Elsey Cemetery National Reserve

Explorer Augustus Charles Gregory named Elsey Creek in 1856 after surgeon Dr J.R. Elsey, and the station that grew here became the setting for one of Australia's most beloved outback memoirs. Aeneas Gunn died of malarial dysentery on 16 March 1903, just 13 months after arriving as station manager; his wife Jeannie's book went on to define the public imagination of the Top End. The cemetery also holds the graves of characters known by their nicknames in the novel, including the Sanguine Scot and the Dandy.

The site is protected under the NT Heritage Conservation Act and managed as a national reserve. There are no formal facilities on site; visitors are encouraged to approach quietly and leave no trace. A short walk from the roadside car park leads through the scrub to the fenced grave plots, with interpretive signage explaining each person's connection to the station and the novel.

Elsey Cemetery is best visited in the dry season when the access track off the Stuart Highway is reliably passable. Combined with a stop at the Mataranka Homestead Elsey Station replica and the Never Never Museum in town, the cemetery forms a compelling half-day heritage loop. Allow around 30 minutes on site.