Tourist draw on market
Roadhouse, station offered
HELL’S Gate Roadhouse is not a name you’re likely to forget.
And the roadhouse itself is not one you’re likely to drive past, especially when the next fuel stop due west along the Savannah Way is more than 300km.
Now, for the first time since it was built in the mid-1980s, the Gulf Country roadhouse is up for sale, which means some lucky soul will get to possess that unforgettable name.
The roadhouse and surrounding Cliffdale Station, about 180km west of Burketown, are being offered for sale by Bill and Lee Olive, who plan to retire after more than four decades on the property.
Agent Russell Wolff, from Ray White Mackay, said the 171,000ha pastoral holding had plenty of grass cover and was being sold with about 2500 mixed cattle, as well as all station plant and equipment.
About 52,500ha of the property is fenced, and the balance of the station is undeveloped. There are seven dams, two equipped bores, and permanent natural waters.
The roadhouse includes motel units, a caravan park and restaurant.
“What makes this property unique is that it’s a working cattle station as well as a roadhouse,’' Mr Wolff said.
‘‘And Hell’s Gate is one of those locations on the tourist itinerary that is a must-stop to see what it is all about. It attracts national and international tourists.”
That draw, of course, has much to do with the name.
Mr Wolff said Hell’s Gate comes from the name of the small gap in the escarpment through which the road passes just one kilometre south of the roadhouse.
The name of the gap originated in the early days of settlement of the Gulf Country. A police contingent was established at Corinda on the Nicholson River and they would escort settlers and travellers to the “portals of Hell’s Gate”.
From there the travellers were on their own until they reached the safety of police protection in Katherine, Northern Territory.