 Land in the area was first taken up for pastoral use by John Haines in 1854, taken over by Thomas Elder in 1862, and amalgamated in 1867 into the Beltana Pastoral Company of Elder and Samuel Stuckey.In 1866 Elder and Stuckey shipped in 109 Afghans and their camels, forming the basis for the areas mid-19th century transport.The town’s first building was Martin’s Eating House, which was built in 1870 to take advantage of the discovery of copper at Sliding Rock, east of Beltana.