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Alice Springs Northern Territory
Alice Springs from Anzac Hill
Population:	27,481 (2008) [1]
• Density:	178/km² (461.0/sq mi)
Established:	1872
Postcode:	0870-0872
Area:	148 km² (57.1 sq mi)
Time zone:	ACST (UTC+9:30)
Mayor:	Damien Ryan
Location:	1499 km (931 mi) from Darwin 1532 km (952 mi) from Adelaide
LGA:	Alice Springs Town Council
State District:	Araluen Braitling Greatorex Stuart
Federal Division:	Lingiari
Mean Max Temp Mean Min Temp Annual Rainfall 28.7 °C 84 °F 13.2 °C 56 °F 279.2 mm 11 in

Alice Springs location in Australia

Alice Springs is the second largest city in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as "the Alice" or simply "Alice", Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory.^[2] The site is known as Mparntwe to its traditional inhabitants, the Arrernte, who have lived in the Central Australian desert in and around what is now Alice Springs for more than 50,000 years. Alice Springs has a population of 27,481 people which makes up 12 percent of the territory's population. Alice averages 576 metres (1,890 ft) above sea level; the town is nearly equidistant from Adelaide and Darwin.

There are six suburbs altogether in Alice Springs which are close to the Alice Springs town centre. Alice Springs is mostly residential.

The town of Alice Springs straddles the usually dry Todd River on the northern side of the MacDonnell Ranges. The region where Alice Springs is located is known as Central Australia, or the Red Centre, and is an arid environment consisting of several different deserts. In Alice Springs, temperatures can vary by up to 28 °C (82 °F) and rainfall can vary quite dramatically from year to year. In summer, the average maximum temperature is 36.6 °C (97.9 °F), whereas in winter the average minimum temperature can be 7.5 °C (45.5 °F).

History

The "Springs" that gave the town its name

The Arrernte Aboriginal people^[3] have made their home in the Central Australian desert in and around the site of the future 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. Their neighbours are the Southern Arrernte, Luritja, Anmatyerr, Alyawarr and Western Arrernte peoples. 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; 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, two sisters, euros, and other ancestral figures.

Alice Springs Desert Park, Sand Drawing Aboriginal

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).

There are roughly 1,800 speakers of Eastern and Central Arrernte, making it the largest spoken language in the Arandic family, and one of the largest speaking populations of any Australian language. It is taught in schools, heard in local media and local government.

Many Arrernte people also live in communities outside of Alice Springs and on outstations.

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.

A settlement came into existence as a result of the construction of a repeater station on the Overland Telegraph Line, 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. It wasn’t until alluvial gold was discovered at Arltunga, 100 kilometres (62 mi) east of the present Alice Springs, in 1887 that any significant settlement occurred. Until the 1930s, however, the town was known as Stuart.

Telegraph station

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 (present-day Pakistan) who were misnamed 'Afghan' Camellers.

In 1929 the Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway was completed from Darwin as far as Birdum, while the Great Northern Railway had been completed in 1891 from Port Augusta as far as Oodnadatta, South Australia, 700 kilometres (430 mi) south of Alice Springs.

Alice Springs Landsat image

The lines wouldn't meet until 2003. On 4 February 2004, the first passenger train arrived in Darwin from Adelaide.

During the 1960s it 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, but 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 now the midpoint of the Adelaide–Darwin Railway.^[4]

World War II

During World War II, Alice Springs was a staging base, known as No 9 Australian Staging Camp, and a depot base for the long four-day trip to Darwin. The historic-listed Totem Theatre still exists from this camp.

The Australian Army also set up the 109th Australian General Hospital at Alice Springs. Seven mile aerodrome was also constructed by the Royal Australian Air Force.

Modern town

The modern town of Alice Springs has both western and Aboriginal influences. The town's focal point, the Todd Mall, hosts a number of Aboriginal art galleries and community events. Alice Springs’ desert lifestyle has inspired several unique and interesting events such as the Camel Cup, the Henley-on-Todd Regatta and the Beanie Festival.

Geography

Built environment

Alice Springs Telegraph Station

Alice Springs has many historic buildings, such as the Overland Telegraph Station, Adelaide House, the Old Courthouse and Residency and the Hartley Street School. 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.

The MacDonnell Ranges run east and west of Alice Springs 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 (139 mi) long Larapinta Trail follows the West MacDonnell Ranges and is considered among the world's great walking experiences.

The Simpson Desert, south-east of Alice Springs is one of Australia's great wilderness areas containing giant red sand dunes and interesting rock formations such as Chambers Pillar and Rainbow Valley.

Climate

The town of Alice Springs straddles the usually dry Todd River on the northern side of the MacDonnell Ranges. The region where Alice Springs is located is known as Central Australia, or the Red Centre, and is an arid environment consisting of several different deserts.

In Alice Springs, temperatures can vary by up to 28°C (50°F) and rainfall can vary quite dramatically from year to year. In summer, the average maximum temperature is in the high 30s, whereas in winter the average minimum temperature can be 7.5 °C (45.5 °F), with an average of 12.4 nights below freezing every annum.

