Alice Springs is often seen as simply a jumping-off point for tourists heading for Uluru and Kata Tjuta but there’s actually rather more to it than that. It was the site of the Telegraph station that connected Australia to the rest of the world via Darwin. The Ghan railway line has run from Adelaide to Alice Springs for many years. Since we made the trip on that train in about 1998 the line has been extended so passengers can travel all the way from Adelaide to Darwin.
We had most of the day to kill before the other members of our group arrived so we availed ourselves of the hotel’s two-hourly shuttle service to visit the town centre a few kilometres away. We’d had our doubts about venturing in because of the reports of public violence in the news over the last few weeks but hotel staff, and our limo driver, said it was overblown, that conditions were not much worse than they had been in the past. They did admit that youth crime had increased – but made the point that was true all over Australia. Which is not to say crime and violence don’t exist here. Alcohol-fueled domestic violence is a huge issue in outback cities and towns, usually perpetrated by aboriginal men against their women and children. When the Government introduced a cashless debit card for welfare recipients it prevented people from using their welfare entitlement to buy liquor or gamble. It went some way to reduce alcohol consumption and therefore violence. When the restrictions were removed, violence returned with a vengeance. It’s a cultural problem, not easily addressed.
Last time we were in Alice Springs the place was bustling. In contrast, we could have fired a canon down the mall and not hit anybody. Talking to the locals, we discovered that was due to covid. Tourism hadn’t picked up again and the sensational reports of violence put people off. There were plenty of aboriginal people sitting under the trees in the gardens or in the shopping centres but very few working, despite signs advertising for staff. There was also evidence of the restrictions imposed to reduce violence. Prominent signs stated that school-age children not accompanied by an adult would not be served. Even so, there were plenty of kids around. The local BWS, the only off-licence premises in town, only opened at 3pm and one feature of the town was the security fencing, in some cases complete with razor wire.
Some of the aboriginal women had brought in their art, displayed on the ground in front of them to attract buyers. I’m sure their work would have been cheaper than what was displayed in the galleries. Peter and I ventured into a few art galleries, all offering paintings at various price levels. Just about all of the works were done in the dot painting style. It’s not true that dot painting was developed by white people. Aborigines had been doing dot paintings for a very long time. What’s new is the use of oils or acrylics on canvas. This article from the Japingkaa Aboriginal Art Gallery gives a good explanation of this art form. We saw very few paintings of wildlife. Most of the art is symbolic, with dots and lines and circles telling a story.
While many of the paintings were cheap works aimed at the tourist market, some were stunning. I obtained permission from a gallery owner to take a photo of a canvas done by a celebrated artist. Sorry, I didn’t write down her name. The photo doesn’t do it justice.
I thought this piece was beautiful. Apparently, it tells a story about an ancestral woman who dug a waterhole, which is a real place.
The Todd River flows through Alice Springs. Well, it does when there’s enough rain. Usually it’s dry, although there’s plenty of water beneath the surface, attested by the magnificent river red gums growing along its course. It’s the site for the annual Henley on Todd Regatta. Unfortunately, the race had to be cancelled in 2024 due to administrative blunders – but it will be back in 2025. Previously the race has only been cancelled because there was water in the river. That was in 1993. Here’s what usually happens (it’s about 3 minutes long)
We had intended to eat at Tali, the Crowne Plaza’s upmarket restaurant that evening but it was booked out so we walked next door to the Double Tree’s Hanuman restaurant where we enjoyed an excellent curry.
Next day we would be joining the rest of the tour group.
This is the second post for this trip. If you missed anything, pick up the whole journey here.
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