Alice Springs
Alice Springs Mparntwe Federal division(s) | Lingiari | ||||||||
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Alice Springs (
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 an urban population of 25,912[1] in August 2021. The town's population accounts for approximately 10 per cent of the population of the Northern Territory.[5]
The town straddles the usually dry
History
Traditional owners
The
Mparntwe is pronounced M'bun-twa.
According to Eastern Arrernte traditional owners the Laughton family, Tjoritja/MacDonnell Ranges represent a chain of caterpillars (Yeperenye), one of the creation stories of the area. Alhekulyele/Mount Gillen is the tail of one of the caterpillars and its head slides into Ntaripe/Heavitree Gap.
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.[12]
Arrernte country is rich with mountain ranges, waterholes and gorges, which create a variety of natural habitats. According to Arrernte traditional histories, the landscape was shaped by the Yeperenye, Ntyarlke, Utnerrengatye caterpillars[13][14] and Akngwelye or wild dogs.[15]
Sites of traditional importance include Anthwerrke (Emily Gap), Akeyulerre (Billy Goat Hill), Ntaripe (Heavitree Gap), Atnelkentyarliweke (ANZAC Hill) and Alhekulyele (Mt Gillen).[9]
European settlement
In 1861–62, John McDouall Stuart led an expedition through Central Australia to the west of what later became Alice Springs, thereby establishing a route from the south of the continent to the north.[16]
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 was sited near what was thought to be a permanent waterhole in the normally dry Todd River,[17] named Alice Springs[18] 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.[19] The Todd River[20] and its tributary the Charles River,[21] 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.[22] The town's first substantial building was the Stuart Town Gaol in Parson's Street; this was built in 1909, when the town had a European population of fewer than 20 people. Many of the gaol's first prisoners were first-contact Aboriginal men incarcerated for killing cattle.[23] The first aircraft, piloted by Francis Stewart Briggs, landed in 1921.[24] 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 was built, that the town's European population began to grow. Aboriginal Centralians outnumbered European Centralians until the mid-1930s.[25] From 1926 to 1931, Alice Springs was the seat of government for the now-defunct Territory of Central Australia.[26][27] Until 31 August 1933, the town was officially known as Stuart.[28]
The original mode of British-Australian transportation in the outback were
In 1941 Father Percy Smith, an Anglican minister, founded St John's Hostel in Bath Street.[29] 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 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 the 1970s.[30]
World War II
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 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 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.[31] Once 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 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 a marked increase in Alice Springs' population.[31][32]
During World War II, Alice Springs was the location of
After World War II
During 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 the nearest major cities, Darwin and Adelaide. Alice Springs is at the midpoint of the Adelaide–Darwin Railway. [34]
Alice Springs was connected to Darwin by rail on 4 February 2004, when the first passenger train arrived in Darwin from Adelaide.
Modern town
The modern town of Alice Springs has both European and Aboriginal influences. The town's focal point, the
Alice Springs' desert lifestyle has inspired several unique events, such as the Camel Cup, the Henley-on-Todd Regatta, Beanie Festival and the Tatts Finke Desert Race.
Built environment
Alice Springs has many historic buildings, including the
Today, the town is an important tourist hub and service centre for the surrounding area. It is a well-appointed town for its size, with several large hotels, a world-class convention centre, and a good range of visitor attractions, restaurants, and other services.
Geography
The region around Alice Springs is part of the
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.
Climate
Under the
Annual precipitation is erratic. In 2001, 741 millimetres (29.2 in) fell and in 2002 only 198 millimetres (7.8 in) fell.[43] 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 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.[44] The highest temperature on record is 47.5 °C (117.5 °F),[45] first recorded on 24 December 1891, whilst the record low is −7.5 °C (18.5 °F), recorded on 17 July 1976. This is also the lowest temperature recorded in the Northern Territory.
