Modern history
In 1862, John McDouall Stuart led an expedition into Central Australia and the area where Alice Springs is located. Until the 1930s, however, the town was known as Stuart. The Overland Telegraph Line linking Adelaide to Darwin and Great Britain was completed in 1872. It traced Stuartâs route and opened up the interior for permanent settlement. It wasnât until alluvial gold was discovered at Arltunga, 100 km east of Alice Springs, in 1887 that any significant settlement occurred.
The telegraph station was sited near what was thought to be a permanent waterhole in the normally dry Todd River and was optimistically named Alice Springs after the wife of the former Postmaster General of South Australia, Sir Charles Todd. The Todd River was named after Sir Charles himself. The original mode of transportation in the outback were camel trains, operated by immigrants from Pathan tribes in the North-West frontier of the then British India and Pakistan who were misnamed âAfghanâ Camellers.
Cattle Stations opened up the interior of Australia, with stations the size of small European Countries running mostly Cattle. Camels were and still are farmed in Central Australia - and the exporting of Camels to the Middle East is a fast developing industry. This is because the Australian Camels are a purebred of camel, and often free from the diseases which can be prevalent in the Middle Eastern countries.
During World War 2, Alice Springs was an important location for the Northern defense of Australia, and was a staging point for the allies movements to defeat the Japanese Imperial forces. Alice Springs' importance grew when it was established that coastal shipments to Darwin were no longer safe. Lots of relics from World War Two are still in use today in Alice Springs, primarily the Alice Springs Airport, which was constructed as a result of the War.
After the conclusion of the war, there was still a large American influence in the town, and as a result, a number of covert locations were set up in and around Alice Springs to monitor world events. One of these was a Seismic Vault, which was a bunker of sorts, dug into a mound, and which held instruments such as seismographs and other instruments to detect the ground movements of possible nuclear testing in the at the time USSR. One of these bunkers was recently 'discovered' and is now heritage listed.
The 1960s saw the establishment of the Joint Defence Space Research Facility, or as it's locally known, "Pine Gap". The facility was established in the 1970s and is the only area in Australia with Prohibited airspace - so forget about seeing it up close. You may, however, see it on approach or departure from Alice Springs Airport.
Understand
Alice Springs is located 1500km from the nearest major city, being Darwin to the north or Adelaide to the south. As a result, the people that inhabit the town are often quite ingenious when it comes to making things last!
Also, due to this distance, you may find that some things can cost more than in the cities, such as fruit and veg, and some clothing if you forgot to pack your singlet or jacket!. Over all, however, the town isn't too expensive when it comes to the necessary requirements.
Something else to remember is that hotels in Alice Springs are rated slightly different to those in European or American countries - as hotels are rated on their facilities rather than the actual rooms. The reason for that is due to the distance that Alice Springs is from anywhere and the difficulties involved in getting building materials. Mind you, the star ratings reflect the quality of the establishment.
Indigenous history
The Arrernte pronounced Arrenda Aboriginal people have made their home in the Central Australian desert in and around Alice Springs for more than 50,000 years. The Aboriginal name for Alice Springs is Mparntwe. Three major groups Western, Eastern and Central Arrernte people live in Central Australia, their traditional land including the area of Alice Springs and East/West MacDonnell Ranges. They are also referred to as Aranda, Arrarnta, Arunta, and other similar spellings.
Arrernte country is rich with mountain ranges, waterholes, and gorges; as a result the Arrernte people set aside 'conservation areas' in which various species are protected. According to the Arrernte traditional stories, in the desert surrounding Alice Springs, the landscape was shaped by caterpillars, wild dogs, travelling boys, sisters, euros Kangaroo like creature and other ancestral figures.
There are many sites of traditional importance in and around Alice Springs, such as Anthwerrke Emily Gap, Akeyulerre Billy Goat Hill, Ntaripe Heavitree Gap, Atnelkentyarliweke Anzac Hill, and Alhekulyele Mt. Gillen. Many Arrernte people also live in communities outside of Alice Springs.
Pronunciation of these Arrernte words can be very difficult. The reason for that is that Arrernte, and indeed every indigenous language of Australia were not written. When Europeans arrived with their missions to convert people to Christianity, they felt the need to have the language written, and using their own languages put the written form to the language. As a result of the missionaries being mostly German, they used their own language to develop the Arrernte written language.
Don't worry if you cant pronounce it, everyone in town knows the places by their European names.
Tourism
Tourism is a major industry in Alice Springs, with well developed facilities for travelers. Visit the Alice Springs Visitor Centre (http://www.centralaustral...), located at 60 Gregory Terrace, at the south end of Todd Mall, for Visitor Guides, maps, tour and accommodation bookings, and suggested itineraries. You can even download or view the latest Visitor Guide for Central Australia on their website.
Geography
Almost in the exact centre of the continent, Alice Springs is some 1200 km from the nearest ocean and 1500 km from the nearest major cities, Darwin and Adelaide. Alice Springs is the midpoint of the AdelaideâDarwin Railway.
To the south are the imposing McDonnell Ranges, with all transport links to the south using "Heavitree Gap" - a distinctive narrow gap in the range where the railway, highway and Todd River run through without any climb required. Heavitree Gap was named by William Mills, a surveyor of the Overland Telegraph line. He named it in honour of his former School in Devon UK.
The roads around Alice Springs are generally flat and tend to skirt a lot of the hills, some of which are sacred sites to the local Indigenous people.