Under the Köppen climate classification, Alice Springs has a desert climate (BWh).^[5] The annual average rainfall is 279.2 millimetres (11.0 in) which would make it a semi-arid climate except that its high evapotranspiration, or its aridity, makes it a desert climate^[6]. Annual precipitation is erratic, varying year to year in Alice Springs. In 2001 741 millimetres (29.2 in) fell and in 2002 only 198 millimetres (7.8 in) fell.^[7] The highest daily rainfall is 204.8 millimetres (8.06 in), recorded on 31 March 1998.

Demographics

In June 2006, approximately 26,486 people lived in Alice Springs with a total of 39,888 in the region. In 2006, the largest ancestry groups in the Alice Springs were, Australian (9,812 or 37%), English (6,975 or 26.6%), Irish (2,220 or 8.3%), Scottish (1,822 or 6.8%), Australian Aboriginal (1,794 or 6.7%), German (1,498 or 5.7%), and Italian (525 or 2%)^[9]

Alice Springs population comprises people from many different ethnic backgrounds. The 2006 Census revealed the following most places of birth for overseas migrants: United Kingdom (3.4%), United States of America (3%), New Zealand (1.9%), and Philippines (0.8%).^[10]

The most common non English languages spoken in Alice Springs are: Arrernte, Warlpiri, Luritja, Pitjantjatjara, and Italian.^[10]

Aboriginal population

According to the 2001 census, Australian Aborigines make up approximately 17% of the population of Alice Springs, and 29% of the Northern Territory.^[11] As Alice Springs is the regional hub of Central Australia it attracts Aboriginal people from all over that region and well beyond. Many Aborigines 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.

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.^[12]

Foreign and itinerant populations

American population

Official Notice — Prohibited Area

The American population in Alice Springs is primarily associated with the proximity to Pine Gap, a joint Australian and U.S. satellite tracking station, located 19 kilometres (12 mi) south-west of Alice Springs. While Pine Gap employs 700 Americans and Australians, there are currently 2,000 people in the Alice Springs district who carry citizenship of the United States.

The American population celebrates most of the major US festivals, including Independence Day and Thanksgiving. A portion of the Australian citizens engage in the festivities as well. Also present in town are some sport teams, including baseball, basketball, and American football competitions.^[13]

Other cultures

Several small immigrant communities of other foreign cultures have found a home in Alice Springs, including Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, German, and Turkish 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 itinerant population. This population is generally composed of foreign and Australian tourists, Australian Aborigines 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 near enough to Alice Springs to bring workers into town are the stations and mines; foreign tourists usually pass through on their way to Uluru, whilst Australian tourists usually come through as a part of an event such as the Master's 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.

Government

Araluen Centre for Arts and Entertainment — Alice Springs Cultural Precinct

The Alice Springs Town Council governs 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 9 members, the Mayor and 8 aldermen. The town is not divided up into wards. The current mayor of Alice Springs is Damien Ryan. Council Meetings are held on the last Monday of each month. The Alice Springs Region is governed by the newly created shire MacDonnell Shire, for which Alice Springs serves as council seat.

Alice Springs and the surrounding region have five elected members to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly. There is one elected member of the Federal Parliament in the Australian House of Representatives for the area outside of Darwin, the Electoral Division of Lingiari.

Economy

This view shows the transport links passing through Heavitree Gap in the MacDonnell Ranges found adjacent to the town

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 and productivity.^{[citation needed]} 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 the MacDonnell Ranges.

Whilst Alice started as a result of the Overland Telegraph line, it is now very much reliant on domestic and international tourism. It is home to the Northern Territory's largest dedicated travel organiser, Territory Discoveries, which employs over 50 full time local staff members.

Flying Doctor dispatch service,

As well as Territory Discoveries, all major tour companies have a base in Alice Springs, including AAT Kings & APT, as well as numerous local operators, including Emu Run Tours, Anganu Waai! tours, Alice Wanderer and Wayoutback Desert Safaris, the only locally based Advanced Ecotourism Accredited operator.

Alice is home to numerous hotels, from the 5 star Lasseters Hotel & Casino, to the backpacker standard Toddies Resort. Also, there are several caravan parks for the driving visitor.

A dispatch centre for the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia operates here.

Education

Education is overseen territory-wide by the Department of Education and Training (DET), whose role is to continually improve education outcomes for all students, with a focus on Indigenous students.^[14]

Preschool, primary and secondary

Alice Springs is served by nineteen public and private schools that cater to local and overseas students. Over 3,843 primary and secondary students are enrolled in schools in Darwin, with 2,187 students attending primary education, and 1,656 students attending secondary education.^[15] There are over 1,932 students enrolled in government schools and 1,055 students enrolled in independent schools.^[15]

Alice Springs has an Alice Springs School of the Air which delivers education to students in remote areas.

Tertiary and vocational

The Alice Springs Campus of Charles Darwin University offers courses in TAFE and higher education. The Centre for Appropriate Technology was established in 1980 and provides a range of services to encourage and help Aboriginal people enhance their quality of life on remote communities.

Recreation and culture

Social characteristics

Alice Springs is often referred to as the lesbian capital of Australia due to the large percentage of lesbians in the population.^[16] The town is a place friendly to all people of all sexual orientations, race, and social standing.

