82-643: Ron Goodin Power Station is a power station in Alice Springs in the southern part of the Northern Territory of Australia. It was commissioned in 1973 by the Northern Territory government. It is now owned and operated by Territory Generation . Ron Goodin Power Station is close to Alice Springs and is now close to housing surrounding a golf course. It is intended to be decommissioned when an upgrade to
164-455: A desert climate . Annual precipitation is erratic. In 2001, 741 millimetres (29.2 in) fell and in 2002 only 198 millimetres (7.8 in) fell. The highest daily rainfall is 204.8 millimetres (8.06 in), recorded on 31 March 1988. Temperatures in Alice Springs vary widely, and rainfall can vary quite dramatically from year to year. In summer, the average maximum temperature is in
246-451: A European population of fewer than 20 people. Many of the gaol's first prisoners were first-contact Aboriginal men incarcerated for killing cattle. The first aircraft, piloted by Francis Stewart Briggs , landed in 1921. Central Australia's first hospital, Adelaide House, was built in 1926 when the European population of the town was about 40. It was not until 1929, when the train line to Alice
328-612: A base in Alice Springs, as well as numerous local operators offering tours to sites in the region, including Uluru and the MacDonnell Ranges. A dispatch centre for the Royal Flying Doctor Service operates here. Education is overseen territory-wide by the Department of Education and Training (DET). It works to continually improve education outcomes for all students, with a focus on Indigenous students. Alice Springs
410-402: A central section which would be constructed by his own department. The telegraph line would comprise more than 30,000 wrought iron poles, insulators, batteries, wire and other equipment, ordered from England. The poles were placed 80 m apart and repeater stations separated by no more than 250 km, a major criterion being year-round availability of water. Todd appointed staff to whom
492-625: A home in Alice Springs, including Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, Sudanese and Indian ethnic groups . The most obvious impact of their presence in such a small and isolated town has been the opening of various restaurants serving their traditional cuisines. Alice Springs has a large itinerant population. This population is generally composed of foreign and Australian tourists, Aboriginal Australians visiting from nearby Central Australian communities, and Australian or international workers on short-term contracts (colloquially referred to as "blow-ins"). The major sources of work that recruit workers into town are
574-505: A linesman. The job of a telegraphist was to record each message received, with the time of day, and to re-send (relay) it further along the line. Within the first year of operations 4000 telegrams were transmitted. Maintenance was an ongoing and mammoth task, with floods often destroying poles, and a range of other incidents disrupting the line. In the 1880s, wooden poles were replaced with Joseph Oppenheimer's patented telescoping poles . The line proved an immediate success in opening
656-594: A marked increase in Alice Springs' population. During World War II, Alice Springs was the location of RAAF No. 24 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot (IAFD), completed on 20 May 1942 and closed in November 1944. Each IAFD usually consisted of four tanks; 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the RAAF and the US Army Air Forces , at a total cost of £900,000 ($ 1,800,000). During
738-725: A result, the CLP was completely shut out of Alice Springs for the first time ever. The CLP regained Braitling and Namatjira in 2020, while Lambley retained Araluen for her party at the time, the Territory Alliance . In the Australian House of Representatives , Alice Springs is part of the Division of Lingiari , which includes all of the Territory outside the Darwin/Palmerston area. Lingiari
820-495: A route from the south of the continent to the north. A settlement named after Stuart was necessitated ten years later with the construction of a repeater station on the Australian Overland Telegraph Line (OTL), which linked Adelaide to Darwin and Great Britain . The OTL was completed in 1872. It traced Stuart's route and opened up the interior for permanent settlement. The Alice Springs Telegraph Station
