Yuelamu, also known as Mount Allan, Mount Allen, Alpirakina, and Alpirakinga, is a small town in the

Northern Territory 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 ...

, Australia, located north-west of Alice Springs, Its

altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

is . Yuelamu had a population of 220 at the . It falls within the local government area of the

Central Desert Regional Council The Central Desert Region is a local government area of the Northern Territory, Australia, administered by the Central Desert Regional Council (formerly Central Desert Shire). The council's main towns are Ti-Tree, Yuendumu, and Lajamanu. Th ...

, the governing

land council Land councils, also known as Aboriginal land councils, or land and sea councils, are Australian community organisations, generally organised by region, that are commonly formed to represent the Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australians ...

is the

Central Land Council The Central Land Council (CLC) is a land council that represents the Aboriginal peoples of the southern half of the Northern Territory of Australia (NT), predominantly with regard to land issues. it is one of four land councils in the Northern T ...

, and it lies in the Gwoja electoral division of the Northern Territory. The land is owned and managed by the Yalpirakinu Aboriginal

Land Trust Land trusts are nonprofit organizations which own and manage land, and sometimes waters. There are three common types of land trust, distinguished from one another by the ways in which they are legally structured and by the purposes for which th ...

, on land south of Mount Denison Station. It lies on land which was formerly Mount Allan Station, also spelt Mount Allen Station, which was carved out of the traditional lands of the

Anmatyerre The Anmatyerr, also spelt Anmatyerre, Anmatjera, Anmatjirra, Amatjere and other variations) are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory, who speak one of the Upper Arrernte languages. Language Anmatyerr is divided into Easte ...

and

Warlpiri people The Warlpiri, sometimes referred to as Yapa, are a group of Aboriginal Australians defined by their Warlpiri language, although not all still speak it. There are 5,000–6,000 Warlpiri, living mostly in a few towns and settlements scattered thr ...

s. Today, most of the population is of these two nations, and they still speak their languages at home. The Yuelamu Art Gallery and Museum was officially opened by

Hazel Hawke Hazel Susan Hawke, AO (née Masterson, 20 July 192923 May 2013) was the first wife of Bob Hawke, the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia. She married him in 1956, and supported him throughout his prime ministership (1983–1991); they divorced in ...

on 16 April 1988. There is an airstrip close by, from which there are flights to and from Alice Springs. Access by road is via the Tanami Highway, with the turnoff about past Tilmouth Well, with this last stretch being a

dirt road A dirt road or track is a type of unpaved road not paved with asphalt, concrete, brick, or stone; made from the native material of the land surface through which it passes, known to highway engineers as subgrade material. Dirt roads are suitable ...

of . Mount Allan School is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

government-run school, serving the years from prep/reception through to Year 12. There is also an early childhood centre, a clinic, a store, an aged care centre and a night patrol.

References

Further reading