Events and festivals

Camel Cup, Alice Springs

There are many festivals and events, the town's focal point, the Todd Mall, hosts a number of Aboriginal art galleries and community events. Alice Springs’ desert lifestyle has inspired several unique and interesting events such as the Camel Cup, the Henley-on-Todd Regatta, Beanie Festival and the Finke Desert Race. The Finke Desert Race is some 400 kilometres (250 mi) south of Alice Springs in the Simpson Desert.

The American population celebrates most of the major American festivals, including Halloween, Independence Day and Thanksgiving. A portion of the Australian citizens engage in the festivities as well.

Arts and entertainment

Alice Springs is Australia's art capital, home to many local and Aboriginal art galleries. Indigenous Australian art is largely the more dominant showcasing the rich culture and native traditions that abound in Central Australia. Trade in Aboriginal art soared after the painting movement began at Papunya, a Central Australian Aboriginal settlement, and swept other indigenous communities. Central Australia has borne some of the most prominent names in Aboriginal art, including Emily Kngwarreye, Minnie Pwerle, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Albert Namatjira and Wenten Rubuntja. Each year since 11 July 2003, the music festival, Bass in the Dust has been hosted at Alice Springs and the Araluen Centre for Arts and Entertainment presents world-class ballets and orchestras, as well as local performances.

Liz Phair included a song called "Alice Springs" on her 1994 album Whip Smart. The group Midnight Oil mentions Alice Springs in its song Kosciusko and in Warakurna ('There is enough in Redfern as there is in Alice'), and Pine Gap in its song Power and the Passion.

The annual Desert Mob Art Show sees art collectors and art lovers from all over the world travel to Alice Springs to see works from Aboriginal art centres in Central Australia, with works by artists from remote areas of the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. This show is in conjunction with the Artist Association Desart and usually runs in September of each year at the Araluen Art Centre.

Nevil Shute's novel A Town Like Alice, and the resulting film and television miniseries, takes its name from Alice Springs, although little of the action takes place there. The local library is the Nevil Shute Memorial Library.

Recreation

Other leisure and entertainment activities include hiking in the nearby MacDonnell Ranges, driving the four-wheel drive tracks at Finke Gorge National Park and visiting the many art galleries in Todd Mall.

On 2 September 2007, Australians in Alice Springs challenge featured wild cat stew recipe or casserole as solution to the millions of feral cats roaming the outback. But wildlife activists strongly opposed including the cat on the nation's menus.

Yearly, felines, descendants of domestic pets, kill millions of small native animals, devouring almost anything that moves, including small marsupials, lizards, birds and spiders making them the most serious threats to Australia's native fauna.

Aborigines roasted the cats on open fire since they considered the dish delicious. Scientists warned that eating wild cats could expose man to harmful bacteria and toxins.^[17]

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

Traeger Park, Alice Springs

Alice Springs has a high participation in many different sports, including tennis, hockey, Australian rules football, basketball, soccer, cricket and rugby football.

Australian rules football is a particularly popular sport in Alice Springs in terms of both participation and as a spectator sport. The Central Australian Football League has several teams. The sport is particularly popular in Indigenous communities. The local stadium, Traeger Park, has a 10,000 seat capacity and was designed to host (pre-season) AFL and is currently home to the Northern Territory Thunder. In 2004, an AFL pre-season Regional Challenge match between Collingwood Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club attracted a capacity sell-out crowd.

Cricket is also 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.

Soccer is very popular among the younger community. A high number of children play it. Soccer is also played quite a bit by adults in different divisions. There is also an all African league for soccer in Alice Springs.

The Traeger Park sporting complex also hosts tennis, baseball, boxing, swimming, canoe polo, hockey, basketball, squash, badminton, sausage throwing gymnastics and skateboarding.

A unique sporting event, held annually, is the Henley-on-Todd Regatta, also known as the Todd River Race. It is a sand river race with bottomless boats and it remains the only dry river regatta in the world. Another unusual sporting event is the Camel Cup. This is also held annually at the local racetrack, Blatherskite Park. It is a full day event featuring a series of races using camels instead of horses.

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, usually at the ANZAC Oval. The local competition is the Central Australian Rugby Football League, that has both junior and senior leagues.

The annual Camel Cup is held in July at Blatherskite Park, part of the Central Australian Show Society grounds.

Every year, on the Queens Birthday long weekend, the annual Finke Desert Race is held. It is a grueling 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.

Media

Alice Springs Desert Park, Bush Tucker

Alice Springs is served by both local and national radio and television services. The government-owned ABC provides four broadcast radio stations — local radio 783 ABC Alice Springs and the national networks Radio National, ABC Classic FM and Triple J.

Commercial radio stations are 8HA 900 kHz and SUN FM 96.9 MHz and community radio is provided by indigenous broadcaster 8KIN 100.5 MHz. Four broadcast television services operate in Alice Springs — commercial stations Imparja Television (callsign IMP9) and Seven Central (QQQ31), and Government-owned ABC (ABAD7) and SBS (SBS28). Imparja has a commercial agreement with the Nine network.

There are two local newspapers circulated in Alice Springs. The weekly publication, The Alice Springs News appears each Thursday with a circulation of 11,500, and the twice weekly The Centralian Advocate, which is published on Tuesdays ($1.10) and Fridays ($1.40)

Infrastructure

Transport

The Ghan at Alice Springs Station

Departing Runway 12 at Alice Springs

Located on the Adelaide-Darwin railway, Alice Springs is accessible by train. Alice Springs railway station is visited by the The Ghan, operated by Great Southern Railway, on its journey between Adelaide and Darwin. The train arrives twice weekly in each direction.^[18]

The line first opened to Alice Springs in 1929, as the narrow gauge Central Australia Railway. It was not until 1980 that the current standard gauge line was opened, which was extended to Darwin in 2004.

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).

There are daily flights from Alice Springs Airport to Adelaide, Ayers Rock (Uluru), Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

There are also direct flights a few times a week to Brisbane.

There are two airlines which fly to and from Alice Springs: Qantas and Tiger Airways. Virgin Blue made an appearance in Alice Springs for a short time, before they were undercut by Qantas.

Alice Springs is also a base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia.

Sister cities

In January 2005, a Sister City relationship was established between Alice Springs and the Afghan district of Paghman.^[19]

See also

• Alice Springs Juvenile Holding Centre
• Alice Springs Correctional Centre
• Kings Canyon, Northern Territory
• The Residency
• 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.)

References

External links

• Alice Springs Town Council (local government) web site
• Official Tourism web site for Alice Springs and surrounds
• Photographs of Alice Springs in 1994, National Library of Australia
• History of the stratospheric balloon launch base located in the Alice Spring airport and records of balloons launched there
• Gigapixel Panorama of Alice Springs Sunrise from Anzac Hill looking towards The Gap
• Gigapixel Panorama of Alice Springs Sunrise from Anzac Hill Looking East

Coordinates: 23°42′S 133°52′E / 23.7°S 133.87°E / -23.7; 133.87

Northern Territory Topics History · Flag · Geography · Territory Government · Territory Parliament · Local Government · Energy · Sport · Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service Regions Alice Springs Region · Arnhem Land · Barkly Tableland · Darwin Region · Katherine Region Cities Darwin · Alice Springs · Palmerston

From Wikitravel

Alice Springs from Anzac Hill

Alice Springs is the heart of Central Australia and is comprised of cavernous gorges, boundless desert landscapes, remote Aboriginal communities and a charming pioneering history. It embodies the hardy outback of the Northern Territory's Red Centre, and is a travel hub for sights and hikes in the region, such as Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock), Kata Tjuta (formerly known as the Olgas) and Kings Canyon. Since the start of the tourist boom in the early eighties, the population has substantially grown to about 24,000. Although Surface water is a scarce commodity in the region, theres plenty underground! It is a great town and well worth a visit!

Understand

Alice today has all the modern facilities that you would expect in a major centre, and had many facilities for visitors.

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, two sisters, euros, 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.

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 Stuart’s route and opened up the interior for permanent settlement. It wasn’t 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 ‘Afghan’ Camellers.

During the 1960s it became and remains an important defence location with the development of the U.S/Australian Pine Gap joint defence satellite monitoring base, home to about 700 workers from both countries. More recently tourism has developed as a major industry.

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 Adelaide–Darwin 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 alot of the hills, some of which are sacred sites to the local Aboriginal people.

Get in

By plane

There is an airport in Alice Springs. Currently Qantas has connecting flights to Darwin, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Cairns and Perth. There is a flying shuttle to Uluru but Uluru has an airport (Yulara) too, so if you're just flying in to see the rock, you don't have to stop off at Alice. (Although you should!). Tiger Airways [1] is by far the cheapest way to get to Alice Springs. They fly from Melbourne and Adelaide at least three times a week at the moment, and often have fares as low as $80, although sometimes as cheap as $35, so if you're looking for a cheap flight there, check the Tiger site every day until you find one!

By train

The Ghan is as famous as the Orient Express, a long train ride over a large land area, and got even longer in 2004 with an extension right through to Darwin. Don't expect complete luxury on the Ghan, however. Expect to pay a premium over the airfare.

By car

Alice Springs is 17 hours drive from Darwin, and 18 hours drive from Adelaide. The Stuart Highway from Adelaide is well-maintained and goes right through Coober Pedy, an underground town famous also for being the opal capital of the world (and therefore well worth stopping off for a visit on the way). It continues through Tennant Creek and Katherine all the way up to Darwin.

If you are driving on the main routes from other Australian Capital cities, you will likely not be driving on remote roads, and provided you do not take side trips, there will likely be passing traffic. It is worthwhile reading the safety tips for Driving in Australia and always carrying water and ensuring you know the location and opening hours of your fuel and food stops.

Read the rental car conditions carefully. Rental cars in Alice Springs do not offer unlimited free kilometres. Rental cars hired outside of the Northern Territory may not be able to be driven into it. Driving after dark outside of the city limits may be prohibited.

By bus

Greyhound [2]] ply the route to Alice Springs from the north and the south.