902-524: A team of men for his central section: surveyors, linesmen, carpenters, labourers and cooks. The team left Adelaide with horses, bullocks and carts loaded with provisions and equipment for many weeks. The central section would be surveyed by the explorer John Ross and Alfred Giles , his second-in-command. The southern section from Port Augusta to Alberga Creek was contracted to Edward Meade Bagot . He contracted Benjamin Herschel Babbage to survey
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#1733106819410984-666: Is a well-appointed town for its size, with several large hotels, a convention centre, and a good range of visitor attractions, restaurants, and other services. The region around Alice Springs is part of the Central Ranges xeric scrub area of dry scrubby grassland and includes the MacDonnell Ranges , which run east and west of the town and contain a number of hiking trails and swimming holes, such as Ormiston Gorge , Ormiston Gorge Creek, Red Bank Gorge and Glen Helen Gorge . The 223-kilometre-long (139 mi) Larapinta Trail follows
1066-624: Is currently held by Labor member Marion Scrymgour . Alice Springs began as a service town to the pastoral industry that first came to the region. The introduction of the rail line increased its economy. Today the town services a region of 546,046 square kilometres (210,830 sq mi) and a regional population of 38,749. The region includes a number of mining and pastoral communities, the Joint Defence Space Research Facility at Pine Gap and tourist attractions at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park , Watarrka National Park and
1148-485: Is governed by the newly created MacDonnell Region local government area , for which Alice Springs serves as council seat. Alice Springs and the surrounding region have four elected members to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly . Araluen and Braitling are entirely within Alice Springs, while the mostly rural seats of Gwoja (known as Stuart before 2020) and Namatjira spill into
1230-573: Is nearly equidistant from Adelaide and Darwin . The area is also known locally as Mparntwe to its original inhabitants , the Arrernte , who have lived in the Central Australian desert in and around what is now Alice Springs for tens of thousands of years. Alice Springs had a population of 33,180 in August 2023. The town's population accounts for approximately 10 per cent of the population of
1312-857: Is served by a number of public and private schools that cater to local and overseas students. Alice Springs School of the Air delivers education to students in remote areas. There are 10 private schools. Yirara College is a co-educational secondary boarding school catering for around 200 Aboriginal students run by the Finke River Mission . It has another campus in Kintore (Walungurru), which has four rooms and caters for around 30 students. The Alice Springs Campus of Charles Darwin University offers courses in TAFE and higher education. The Centre for Appropriate Technology
1394-483: Is −7.5 °C (18.5 °F), recorded on 17 July 1976. This is also the lowest temperature recorded in the Northern Territory. According to the 2021 census of population, there were 24,855 people in the Alice Springs Urban Area. As Alice Springs is the regional hub of Central Australia, it attracts Aboriginal people from all over that region and well beyond. Many Aboriginal people visit regularly to use
1476-473: The Gulf of Carpentaria in 1860. Although the route was traversed, the expedition ended in disaster. The South Australian government recognised the economic benefits that would result from becoming the centre of the telegraph network. It offered a reward of £2000 to encourage an expedition to find a route between South Australia and the north coast. John McDouall Stuart had meanwhile also been endeavouring to cross
1558-549: The MacDonnell Ranges . The largest employer in Alice Springs is the Northern Territory Government, with 8% of employed people working in government administration, 7% in school education, and 4% in the Alice Springs Hospital. The economy of Alice Springs is somewhat reliant on domestic and international tourism, with 4% of its workforce employed providing accommodation. Several major tour companies have
1640-548: The North-West Frontier of then- British India (present-day Pakistan), known locally as Afghan cameleers based at Hergott Springs, or Marree as it is now known. Many cameleers moved to Alice Springs in 1929 when the railway finally reached the town. They lived on the block where the town council is now, transporting goods from the rail head to stations and settlements to the north. A gold rush in Tennant Creek in 1932 kept
