Pukatja (formerly Ernabella) is an
Aboriginal
Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to:
*Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology
* Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area
*One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...
community in the
Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being
Amata,
Pipalyatjara
Pipalyatjara (formerly Mount Davies) is an Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on " ...
,
Fregon
Kaltjiti, formerly and also still known as Fregon, is an Aboriginal community in Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY lands) in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being Amata, Ernabella ...
/
Kaltjiti
Kaltjiti, formerly and also still known as Fregon, is an Aboriginal community in Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY lands) in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being Amata, Ernabella/ ...
,
Indulkana
Indulkana (also known as Iwantja, from Iwantja Creek) is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being Ernabella/Puka ...
and
Mimili
Mimili is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being Amata, Pukatja, Kaltjiti, Indulkana and Pipalyatjara). At ...
).
Established as a Presbyterian mission in 1937 with enlightened practices which maintained the
Pitjantjatjara language
Pitjantjatjara (; or ) is a dialect of the Western Desert language traditionally spoken by the Pitjantjatjara people of Central Australia. It is mutually intelligible with other varieties of the Western Desert language, and is particularly c ...
at the school and church services, Ernabella was handed over to the community in 1974 and was later named Pukatja. Ernabella Arts is Australia's oldest continuously running Indigenous art centre.
Geography
Pukatja is in the eastern
Musgrave Ranges
Musgrave Ranges is a mountain range in Central Australia, straddling the boundary of South Australia (Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara) and the Northern Territory (MacDonnell Shire), extending into Western Australia. It is between the Great V ...
, west of the
Stuart Highway, about south of the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
border, about south-west of
Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
and north of
Umuwa, the major administrative centre within the APY Lands. It is about by road from
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
.
The community sits at an elevation of about .
The area is prone to
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
s, one of few areas of Australia to have experienced multiple large earthquakes in recorded history. In 2012 and 2013, the town experienced a 5.7 magnitude earthquake, classified as "moderate" on the
Richter scale
The Richter scale —also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale—is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 ...
and the country's two largest earthquakes in those years.
Population
In the
2016 Australian census
The 2016 Australian census was the 17th national population census held in Australia. The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of the Commonwealth of Australia was counted as – an incre ...
, the population was 412,
down from 503 in 2011.
[2011 Census QuickStats](_blank)
/ref>
In the , Pukatja had 226 residents, and was second only to sister community Mimili
Mimili is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being Amata, Pukatja, Kaltjiti, Indulkana and Pipalyatjara). At ...
in having the lowest ''per capita'' income in South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
($174). Like a number of APY Lands
Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, also known as APY, APY Lands or ''the Lands'', is a large, sparsely-populated local government area (LGA) for Aboriginal people, located in the remote north west of South Australia. Some of the aṉangu ...
communities, Pukatja boasted one of the highest proportions of Australian-born residents (97.5%).
History
Mission
Ernabella was a pastoral lease
A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands.
Australia
Pastoral lease ...
before it was established as a Presbyterian mission station for Aboriginal people in 1937, driven by medical doctor
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and Aboriginal rights campaigner Charles Duguid
use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) -->
, death_place = Kent Town, Adelaide
, resting_place =
, resting_place_coordinates =
, burial_place = ...
(then president of the Aborigines Protection League) and supported by the South Australian government.
Ernestine Hill
Ernestine Hill (21 January 1899 — 21 August 1972) was an Australian journalist, travel writer and novelist.
Life
Born Mary Ernestine Hemmings in Rockhampton, Queensland, she attended All Hallows' School in Brisbane, and then Stott & Hoa ...
, after travelling in the area in the 1930s, wrote that colonisation only began there when the collection of dingo
The dingo (''Canis familiaris'', ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (Basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage of dog found in Australia (continent), Australia. Its taxonomic classification is de ...
scalps (to help protect the sheep) by "doggers" started. Relationships of various types developed between the doggers and the local people, with the Aboriginal people's superior skills used to hunt collect the scalps, for which they were paid in rations, clothing and other goods. Some doggers cohabited with the local women, and sometimes groups of Anangu travelled with the doggers or set themselves up as doggers in their own right. There was a number of pastoral leases on the edge of the Western Desert, established from the 1880s, but development was marginal in the Musgrave Ranges area. Farming in these arid lands was labour-intensive, and an interdependence between the pastoralists and Aboriginal people developed.
