Pipalyatjara (formerly Mount Davies) is an Aboriginal 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 According to Roman mythology, Amata (also called Palanto) was the wife of Latinus, king of the Latins, and the mother of their only child, Lavinia. In the Aeneid of Virgil, she commits suicide during the conflict between Aeneas and Turnus over ...

Pukatja 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, ...

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 ...

). At the 2016 census, Pipalyatjara had a population of 189. The residents are mainly Anangu who speak

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 ...

as their first language.

Geography

Pipalyatjara is situated approximately 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 ...

on the

Gunbarrel Highway The Gunbarrel Highway is an isolated desert track in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. It consists of about of washaways, heavy corrugations, stone, sand and flood plains. The Gunbarrel Highway connects Victory D ...

, an unsealed road. Pipalyatjara is approximately from the junction of the

Western Australian Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and

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 ...

borders (known as the Surveyor-General's Corner). The community of

Kalka Kalka is a town in the Panchkula district of Haryana, India. It is near Panchkula city. The name of the town is derived from the Hindu goddess Kali. It is situated in the foothills of the Himalayas and is a gateway to the neighbouring state o ...

is situated some away (by road, on the north side of the mountain ridge to which Pipalyatjara lies to the south). Both communities are located within the

Tomkinson Ranges The Tomkinson Ranges is a mountain range in the northwest corner of South Australia. The range consists of sandstone hills, surrounded by spinifex grasslands. The range was named after politician Samuel Tomkinson (1816–1900) by the explorer W ...

. Kunytjanu is an outstation and

waterhole A waterhole is a depression in the ground in which water can collect, or a more permanent pool in the bed of an ephemeral river. Waterhole or water hole may refer to: * Water hole (radio), an especially quiet region of the electromagnetic spect ...

to the south, serviced from Pipalyatjara. It is located on the road between Pipalyatjara and

Watarru Watarru Community is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands in South Australia (one of a number of communities or homelands on "The Lands"; others include Amata, Ernabella/ Pukatja, Fregon/ Kaltjiti, ...

Climate

, based upon the climate records of the nearest weather station, the

Giles Weather Station Giles Weather Station (also referred to as Giles Meteorological Station or Giles) is located in Western Australia near the Northern Territory border, about west-south-west of Alice Springs and west of Uluru. It is the only staffed weather sta ...

, just across the border and slightly to the northwest in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, Kalka experiences summer maximum temperatures of an average of 37.2 degrees Celsius in January and a winter maximum average temperature of 19.9 degrees Celsius in July. Overnight lows range from a mean minimum temperature of 23.5 degrees in January to 6.8 degrees in June. Annual rainfall averages .

History

Little is known about how the

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

and other peoples came to have a settlement at what is now known as Pipalyatjara. Pipalyatjara was formerly known as Mount Davies, named after the tallest local peak. The settlement was funded as an outstation during the 1980s.PDF
/ref>

Chrysoprase Chrysoprase, chrysophrase or chrysoprasus is a gemstone variety of chalcedony (a cryptocrystalline form of silica) that contains small quantities of nickel. Its color is normally apple-green, but varies to deep green. The darker varieties of chry ...

was mined at Pipalyatjara until recently.

Facilities

East Arnhem Regional Council provides local government in Yirrkala, which is in the council's Gumurr Miwatj Ward. A general store provides for both the Pipalyatjara and Kalka communities. As of 2007,

South Australia Police South Australia Police (SAPOL) is the police force of the Australian state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Police, who reports to the Minister for ...

were based at

Murputja, South Australia __NOTOC__ Murputja is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara in South Australia. In 2007, four South Australia Police officers were based at Murputja and running patrols in the area. There was a rudimentary shed ...

and running patrols in the area. There was a rudimentary shed structure that serves as a police station when police are present. a new, permanent policing complex is being built at Umawa. It will accommodate officers with specialist response capabilities, as well provide a base for a mobile unit which will be deployed in Fregon/Kaltjiti, Indulkana and Pipalyatjara. The service will work closely with

child protection Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home. One of the ways to e ...

service agencies address

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

and

family violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner v ...

issues. The 2019–2020

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

agency budget estimates the completion date as June 2021, with a total spend of . Diesel power generation facilities supply power to both Pipalyatjara and Kalka. Water for the power station is supplied by

SA Water SA Water is a government business enterprise wholly owned by the Government of South Australia. History SA Water was established by the proclamation of the ''South Australian Water Corporation Act 1994'' on 1 July 1995. Prior to this its predec ...

. The

Pipalyatjara Anangu School Anungu schools is a group of ten schools operated by the Government of South Australia which are located in the west of the Australian state of South Australia. Eight are located in the Aboriginal lands of Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (A ...

serves both Pipalyatjara and Kalka Community. The community-run Ninuku Arts project supports artists from Pipalyatjara and Kalka. As with most APY settlements,

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

and

Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World ...

television are available. There is an unsealed

airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

. A mobile polling booth visits Pipalyatjara every four years for elections of the

Parliament of South Australia The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the 47-seat House of Assembly ( lower house) and the 22-seat Legislative Council (upper house). General elections are ...

. A permit is required for a member of the public to visit any community on the APY Lands, as they are

freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple *Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice p ...

lands owned by the Aboriginal people.

Footnotes

External links

* {{authority control Towns in South Australia Aboriginal communities in South Australia Australian Aboriginal missions Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara