Fact Sheets & Video - William Creek

The Painted Hills have been known about by locals for years but have not become public knowledge until recently when a Channel Seven news reporter, Peter Caldicott, from Adelaide did a report on them. They differ from the Painted Desert, near Oodnadatta, a couple of hundred kilometres further west, in that they are not accessible by four-wheel-drive and can only be seen from the air.

The pastoral leaseholders are adamant not to reveal their whereabouts in order to preserve their pristine condition. Trevor Wright of Wrightsair, is the only person offering charter flights over the painted hills and to date only about 300 people have seen them.

These richly coloured natural sculptures were formed over millions of years. The land was originally flat then lifted up by tectonic movement, and rivers have cut through the tabletop forms, leaving the hills. The water from the rivers also dissolved minerals, such as iron and manganese, which have oxidised in the stunning reds, yellows and whites visible in the hills.

Eons of wind and erosion have left an impressive red monolith on top of pale ochre slopes. They span an area of roughly 10km x 30km. People who have seen the hills have equated them to seeing Ayers Rock and the Grand Canyon.

Trevor Wright believes that there is nothing to match these highly ionised, colourful sandstone structures, anywhere else in Australia. In the rain it looks like the hills have been varnished and the creeks turn yellow and red.

When tourists see the Painted Hills, they are impressed most by how pristine they are, how big they are and how colourful they are. Scenic flights over the Painted Hills depart from William Creek.

The current population of William Creek is 8 people. It is the smallest town in South Australia and one of the most isolated areas outside of the aboriginal communities. There are only about 50 people in a 100km radius. Within the township of William Creek there is a store, William Creek Camping Ground, public toilet facilities, a public phone box and the William Creek Hotel.