On a trip to Ernabella in 1935, Duguid noticed discrimination and heard reports of abuse of Aboriginal men's labour and the sexual abuse of women. He advocated the establishment of a mission "to act as a buffer between the Aborigines and the encroaching white settlers". In 1936 he persuaded the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
to purchase the Ernabella lease, an area of ,[ despite some opposition from other members (including John Flynn). Duguid laid down the following principles for the mission: "There was to be no compulsion nor imposition of our way of life on the Aborigines, nor deliberate interference with tribal custom ... only people trained in some particular skill should be on the mission staff, and ... they must learn the tribal language.][
The mission respected the culture and traditions of the ]Pitjantjatjara
The Pitjantjatjara (; or ) are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all are vari ...
and Yankunytjatjara people, the two groups of the large Western Desert language bloc who now call themselves Anangu, and offered medical help and education, with no conditions attached. Author and researcher Carol Pybus wrote that the Ernabella Mission did not interfere with tribal life, and many of the Aboriginal people "regard the mission times and their relationship with missionaries in a positive light", and enjoyed a spiritual life which blended Christianity with their beliefs and practices. Children were never separated from their families.[
The desert people had always been highly mobile, and shared Dreamtime stories and other aspects of culture; during the drought of 1914–1915, people had come from the ]Mann Ranges
The Mann Ranges are a mountain range in central Australia. It is located in the far northwest of South Australia, with a small section running over the border into the Northern Territory. It is part of the geological region known as the Musgrave ...
area and stayed in the area. There was no need for the missionaries to entice people to the Mission; people moved there on their own accord. Some saw it as a place of care and protection from exploitation. The Mission encouraged independence and supported the sometime-residents' nomadic way of life. Duguid's idea of a "buffer zone", however, was a two-edged sword. In hindsight, although it created a safe space, it also entrenched the boundary and perhaps widened the gap between people at the Mission and wider society.[
The first school building was completed in 1940, and was unique in South Australia in that English was not taught as the first language; it was only introduced as a second language in 1944. "Writing, reading and spelling, arithmetic, hygiene, drawing, singing, gardening, woodwork and sewing, geography and Nature Study" were all taught in ]Pitjantjatjara
The Pitjantjatjara (; or ) are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all are vari ...
. Enrolment rose from 25 in 1940 to 200 in 1943, with daily attendance of about 45, with no compulsion to attend. Hymns and parts of the Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
were translated into Pitjantjatjara.[
In the early 1950s, Superintendent Ron Trudinger wrote of a "tribal home", and there was talk of a "Native Village". Through the 1950s, cultural changes did occur, with traditional ways dropped and new practices adopted. The first baptisms took place in 1952, to the sound of hymns sung in Pitjantjatjara, but there was little proselytising, and old ways co-existed alongside the new.][
Staff at the Mission stayed for long periods: apart from Trudinger (1940–1957), there was ]James Robert Beattie Love
James Robert Beattie Love (1889–1947) was a Presbyterian clergyman who became a major authority on the Worrorra people of the Kimberley region of north Western Australia. Though quickly forgotten, it has been argued that he played as important ...
(1937–1946), Bill Edwards (1958–1972), John Bennett (25 years overseeing the sheep enterprise), and Deaconess Winifred Hilliard coordinated the Ernabella Craft centre (now Ernabella Arts
Pukatja (formerly Ernabella) is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being Amata, Pipalyatjara, Fregon/Kaltjiti, ...
) from 1954 to 1974 and continued to work for Ernabella Arts until 1986. There was deep respect and affection between the people and the staff; Hilliard was buried there, and a large contingent of Ernabella people, including the Choir, attended Edwards' funeral in Adelaide in 2015.[
In 1972, the community elders, who called Duguid "Tjilpi" ("respected old man"), wrote to him saying that they wanted him to be buried at Ernabella "so that Aborigines will always remember that he was one of us and that he faithfully helped us". Duguid regarded this as a great compliment, and after his death on 5 December 1986, his body was flown to Ernabella and buried among his friends in the Mission Cemetery.][
]
Handover to community
Responsibility for the administration of Ernabella Mission was formally handed over to the Ernabella Community Council – later Pukatja Community Council – on 1 January 1974.
The settlement was funded by the federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
as an outstation during the 1980s.[PDF]
/ref>
Heritage-listed buildings
The former Ernabella Mission Hospital, Church and Manse are listed on the South Australian Heritage Register
The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia. It extends legal protection regarding demolition and development under the ''Heritage Places Act 1993'' ...
.
Ernabella Arts
Established in 1948, Ernabella Arts remains in operation, as Australia's oldest continuously running Indigenous Art Centre.
During the 1950s and 1960s, art and craft using locally produced wool was the predominant artistic form produced by the Ernabella artists. Batik was successfully introduced after several Ernabella artists travelled to Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
in the 1970s. The Ernabella artists are renowned for their batik work and printmaking. A substantial collection of Ernabella art can be seen at the National Museum of Australia, including a range of fine ceramics also produced by the Ernabella artists.
In recent years, female elders have started to depict their ''Tjukurpa
The Dreaming, also referred to as Dreamtime, is a term devised by early anthropologists to refer to a religio-cultural worldview attributed to Australian Aboriginal beliefs. It was originally used by Francis Gillen, quickly adopted by his co ...
'' (sacred stories of country and law) in their art. Artists both young and old, including some very senior men and women, work at the centre. The award-winning Dickie Minyintiri
Dickie Minyintiri ( 1915 – 23 September 2014) was an Australian Aboriginal artist from Pukatja, South Australia. He began painting in 2005, when he was about 90 years old. He is now one of central Australia's most successful artists, after ...
was perhaps the most well-known artist to work there.[ Other artists associated with Ernabella Arts include ]Yilpi Adamson
Imiyari "Yilpi" Adamson (born 1954) is an Aboriginal artist from central Australia. She is known for her work in a range of art forms, including painting, sculpture, weaving, knitting and batik.
Yilpi was born at a place near Uluru, in the Nort ...
, Milyika Carroll, Malpiya Davey
Malpiya Davey, also known as Irpintiri Davey, is an Aboriginal Australian artist from Pukatja, South Australia. She is best known for her ceramic artworks, but she also does painting, printmaking and weaving. Davey works for Ernabella Arts, t ...
, Angkuna Kulyuru, Nura Rupert, Tjunkaya Tapaya, and Harry Tjutjuna
Harry Tjutjuna is an Aboriginal artist from central Australia. He belongs to the Pitjantjatjara people. Tjutjuna began painting in 2005. He held his first solo exhibition in 2007, in Darwin. His work is now held in several major public gallerie ...
.
Ernabella Arts is one of ten Indigenous-owned and -governed enterprises that go to make up the APY Art Centre Collective, established in 2013.
Facilities
A permit is required for visitors to any community on the APY Lands, as they are freehold lands owned by the Aboriginal people.
a major road upgrade, funded by federal and state governments, has been under way since 2016. of the Main Access Road between the Stuart Highway and Pukatja are being improved to improve general road safety, communications, food delivery, emergency service access and community interaction. The airstrip access road is also being upgraded. By May 2019, a total of had been constructed, including the Pukatja Airstrip Access Road, a section from the Stuart Highway to Iwantja (Indulkana), and the section (Stage 1) between Pukatja and Umuwa.
The Ernabella Anangu School offers Reception through to senior high school. Technical and Further Education (TAFE
Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational cours ...
) facilities for the APY Lands are based at Pukatja and the other centres.
The old Pukatja police station
A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...
, which was not permanently manned, was in poor condition and due for replacement in July 2007. A month later the State Government announced that it would spend A$7.5 million at Amata and Pukatja for new police stations, court facilities and cells along with associated police housing and facilities. The new, permanently manned facilities were opened in March 2010, staffed by one sergeant, three constables and a Police Aboriginal Liaison Officer. The police officers' duties include liaison with and participation in the school, football team and local Country Fire Service (CFS) activities.
There are telephones (landline
A landline (land line, land-line, main line, home phone, fixed-line, and wireline) is a telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber telephone line for transmission, as distinguished from a mobile cellular network, which uses ...
and smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s), ADSL
Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) is a type of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem can provide. ...
internet access, and multiple television channels including SBS Television, NITV, Imparja
Imparja Television (IMP) is an independent Australian television station servicing over , across six states and territories: Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. It is based in Alice Sprin ...
and ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, and mail is delivered twice weekly by air from Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
.
The supermarket is run by the Pukatja Supermarket & Associated Stores Aboriginal Corporation.
The Uniting Church in Australia has a congregation in Pukatja.
Health
A new health clinic was built in 2009, with extensions completed in 2012. The Nganampa Health Council (NHC), an Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Organisation, runs all of the clinics in the APY lands and runs a wide range of services.
