Kaltukatjara

Kaltukatjara (Kaḻṯukatjara) is a town in the southwest of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is also called Docker River in English. It is about 670 km southwest of Alice Springs, and 8 km from the border with Western Australia.[2][3] In the 2006 census, Kaltukatjara had a population of 355.[1] All of the residents are either Pitjantjatjara, Ngaatjatjarra or Ngaanyatjarra Aboriginal people.[4]

Kaltukatjara (Docker River)
Northern Territory
Kaltukatjara (Docker River) is located in Northern Territory
Kaltukatjara (Docker River)
Kaltukatjara (Docker River)
Coordinates24°52′27″S 129°05′01″E
Population355 (2006 census)[1]
Established1968
Postcode(s)0872
Location
  • 495 km (308 mi) by air southwest of Alice Springs
  • 670 km (416 mi) by road southwest of Alice Springs
  • 7 km (4 mi) east of Western Australian border
LGA(s)Central Land Council
Territory electorate(s)Namatjira
Federal division(s)Lingiari
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
37.2 °C
99 °F		 6.8 °C
44 °F		 284.2 mm
11.2 in

Overview

Kaltukatjara is located on the western bank of an ephemeral watercourse called Docker River. It is surrounded by the Petermann Ranges.[3] From the town, the Great Central Road leads eastward to Yulara (196 km) and westward to Warburton (288 km).

While the roads in the town are sealed, roads out of the town are gravel and can be closed for up to a week if it rains. There is an air strip about 4 km north of the town. Power is supplied by three large generators. The water supply is pumped from two underground bores which are about 5 km from the town. Facilities in Kaltukatjara includes both a primary and secondary school, a health clinic, community store, and an old people's home.[2] There is also a Lutheran church.[4]

History

Kaltukatjara was originally established as an outstation in 1968.[5] It was established so that the Aboriginal people living in missions such as Areyonga could live closer to their homelands.[3][4] It was also to encourage people to move out of the Ayers Rock–Mt Olga National Park.[6] The settlement was named "Docker River" after the stream that flows through the community. This stream was given its name by the explorer Ernest Giles when he travelled through the area in 1872.[2]

In 1976, the Aboriginal Land Rights Act was passed in the Northern Territory. The Kaltukatjara community was given freehold title over a large block of land in the Territory's southwest corner (see Petermann Aboriginal Land Trust). This allowed families living at Kaltukatjara to spread out over the surrounding country and set up smaller camps on their own ancestral homelands. This movement was part of a larger trend called the "outstation movement". The first two outstations established were Tjuntinanta and Punritjanta. By the end of 1978, a total of 11 outstations had been established. There were 16 by the end of 1981.[5]

Cultural history

The area in which Kaltukatjara is located is known as Kikingkura.[7][note 1] It contains several old sacred sites associated with the Wintalyka Tjukurpa (Mulga Seed Dreaming).[3][8] Part of this Tjukurpa, which is restricted to men, extends east through Uluṟu, where the Wintalyka men became involved in a feud with the Mala people.[9] According to the legend, the Mala had travelled from the north to perform ceremonies at Uluṟu with a sacred artefact. On learning of this artefact, the Wintalyka men invited the Mala men to attend ceremonies at Kikingkura, but the Mala refused. Feeling insulted, the Wintalyka decided to punish the Mala by conjuring an evil spirit to haunt them.[10] At Pulpaiyala, a soakage close to what is now Kaltukatjara,[7] they conjured kurpany, a great and terrifying spirit resembling a dingo.[note 2] Kurpany chased the Mala men from Uluṟu and off across the desert to the south.[9][11]

Outstations

Kaltukatjara is governed by Kaḻṯukatjara Community Council, a local government council with 12 members.[4] The community also serves about 30 outstations, most of which are not permanently occupied. They are spread over a large area around the Petermann Ranges.[12] Only two outstations are funded by the council: Tjauwata, about 5 km to the east, and Kunapula, about 46 km southeast.[2] Most of the outstations on the eastern side of the border are owned by Pitjantjatjara families. Those in Western Australia are mostly owned by Ngaanyatjarra people.[5]