Climate data for Alice Springs Airport (1991–2020 averages, 1941–present extremes) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 45.6 (114.1) |
44.7 (112.5) |
42.7 (108.9) |
39.9 (103.8) |
35.0 (95.0) |
31.6 (88.9) |
31.8 (89.2) |
35.2 (95.4) |
38.8 (101.8) |
42.6 (108.7) |
44.9 (112.8) |
45.7 (114.3) |
45.7 (114.3) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 37.1 (98.8) |
35.8 (96.4) |
33.5 (92.3) |
29.3 (84.7) |
23.6 (74.5) |
20.1 (68.2) |
20.7 (69.3) |
23.5 (74.3) |
28.8 (83.8) |
31.9 (89.4) |
34.4 (93.9) |
35.7 (96.3) |
29.5 (85.2) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 29.7 (85.5) |
28.5 (83.3) |
25.7 (78.3) |
21.1 (70.0) |
15.8 (60.4) |
12.4 (54.3) |
12.3 (54.1) |
14.7 (58.5) |
20.0 (68.0) |
23.4 (74.1) |
26.4 (79.5) |
28.2 (82.8) |
21.5 (70.7) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.3 (72.1) |
21.1 (70.0) |
17.9 (64.2) |
12.9 (55.2) |
8.0 (46.4) |
4.7 (40.5) |
3.9 (39.0) |
5.8 (42.4) |
11.2 (52.2) |
14.9 (58.8) |
18.3 (64.9) |
20.7 (69.3) |
13.5 (56.2) |
Record low °C (°F) | 10.0 (50.0) |
8.5 (47.3) |
6.1 (43.0) |
1.4 (34.5) |
−2.7 (27.1) |
−6.0 (21.2) |
−7.5 (18.5) |
−4.1 (24.6) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
1.3 (34.3) |
3.5 (38.3) |
9.3 (48.7) |
−7.5 (18.5) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 48.9 (1.93) |
40.7 (1.60) |
19.9 (0.78) |
19.9 (0.78) |
17.5 (0.69) |
10.3 (0.41) |
13.0 (0.51) |
3.8 (0.15) |
7.8 (0.31) |
18.7 (0.74) |
33.0 (1.30) |
41.3 (1.63) |
274.8 (10.83) |
Average rainy days (≥ 1 mm) | 3.7 | 3.2 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 28.6 |
Average relative humidity (%)
|
27.0 | 32.5 | 28.0 | 31.0 | 41.5 | 48.5 | 43.0 | 31.5 | 24.0 | 23.0 | 26.0 | 27.5 | 32.0 |
Average dew point °C (°F) | 8.0 (46.4) |
9.6 (49.3) |
6.1 (43.0) |
4.3 (39.7) |
3.7 (38.7) |
2.9 (37.2) |
0.8 (33.4) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
0.5 (32.9) |
4.5 (40.1) |
6.6 (43.9) |
3.8 (38.8) |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 316.2 | 274.0 | 297.6 | 291.0 | 266.6 | 252.0 | 285.2 | 313.3 | 303.0 | 316.2 | 297.0 | 294.5 | 3,506.6 |
Mean daily sunshine hours | 10.2 | 9.7 | 9.6 | 9.7 | 8.6 | 8.4 | 9.2 | 10.1 | 10.1 | 10.2 | 9.9 | 9.5 | 9.6 |
Percent possible sunshine | 76 | 73 | 77 | 81 | 78 | 78 | 85 | 89 | 84 | 80 | 75 | 72 | 79 |
Average ultraviolet index | 14 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 10 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology[46][47] |
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
2001 | 23,384 | — |
2006 | 21,622 | −7.5% |
2011 | 24,208 | +12.0% |
2016 | 23,726 | −2.0% |
2021 | 24,855 | +4.8% |
Source: ABS[48] (Urban Centres and Localities) |
According to the 2021 census of population, there were 24,855 people in the Alice Springs Urban Area.[49]
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 21.2% of the population.
- 66.7% of people were born in Australia, 3.9% in India, 3.3% in New Zealand, 2.7% in the United States, 2.4% in England, and 2.3% in the Philippines.
- 67.6% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Arrernte 1.8%, Malayalam 1.8%, Punjabi 1.7%, Tagalog 1.1% and Warlpiri 1.1%.
- 51.6% of the population was irreligious in 2021. The largest religious groups included Christianity (41.1%), Hinduism (2.5%), Sikhism (1.5%), Buddhism (1.5%), and Islam (1.1%).[49]
Aboriginal population
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 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.[citation needed]
The traditional owners of the Alice Springs area are the
Foreign and itinerant populations
American population
Americans have lived in Alice Springs continuously since 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 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.[52] 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 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.[53]
Other cultures
Several small immigrant communities of other foreign cultures have found 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.
