The Totem Theatre is a theatre located 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 ...

in the

Northern Territory of Australia The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

. It is the home to the Alice Springs Theatre Group who manage the venue and produce amateur theatre productions. The Totem Theatre is a heritage listed building and the two main buildings are Sidney Williams Huts that were constructed in 1945 by the Australian Army in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The buildings have been in use ever since.

Background

The Totem Theatre was built in 1945 by the Australian Army during World War II, during this time the government was pouring military and civilian manpower into the Alice Springs region. Significant improvements were made both to the roads, primarily the

Stuart Highway Stuart Highway is a major Australia, Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; a distance of . Its northern and sou ...

, and the Old Telegraph Line (allowing long distance telephone communication) as well as pumping water into people's homes for the first time. The Darwin Overland Maintenance Force were a big part of this push and they set up camp between ANZAC Oval and the

Todd River The Todd River (Arrernte language, Arrernte: ''Lhere Mparntwe'') is an Ephemeral, ephemeral river in the southern Northern Territory, central Australia. The origins of the Todd River are in the MacDonnell Ranges, where it flows past the Alice ...

and eventually, in 1945, built what became the Totem Theatre. These buildings were originally used as a Regimental Aid Post and Dental Clinic. Following the end of the war military assets, including buildings, were inventoried and put up for disposal by the Commonwealth Disposals Commission. The Sidney Williams Huts were particularly popular and most were moved from their original sites and others remained and were adapted for residences and businesses; most of these have since been demolished. The Totem Theatre buildings remained in place and appear to have been mostly unused until the Alice Springs Theatre Group took over their lease in 1963 and launched their new "Totem Club House Theatre" in March 1964. To accommodate their current use both buildings have been subject to various alterations but retain most of their original elements. It was listed on the

Northern Territory Heritage Register The Northern Territory Heritage Register is a heritage register, being a statutory list of places in the Northern Territory of Australia that are protected by the Northern Territory statute, the ''Heritage Act 2011''. The register is maintained b ...

on 18 January 2006. Currently the Totem Theatre hosts an annual musical as well as plays, comedy nights, spoken word events and live music: it is also an important venue for the Alice Desert Festival.

References

{{coord, 23.694852, S, 133.885016, E, format=dms, display=title Theatres in the Northern Territory Buildings and structures in Alice Springs Northern Territory Heritage Register