Martijn Weezepoel, the NT’s top tour guide, on why he loves Tennant Creek

The Territory’s top tour guide on how Tennant Creek helped keep Australia alive and the Barkly’s golden past.

Cabinet papers 1992 - Government battery at Tennant Creek in 1980. Ownership was transferred from Government to the local community to develop as a tourist attraction

Martijn Weezepoel is the name, and face of Territory tour guides.

The Dutch-born chef who loves history and the outback town won a Brolga Award in 2024 for his work presenting the Tennant Creek Battery.

He’d previously worked at the Lone Star service station in Tennant, making the town’s best sandwiches, before turning his fondness for people and history into a full-time job.

“I always wanted to be more social,” he said.

“In a kitchen you’re always in the back. I like talking to people and love my history and when this job came up my wife said ‘why don’t you do this?’.

“I got in because I was just a shoo-in for the job because it requires me to go through the mine for an-hour-and-fifteen or longer depending on questions and I do other tours if the mine’s out because of rain.

Martijn Weezepoel, Tennant Creek tour guide was voted the NT's best at the 2024 Brolga awards.

“In general I love history and love interacting with people because you’ll never know what you’ll get until you begin the tour.”

While the town’s a tiny dot in the continent’s centre, Martijn said it was once crucial to the Australian economy, playing an out-sized role in the nation’s recovery during the 1930s’ Great Depression.

In other words, he said, Tennant Creek’s story was the Territory’s story.

“At one point the gold was contributing up to 60 per cent to the Australian economy,” he said.

“In 1932 when the Great Depression was on, we started producing gold. It dragged on and dragged on until the 1940s and we dragged Australia out of the depression because there was so much gold coming out of Tennant Creek.

“One of the Prime Ministers literally joked that over 60 per cent of the budget came out of Tennant Creek. I’ve been looking for this quote but I can’t find it.”

The Battery, with its replica mine, was established by the government to ease pressure on the actual gold miners who were regularly asked to take visitors on tours.

“The reason why we have a tourist mine is the miners were sick-and-tired of people asking for mine tours,” he said.

“The Poseidon company specifically made it so tourists could go through the mine and stop bothering them.”

Martijn’s favorite era relates back to those heady days after gold was discovered.

“The time between 1932 and 1940, it was the wild west here,” he said.

“There was more whisky and beer here than water and there’s dozens of stories of claim jumping going on.”

Originally published as Martijn Weezepoel, the NT’s top tour guide, on why he loves Tennant Creek