Itinerant population
Alice Springs has a large
Government
The
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 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 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 is currently held by Labor member Marion Scrymgour.
Economy
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.
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.[55] The economy of Alice Springs is somewhat reliant on domestic and international tourism, with 4% of its workforce employed providing accommodation.[55] Several major tour companies have a base in Alice Springs, as well as numerous local operators offering tours to sites in the region, including Uluru and the MacDonnell Ranges.[56]
A dispatch centre for the
Education
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.[58]
Alice Springs 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.
The Alice Springs Campus of
Recreation and culture
Events and festivals
Parrtjima − A Festival in Light
In 2022, the festival was curated for the fifth time by
In 2023, Roberts once again curated Parrtjima. The festival featured the artwork which women artists of Mutitjulu had created for the Uluru Statement from the Heart,[67] led by Rene Kulitja, as a huge immersive light installation. The theme of the festival is "Listen with the heart", and musicians performing at the festival include Richard Frankland and JK-47.[68]
Other events
The town's focal point, the
Arts and entertainment
Galleries and museums
Alice Springs is home to many local and Aboriginal art galleries.
The Museum of Central Australia / Strehlow Research Centre[71] features some of the most important natural history and archival materials tied to the history and culture of the region. The Strehlow Archives, containing the work of Carl Strehlow, also contain materials linked to the Arrernte people of Central Australia.
The
The Women's Museum of Australia (formerly
The town has some excellent small museums. The extensive collection at the Old Timer's Traeger Museum on the North Stuart Highway includes artefacts from the town's early Afghan and German residents, traditional Aboriginal artefacts and objects which show the early fusion of European and Aboriginal cultures, such as a spinifex-handled glass-bladed knife. Included in the collection are soapstone carvings by Arrernte artist Erlikilyika.[74]
Library, archives, and other collections
Alice Springs is home to the Alice Springs Public Library, also known as the Nevil Shute Memorial Library.[75] The library, in addition to its general borrowable collections (including e-resources), is also home to two special, not-for-loan, collections. These are the Alice Springs Collection and the Akaltye Atheme Collection, both of which specifically collect Central Australian content, including Aboriginal language resources (from around 16 local languages) and cultural heritage information.[76][77][78] The Alice Springs Collection also holds a significant digital collection, including PDF copies of the Centralian Advocate from 1947 to 2015, and over 6000 images, primarily from the Central Australian Historical Images Collection.[76][79]
Library & Archives NT also has offices in Alice Springs, located at Minerals House on Hartley Street, which holds archival collections relating to Central Australia, including Tennant Creek.[80] Collections held here include community collections and government archives.[81]
Other collecting institutions, excluding schools, include:
- Arid Zone Research Institute (AZRI) Library[83]
- Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education Library, Desert Peoples Centre Campus Library[84]
- Central Land Council Library[85]
- Charles Darwin University Library[86]
- NT Department of Health Library[87]
- Strehlow Research Centre Library[88]
Outdoors
Leisure and entertainment activities include hiking in the nearby MacDonnell Ranges and driving the four-wheel-drive tracks at Finke Gorge National Park.
Parks and gardens
The Alice Springs Desert Park was created to educate visitors about the many facets of the surrounding desert environment. The arid climate botanic garden, Olive Pink Botanic Garden, is a short distance from the town centre. They were named after anthropologist, naturalist and artist Olive Pink, who lived in the town for almost 30 years and died in 1975. She was well known locally and referred to by all as Miss Pink. The Alice Springs Reptile Centre is located in the town centre.
Sport
This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2022) |
Alice Springs has a high rate of participation in many different sports, including Australian rules, baseball, basketball, boxing, cricket, football, golf, hockey, rugby and tennis.
Australian rules is a particularly popular sport in Alice Springs in terms of both participation and as a
Football is popular among the younger community. A high number of children play the game. It is also played frequently by amateur adults in different divisions. There is also an all-African league in Alice Springs. The most successful Club in the town is the Vikings Football Club, located at Traeger Park.
Both codes of Rugby are played in Alice Springs. Rugby union, managed by the Central Australian Rugby Union Association (CARU) is played in conjunction with the Northern Territory Rugby Union calendar which runs during Darwins dry season. The Central Australian Rugby Union administers a four team competition based in Alice Springs with matches played between October and March at ANZAC Oval. The First Central Australian Club Competition commenced in 1986. There are four senior teams; Dingo Cubs Rugby Union, Kiwi Warriors Rugby Union, Eagles Rugby Union and Devils Rugby Union.