1722-457: The Northern Territory , Australia ; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin and Palmerston . The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd ( née Alice Gillam Bell ), wife of the telegraph pioneer Sir Charles Todd . Known colloquially as The Alice or simply Alice , the town is situated roughly in Australia's geographic centre . It
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#17331068194101804-426: The Northern Territory ; gold discoveries were made in several places along the northern section (in particular Pine Creek ), and the repeater stations in the MacDonnell Ranges proved invaluable starting points for explorers like Ernest Giles , W. C. Gosse , and Peter Egerton-Warburton who were heading west. In February 1875, a small contingent of Overland Telegraph employees left Port Darwin for Adelaide on
1886-473: The Owen Springs Power Station is completed in an industrial estate further from residential land. This Northern Territory geography article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about an Australian power station is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Alice Springs Alice Springs ( Eastern Arrernte : Mparntwe ) is a town in
1968-613: The Tropic of Capricorn , the town of Alice Springs straddles the usually dry Todd River on the northern side of the MacDonnell Ranges . Alice Springs is located in Central Australia, also called the Red Centre, an arid environment consisting of several different deserts. The annual average rainfall is 285.9 millimetres (11.3 in), which would make it a semi-arid climate , except that its high evapotranspiration , or its aridity, makes it
2050-518: The traditional owners of the Alice Springs area and surrounding MacDonnell Ranges . They have lived in the area for at least 30,000 years. The traditional name for the township area is Mparntwe . Mparntwe is Arrernte for "watering place", referencing Atherreyurre, a waterhole in the Todd River at Old Telegraph Station (known as Alice Springs). Mparntwe refers to the majority of the Alice Springs township, with two additional names - Irlpme covering
2132-493: The 109th Australian General Hospital at Alice Springs. Seven Mile Aerodrome was constructed by the Royal Australian Air Force . War-related operations necessitated the first sealing of the road between Alice Springs and Larrimah, expansion and improvement of Alice Springs' water supply, and improving the rail head. The war-related operations left behind thousands of pieces of excess military equipment and vehicles and
2214-486: The 1960s, Alice Springs became an important defence location with the development of the US/Australian Pine Gap joint defence satellite monitoring base, home to about 700 workers from both countries. By far the major industry in recent times is tourism. Almost in the exact centre of the continent, Alice Springs is some 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) from the nearest ocean and 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) from
2296-407: The 1970s. World War II brought significant changes to Alice Springs. Prior to the war, Alice Springs was an isolated settlement of fewer than 500 people. During the war, however, the town was an extremely active staging base, known as No. 9 Australian Staging Camp, and a depot base for the long four-day trip to Darwin. The railway hub in Alice Springs was taken over by military operations, and
2378-420: The Alice Springs area, which takes in the town centre, its suburbs and some rural area. The Alice Springs Town Council has governed Alice Springs since 1971. The Alice Springs council consists of nine members: the mayor and eight aldermen . The town is not divided up into wards. The current mayor of Alice Springs is Matt Paterson. Council Meetings are held on the last Monday of each month. The Alice Springs Region
2460-424: The Alice Springs district hold American citizenship. Many of these, joined by some Australians, celebrate major American public holidays, including the 4th of July and Thanksgiving . Americans in Alice Springs are also known to participate in a variety of associations and sporting teams, including baseball, basketball and soccer competitions. Several small immigrant communities of other foreign cultures have found
2542-881: The Camel Cup, the Henley-on-Todd Regatta , Beanie Festival and the Tatts Finke Desert Race . Alice Springs has many historic buildings, including the Overland Telegraph Station , the Old Courthouse and Residency and the Hartley Street School . Adelaide House , a beautiful stone building in the middle of the Mall, Central Australia's first hospital, was designed and built by the Rev. John Flynn, founder of
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2624-564: The Charles River, which meet near the telegraph station, were named after Sir Charles. It was not until alluvial gold was discovered at Arltunga, 100 kilometres (62 mi) east of the present Alice Springs, in 1887 that any significant European settlement occurred. The town's first substantial building was the Stuart Town Gaol in Parson's Street; this was built in 1909, when the town had
2706-679: The Darwin– Burketown route. The final contract was secured in 1870 when the South Australian government agreed to construct 3200 km of line to Darwin, while the British-Australian Telegraph Company promised to lay the undersea cable from Banyuwangi , Java to Darwin. The latter was to be finished on 31 December 1871, and severe penalties were to apply if the connecting link was not ready. The South Australian Superintendent of Telegraphs, Charles Todd ,
2788-499: The Northern Territory. The town straddles the usually dry Todd River on the northern side of the MacDonnell Ranges . The surrounding region is known as Central Australia, or the Red Centre , an arid environment consisting of several deserts. Temperatures in Alice Springs can vary, with an average maximum in summer of 35.6 °C (96.1 °F) and an average minimum in winter of 5.1 °C (41.2 °F). The Arrernte people are
2870-460: The SS Seine . The operation took only 10 days and was completed on 26 February 1889. These were all British companies. Cable Beach is named after this cable that connected Java to Cable Station, that served this purpose until March 1914. After operating for 25 years it closed due to the opening of more competitive, cheaper-to-run stations; most cables were subsequently recovered. Cable Station
2952-607: The West MacDonnell Ranges and is considered among the world's great walking experiences. The Simpson Desert , southeast of Alice Springs, is one of Australia's great wilderness areas, containing giant, red sand dunes and rock formations, such as Chambers Pillar and Rainbow Valley. Under the Köppen climate classification , Alice Springs has a subtropical hot desert climate ( BWh ), featuring very hot, fairly moist summers and short, very dry, mild winters. Located just south of
3034-559: The cable from Singapore via Java to Port Darwin. In 1873, three British companies, The British India Extension Telegraph Company, The BAT and The China Submarine Telegraph Company were amalgamated to form the Eastern Extension, Australasia and China Telegraph Company (EET Co). The driving force behind the British cable companies was a Scottish born entrepreneur Sir John Pender , founder of Cable and Wireless . On 19 November 1871, Australia
3116-506: The care of the Welfare Branch were also placed there, and the building had to be expanded. During World War II, the hostel served as a recreation centre for troops. The new two-storey building was designed to accommodate up to 50 children, with separate dormitories for boys and girls, each with separate study area and library. Several of the children were transferred to St Francis House over time, and St John's Hostel continued to operate until
3198-493: The communication time with Europe dropped from months to hours; Australia was no longer so isolated from the rest of the world. The line was one of the great engineering feats of 19th-century Australia and probably the most significant milestone in the history of telegraphy in Australia . By 1855 speculation had intensified about possible routes for the connection of Australia to the new telegraph cable in Java and thus Europe. Among
3280-516: The continent starting from the northern Flinders Ranges , and was successful on his sixth attempt in 1862. Stuart had the proposed telegraph line in mind as he travelled across the country, noting the best places for river crossings, sources of timber for telegraph poles, and water supplies. On 24 July, his expedition finally reached the north coast at a place Stuart named Chambers Bay , after his early sponsor, James Chambers . South Australian Governor Richard MacDonnell gave his strong support to
3362-564: The contractors would be responsible: Explorer, John Ross ; Surveyor, William Harvey ; Overseer of Works, Northern Territory, William McMinn ; Sub-Overseer, R. C. Burton ; Operators , James Lawrence Stapleton (murdered 1874 at Barrow Creek ) and Andrew Howley. Surveyors and Overseers, central portion of line: A. T. Woods , Gilbert McMinn , and Richard Randall Knuckey ; Overseer, James Beckwith; Sub-Overseers, J. F. Roberts (perhaps J. Le M. F. Roberts ), Stephen Jarvis, W. W. Mills , W. Charles Musgrave , and Christopher Giles . He assembled
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3444-553: The establishment of the United States Air Force Detachment ;421, in 1954. Currently located on Schwarz Crescent, it is part of a joint American–Australian project called the Joint Geological and Geographical Research Station (JGGRS). The unit is locally known as "Det 421" or "The Det" and has sponsored as many as 25 American families to live as temporary residents of the Alice Springs district. To mark
3526-622: The festival aims "to celebrate the oldest continuous cultures in the world through the latest technology". It includes light shows, artworks, storytelling, and other manifestations of Aboriginal Australian culture , and both Alice Springs Desert Park and at the Araluen Arts Centre are also venues for interactive workshops, Indigenous music and dance, films by Aboriginal filmmakers, and talks. The festival, which has free admission, has run annually since 2016. Australian Overland Telegraph Line The Australian Overland Telegraph Line
3608-686: The ill-fated SS Gothenburg . A few days later, at least ten were among the hundred-odd who lost their lives after she encountered a severe storm, and was driven into the Great Barrier Reef and sank. The southern section of the line included repeater stations at Beltana , Strangways Springs and the Peake . Traces and remains of these repeater stations can still be seen today along the Oodnadatta Track in South Australia. The central section of
3690-503: The landscape was shaped by the Yeperenye, Ntyarlke, and Utnerrengatye caterpillars and Akngwelye or wild dogs. Sites of traditional importance include Anthwerrke (Emily Gap), Akeyulerre (Billy Goat Hill), Ntaripe ( Heavitree Gap ), Atnelkentyarliweke ( ANZAC Hill ) and Alhekulyele (Mt Gillen). In 1861–62, John McDouall Stuart led an expedition through Central Australia to the west of what later became Alice Springs, thereby establishing
3772-585: The line from Java reaching Darwin on 18 November 1871 and being connected the following day. Because of the problems still facing the northern section, the Queensland Superintendent of Telegraphs called for the abandonment of the project, and for the line to connect to the terminal at Burketown , but Todd was adamant and pressed on. By the end of the year there was still over 300 km of line to erect. A storm system impacting South and Central Australia caused significant interruptions on
3854-528: The line in January 1872. By May 1872, the line was substantially in use with horse or camel carrying messages across the uncompleted section. During this time, Todd began visiting workers along the line to lift their spirits. The message he sent along the incomplete line on 22 May 1872, took 9 days to reach Adelaide. Running more than seven months behind schedule, the two lines were finally joined at Frew's Ponds on Thursday, 22 August 1872. Todd
3936-492: The line included repeater stations at Charlotte Waters and Alice Springs . Charlotte Waters was operational until the 1930s; today there is very little left at the site. The northern section of the line included repeater stations at Barrow Creek , Tennant Creek , Daly Waters , Powell Creek , Katherine , Yam Creek and finally a terminus point in Darwin . In Darwin, there was also considerable infrastructure to manage and maintain
4018-460: The line, and lightning strikes were not uncommon. These breaks were as nothing compared with the flooding event involving the Peake and Strangways Springs stations in 1895. On 20 January the telegraph line was washed away by the Warrina Creek, a few miles north of Strangways Springs, and full service was not restored until 24 January. Improvised communication included carrying paper copies of
4100-658: The line, and sites at Beltana, Strangways Springs and the Peake were identified as sites for repeater stations. Charlotte Waters , just north of the South Australian border in the Northern Territory, was surveyed in 1871 by Gilbert McMinn and Richard Knuckey and a repeater station built in 1872. Darwent & Dalwood , who won the contract for the northern section of 600 miles (970 km), arrived in Port Darwin aboard SS Omeo in September 1870 with 80 men, 80 draught horses, bullocks, equipment and stores. Stephen King Jr.
4182-615: The longstanding friendship with the community, on 1 July 1995, the Alice Springs Town Council granted Detachment 421 honorary Freedom of Entry to Alice Springs. Since the early 1970s, the majority of the American population in Alice Springs has been associated with proximity to Pine Gap , a joint Australian-US satellite tracking station, located 19 kilometres (12 mi) south-west of Alice Springs, that employs about 700 Americans and Australians. Currently, 2,000 residents of
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#17331068194104264-520: The messages by rail between the Peake and Oodnadatta. The flood at the Peake was unprecedented, but Todd authorised replacing the 23 ft (7.0 m) steel poles with 30-footers, set in concrete and reinforced with struts. When Darwin was bombed in World War II the line was deliberately cut just before the attack. The line was replaced in the early 1970s by a chain of microwave radio relays through Mount Isa . In 2008, its engineering heritage
4346-409: The mid-30s, whereas in winter the average minimum temperature can be 5.5 °C (41.9 °F), with an average of 12.4 nights below freezing every year, providing frost . The elevation of the town is about 545 metres (1,788 feet), which contributes to the cool nights in winter. The highest temperature on record is 47.5 °C (117.5 °F), first recorded on 24 December 1891, whilst the record low
4428-836: The nearest major cities, Darwin and Adelaide . Alice Springs is at the midpoint of the Adelaide–Darwin Railway . Alice Springs was connected to Darwin by rail on 4 February 2004, when the first passenger train arrived in Darwin from Adelaide. The modern town of Alice Springs has both European and Aboriginal influences. The town's focal point, the Todd Mall , hosts a number of Aboriginal art galleries and community events. In February 2024, AIATSIS Central Australia information and exhibition centre opened in Todd Mall. Alice Springs' desert lifestyle has inspired several unique events, such as
4510-401: The number of soldiers posted in Alice Springs grew rapidly, as did the number of personnel passing through on their way to and from Darwin. When Darwin was threatened by Japanese forces, the sea routes—the Northern Territory capital's primary means of transportation and resupply—were cut off. The evacuation of Darwin first brought a large number of civilians including elected officials and many of
4592-558: The project. In 1863 an Order in Council transferred the Northern Territory to South Australia, aiming to secure land for an international telegraph connection. Now with a potential route, South Australia strengthened her position for the telegraph line in 1865 when Parliament authorised the construction of a telegraph line between Adelaide and Port Augusta, 300 km to the north. This move provoked outrage in Queensland amongst advocates of
4674-466: The routes under consideration were either Ceylon to Albany in Western Australia , or Java to the north coast of Australia and then either onto east coast, or south through the centre of the continent to Adelaide. Competition between the colonies over the route was fierce. The Victorian government organised an expedition led by Burke and Wills to cross the continent from Menindee to
4756-410: The signal. The repeater stations contained two primary batteries : the line was powered by a (c. 120 V) bank of Meidinger cells — a variation of Daniell cell , "recharged" by replacing the electrolyte — as well as Leclanche cells for the local equipment. Although repeater stations have been run by a single telegraphist, usual staffing was four to six, including a station master, telegraphists and
4838-435: The south and Antulye the east. Mparntwe is pronounced M'bun-twa . Arrernte has been spelt in various forms, including Aranda, Arrarnta, and Arunta. There are five dialects of the Arrernte language : South-eastern, Central, Northern, Eastern and North-eastern. Arrernte country is rich with mountain ranges, waterholes and gorges, which create a variety of natural habitats. According to Arrernte traditional histories,
4920-532: The stations, mines, healthcare and law enforcement. Foreign tourists usually pass through on their way to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park , whilst Australian tourists usually come through as a part of an event such as the Masters Games and the Finke Desert Race . These events can cause the population of the town to fluctuate by several thousand within a matter of days. The Alice Springs Town Council governs
5002-416: The territory government's records. Alice Springs became the war-time civilian capital of the Northern Territory. When Darwin was bombed by Japanese air forces, a large number of military personnel and their heavy equipment were rapidly moved south to Alice Springs. The number of soldiers posted in Alice Springs peaked at around 8,000, and the number of personnel passing through totalled close to 200,000. Once
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#17331068194105084-715: The town's services. Aboriginal residents usually live in the suburbs, on special purpose leases (or town camps ), or further out at Amoonguna to the south and on the small family outstation communities on Aboriginal lands in surrounding areas. The traditional owners of the Alice Springs area are the Central Arrernte people. As it is the largest town in central Australia, there are also speakers of Warlpiri , Warumungu , Kaytetye , Alyawarre , Luritja , Pintupi , Pitjantjatjara , Yankunytjatjara , Ngaanyatjarra , Pertame , Eastern , and Western Arrernte among others. Americans have lived in Alice Springs continuously since
5166-571: The town. Historically, Alice Springs has tilted conservative. It was a stronghold for the Country Liberal Party for many years; only the northeast (part of which is in Stuart) leans Labor . However, these trends were dramatically altered at the 2016 election . Former Chief Minister and Alice Springs resident Adam Giles lost Braitling to Labor, Araluen was retained by CLP-turned-independent Robyn Lambley , and Namatjira and Stuart fell to Labor. As
5248-495: The undersea cable/s to Europe. Numerous interruptions to service occurred in the early days. Tribal Aboriginals discovered that splendid fishing hooks could be fashioned from the galvanised iron wire conductors (same as #8 fencing wire), spearheads and other implements could be made from shards of insulator, and hatchets from iron baseplates attached to some of the poles, keeping the linemen busy. Atmospheric disturbance from solar flares induced interfering signals in some sections of
5330-505: The war ended, the military camps and the evacuees departed, and Alice Springs' population declined rapidly. After being visited by nearly 200,000 people, including the American General Douglas MacArthur , Alice Springs gained considerable fame. The war years also left behind many structures. The historically listed Totem Theatre , created for the entertainment of this camp, still exists today. The Australian Army set up
5412-712: The wheels of the Alice Springs economy turning until the outbreak of World War II . In 1941 Father Percy Smith , an Anglican minister, founded St John's Hostel in Bath Street. The hostel provided accommodation for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children from remote areas who were attending school in Alice Springs. He had been concerned at the lack of opportunities for children housed in the government facility for Aboriginal children in Alice Springs, called The Bungalow . Smith went on to found and run St Francis House in Adelaide in 1945, but St John's continued to operate. Children under
5494-415: The workers back to Adelaide, on the basis of insufficient progress (they had erected poles to a distance of 225 miles (362 km) and strung wire for 129 miles (208 km) to that date) and the insurrection of the men. This last, the workers claimed, was exaggerated; they only refused to work after they had been sacked. These actions were certainly within his powers, and spelled out in the contract, but he
5576-400: The world's first flying doctor service, in 1926. It was also the site of the world's first successful portable wireless radio experiment conducted by Alf Traeger. Today it is a museum, one of several significant tourist attractions which form part of The Flynn Trail a self-guided urban heritage trail. Today, the town is an important tourist hub and service centre for the surrounding area. It
5658-450: Was an electrical telegraph system for sending messages the 3200 kilometres (2000 miles) between Darwin , in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia, and Adelaide , the capital of South Australia . Completed in 1872 (with a line to Western Australia added in 1877), it allowed fast communication between Australia and the rest of the world. When it was linked to the Java -to-Darwin submarine telegraph cable several months later,
5740-413: Was another six months before reinforcements led by engineer Robert C. Patterson arrived in Darwin. As the central and southern sections neared completion, Patterson decided to take a different strategy with the construction of the northern section. It was divided into four sub-sections with the majority of the men on the most northerly section. The undersea cable was finished earlier than expected, with
5822-434: Was appointed head of the project, and devised a timetable to complete the immense project on schedule. Todd had built South Australia's first telegraph line and extended it to Melbourne. The contract stipulated a total cost of no more than £128,000 and two years' construction time. He divided the route into three sections, each of 600 miles (970 km): northern and southern sections to be handled by private contractors, and
5904-459: Was built, that the town's European population began to grow. Aboriginal Centralians outnumbered European Centralians until the mid-1930s. From 1926 to 1931, Alice Springs was the seat of government for the now-defunct Territory of Central Australia . Until 31 August 1933, the town was officially known as Stuart. The original mode of British-Australian transportation in the outback were camel trains, operated by immigrants from Pathan tribes in
5986-402: Was connected telegraphically with the rest of the world after a cable was laid by BAT from Banyuwangi (Banjoewangie), at the eastern end of Java, to Darwin. This coincided with the completion of the construction of the overland telegraph cable from Adelaide to Darwin. The first message sent directly from London to Adelaide occurred on 22 October 1872. A second submarine cable from Java to Darwin
6068-501: Was dismissed on his return to Adelaide in July 1871. Joseph Darwent had protested the original appointment of McMinn, who had submitted a losing tender, but was overruled. William T. Dalwood was eventually awarded compensation of £11,000. The South Australian Government was now forced to construct an extra 700 km of line, and threw every available resource into its completion, down to purchasing horses and hiring men from New South Wales. It
6150-461: Was established in 1980 and provides a range of services to encourage and help Aboriginal people enhance their quality of life in remote communities. Parrtjima − A Festival in Light (pronounced par-chee-ma ) subtitled − A Festival in Light, takes place over 10 days each April in the desert outside Alice Springs. The name means "shedding both light and understanding" in the local Arrernte language , and
6232-488: Was given the honour of sending the first message along the completed line: After the first messages had been exchanged over the new line, Todd was accompanied by surveyor Richard Randall Knuckey on the return journey from Central Mount Stuart to Adelaide. The requirements of nineteenth century telegraphy meant the Overland Telegraph Line required repeater stations, a maximum of 250-300 km apart, to boost
6314-473: Was laid in 1880 to provide redunancy. The site in the intertidal zone where the cables come ashore in Darwin, where they are still visible during very low tides, was heritage listed in 2020. On 9 April 1889 a third undersea telegraph cable opened for business, running from Banyuwangi , Java to Cable Beach , Western Australia and continuing overland to Perth , to complement the two cables already laid in 1871 and 1880 from Banyuwangi to Darwin. This cable
6396-629: Was laid to increase security in communications by avoiding disruption from seismic activity that kept breaking the Banyuwangi to Darwin cables. The contract for the cables called for the manufacture of 970 nautical miles of cable containing a single galvanised copper core with 220 nautical miles being brass sheathed, laid by the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company for the Eastern Extension, Australasia and China Telegraph Company , by
6478-654: Was left empty, and in 1921 it was purchased and transformed into its current use as the Broome Court House , which was placed on the Western Australian State Register of Heritage Places in 2001 as it is the only station that is still standing in Australia. In the 1930s Cinesound Productions announced plans to make a movie about the Telegraph based on a script by Frank Clune . This emeged as Clune's 1955 book Overland Telegraph . In 2007,
6560-756: Was recognised by the installation of markers provided by the Engineers Australia 's Engineering Heritage Recognition Program at a location in Darwin near the place where the cable reached the shore, the Alice Springs Telegraph Station and the General Post Office in Adelaide . In 1870 the British Australia Telegraph Company (BAT) was formed to link Australia directly to the British telegraphic cable system, by extending
6642-510: Was sited near what was thought to be a permanent waterhole in the normally dry Todd River , named Alice Springs by W.W. Mills after the wife of the Superintendent of Telegraphs and Postmaster General of South Australia, Sir Charles Todd , who was the driving force for constructing the OTL. The nearby settlement of Stuart was renamed Alice Springs on 31 August 1933. The Todd River and its tributary
6724-561: Was their surveyor and explorer. The northern line was progressing well until the onset of the wet season in November ;1870. Heavy rain of up to 10 inches (250 mm) a day waterlogged the ground and made it impossible for work to progress. With conditions worsening, the men went on strike on 7 March 1871, rancid food and disease-spreading mosquitoes amongst their complaints. On 3 May 1871, Overseer of Works William McMinn cancelled Darwent & Dalwood's contract and sent all
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