Main surrounding outstations
OutstationEst.Distance from KaltukatjaraCoordinatesNotes
Amputjuta197811 km (6.8 mi) south24°55′S 129°7′ELocated on the banks of the Docker River, in the Learmonth Park catchment area.
Eagle Valley ?7 km (4.3 mi) south24°55′S 129°5′ELocated near the banks of the Docker River, in the Learmonth Park catchment area.
Kulang198420 km (12 mi) north24°42′S 129°0′EAlso known as "Kulail". Located on the banks of the Docker River, where it passes through the Bloods Range and into Western Australia.
Kunapula197846 km (29 mi) south25°9′S 129°14′E
Kurkatingara198365 km (40 mi) south25°16′S 129°10′ELocated on the track south towards Kalka.
Kutjuntari197940 km (25 mi) southwest24°55′S 128°48′EAlso written as "Kutjurntari". Located in Western Australia, near to Gill Pinnacle and where the highway crosses Rebecca Creek. Belongs to Ngaanyatjarra people.
Mantapayika ?200 km (120 mi) southeast25°28′S 130°13′E
Mantarur ?210 km (130 mi) southeast25°35′S 130°13′EAlso written as "Mantarurr" or "Mantaru". Located at a rockhole in the western slopes of Butler Dome and Foster Cliff.
Mulga Green ?60 km (37 mi) southeast25°15′S 129°25′E
Oondaloo ?4 km (2.5 mi) west24°53′S 129°3′EAlso written as "Undooloo". Located just outside town, in the valley between the Hope and Dean Ranges.
Petalu1981100 km (62 mi) southeast25°15′S 129°30′EAlso written as "Pitalu" or "Petjalu".
Pilakatal1981130 km (81 mi) southeast25°21′S 129°48′ELocated in the southern end of the Pottoyu Hills, near the Armstrong Creek.
Pirrulpakalarintja1983200 km (120 mi) southeast25°18′S 130°6′EAlso written as "Pirurpakalarintja" or "Pimpakalarinytja".
Punritjanta197631 km (19 mi) northeast24°40′S 129°17′ELocated on the banks of the Hull River, where it passes through the Bloods Range.
Puta Puta197770 km (43 mi) southeast25°4′S 129°38′EAlso written as "Putaputa". An old soakage located near to where the highway crosses the Chirnside Creek.[7]
Tjauwata ?5 km (3.1 mi) southeast24°54′S 129°7′EAlso written as "Tjawata" or "Tjanwata". Located at the catchment delta of the Docker River, on the south side of the gap in the Dean Range.
Tjunti197738 km (24 mi) east25°1′S 129°24′ELocated on the banks of the Hull River, between the Mannanana and Curdie Ranges.
Tjuntinanta197615 km (9.3 mi) east24°51′S 129°13′ELocated off the north side of the highway, on the banks of the Hull River.
Urilpila1984130 km (81 mi) southeast25°13′S 130°4′ELocated on the banks of the Armstrong Creek, south of the highway.
Walka197940 km (25 mi) south25°1′S 129°11′ELocated on the banks of Giles Creek.
Walu198441 km (25 mi) northeast24°44′S 129°31′ELocated on the track northeast towards the Bloods Range.
Wangkari197746 km (29 mi) south25°7′S 129°1′EAlso written as "Wankari". Located on the banks of Giles Creek.
Warapura197750 km (31 mi) southwest24°54′S 128°44′EAlso written as "Warrapura". Located in Western Australia, southwest of Gill Pinnacle. On Ngaanyatjarra land.
Wataru ?4 km (2.5 mi) west24°51′S 129°3′EAlso written as "Wataroo". Located just outside town, off the north side of the highway.
Main sources for the statistics: [5][13]

Footnotes
  1. Also spelled Kikingura, Kikingurra or Kikinkura.[7]
  2. The name of the spirit has also been known as kurrpannga, kurrpanngu, kulpunya or kuapunn.

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Kaltukatjara (Docker River) (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  2. "Kaltukatjara / Docker River – MacDonnell Shire". macdonnell.nt.gov.au. 2012. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
  3. Ian Howie-Willis (1994). "Docker River". In David Horton (ed.). The Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, society and culture. Vol. 1. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. p. 296. ISBN 978-0-85575-249-1.
  4. "Community Profile: Kaltukatjarra" (PDF). Darwin: General Practice Network, Northern Territory. 1 October 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  5. Scott Cane; Owen Stanley (1985). Land Use and Resources in Desert Homelands. Darwin: Australian National University, North Australia Research Unit. pp. 107–112. ISBN 0867847662.
  6. Chatty, Dawn; Colchester, Marcus (2002). Conservation and mobile indigenous peoples: displacement, forced settlement, and sustainable development. Berghahn Books. p. 365. ISBN 978-1-5718-1841-6.
  7. Robert Layton (1986), Uluru: an Aboriginal history of Ayers Rock, Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, pp. 123–124, ISBN 978-0-85575-161-6
  8. William Edward Harney (1963). To Ayers Rock and Beyond. Robert Hale Limited. pp. 175–180. ISBN 978-1-8628-0003-8.
  9. Noel M. Wallace (1990). "European Domination and Cultural Confusion: forced change among the Pitjantjatjara". In Robert Tonkinson; Michael Howard; Ronald Berndt; Catherine Berndt (eds.). Going it Alone?: Prospects for Aboriginal Autonomy. Aboriginal Studies Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-85575-211-8.
  10. Ken Crispin (2013). The Chamberlain Case: The Legal Saga that Transfixed the Nation. Scribe Publications. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-921942-86-0.
  11. Charles W. Moore; William J. Mitchell and William Turnbull, Jr. (1993). The Poetics of Gardens. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-262-63153-2.
  12. "Central Australian Health Planning Study" (PDF). Plan Health Pty Ltd. July 1997. p. 78–79.
  13. Dick L. Japanangka; Pam Nathan (1983). Settle Down Country / Mere Arltyewele. Alice Springs: Central Australian Aboriginal Congress. pp. 138–140. ISBN 978-0-908150-05-2.

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