Hermannsburg, Northern Territory
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Hermannsburg, also known as Ntaria, is an Aboriginal community in Ljirapinta Ward of the MacDonnell Shire in the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
of Australia, ; west southwest of
Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...
, on the Finke River, in the traditional lands of the Western Arrarnta people. Established as a
Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
Aboriginal mission in 1877,
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
and anthropologist Carl Strehlow documented the local Western Arrernte language during his time there. The mission was known as Finke River Mission or Hermannsburg Mission, but the former term was later used to included a few more settlements, and from 2014 has applied to all Lutheran missions in
Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and ...
. The land was handed over to
traditional owner Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title right ...
ship in 1982 under the ''
Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 The ''Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976'' (ALRA) is Australian federal government legislation that provides the basis upon which Aboriginal Australian people in the Northern Territory can claim rights to land based on tradi ...
'', and the area is now heritage-listed.


Geography

Hermannsburg lies on the Finke River within the rolling hills of the
MacDonnell Ranges The MacDonnell Ranges, or Tjoritja in Arrernte language, Arrernte, is a mountain range located in southern Northern Territory. MacDonnell Ranges is also the name given to an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australia ...
in the southern
Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and ...
region of the Northern Territory. It is within the jurisdiction of the MacDonnell Regional Council.


Demographics

At the 2011 census, Hermannsburg had a population of 625, of whom 537 (86 per cent) identified as Aboriginal. By the 2021 census, the suburb had decreased in population to 551, of whom 491 (89.1 per cent) identified as Aboriginal.


History


19th century

Hermannsburg was established on 4 June 1877 at a
sacred site A sacred space, sacred ground, sacred place, sacred temple, holy ground, holy place or holy site is a location which is regarded to be sacred or hallowed. The sacredness of a natural feature may accrue through tradition or be granted through ...
known as Ntaria, which was associated with the Aranda ''ratapa'' dreaming.PDF
p.15+
It was conceived as an Aboriginal mission by two
Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
missionaries, Hermann Kempe (from Dauban, near
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
) and Wilhelm F. Schwarz (from
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) of the Hermannsburg Mission from Germany, who had travelled overland from
Bethany Bethany (,Murphy-O'Connor, 2008, p152/ref> Syriac language, Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܥܢܝܐ ''Bēṯ ʿAnyā''), locally called in Palestinian Arabic, Arabic Al-Eizariya or al-Aizariya (, "Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba,
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of Lazarus (name), L ...
in the
Barossa Valley The Barossa Valley (Barossa German: ''Barossa Tal'') is a valley in South Australia located northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major list of wine-producing regions, wine-producin ...
in
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
. They named their new mission among the
Arrernte people The Arrernte () people, sometimes referred to as the Aranda, Arunta or Arrarnta, are a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the Arrernte lands, at ''Mparntwe'' (Alice Springs) and surrounding areas of the Central Australia regi ...
after Hermannsburg in Germany where they had trained. They arrived with 37 horses, 20 cattle and nearly 2000 sheep, five dogs and chickens. Construction began on the first building in late June 1877, made from wood and reed grass. By August a stockyard, kitchen and living quarters were also completed. They had nearly no contact with Aboriginal people in the first few months, although their activities were being observed. At the end of August, a group of 15 Arrernte men visited the mission camping near the settlement. Realising that communication was difficult, the missionaries quickly learnt the local Arrernte language. A third missionary, Louis Schulze (from
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), arrived in
Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
in October 1877, accompanying three additional lay workers and the wives of Kempe and Schwarz. With the additional workers, five buildings were complete by December 1878. By 1880, a church was constructed with the assistance of Aboriginal labour, and the first church service took place on 12 November, followed by school on 14 November. The first Aboriginal baptisms took place and in 1887 as many as 20 young people were baptised. A 54-page dictionary of 1750 words was published in 1890. In 1891 the mission published an Arrernte-language book on Christian instruction and worship, containing a
catechism A catechism (; from , "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of Catholic theology, doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult co ...
, stories from the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
,
psalm The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...
s,
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s and 53 hymns. In the same year, the
Royal Society of South Australia The Royal Society of South Australia (RSSA) is a learned society whose interest is in science, particularly, but not only, of South Australia. The major aim of the society is the promotion and diffusion of scientific knowledge, particularly in re ...
published Schulze's thesis on the habits and customs of the local Aboriginal people and the geography of the Finke River area. While the population fluctuated, there were always about 100 people living at the mission as pastoralism increased and racial issues developed. Hostilities escalated in 1883 during a drought which saw local Aboriginal people hunt wandering stock. Kempe endured trouble from the
native police Australian native police were specialised mounted military units consisting of detachments of Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal troopers under the command of European officers appointed by British colonial governments. The units existed in va ...
, who would bribe some Aboriginal men to kill their fellow tribesmen, sometimes offering them sex with the women as a reward. Kempe assisted Francis Gillen in bringing the notorious Constable Willshire to trial in
Port Augusta Port Augusta (''Goordnada'' in the revived indigenous Barngarla language) is a coastal city in South Australia about by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the ...
. Fried Schwartz left the mission in 1889 due to ill health, followed by Schulze in 1891. Kempe lost his wife and child during childbirth and was himself suffering from
typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...
, so also left the mission in 1891. In this way the first term of administration of the mission ended. The settlement was continued by lay workers until Carl Strehlow arrived in October 1894 (or 1895?) with his wife, Frieda Strehlow (née Kaysser). Frieda was born in 1875, and had met Strehlow when he was training to be a missionary in 1892. After marrying in Adelaide, the couple travelled by horse and buggy to Hermannsburg. Many of the locals could by this time speak German, and Strehlow continued documenting the local language, and was involved with local people in Bible translation and hymn writing. In 1896 additional construction took place of a school house, which was also used as a chapel and an eating house. Frieda taught the women about a healthy diet and how to reduce child mortality. Severe droughts during 1897-8 and again in 1903 meant poor food production and an influx of Aboriginal people.