Rugby league has been a part of the local sporting scene since 1963. The Australian Rugby League has held a number of pre-season games in Alice Springs, at ANZAC Oval. The local competition is the Central Australian Rugby League and sanctions both Junior and Senior Rugby League matches. The season usually kicks off around March/April and runs through to Late August. There are four senior teams in Alice Springs: Wests, Memo, United and Vikings. Matches are held during the winter months at ANZAC oval on Saturday afternoons.
Cricket is a popular sport in Alice Springs and is primarily played at Traeger Park. The Imparja Cup Cricket Carnival first was played in 1994 and attracts Indigenous teams from all across Australia. The four main clubs are Federal Demons CC, Rovers CC, RSL Works CC and Wests CC.
Organized baseball has been played in Alice Springs since the mid-1950s. Currently under the national organisation of the
The Alice Springs Golf Course, an 18-hole championship layout golf course designed by the architects Thomson Wolveridge, was opened in 1985 by a challenge match between top professionals Greg Norman and Johnny Miller. The course record of 64 is held jointly by, amateur members, Leigh Shacklady and Kerryn Heaver, beating professional Stuart Appleby's 65. Adam Scott won the Australian Boys Amateur Championship held there in 1997.
The Traeger Park sporting complex also hosts tennis, baseball, boxing, swimming, canoe polo, hockey, basketball, squash, badminton, gymnastics and skateboarding.
A unique sporting event, held annually, is the
Every year, on the Queen's Birthday long weekend, the annual Finke Desert Race is held. It is a gruelling off-road race that runs from Alice Springs to the Finke community, then back again the next day. The total length of the race is roughly 500 kilometres (310 mi). It attracts spectators, who camp along the whole length of the track, and roughly 500 competitors, buggies and bikes, every year, making it the biggest sporting event in the Alice Springs calendar.
Drag racing is held at the Alice Springs Inland Dragway which in June 2013 hosted a round of the national Aeroflow Sportsman Drag Racing Championship.[89] In September 2017 12 people were injured when burning fuel sprayed from a drag-racing car onto a crowd of spectators at the Red CentreNATS competition.[90]
Alice Springs is also home to the
Crime
Property crime and violent crime, including
In popular culture
- The TV series Pine Gap (2018) is set around the Australian and American joint defence intelligence facility at Pine Gap, located near Alice Springs.
- Liz Phair included a song called "Alice Springs" on her 1994 album Whip Smart.
- The group Midnight Oil mention Alice Springs in their songs "Kosciusko" and "Warakurna" ('There is enough in Redfern as there is in Alice'); and they mention Pine Gap in "Power and the Passion".
- The well-known Australian song "My Island Home" was originally written about the experience of an islander living "west of Alice Springs", and this is mentioned in the lyrics of the original Warumpi Band version of the song.
- Nevil Shute's novel A Town Like Alice, and the resulting film and television mini-series, take their name from Alice Springs, although little of the action takes place there, because part of the story is set in Willstown (possibly modelled on Burketown) situated north of Alice Springs, near the Gulf of Carpentaria. The heroine, Jean, wants to change Willstown into a town "like" Alice. The local library in Alice Springs is named after Nevil Shute: the Nevil Shute Memorial Library.
- Lasseters Casino in Alice Springs is the destination for the drag queen protagonists in the Australian road movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. The movie became a hit West End show, before transferring to Broadway.
- The Western genre film Quigley Down Under was filmed on location in Alice Springs.
- Alice Springs is featured in Aboriginals' Dreaming-tracks.
- Alice Springs is featured in Bill Bryson's 2000 travelogue Down Under (also known as "In a Sunburned Country"). Bryson visits and describes the scenes of Alice Springs including the Telegraph Office, the Springs, and his trip to Uluru from Alice Springs.
- Dick Diver released a song called "Alice" on the 2013 album Calendar Days.
- The opening track of Mystery Jets' 2011 album Serotonin is entitled "Alice Springs", inspired by a tour in Australia.
- Ian Moss released a song called "Such a Beautiful Thing" on the 1988 album Matchbook, which contains the lyrics "thinking back to Alice Springs". He has stated that he wrote the song as a tribute to the Northern Territory.
Media
This section needs to be updated.(July 2015) |
Alice Springs is served by both local and national radio and television services. The government-owned
Commercial radio stations are
Alice Springs is home to Australia's largest Indigenous media company. The Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) consists of a radio station (CAAMA Radio), music recording label (CAAMA Music), television and film production company (CAAMA Productions) and CAAMA technical. CAAMA serves to record and promote Indigenous talent across its own radio network (one of the largest transmission footprints in the world), and through sales of CDs and screening of CAAMA movies and documentaries on national broadcasters.
Five broadcast television services operate in Alice Springs – commercial stations
Imparja Television is operated from studios in Alice Springs. It has a program affiliation contract with the Nine Network. The programming schedule on Imparja is the same as Nine Darwin NTD-8 and Channel 9 Brisbane, with variations in Imparja's schedule for football, cricket, rugby league and Australian rules. The children's show Yamba's Playtime, news, regional weather, and other programs produced in Alice Springs by the station. Infomercials are shown in place of Home Shopping and other programs overnight and in some daytime timeslots. NITV is broadcast on the second channel allocated to Imparja by the Federal Government.
Indigenous community TV station ICTV is also broadcast in Alice Springs as retransmitted on digital channel 37.
From June 2020 until August 2023 no local newspaper was published in Alice Springs, following the closure of the Centralian Advocate after 76 years of publication.[96][97] The rival Alice Springs News ceased being printed in 2011, but continues publishing occasional articles online and maintains an article archive.[98] In June 2023 the Today News Group announced it would start publishing a new weekly newspaper serving Alice Springs,[99] and on 31 August 2023 the inaugural edition of The Centralian Today was published.[100]
Infrastructure
Transport
Located on the
The line first opened to Alice Springs in 1929, as the
There are daily express coach services to and from Adelaide and Darwin servicing Alice Springs. The Stuart Highway, running north from Adelaide to Darwin via Alice Springs, is Northern Territory's most important road. The distance from Alice Springs to Adelaide is 1,530 kilometres (950 mi) and to Darwin is 1,498 kilometres (931 mi).[citation needed]
There are flights from
]Alice Springs is a base for the
Sister cities
See also
- Alice Springs Correctional Centre
- Alice Springs Juvenile Holding Centre
- Kings Canyon (Northern Territory)
- National Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame
- Pioneer Theatre
- Stuart Arms Hotel
- Stuart Town Gaol
- The Residency
- Totem Theatre
- List of films and TV series shot in Alice Springs
- Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World—Japanese film using Alice Springs as a location
- Category:Suburbs of Alice Springs
References
- ^ a b "Alice Springs 2021 Census All persons QuickStats". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ "2011 Census Community Profiles: Alice Springs". ABS Census. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
- ^ Local Community & Culture Alice Springs Town Council. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
- ^ Geoscience Australia Centre of Australia, States and Territories updated July 2006 Archived 12 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine "Officially, there is no centre of Australia. This is because there are many complex but equally valid methods that can determine possible centres of a large, irregularly shaped area especially one that is curved by the earth's surface." See the Geoscience Australia page for further details.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Alice Springs (Urban Centre)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
- ^ "Climate statistics for Alice Springs Airport". Bureau of Meteorology. 2011. Archived from the original on 2 June 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ^ "Local Community & Culture". Alice Springs Town Council. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
- ^ Thorley, Peter (2004). "Rock-art and the archaeological record of Indigenous settlement in Central Australia". Australian Aboriginal Studies. 2004 (1): 79–90. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- ^ ISBN 1-86465-045-1. Archivedfrom the original on 1 June 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
- ISBN 9781743054499.
- ^ "Do you know what Aboriginal land you're on today?". NITV. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
- ^ C8 Arrernte at the Australian Indigenous Languages Database, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
- ^ "Alice Springs Aboriginal elder's bid for better understanding". www.abc.net.au. 7 September 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
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External links
- Alice Springs Town Council
- Miller, Bob. (1994), "10 photographs", Alice Springs, Northern Territory, 1994 – via Trove
- Radiocommunications licences in Alice Springs on ACMA website
- History of the stratospheric balloon launch base located in the Alice Spring airport and records of balloons launched there