In 2014, a Mobile Dialysis Dialysis may refer to:
*Dialysis (chemistry), a process of separating molecules in solution
**Electrodialysis, used to transport salt ions from one solution to another through an ion-exchange membrane under the influence of an applied electric pote ...
Unit, a specially designed truck fitted with three dialysis Dialysis may refer to:
*Dialysis (chemistry), a process of separating molecules in solution
**Electrodialysis, used to transport salt ions from one solution to another through an ion-exchange membrane under the influence of an applied electric pote ...
chairs started operation, visiting remote Aboriginal communities across South Australia, including Pukatja, Mimili
Mimili is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being Amata, Pukatja, Kaltjiti, Indulkana and Pipalyatjara). At ...
, Kaltjiti
Kaltjiti, formerly and also still known as Fregon, is an Aboriginal community in Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY lands) in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being Amata, Ernabella/ ...
and Amata in the APY lands, as well as Marla, Yalata
Yalata is an Aboriginal community located west of Ceduna and south of Ooldea on the edge of the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia. It lies on the traditional lands of the Wirangu people, but the settlement began as Yalata Mission in the ea ...
, Coober Pedy
Coober Pedy () is a town in northern South Australia, north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway. The town is sometimes referred to as the "opal capital of the world" because of the quantity of precious opals that are mined there. Coober Pedy is ...
, and Leigh Creek. It is run from Purple House, a renal health clinic in Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
, over away. In July 2018, Health Minister Greg Hunt and Ken Wyatt
Kenneth George Wyatt (born 4 August 1952) is a former Australian politician who was a member of the House of Representatives from 2010 to 2022, representing the Division of Hasluck for the Liberal Party. He is the first Indigenous Australian el ...
, then Minister for Indigenous Health, announced increased funding for a number of health initiatives, including expanding renal health units in remote parts, through the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
In November 2019, a four-bed dialysis clinic was opened in Pukatja, named after Kinyin Mckenzie, who died in Alice Springs while receiving dialysis. The first such clinic in remote South Australia, it was funded mostly by the federal government, but boosted by the sale of paintings by Ernabella Arts, which raised towards the centre. At full capacity, the clinic can provide dialysis for up to 16 patients, but there is still a need for some short-stay housing to accommodate those who travel from elsewhere for treatment at Pukatja.
Fauna
Warru
In October 2007 it was reported that the black-flanked rock wallaby, known as ''warru'' to the local population, faced extinction, and that 15 of the wallabies had been transferred from an undisclosed location on the APY Lands and also from Pukatja, to Monarto Zoo
Monarto Safari Park, formerly known as Monarto Zoological Park and Monarto Zoo, is a open-range zoo located in South Australia administered by the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia. It is located at Monarto, approximately from Ade ...
(now Monarto Safari Park). It had been estimated that there were only about 50 of the animals left in the wild. Work to monitor the species' survival was said to involve Aboriginal trackers and schoolchildren from Pukatja to help track the wallabies' movements.
Previously widespread throughout the ranges of central Australia, the warru is South Australia's most endangered mammal, primarily due to predation by fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
es and feral cat
A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact: it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens ...
s. However Monarto Safari Park has had some success in breeding the wallabies, and has helped to establish a viable population (22) of the wallabies in a fenced area, known as the Pintji, in the APY lands. In June 2017 the zoo announced that 25 of the population bred at Pintji, along with 15 others, had been released into the wild. These will be monitored and feral animal control measures are in place.
Climate
Climate records for Ernabella/Pukatja have been kept since 1971. Due to its elevation high in the Musgrave Ranges, Pukatja is one of the coldest locations in central Australia. Minimum temperatures may drop below with heavy frost and daytime maximum temperatures below may occur each winter. Summers are still hot, however Pukatja does not experience the scorching plus summer maximum temperatures typical of most of inland South Australia. Average January maximums are and this drops to in June. Overnight lows range from a mean minimum temperature of in January to in June. Annual rainfall averages , which is typical of an arid climate, and mostly falls from brief summer thunderstorms.
References
Further reading
Aboriginal missions in South Australia: Ernabella
− State Library of South Australia resources guide
Ernabella Choir: Something old, something new
- article in ''Education Horizons'', 2009
{{authority control
Towns in South Australia
Aboriginal communities in South Australia
Australian Aboriginal missions
1938 establishments in Australia
Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara