Stuart Highway · Beetaloo Sub-basin · Northern Territory

A serviced base for the Beetaloo workforce

Dunmarra is a planned petroleum services precinct and workforce village on the Stuart Highway, between Elliott and Daly Waters. Fenced, powered service-company lots. Modular accommodation with mess, laundry and recreation. Services open to the local community.

Schematic of the Dunmarra precinct: Stuart Highway on the west, township and village clusters to the north, airstrip, and the services precinct with its own highway junction to the south. STUART HIGHWAY GAS PIPELINE VILLAGE CLUSTERS TOWN CENTRE shops · hall · oval · pool AIRSTRIP SERVICES PRECINCT · FREIGHT JUNCTION N

Schematic structure plan. Not to scale. Guest and freight traffic use separate highway junctions.

~600 hasite area, subject to survey
3,000cabin capacity at full build-out
2highway junctions: guests and freight kept separate
Gas + airpipeline frontage and on-site airstrip

The precinct

Built in clusters. Serviced like a town.

The village is organised in clusters of 120 modular units, each with its own mess and kitchen, laundry, lounges and courts. Clusters share a town centre with a community hall, supermarket and shops, sports oval, pool and water tower. The services precinct sits south, on its own freight road.

Cluster program

120accommodation units per cluster
Mess149 m² dining, commercial kitchen, cool room and freezer
Laundrytwin 12 m modules with shaded drying deck
Lounges73 m² recreation with pool table, table tennis, TVs
Courtsbasketball court and shaded outdoor dining per cluster
Parkinglight-vehicle bays at every unit row

Town centre

Hallcommunity hall and events
Shopssupermarket and retail tenancies
Ovalfull-size sports oval and park
Poolwet play and lap pool
Watertown water tower and treatment
Expansionreserved commercial land

Type A long-term unit

Steel-framed modular unit, 12 m × 3.2 m, transported complete and set on pad footings. Every unit is designed for cyclone-rated wind loads and NT heat.

BEDROOM 12 m² ROBE LIVING + KITCHENETTE 14 m² ENSUITE 6 m² PLANT DECK 3.0 m × 12.0 m 12 000 3 200
EnvelopeColorbond Ultra on Enduroframe steel, fully insulated
BedroomKing bed, built-in robe, split AC, 65" TV
LivingKitchenette, 2-zone cooktop, microwave, bar fridge
Hot waterGas instantaneous
PowerRoof solar, battery store, gas fuel cell
DeckIndependent modular deck, optional living module
Unit and precinct designs are schematic, prepared by Rossi Architects for Steeline GRP, and will be refined in design development. Architectural renders will be published with the designers' consent.

Services precinct

Service-company lots

Standard packages so a contractor can be operating within weeks, not seasons. Every lot is fenced, has a workshop, water and gas connections, and its own power system sized to the tier. Select a lot for the full package.

LotTierLot areaWorkshopFrontageStatus

Stage 1 release. Lot numbers, sizes and availability are indicative and will be confirmed at lease.

For operators and contractors

Workforce accommodation

Take a row, a cluster, or a cluster with your own mess. Units are single-occupancy with ensuite and kitchenette, so crews on long rotations get a room, not a donga. Dunmarra is a landlord: catering, cleaning and site services are run by specialist operators you contract directly or through us.

Row10–20 units

Short-term crews, shutdown and construction peaks. Shared cluster mess and laundry.

Half cluster60 units

Standing rotation for a drilling or completions campaign. Dedicated lounge.

Full cluster120 units

Own mess and kitchen, laundry, lounges and court. Branded, gated if required.

Construction campflexible

Early works lodging for pipeline, power and civil contractors while their own facilities are built.

What operators get

  • Highway access from Darwin and Alice Springs; airstrip on site for charter rotation
  • Units with individual climate control, gas hot water and standby power
  • Mess with commercial kitchen, cool room and freezer per cluster
  • Recreation: lounges, courts, oval, pool and licensed venues in the town centre
  • Medical, grocery and gym on site, run by commercial operators
  • Long-term lease or campaign-based agreements

Why not a closed camp

Closed workforce camps are cheap to run and expensive for the region: money leaves on the same plane as the crew. Dunmarra is built so the services a workforce needs also serve the people who already live here, and so a share of the roles are filled locally. For operators that means a social licence case that stands up in front of Traditional Owners, the NT Government and the public.

Community

Open to the region

Dunmarra is not a permanent town and not a closed camp. It is a serviced village where the grocery, clinic, pool, gym and venues are run commercially and open to anyone, including the people of Elliott, Daly Waters and surrounding communities.

Services you can use

Grocery, medical, fitness, pool and licensed venues operate as businesses, priced for the public. Nothing is free, and nothing is behind a boom gate.

Jobs that stay

Hospitality, maintenance, retail, transport and site services are local roles first. Training pathways are being developed with regional providers and Traditional Owner organisations.

Territory first

The precinct is designed so a Beetaloo workforce can rotate from Darwin and Alice Springs rather than interstate or overseas, keeping wages and spend in the Territory.

Project

Staged to demand

Dunmarra Development Land Pty Ltd is delivering the precinct in stages that match Beetaloo activity, with each stage a complete, operable village.

Stage 1100

First cluster, mess and laundry, services precinct stage 1 lots, town water and power.

Stage 2500

Four clusters, town centre core: supermarket, hall, clinic, first venues.

Stage 31,500

Oval, pool, school and clinic land, airstrip terminal, expanded freight precinct.

Stage 43,000

Full build-out across eight villages with reserved commercial expansion land.

Site

  • Stuart Highway frontage with separate township and freight junctions
  • Natural gas pipeline frontage for on-site generation
  • Existing airstrip; passenger terminal planned at the northern threshold
  • Native title and benefit-sharing process under way with the Northern Land Council

Partners

  • Master plan: Bennett Architecture
  • Modular accommodation and precinct design: Rossi Architects for Steeline GRP, Darwin
  • Construction and civil: Darwin-based contractors
  • Legal and advisory: Darwin firms

Enquire

Talk to us

Lot leasing, accommodation blocks, supply and services tenancies, or community partnership. Tell us who you are and what you need; we reply within two business days.

Dunmarra Development
Kit Sheffield, Cofounder
kit@dunmarrant.com.au

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