See

Alice Springs has quite a few interesting things to see; one of them happens every night. If you don't get out of town and watch a sunset, even just sitting off the main highway, you've missed something special. Other than that:

Henley On Todd

Camel Cup

• Alice Show [3] - the annual festival with shopping, fair ground rides, animal displays, fireworks, art and crafts, races and performances.
• Henley On Todd [4] - river sand race poking fun at the British tradition of boat racing
• Camel Cup [5] - Camel race day
• Beanie Festival [6] - knitting festival including mostly beanie hats knit from every conceivable material in every conceivable pattern, all for sale. Also afternoon teas and art displays and music.
• Finke Desert Race [7] - motorcycles or 4wd buggies racing over the Finke river track.
• Alice Masters Games [8] - sports cup for people of all ages, held every 2nd year. To be held next in October 2010.

Thorny Devil, Alice Springs Desert Park Reptile Exhibit

Sunset outside town, 2007

• Stargazing - Alice Springs is in the middle of the largest land area without lights on earth, so the view of the Milky Way is unmatched unless you're on a dark boat in the middle of the ocean. Anyone from the city stopping on the road just out of town at night and tipping their head back is likely to fall over from the sheer shock of all those stars. as a result astronomy is popular in town.
• Alice Springs Desert Park located outside of town is truly memorable in its examples of local flora and fauna. They give a number of interesting lectures, such as aboriginal use of local plants for food. The nocturnal exhibit is excellent, a very low-light building with offset day and night schedule to induce the nocturnal critters to come out during the day so people can see them. The best time to go to the park is early morning, before it gets hot; you can spend a full day walking the trails, going to the birds of prey exhibition where they fly the local aerial predators overhead, and getting the bushfoods and medicine tour.
• Reptile Centre, [9]. Examples of the local reptiles and one NT croc specially imported, on display by the guy the locals call when something with fangs is in the kitchen.
• Olive Pink Botanical Garden - A desert botanical garden. Doesn't bloom much, but if you happen to get here after a rain, it's a really nice spot. Bring your sunscreen. There's a biography at Dymock's on the life of the lady it's named after, Olive Pink.

• Adelaide House - the first stone building in Alice, located on the Todd Mall and well worth a visit if only for the absolutely amazing early air-conditioning system. Really cool display of old communications technology, like the bike-powered communications radio. Run by a couple old women who serve tea - an excellent place to have a sit-down. Nice and quiet.
• Old Timer's Museum - located at the Old Timer's Place, off the main road into town from the airport before you get to the Gap. Really cool history of the outback, with a big collection of amazing stuff from the first white folks to hop a camel for the middle of nowhere. Definitely worth a visit.
• Pioneer Women's Hall of Fame - devoted to the women who picked up stakes, hauled a whole house in a wagon out to the hottest, most dangerous place they could find, plunked themselves down where you couldn't see another house for a thousand miles in any direction and said, "This looks like a nice spot to live." Amazing stories.
• National Pioneer Womens Hall of Fame, 2 Stuart Terrace, Old Alice Springs Gaol (Next to the Royal Flying Doctor Service), ☎ +61 (8) 8952 9006, [10]. Hundreds of women are recognized for their special contributions to Australia’s heritage. Exhibitions include the 'Ordinary Women, Extraordinary Lives - Women First in Their Field', the Signature Quilt - 'Women at the Heart' and 'Women's Work of yesteryear'. The Old Gaol buildings are open for visitors to look through and gaol stories are told in a complementary booklet. There is plenty to see and do for all ages with a gift shop, toilets and access for people with disabilities available. entry fees apply.  edit

• Alice Springs Telegraph Station -a little history, a little food, a little tea, a big old place to walk around. Good place for a picnic.
• Old Courthouse and Residency
• Hartley Street School

• Royal Flying Doctor Service, [11] with School of the Air - a museum and cafe. Famous!
• Aviation Museum - a number of older planes, showing the history of aviation in a town which relies on it to survive.

Hot Air Ballooning in the Red Centre

Camel Riding in the Red Centre

• Outback Ballooning - Take a balloon ride and see the sunrise, have a champagne breakfast in the middle of the desert. Alice Springs has ideal weather for ballooning and the tour operators run almost every day of the year.

• Quads & Motorcycles - Some tour groups do quading through the spinifex, and Harley rides through remote Central Australia - lovely day trips.

• Helicopter Flights - Helicopter flights around all sorts of local attractions, from seeing town from the air to along the mountains to the gaps and gorges.

• Cycle hire - You can hire a bycicle and tour around town the healthy way. Just remember your water!

• Golf Course - For the incurable golfer, the golf course is rated one of the best desert golf courses . There are a whole lot of golfers here so I guess it must be good. There's also a clubhouse with drinks & snacks.

• Pioneer Park Races [12] - the local racetrack with pretty much guaranteed lovely weather.

• Rugby League - Sport is part of life in Australia - what better way to spend a Saturday afternoon in Winter then at the Rugby League? Matches are held at Anzac Oval from March and finalise in the Grand Final usually held on the first Saturday of September. League was founded in Alice Springs in 1963, and to this day, two of the foundation teams, Wests and United still play. It is a good strong competition and makes for a wonderful day out!

• Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve, Ernest Giles Road (145km south west of Alice Springs), ☎ +61 (8) 8951 8250, [13]. Explore the 12 craters, which were formed when a meteor hit the earth’s surface 4,700 years ago. The Henbury Meteor, weighing several tonnes and accelerating to over 40,000km/h, disintegrated before impact, and the fragments formed the 12 craters. free entry.  edit

• Museum of Central Australia, Araluen Cultural Precinct (Corner of Larapinta Drive and Memorial Avenue), ☎ +61 (8) 8951 1120, [14]. The exhibitions explore the unique features of the region through time and space, following the evolution of the landscape and the creatures that inhabited it. Featured is a replica of a local palaeontologic dig, an ancient waterhole with some surprising mega fauna including a giant freshwater crocodile and the largest bird that ever lived, Dromornis stirtoni, dated at eight million years old. Other exhibits include present day Central Australian mammals, reptiles, insects and meteorite fragments. Entry fees apply.  edit

• Totem Theatre [15] - Not open to the public unless a play is on - the little local theatre, herritage listed building put up during World War 2 to entertain the troops after they retreated from Darwin because of the Japanese bombing. Small local theatre groups put on productions on a semi-regular basis; ask at Dymock's if there are any tickets. Theatre on a showstring budget!

• Araluen Arts & Cultural Centre [16] - An amazing local art museum, with works by Namatjira and other local artists. Regular traveling art shows, plays, and film festivals. The front desk will know what events are ongoing - there's always something ongoing.

• Horseback riding - Some local groups offer horseback riding tour of the local bush, to scenic lookout points, for all skill levels.

• Camels Australia, Stuart Wells via Alice Springs, ☎ +61 (8) 8956 0925, [17]. Say hello to one of their friendly camels, take a short ride around the enclosure or browse through the interesting assortment of souvenirs and local Aboriginal art on display in their shop. Sit back, relax and enjoy the view while enjoying a cold drink and something to eat. free entry.  edit

• North of Alice - The area stretching north of Alice Springs is known for its serene beauty and as a setting for gem fossicking, bush walking, bush camping and four-wheel-driving. A few hours north are gem fields with Garnet, Zircon, Tourmaline, Apatite and various kinds of Quartz. Contact the Gem Tree for details. Garnet is the easiest to go for on your first try, as the garnet chips are easy to find on the surface and require no digging or special equipment. You do need a permit though [18].

Work

Because of the large tourism industry and the small population Alice Springs is an easy place for anyone to find work. Many companies will employ travellers, and wages are compariable to the other parts of Australia.

The big thing to be aware of though is that long term accommodation is very scarce, and backpackers/travellers are usually at the bottom of the list for long term accommodation.

During the off tourist season (October - March/April) the hostels will do a good deal on long stay accommodation, but during the busy time (April-October) they will charge their normal rates.

• Alice Springs Markets, Todd Mall, 08 8952 9299. Fresh food, jewellery, books, clothing, art, hand-made crafts and other neat merchandise. A market that takes place along the Todd Mall in the center of town, with local vendors setting up stalls along the mall.
• Saturday Morning Lawn Sailing - Friday's Centralian Advocate will have a listing of lawn sales in the back; getting a group together with a car and a map and driving around town at 6:30AM on a Saturday morning equipped with coffee, cash and a big trunk to put your stuff in while watching the sun rise is a real pleasure.

Eat

In spite of its small size, Alice has a good and varied restaurant scene.

Fast food

The usual. Subway, McDonald's, KFC, Red Rooster, Hungry Jack's, Noodle Box and loads of little cafeteria style places serving everything from crepes to Chinese to sandwiches in the malls - the Yeperenye and Alice Plaza.

• For good pies, try Wicked Kneads.

• The Jolly Swagman is located down a little alley on the Todd Mall, and serves nice pasties, muffins, teas and coffees
• The Tea Shrine is on Gap Road, near the 24 Shop, and serves a large variety of teas both hot and cold, and some light asian-style vegetarian meals. The Korean iced tea is really, really nice.
• Town and Country is on the Todd Mall, and serves light meals. They used to be "The Outback" something or other, and before that for the longest time they were "Alice's Restaurant".

Sit-down meals

On the Todd Mall:

• Oscar's is located near the movie theater, and has an ever-changing fusion cuisine Mediterranean menu and a nice wine list. Try the Roo! Many locals describe it as the best food in town.
• Red Sea is on the corner near the center of town, across from the Yeperenye parking lot. Nice basic black and white atmosphere, good wines, fine dining.
• Sportie's has a long history in Alice; it used to be the little casual place owned by and attached to the only 5-star place in town, Puccini's. But Puccini's closed and transfered some of their menu to Sportie's, so as rough and tumble as they look, their food is amazing.
• The Thai Room is down an alley off the Todd Mall. It has homestyle Thai food, from paw paw salad to beef salad to the best Tom Yum ever and pad Thai. Excellent food, not too pricey, and if you ask for it spicy they will accommodate you.
• Bar Doppio's is down the same alley as the Thai Room, and has a good selection of vegetarian, gluten-free, and other specialty foods. Very good food, and the tree-hugger atmosphere gives it charm. Look for the alley with the plants.
• The Lane has tapas and wood-oven pizza, and some lovely pizza it is. Also some very good wine. They do sushi for lunch, and their Risoto is the best in town.
• Red Ochre Grill is attached to one of the hotels on the Todd Mall, and serves an ever-changing menu of various local things. Spotty record, food quality depends on chef that day.

