Northern Territory Town Profiles

Transcription

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2 Northern Territory Town Profiles Our thanks to Paul Kelly, Gangajang, The Hoodoo Gurus, The Warumpi Band and The Castle for the inspiration for Alongside s chapter headings. Thank you to the rangers, community members, shires, NTPFES employees and their families who shared their experiences and expertise with Alongside in the creation of these profiles. Copyright 2017 Alongside All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of authors. To obtain permission contact: Paige Hobbs paige@alongside.org.au Phone: Level 16 The Charles Darwin Centre, 19 Smith St, Darwin Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that the following book may contain images of deceased persons. hello@alongside.org.au Design by One Idea

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4 Moving to a new location can be stressful and overwhelming for several reasons, not least because you may be moving to a remote community, or a town you have never been to before. Partners and families of Northern Territory Police are often required to move around the Territory to support a loved one in the job and while Alongside cannot make some of those changes go away, we can help reduce some of the unknowns for you. We understand that moving somewhere new can be daunting. It is our job to offset those feelings the best we can by providing you with as much information possible on the community you are about to call home. The Alongside town profiles are here to help. Designed to provide Northern Territory Police, their partners and families an overview of each location in the Northern Territory, the Alongside town profiles detail everything from the nuts-and-bolts essentials to suggestions of great things to do on the weekend, how to assimilate into local cultures and the general vibe of a place. From all of us at Alongside, welcome to Kulgera! Northern Territory Town Profiles

5 FROM LITTLE THINGS, BIG THINGS GROW Town Overview Kulgera is a small bush town surrounded by thousands of kilometres of cattle station in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is 275 kilometres south of Alice Springs and 21 kilometres north of South Australia, making it the southernmost permanent settlement in the Northern Territory. It sits on the junction of the Stuart Highway and the road to Aputula. Heritage Kulgera is the Pitjantjatjara name for an outcrop of granite rocks just east of the settlement. A pastoral lease of 1,370 square kilometres to the north east of the outcrop was granted to the Coulthard family in 1928 and was named Kulgera Station. Kulgera and the nearby Mount Cavanagh stations were established as sheep farms in the late 1920s but converted to cattle in the 1960s due to drought, poor wool prices and labour costs. The realignment of the Stuart Highway in 1947 saw Kulgera become a highway stopover and in 1955 a store was built, the forerunner of the Kulgera Roadhouse today. Indigenous communities The area has been occupied, according to archaeological evidence, by the Luritja Aboriginal people for at least 25,000 years. Kulgera

6 DREAMING Dreamtime stories are stories that reveal the Aboriginal understanding of why the world operates in the way that it does. The Dreamtime, according to the Aboriginals, is the beginning of all the world s knowledge, and from this, laws came into existence that must be observed in order to survive. These stories were told in places such as Red Centre in the Northern Territory in order to explain the order of the universe. A lot of these stories featured the Australian animal, the Emu, which is a flightless bird. One of these classic Aboriginal Dreamtime stories, - Dinewan the Emu and Goomble-Gubbon the Plain Turkey - explains why the Emu cannot fly. Northern Territory Town Profiles

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8 WITH DIFFERENT LIVES, IN DIFFERENT PLACES Climate Summer in Kulgera is between December and February and maximum daily temperatures average between 34 C and 37 C with overnight minimums averaging between 20 C and 22 C. Summer days are sweltering, averaging around 36 C in the hottest months. Winter is between June and August and maximum daily temperatures average between 18 C and 22 C with overnight minimums averaging between 4 C and 7 C. Winter days in Kulgera can be moderately cool and windy, dropping to around 18 C. Be sure you pack your coat! Compared to the rest of Australia, Kulgera experiences far below average rainfall and humidity levels. Northern Territory Town Profiles

9 All The Essentials Kulgera is not a dry community however there are restrictions on takeaway alcohol. Kulgera Roadhouse, the only paid accommodation in the area, is just 20 kilometres north of the South Australia / Northern Territory border on the Stuart Highway and is an intermediate stop for many travellers. The border crossing into Northern Territory is about kilometres south of Kulgera. Facilities, goods and services available at Kulgera include: food, water, fuel, EFTPOS, bottled gas, a police station, postal services, tyre repairs, public phone and internet, tourist information, toilets, showers, a caravan park and camping facilities. The Roadhouse accommodation includes a motel, budget rooms, campground, powered and unpowered sites and use of a swimming pool. Facilities include a restaurant, bar and beer garden, internet cafe, takeaway food, fuel, gas, tyres and souvenirs. Permits for travel onto Indigenous Lands can be obtained via the Central Land Council. Visit: Kulgera

10 There are several annual events including the Kulgera Costume Party in April, the combined Finke Desert Race and Community Sports Weekend in June and the well-known Kulgera Cup Yabby Race in December. Kulgera is served by Greyhound buses. Being the closest settlement to the South Australia/Northern Territory border makes it a well-known locality among travellers. Kulgera railway station is 12 kilometres east of the settlement on the Adelaide Darwin railway. The Ghan, run by Great Southern Rail between Adelaide and Darwin arrives twice per week in each direction. Kulgera has no health clinic or pharmacy, therefore medical facilities are limited to the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Police Station white box. Neighbouring communities Finke and Imanpa, have a clinc which is staffed by a full-time registered nurse. It is worth noting however, that Imanpa is approximately a two and a half hour drive and Finke is a seven-hour drive. Plugging into the outside world can be done via free WiFi at the Kulgera Roadhouse/Pub There are no schools in Kulgera, however School of the Air correspondence school is an option for primary and early secondary education, otherwise boarding school is always an option. Northern Territory Town Profiles

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13 IN CONVOYS OF SILENCE THE CATTLE GRAZE Sport and Recreation There is a variety of sports and recreational opportunities in Kulgera including bushwalking, cycling, camping, fossicking, birdwatching, and the four-wheel drive Goyder stock route. Alice Springs is the closest shopping hub, located approximately three and a half hours, or kilometres away. A little further afield, try Erldunda Roadhouse, located at the junction of the Stuart and Lasseter Highways in the Northern Territory. Erldunda is known for being a rest stop for travellers heading down towards Uluru. The Roadhouse has a full range of facilities including a restaurant and bar, a swimming pool, a tennis court and a service station, the Roadhouse can cater for all your needs. There is even an emu farm! One of the best experiences found in Erldunda is the breath-taking view of the sunset. The roadhouse has a sunset viewing platform allowing you to bask in the beautiful Northern Territory sunset and sunrise. Other dining options include Mount Ebenezer Roadhouse Restaurant which boats a relaxed atmosphere and home-style cooking. Kulgera

14 Duck into the famous Bull Bar for a cold beer or coffee and cake. The Gallery and Studio is also a great place to purchase local art and craft, with a terrific selection of wood carving, both painted and pyrographic, as well as jewellery made from the seeds of local trees and painted in traditional motifs. Base yourself at Stuarts Well Roadhouse and Caravan Park and explore Rainbow Valley, Chambers Pillar, and the fascinating Henbury Meteorite Craters. Stuarts Well Roadhouse offers a small mini-mart, barista coffee, petrol and all other household essentials. Word has it it s the best coffee on the highway! The Roadhouse accommodation includes cabins, budget rooms and a campground with both powered and unpowered sites. The restaurant is licenced and the bar has a juke box, pool table, TV, darts and Nintendo Wii to keep children entertained. Be sure to explore some of the most popular landmarks close by, including: Chambers Pillar northeast of Kulgera. The landmark sandstone column was named by John McDougall Stuart after his expedition sponsor James Chambers. It is known to Aboriginal people as Itirkarawa the Gecko ancestor from their dreaming legends. Northern Territory Town Profiles

15 Central Mount Stuart. Explorer John McDougall, the first European to reach Central Australia, selected the highest point in what he considered was the centre of Australia. He named it Central Mount Sturt (now Central Mount Stuart), north of Alice Springs. The Lambert Centre of Australia. It is said to be the exact centre of Australia. On the 22nd March 1994, some 250 travellers gathered at a point some 110km from Kulgera to erect a monument and declare the spot as the true Centre of Gravity of Australia. The monument is a mini replica of the flagpole above Parliament House in Canberra. Arts This whole area is Pitjantjatjara Country and Aboriginal rock paintings can be found throughout the region. Fun Fact Kulgera features in the Redgum song "Lear Jets Over Kulgera" from their 1981 album Brown Rice and Kerosene. Kulgera

16 I M TOLD I M GOING PLACES Kulgera is located 275 kilometres south of Alice Springs, approximately a three-hour drive on the Stuart Highway, which is a sealed road. Kulgera Airport is adjacent to the settlement but is served only by charter flights. Distances out of Kulgera; Darwin km Alice springs...275km Yulara...320km Coober Pedy...415km Ghan...40km Erldunda...75km Northern Territory Town Profiles

17 PLACES TO START Mount Ebenezer Roadhouse and Aboriginal Art Gallery website offers information on their accommodation options and facilities as well as information on purchasing local art, craft and jewellery. Stuarts Well Roadhouse website provides brief information about their accommodation, facilities, what to see and do and information on their meals and licensed dining. Tourism Central Australia has produced an amazing Welcome to Central Australia guide covering everything from visitor information, events, attractions, shopping, maps, aboriginal sacred sites and permits. The D.I.Y. Tour Guide website provides you with an easy to use guide to Central Australia, with audio tours, outback travel information, tips, road stops and car hire as well as a blog. Chambers Pillar Kulgera

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