Central Land Council

Almost 130 years after European settlement began in the Centre, the common law of Australia finally recognised the native title rights and interests that Arrernte people have exercised as the owners of the Alice Springs area for thousands of years.

This decision was the first in Australia to recognise native title in an urban area.

"The town grew up dancing and still the dancing is there under the town. Subdivisions spread, but we still keep going. We still have the culture, still sing the song. It's the same story we have from the Old people, from the beginning here in the Centre."

Wenten Rubuntja, Senior Arrernte man

Native Title in Alice Springs

On the 23rd of May 2000 the Federal Court handed down a major decision formally recognising that Arrernte native title holders continue to retain their rights as traditional owners and decision makers for most of the reserve, park and vacant crown land in Alice Springs. That is, almost 130 years after European settlement began in the Centre, the common law of Australia finally recognised the native title rights and interests that Arrernte people have exercised as the owners of the Alice Springs area for thousands of years. This decision was the first in Australia to recognise native title in an urban area.

The Federal Court decision bears testament to the determination of Arrernte people to maintain their traditional connection to country against overwhelming odds, and it also demonstrates the resilience and strength of Arrernte culture that provides the foundation for so much of the community life of Alice Springs and Central Australia.

The Arrernte native title holders set up an organisation called Lhere Artepe to represent them.

Historical and cultural background

In Arrernte tradition, the Alice Springs area and all that it contains was created by ancestral figures during the Altyerre, or Dreamtime. These ancestral figures had supernatural and human-like qualities and were typically associated with specific types of animals, plants or other natural phenomena (totems). They created the landscape, the people who belong to the landscape and rules (often call the Law) for human existence.

Arrernte people of the region have, since the Altyerre, been intimately linked to their country and to each other by their Law and their traditional customs. These connections are maintained to the present day, despite the building of the town of Alice Springs and the many profound changes that have taken place.

Recent Arrernte history of Alice Springs is one of hardship, dispossession, and struggle, but it is also one of survival, determination and assertion of rights. Senior native title holders recall stories given to them by their parents and grandparents about their first encounters with the first non-Aboriginal people who came to the area. These encounters were initially with the explorer, John McDouall Stuart, in 1860, and then with the Overland Telegraph Line survey and construction parties in the early 1870's.

The establishment of the Telegraph Station in 1872 began the dispossession and displacement of Arrernte people from areas of cultural and residential significance. This continued with the subsequent building and proclamation of the town of Stuart (later renamed Alice Springs) which brought with it disease and further alienation and dispossession of Arrernte traditional landowners.

The Arrernte who survived and remained were subject to oppressive Government policies and laws that established prohibited areas and reserves, and imposed intrusive regulation on many aspects of Aboriginal life, including the enforced separation of families and the removal of children from their parents.

As the town of Alice Springs developed as the administrative centre for the region, Arrernte people continued to be displaced and swamped by outsiders, both European and Aboriginal, all of whom were drawn to the resources provided by the town. Nonetheless, Arrernte people have continued to assert their rights of ownership to land within and around Alice Springs, and have succeeded in maintaining a remarkable continuity between the past and the present.

Alice Springs Native Title Application and Determination

The Arrernte native title application has been the most recent expression of native title holders' determination to maintain and assert their rights in law. The application was lodged in 1994, and despite the preparedness of the former CLP Government to publicly acknowledge Arrernte people as the traditional owners of Alice Springs, a mutually agreeable settlement could not be negotiated despite the best efforts of the native title holders and the CLC.

In May 2000, six years and several hundred thousand dollars later, the Federal Court handed down a determination that:

recognised coexisting native title rights and interests on most reserve, park and vacant Crown land and waters within Alice Springs (including rights to possess and occupy, use and enjoy the land, and make decisions about the use of the land);

confirmed by implication that native title is protected by the Native Title Act, and also that the "future act" provisions apply to all land use, land management and acquisition activities the Government might wish to undertake on reserve, park and vacant Crown land; and

required the setting up of a native title body corporate which, after its approval by the Court and registration by the Native Title Tribunal, will act as the agent and representative of Alice Springs native title holders.

In making its determination, the Federal Court acknowledged that despite the impact of the establishment and growth of Alice Springs and the extent of Government control, native title holders and their ancestors have consistently continued to live in and around Alice Springs. They have hunted and gathered bush tucker and bush medicines and other resources on their country, and have continued to look after the country and exercise their rights to make decisions about it.

However, despite the extent of its inquiry and the time and expense involved, the Federal Court was not in a position to provide any guidance as to how, in practical terms, these native title rights and interests would be recognised and exercised. The Court has left the practical recognition and exercise of native title rights and interests to be settled by negotiation and agreement between native title holders and the Government, or by further litigation.

Arrernte culture and identity is the essence of the landscape and the community in Alice Springs, and its resilience and strength has ensured, for the most part, that the integrity of the cultural landscape of Alice Springs has not been destroyed. Indeed, in limited ways the community has recognised the importance of Arrernte culture through the use of Arrernte names on streets, buildings and businesses.

More significantly, Governments have recognised the value of protecting Arrernte and other indigenous culture through land rights and heritage protection legislation including the Northern Territory Sacred Sites Act. In Alice Springs hundreds of sacred sites have been registered and recorded, demonstrating the strength and resilience of Arrernte traditional culture and knowledge, and thereby protecting the integrity of the cultural landscape.

Arrernte people continue to use the land in a variety of ways, including for residential and recreational purposes, to collect bush tucker, bush medicine and ochres for ceremony, and to conduct important traditional ceremonies. These traditional land use practices, particularly the ceremonies, are essential to the continued strength and vitality of Arrernte culture, and they should be acknowledged, respected and protected.