Other locations around town:

• Bojangles - better known as Bo's - has really nice food, somewhere behind all the dancing drunk people. Good meals ranging from Mango Roo salad to steak and salmon.
• Overlander's Steakhouse is the classic outback steak restaurant. Excellent beef, but they do nice chicken and salmon too; home of the "Drover's Blowout" where you try a little camel, beef, emu, croc, etc. And they have the most amazing wine cellar, but you have to be a member - so see if you can make friends with someone who has a key. Anyone here knows where this place is. They do the "Tourist Humiliation Routine" for tours, where you sing old-fashioned Outback songs accompanied by quasi-obscene gestures. Quite funny for both the tour and the locals. If you don't want to participate, sit up front by the door.
• Keller's has Swiss and Indian cuisine, an original combination, but works well. Tiny little place located under the hotel at the roundabout on the corner of the Yeperene mall and the parking lot.
• Hanuman, in the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Indian and Thai and it's yummy but expensive. Nice place, good wine. Service can be spotty. Recently lost head chef.
• La Casalinga, across from Mbantua Gallery,near The Diplomat & Kellers Has truly excellent pizza; they have the old-fashioned pizza bar atmosphere, with dark wood panneling and cold beer. Good steak and lazagna, too.
• Casa Nostra, across the river via the causeway from the Todd Tavern. Excellent fresh pizza and some lovely pasta. More of a romantic atmosphere, old-style Italian. BYO.
• Bluegrass Serves a wild variety of food, ever-changing menus. The building is heritage listed. Service is generally pretty slow on a weekend but the food quality ranges from decent to absolutely outstanding.
• Ainsley's, in the Novatel hotel on the side of town that's on the edge of the MacDonnel ranges. It has an excellent view and good quality food, and decent wine.

Drink

Alice has just gone "dry" - so there is no drinking in public, all drinking must be done on private premises or in a bar or restaurant.

• Todd Mall is the main street (partly pedestrian only). You will find a couple of options here to get a drink. Starting at the end near the movie theatre, The Todd Tavern has a bar meant for working blokes and a restaurant with good pub grub. They do quiz night there. Town & Country and Sporties both have bars and serious addictions to sport of all sort.

Apart of the Todd,

• Almost all the hotels have bars.
• Almost all the bars that aren't in hotels have live music some time or another - check the Advocate (local newspaper) for the "Gig Guide" to see what's playing where.
• Non-Bar drinking: There are a number of liquor stores in town - Northside Foodland, Cole's, Woolie's and a few others. These have a decent selection of beer, wine and hard stuff. If you're looking for port or sweet wines like that you're out of luck until after 6PM due to alcohol restrictions.
• The Casino - Lassiter's - has a couple bars, including one devoted to *not* gambling called the Juicy Rump. Often live music, Fish n Chips on Wednesdays. Nice place - real wood, dance floor, good beer.
• Bojangles, [19]. Probably the most popular joint for a beer. Every night people coming or leaving for a tour have some fun here. At the weekend it can get a little bit rowdy. There's a live webcast of the place online, and the local radio station (96.9 Sun fm) broadcasts live from Bo's most nights. (The DJ, Daniel, is a hottie. Good marketing!)
• Off the mall a bit you have the Firkin & Hound, what the locals think an English pub ought to be - good pub grub, good atmosphere.
• Sean's, across from K-Mart. A tiny Irish pub. They serve some pub grub -mostly Irish stew and chips - and often have good live music. They're attached to Malathi's, the indian curry place, notorious in town for the hottest beef vindaloo you ever did try.
• The Gillen Club - Although its not in the CBD, its a very nice club to visit. Good food! Especially fun on a Saturday night during the Football season when the teams based at the club have had a good win!

• Pioneer YHA, (08) 8952 8855, [20] is convenient located near Todd St in a former cinema. Clean, has a pool but no aircon in the rooms.
• Alice Lodge Backpackers, 4 Mueller St, (08) 8953 1975; (Fax: (08) 8953 0804), [21].
• Toddy's Accommodation Resort, 41 Gap Rd, (08) 8952 1322, [22].
• Melanka Lodge Motel, 94 Todd Street, (08) 8952 2233, [23]. Has a reputation due to attached bar.
• Elkes Outbackpackers, 39 Gap Rd, (08) 8952 8422 or 1-800-633-354 (fax (08) 8952 8143), [24].
• Annie's Place, [25].
• The Heavitree Gap Outback Lodge,Palm Circuit, Alice Springs, NT 0870, +61 (8) 8950 4444 [26], online booking at the website.

• Alice Springs Resort, (08) 8951 4545 (Fax: (08) 8953 0995), [27].
• Crowne Plaza, (08) 8950 8000 (Fax: (08) 8952 3822), [28].
• Alice Motor Inn, 25-27 Undoolya Rd, (08) 8952 2322 (Fax: (08) 8953 2309), [29].
• Alice on Todd Apartments Corner of South Terrace and Strehlow Street, Alice Springs, NT 0871 Australia +61 (0)8 8953 8033 Fax: +61 (0)8 8952 9902 [30]
• The All Seasons Oasis, 10 Gap Rd, (08) 8952 1444 (Fax: (08) 8952 3776).
• Red Centre Resort, (08) 8956 0984 (Fax: (08) 8952 8300)
• Comfort Inn Outback Alice Springs, 46 Stephens Rd, (08) 8952 6100 (Fax: (08) 8952 1988). Name change note for reference purposes: The Comfort used to be called the Novotel which used to be the Outback, which used to be the Vista; it still gets called the Vista by some. It has a nice quiet location and a really good view of the ranges.
• Diplomat Alice Springs, Hartley Street, (08) 8952 8977 (08) 8953 0225 - Fax
• Desert Palms Resort, 74 Barrett Drive, (08) 8952 5977 (08) 8953 4176 - Fax, [31].
• Alice's Secret Traveller Inn, 6 Khalick Street, (08) 8952 8686 (Fax: (08) 8953 7660), [32].
• Desert Rose Inn, 15 Railway Trace, (08) 8952 1411 (Fax:(08) 8952 3232), [33].
• Best Western Elkira Court Motel, 65 Bath Street, (08) 8952 1222 (Fax: (08) 8953 1370), [34].
• Alice on Todd, Corner of South Terrace and Strehlow Street , (08) 8953 8033 (Fax: (08) 8952 9902), [35].
• Aurora Alice Springs Hotel 11 Leichhardt Terrace, +61 (8) 8950 6666 [36], see rates and online booking at the website.

• Ossie's Homestead, 18 Warburton Street, (08) 8952 2308 (Fax: (08) 8952 2211), [37].
• Nthaba Cottage B & B, 83 Cromwell Drive, (08) 8952 9003 (Fax: (08) 8953 3295), [38].
• The Gallery Bed & Breakfast, 16 Range Cres, (08) 8953 3514 (Fax: (08) 8953 3113).

Stay Safe

From time to time, Alice Springs gets a bit of bad press about crime and the like. It should be remembered that Alice Springs is generally a relatively safe place and crimes are rarely committed against tourists.

Like everywhere, there is opportunistic crime, so make sure you lock your car at night, dont leave items like Ipods and Mobile phones on show, and also make sure you lock your hotel room when you're not in it. Dont give the opportunity!

You may find ,from time to time, to be asked for money or other items whilst in Alice Springs. According to Lhere Artepe Aboriginal Corporation, the organision which represents the Native Title Holders of Alice Springs, this is not acceptable behaviour. Dont give money, cigarettes or food to those who ask. It is not the right thing.

Rough Map of Local Points of Interest

There are four main roads leaving Alice Springs: the Stuart Highway, which runs north to Darwin and south to Port Augusta; Larapinta Drive which runs West and splits off to the Namatjira road; and the Ross Highway, which runs East. The Stuart Highway (highway 87) is sealed all the way; this means it's got tarmac and is passable using a normal car. Larapinta Drive and Ross Highway are sealed for a couple hundred kilometers in each direction, but after that they convert to dirt roads which you will need a 4x4 vehicle to access.

There is a web of dirt trails - sometimes called unsealed roads - which surrounds Alice Springs, and some of the nicest places within a few hours drive will require a four-wheel drive vehicle (4x4) to get to. There are two ways to go south. The first is the Stuart Highway, which is sealed and frequently traveled. The second is a dirt track which leads off the Stuart Highway; it's called the Old South Road. A dirt track connects the Old South Road to the modern Stuart Highway, from a point north of the aboriginal community of Titjikala.

On the side of the old South Road, you will see a narrow track that follows the road - this is the track of the Finke Desert Race. Although it is a road, best to stick on the Old South Road. If you want some fun, travel to where the Old Ghan track joins to the Old South Road and drive there - but do so at your own risk.

• Chambers Pillar Historical Reserve - a spectacular solitary column towering 40 metres above the Simpson Desert plain

• East MacDonnell Ranges - following Ross Highway, you'll find plenty of gaps, rocks and gorges

• Ewaninga Conservation Reserve - gain insight into an ancient culture as you explore the small, six hectare Ewaninga Rock Carvings

• Jim's Place - a camel farm

• Rainbow Valley - a scenic natural reserve consisting of various formations of sandstones and rocks

• Titjikala - a small aboriginal community

• West MacDonnell National Park - Simpsons Gap, Glen Helen Gorge and other stunning gorges and rock formations

• Coober Pedy - the home of opal mining in Australia with underground hotels

• Mount Conner - a plateau frequently mistaken for Ayers Rock by travelers

• Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park - home to Australia's most recognisable natural icon

• Watarrka National Park - home to Kings Canyon, a mighty chasm reaching a depth of 270 metres with some great options for the less energetic to explore

• Tennant Creek - a small town, makes a great base for seeing the Devil's Marbles and the Pebbles.