100-610: The Yarrenyty Arltere Artists are a collective of Indigenous artists from Yarrenyty Arltere Town Camp in Mparntwe in the Northern Territory of Australia , best known for its soft sculptural work. Yarrenyty Arltere Artists was originally conceived in 2000 Yarrenyty Arltere Town Camp, also known as Hidden Valley Town Camp on the west side of Alice Springs. The enterprise was established in 2008. Prominent artists includes Dulcie Sharpe, Rhonda Sharpe and Marlene Rubuntja. Their work
200-455: 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
300-451: 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
400-612: 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
500-455: A civil engineer before emigrating to Australia at the age of 23. Stuart was a slight, delicately built young man, standing about 5' 6" tall (168 cm) and weighing less than 9 stone (about 54 kg). In January 1839 he arrived aboard the barque Indus at the barely two-year-old frontier colony of South Australia , at that time little more than a single crowded outpost of tents and dirt-floored wooden huts. Stuart soon found employment with
600-601: A few pack horses. The secret to successful exploration, in Stuart's view, was to travel fast and avoid the delays and complications that always attend a large supply train. By the time they reached Neales River (near present-day Oodnadatta ) unexpected rain had ruined most of their stores and they continued on half-rations – something that Head, who had started the trip as a big man and weighed twice as much as Stuart, found difficult to adjust to. Water became more and more difficult to find and scurvy began to set in. Stuart's right eye
700-401: A full dark beard and sometimes wore moleskin trousers and an unfashionable long-tailed blue coat with brass buttons and cabbage-tree hat. He was able to endure privations and possessed a fierce determination which overrode any thought of personal comfort. He was not particularly gregarious; he had some good friends but seemed happiest away from crowds. He was a Freemason , being initiated in
800-625: 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
900-503: A land which the local Aboriginal people called Wingillpinin, and new grazing land in the north-west of South Australia. Stuart set out from John Chambers ' station Oratunga, taking as companions two of Chambers' employees (a white man named Forster and a young Aboriginal man), half a dozen horses, and rations for six weeks, all provided by Chambers, a pocket compass and a watch. From the Flinders Ranges, Stuart travelled west, passing to
1000-594: 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
1100-559: A personal diary. The party comprised 10 men and 71 horses. Benjamin Head, veteran of the fourth expedition, was still too ill to accompany them. The party made good time to Newcastle Waters, reaching that point on 5 April, and experiencing conflict with the local Aboriginal people once again. Here they rested for a week before Stuart led a scouting party north, finding good water for the main body to move up to. The next stage, however, proved more difficult. Five times Stuart and his scouts tried to find
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#17330850318171200-725: 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
1300-648: A return. In the relative cool of the southern winter, they travelled fast, reaching the settled regions of South Australia in September. When Stuart learned that Burke and Wills were missing he immediately offered to join the search for them. The first rescue teams had left some time earlier, however, and soon returned with the news that no less than 7 members of the largest and best-equipped expedition in Australia's history had died. Public exploration mania had cooled considerably. Although Stuart had now led five expeditions into
1400-480: A reward of £2,000 to any person able to cross the continent through the centre and discover a suitable route for the telegraph from Adelaide to the north coast. Stuart's friends and sponsors, James & John Chambers and Finke, asked the government to put up £1,000 to equip an expedition to be led by Stuart. The South Australian government, however, ignored Stuart and instead sponsored an expedition led by Alexander Tolmer , which failed miserably, failing to travel beyond
1500-513: A riverbed which Stuart named Tennant's Creek (now the site of the township Tennant Creek ). The worst of the country was now behind them and they were only about 800 km from the coast. From here, however, progress seemed impossible. A four-day excursion to the north-west found no water at all and they had to retreat. After giving the horses a week to recover, they tried heading due north. They found another creek (later named Attack Creek) but were blocked by heavy scrub. Unlike those further south,
1600-495: 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
1700-544: A route towards Victoria River without success. Finally he headed north rather than north-west and was rewarded with a series of small waterholes leading to Daly Waters , about 150 kilometres north of Newcastle Waters. Stuart made one last attempt to reach Victoria River before continuing north into the Top End . On 9 June he reached territory that had already been mapped and on 1 July the Mary River , which hadn't, presuming it to be
1800-666: 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
1900-412: Is claimed that he was a member of Stephen Hack's expedition of May and June 1857 looking for grazing country north and west of Streaky Bay and a private expedition to Lake Gairdner with Anthony Forster (later to become editor of The Register ) in 1858. On 14 May 1858, with financial backing from William Finke, Stuart set off on the first of his six major expeditions. His aim was to find minerals,
2000-624: 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
2100-485: 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
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#17330850318172200-573: 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
2300-509: Is now barely able to support a few cattle. At around this time in Australia, exploration fever was reaching a peak. Several factors contributed. At "home" (as Australians still called Britain), public attention was focussed on the search for the source of the Nile , with the competing expeditions of Speke , Burton and Baker all contending for the honour of discovery. Like the interior of Africa, inland Australia remained an embarrassing blank area on
2400-577: Is represented in national art collections around Australia including the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art , National Gallery of Victoria and Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory and has been featured in the Biennale of Sydney , Museum of Contemporary Art , Carriageworks, Sydney and Tarnarthi . Alice Springs Alice Springs ( Eastern Arrernte : Mparntwe ) is a town in
2500-857: 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
2600-483: 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
2700-494: The Adelaide River (without a chronometer, determination of longitude was impossible). On 24 July 1862 the expedition reached a muddy beach on Van Diemen Gulf , 100 km east of today's Darwin , and there marked a tree "JMDS" and named a nearby watercourse "Thrings Creek". He and his companions had crossed the continent from south to north. The following day Stuart found a sizable tree which he marked with an "S" and there raised
2800-573: The Burke and Wills expedition had cost £9,000 to establish. That expedition had already reached the Darling River in northern New South Wales.) Stuart left Chambers Creek with a dozen men, 49 horses and rations for 30 weeks on 1 January 1861. It was high summer in South Australia and the worst possible time for travelling. Stuart was soon forced to send two men and the five weakest horses back. The heat
2900-549: 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
3000-548: 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
3100-405: 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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3200-613: 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
3300-478: The Union Jack presented to him by Elizabeth Chambers, and named the long stretch of beach which lay to the west, Chambers Bay in her honour. The ten successful members of the party are listed here with their age on the day of the expedition's departure from North Adelaide. By current standards Stuart was physically a small, wiry man, but in fact he was of average build of western European men at that time. He had
3400-520: The Warramunga Aboriginal people defended their country from trespassers. On 26 June they raided the explorers' camp. One stole the shoeing rasp (which Stuart was able to recover); others threw boomerangs at the horses and set fire to the grass around the camp. Like Sturt (and unlike some of the other Australian explorers) Stuart generally got on well with the Aboriginal people he encountered but he
3500-518: 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
3600-493: 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
3700-508: The 1863 annexation of a huge area of country to the Government of South Australia. This area became known as the Northern Territory. In 1911 the Commonwealth of Australia assumed responsibility for that area. In 1871–72 the Australian Overland Telegraph Line was constructed along Stuart's route. The principal road from Port Augusta to Darwin was also established essentially on his route and
3800-486: 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
3900-407: 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
4000-420: 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
4100-424: 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
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4200-881: 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
4300-564: 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
4400-485: The Lodge of Truth, Adelaide, No. 649 on 1 August 1859, and retained membership until shortly before he returned to England. Another reference has him being inducted into the Lodge of Truth, North Adelaide, No. 933, on 5 April 1860. Many years of hard conditions combined with malnutrition, scurvy, trachoma and other illnesses had rendered him practically blind, in pain and in such poor health that he spent some (900 km) of
4500-548: The McDouall Stuart Lodge of Freemasons in Alice Springs commissioned a 4-metre high ferro-concrete statue of Stuart for donation to the Alice Springs Town Council to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Stuart's fourth expedition, during which he had reached the centre of the continent. The statue is located in a heritage precinct near the old hospital. In England, Stuart is commemorated by a blue plaque on
4600-499: 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
4700-607: 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
4800-529: The arid centre of Australia and crossed all but the last few hundred miles of the continent without losing a man, the South Australian government was initially reluctant to back a sixth effort. However, the prospect of establishing a route for an overland telegraph line became a significant factor. The government finally provided £2,000 at the last minute on condition that Stuart took a scientist with him. James & John Chambers along with William Finke remained
4900-567: The award of a gold watch from the Royal Geographical Society . Soon after his return from his first expedition, Stuart applied for a pastoral lease at Chambers Creek. Considered the discoverer, he was already entitled to a lease, but wanted rights to a larger area. As a bargaining chip in the negotiation process, Stuart offered to do the surveying himself and in April 1859 he set off with a party of three men and 15 horses. This gained for him
5000-506: 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
5100-465: The colony's Surveyor-General, working in the semi-arid scrub of the newly settled districts marking out blocks for settlers and miners. The Surveyor General of South Australia , Stuart's superior officer, was the famous explorer Captain Charles Sturt , who had already solved the mystery of the inland-flowing rivers of New South Wales , in the process reaching and naming the Darling River , travelling
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#17330850318175200-553: 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
5300-473: The expedition turned back about 100 kilometres short of the border because they had no more horse shoes (an essential item in that arid, stony region). Importantly, however, Stuart had found another reliable water supply for future attempts: a "beautiful spring" fed by the then-unknown Great Artesian Basin . He wrote: He returned in July with reports of "wonderful country"—an extraordinary description of territory that
5400-687: 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. John McDouall Stuart John McDouall Stuart (7 September 1815 – 5 June 1866), often referred to as simply "McDouall Stuart",
5500-453: The firm support and confidence of the Governor of South Australia , Richard Graves MacDonnell , himself a keen explorer. The Chambers Creek survey complete, Stuart explored to the north again, aiming to reach the border between South Australia and what is now the Northern Territory (at that time still a part of New South Wales ). Although still well supplied with rations and not short of water,
5600-702: The first finger. At first it was feared amputation would be necessary, but Stuart and Waterhouse (the naturalist, appointed by the Government) were able to catch up with the rest of the party at Moolooloo (one of the Chambers brothers' stations) five weeks later. However they did not leave Chambers Creek until 8 January 1862. One of the party, John W. Woodforde, son of the City Coroner , was dismissed by Stuart for insubordination, having refused to be parted with his greatcoat , and, contrary to Stuart's instructions, for keeping
5700-690: The full length of the Murrumbidgee , and tracing the Murray to the sea. Stuart remained with the Survey Department until 1842 and then worked in the Mount Lofty Ranges as a private surveyor. In 1844 Captain Sturt embarked on an expedition into the arid interior, and engaged Stuart as a draughtsman. Sturt's expedition penetrated further north than any previous attempt, at the cost of great hardship. Instead of
5800-527: The hoped-for inland sea, the explorers found two of the most fearsome arid areas anywhere in Australia: Sturt Stony Desert and the Simpson Desert . After his second-in-command James Poole died of scurvy , Sturt appointed Stuart in his place. Both men survived to return to Adelaide, but suffered greatly from scurvy. Sturt never really recovered and soon returned to England; the younger Stuart
5900-467: The hostile tribesmen that had blocked the last attempt. At about the same time – and unknown to Stuart's party, of course – Burke, Wills and King reached their base camp at Cooper Creek only to find it deserted. The fourth member of their party, Charles Gray, was already dead; Wills and then Burke perished within a few more days, leaving only King to be sustained by the kindness of the local Aboriginal people. Stuart still planned to march north-west towards
6000-515: The house where he lived and died in Kensington , London, No. 9 Campden Hill Square. In 2011 his grave in Kensal Green cemetery, London, was refurbished to its former glory. In Dysart, Scotland there is also a blue plaque on the house where he was born. The property, John McDouall Stuart View, is available as a holiday let, restored and owned by Fife Historic Buildings Trust. Stuart is commemorated in
6100-419: The known region of Victoria River , which had been mapped by Augustus Charles Gregory in 1858. Leaving the main expedition to rest, he led a series of small parties in that direction, but was blocked by thick scrub and a complete lack of water. After a great deal of effort, the scouting parties managed to find another watering point 80 kilometres (50 mi) further north and Stuart moved the main body up. Over
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#17330850318176200-503: 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
6300-495: 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
6400-463: The major population centres of Australia in Victoria and New South Wales. Several of the mainland colonies were competing to host the Australian terminus of the telegraph: Western Australia and New South Wales proposed long undersea cables; South Australia proposed employing the shortest possible undersea cable and bringing the telegraph ashore in Australia's Top End . From there it would run overland for 3,000 kilometres south to Adelaide. The difficulty
6500-476: The map and although the long-held dreams of a fertile inland sea had faded, there was an intense desire to see the continent crossed. This was the apex of the age of heroic exploration. Additionally, there was the factor of the telegraph . Invented only a few decades earlier, the technology had matured rapidly and a global network of undersea and overland cables was taking shape. The line from England had already reached India and plans were being made to extend it to
6600-409: 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
6700-569: The mountain became known as Central Mount Stuart after Stuart himself, not his mentor Sturt, and geographers no longer regard it as the true centre of Australia. Nevertheless, it retains its symbolic value. The explorers were unable to progress much further north. Lack of water forced them back again and again. Stuart's scurvy was growing worse, Head was now half his original weight, and only Kekwick remained capable of heavy work. Then, on 22 May, it rained. With water now available nearly every day, they made good mileage and by mid June were able to reach
6800-619: 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
6900-434: The next two weeks Stuart made three more attempts to find a practicable route over the plains to the north-west, but without success. Finally, he decided to try heading due north. He was rewarded with the discovery of "a splendid sheet of water" 150 metres (492 ft) wide and 7 kilometres (4 mi) long which he named "Newcastle Water, after his Grace the Duke of Newcastle, Secretary for the Colonies". For five more weeks
7000-401: 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
7100-540: The party camped at Newcastle Waters while Stuart tried to find a north-westward route to take them to Victoria River and thus the sea. The local Aboriginal people were wary of trespassers on their land, lighting fires around the camp and spooking the horses, and Kekwick had to mount an armed sentry with instructions to fire warning shots whenever they came near. Provisions were running short and both men and horses were in poor condition. Finally, on 1 July 1861, exactly six months after they had left Chambers Creek, Stuart ordered
7200-466: The party pressed on at Stuart's customary rapid pace. They reached the safety of Chambers Creek in August. A few days earlier, on 20 August 1860, the larger Burke and Wills expedition had finally left Melbourne. Stuart reached Adelaide in October 1860. Although he had narrowly failed to cross the continent, his achievement in determining the centre was immense, ranked with John Hanning Speke 's discovery of
7300-415: The principal private backers. Stuart's sixth expedition was officially launched at James Chambers' home at North Adelaide on 23 October 1861. Their first stop, before they had reached the town of Gawler, was forced by trouble with their horses. One reared, striking Stuart's temple with its hoof, rendering him unconscious then trampling his right hand, dislocating two joints and tearing flesh and nail from
7400-405: The remainder of his career, usually organising the supply bases while Stuart scouted ahead. Kekwick went south for provisions and more men, returning with 13 horses, rations for three months, however only a single man; Benjamin Head. On 2 March 1860 the three men left Chambers Creek, aiming to find the centre of Australia. As always, Stuart travelled light, taking only as much as could be carried on
7500-575: The return journey of his last expedition (1861–1862) being carried on a litter between two horses. He never recovered his health. He prepared his diaries for publication and on 23 April 1864 left aboard Indus for Britain, initially to visit his sister in Scotland. He died in London two years later, and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery . While Stuart was responsible for naming a large number of topographical features for friends, backers and fellow explorers, he
7600-554: The settled districts. Meanwhile, Stuart was entangled with other problems. Some of the land he had claimed and surveyed in the Chambers Creek district on his second trip had in fact already been explored and claimed by people attracted to the area by reports of Stuart's first trip. Stuart needed to return to Chambers Creek to re-survey his claims. He left Adelaide with a small party in August 1859. Having surveyed his own claim and several new claims on behalf of his sponsors, Stuart spent
7700-572: The source of the Nile . Stuart had solved that which he attempted with Capt. Sturt 15 years earlier – the riddle of the nature of the centre of the great Australian continent. He was awarded the Royal Geographical Society's Patron's Medal – becoming only the second person to receive both the Patron's Medal and a gold watch (the other was Dr Livingstone ). Belatedly, even the South Australian government started to recognise Stuart's abilities, and
7800-435: 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,
7900-403: The south of Lake Torrens , then north along the western edge of Lake Torrens. He found an isolated chain of semi-permanent waterholes which he named Chambers' Creek (now called Stuart Creek). It later became crucially important as a staging post for expeditions to the arid centre of the continent. Continuing to the north-west, Stuart reached the vicinity of Coober Pedy (not realising that there
8000-441: The spring and summer exploring the area west of Lake Eyre, finding several more artesian springs. Working through the severe heat of summer, Stuart experienced trouble with his eyes because of the glare, and after some time enduring half rations, all but one of his men refused to leave camp. Contemptuously, Stuart sent them home. William Kekwick, his remaining companion, was reputed for his steadfastness and would stay with Stuart for
8100-532: 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
8200-416: 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
8300-715: 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
8400-571: 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
8500-505: 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
8600-712: 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
8700-400: 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
8800-481: Was a Scottish explorer and one of the most accomplished of all Australia's inland explorers. Stuart led the first successful expedition to traverse the Australian mainland from south to north and return, through the centre of the continent. His experience and the care he showed for his team ensured he never lost a man, despite the harshness of the country he encountered. The explorations of Stuart eventually resulted in
8900-499: Was a fantastically rich opal field underfoot) before shortage of provisions and lack of feed for the horses forced him to turn towards the sea 500 kilometres to the south. A difficult journey along the edge of the Great Victorian Desert brought Stuart to Miller's Water (near present-day Ceduna ) and from there back to civilisation after four months and 2,400 kilometres. This expedition made Stuart's reputation and brought him
9000-459: 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
9100-461: 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
9200-475: Was extreme and the party often delayed while Stuart searched for fodder and water. They were still in northern South Australia on 11 February, the day that Burke and Wills reached the Gulf of Carpentaria . With difficulty, Stuart's party had reached the MacDonnell Ranges when heavy rains came, allowing them to press on northwards at a much better pace. They reached Attack Creek on 24 April 1861, this time finding no sign of
9300-479: Was failing. Nevertheless, they found a major watercourse in early April which Stuart named the Finke River , and followed it north-west over the South Australian border to the MacDonnell Ranges , which he named after Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell , Governor of South Australia, on 12 April 1860. On 22 April 1860, according to Stuart's calculations, the party reached the centre of the continent. Stuart wrote: In fact
9400-504: Was honoured with a public breakfast at White's Rooms in Adelaide. James Chambers put forward a plan for Stuart and Kekwick to return north with a government-provided armed guard to see them past the difficulties at Attack Creek. The government prevaricated and quibbled about cost, personnel, and ultimate control of the expedition, but eventually agreed to contribute ten armed men and £2,500; and put Stuart in operational command. (In contrast,
9500-580: Was in 1942 named the Stuart Highway in his honour, following a recommendation by Governor-General Gowrie . Born in Dysart, Fife , Scotland, Stuart was the youngest of nine children. His father William Stuart was a retired army captain serving as a customs officer. Stuart's parents died in his early teens and so he came under the care of relatives. He graduated from the Scottish Naval and Military Academy as
9600-488: Was obvious: the proposed route was not only remote and (so far as European settlers were concerned) uninhabited, it was simply a vast blank space on the map. At much the same time, the wealthy rival colony Victoria was preparing the biggest and most lavishly equipped expedition in Australia's history; the Victorian Exploring Expedition, to be led by Robert O'Hara Burke. The South Australian government offered
9700-510: 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
9800-524: Was sparing in the use of his own name. Central Mount Stuart, which he reckoned to be the geographical centre of Australia, he had designated "Central Mount Sturt" to honour his friend Charles Sturt . Places named after Stuart include: A statue by James White honouring Stuart can be found in Victoria Square, Adelaide , while in Darwin , both a statue and a monument celebrate his achievements. In March 2010,
9900-415: Was unable to negotiate with this group and considered it unsafe to continue. That night, with even the indefatigable Kekwick complaining of weakness, the explorers abandoned their attempt to reach the north coast and reluctantly turned south. It was 2,400 kilometres to Adelaide, all three men had scurvy, supplies were very short, the horses were in poor condition, and the country was drying out. Nevertheless,
10000-414: Was unable to work or travel for a year. Stuart returned to his trade as a private surveyor, spending more and more time in remote areas, and moving to Port Lincoln for several years before moving again to the northern Flinders Ranges where he worked for the wealthy pastoralists William Finke , James Chambers , and John Chambers , exploring, prospecting for minerals, and surveying pastoral leases. It
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