Originally a natural
rockhole (
gnamma) used by Indigenous people, who traditionally covered it with stones or branches to prevent evaporation.European Exploration: Explorer Edward John Eyre is believed to have visited the site on May 2, 1841, during his overland trek, though he found it dry at the time.In the late 19th century, the site was developed to support the 1877 East-West Telegraph Line. It was later improved by a government "dogger" (wild dog trapper) and utilized by cameleers and "overlanders" traveling to the WA goldfields. As a stone-lined
well with a metal lid, it was one of the few reliable
water points in a
water-scarce landscape, essential for early travelers and telegraph maintenance crews.It served as a landmark for the linesman’s
camp ruins nearby, which were part of the workforce maintaining the crucial trans-Australian telecommunications link.