The township of Oontoo once existed in the area along the banks of the Cooper Creek.[2] The Queensland Government offered approximately 70 town lots for sale on 11 April 1886.[3] A border customs post was established at Oontoo in 1886 on a 1 square mile (259 ha) piece of land resumed from Nappa Merrie cattle station.[4] The post was created to collect taxes from drovers who crossed to Queensland border travelling down Strzelecki Creek.[5]
The first customs officer was Mr Ivory who arrived in 1886 and lived in a tent until a house was completed the following year. In 1887 the post was also used as a depot for materials used in the construction of the rabbit proof fence.[4]
A shanty public house followed soon afterward with a more substantial stone hotel built by Thomas Costello in 1888. The hotel had eight rooms, kitchen, stables and a store.[4] Several race meetings were held in the town starting in 1888.[6] The town soon boasted a store, doctor and school.[2]
Severe flooding occurred in 1891 with Cooper Creek breaking its banks after 4.5 inches (114 mm) of rain fell in the area in January.[7]
^ abc"Oontoo township"(PDF). Anthropological Society of South Australia. 18 (4). June 1980. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
^"Innamincka". Flinders Range Research. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
^"Oontoo Races". South Australian Register. Vol. LIII, no. 13, 074. South Australia. 8 October 1888. p. 6. Retrieved 20 March 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Customs stations". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. LIX, no. 14, 015. Queensland, Australia. 12 December 1902. p. 4. Retrieved 20 March 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