20th century

In mid-1910, the Strehlows left on a break to Germany and placed their five eldest children with relatives and friends there, in order to secure a good education for them. While they were away, they were replaced by Leibler and then by teacher H. H. Heinrich. Carl, Frieda, and their son Theo ( Ted Strehlow), returned in 1912, having received letters from Aranda elders imploring them to return. Many English-speaking people in the area mistrusted the German missionaries, and did not have a high opinion of the Aboriginal people. From 1912 to 1922, Baldwin Spencer, then Special Commissioner and Chief Protector of Aborigines, attempted to shut down the mission. In his 1913 report, Spencer proposed taking all Aboriginal children away from their parents and setting up reserves where the children would be denied any contact with their parents, be prevented from speaking their languages and made incapable of living in the bush. He was particularly keen to make sure that " half-caste" children had no contact with camp life. Hermannsburg was to be taken away from the Lutherans and "serve as a reserve for the remnants of the southern central tribes where they can, under proper and competent control, be trained to habits of industry". However, when the
Administrator of the Northern Territory The administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the governor-general of Australia to represent the Crown in right of the Northern Territory. They perform functions similar to those of a state governor. Strictly speaking ...
, John A. Gilruth, came down from Darwin in 1913 to see whether these negative reports were true, he gave Strehlow his support. The Strehlows finally left on 22 October 1922 when Strehlow contracted dropsy. He died the next day at Horseshoe Bend. The mission was without a missionary until Johannes Riedel arrived in late 1923, followed by Friedrich Wilhelm Albrecht on 19 April 1926 with his wife. They stayed until 1962. Drought struck again in 1927 causing ill heath and scurvy. There was yet another influx of Aboriginal people and 85 per cent of Aboriginal children died during this time. A delivery of oranges was considered "a miracle". Albrecht was integral to the development of the Kuprilya Springs Pipeline, which piped water from a permanent water hole to the mission. It was funded in part by Melbourne artist Violet Teague and her sister Una, and was completed on 1 October 1935. Albrecht also developed various other enterprises such as a large vegetable garden and orchard, beef cattle ranching and a tannery. They also supported the development of the school of
watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the ...
landscape artists, which became one of the special heritages of the Hermannsburg area. The first two Aboriginal pastors were ordained in 1964, Conrad Rabaraba and Cyril Motna. Doug Radke was pastor from 1965 to 1969. The mission land was handed over to traditional ownership in 1982 under the ''
Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 The ''Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976'' (ALRA) is Australian federal government legislation that provides the basis upon which Aboriginal Australian people in the Northern Territory can claim rights to land based on tradi ...
''. The settlement and its satellite communities were funded as an outstation during the 1980s.PDF
/ref>


21st century

By 2014, there were 24 Aboriginal pastors, and more than 40 trainees and female church leaders. The congregation included around 6,000 people, and sermons were being delivered in
Luritja The Luritja or Loritja people, also known as Kukatja or Kukatja-Luritja, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory. Their traditional lands are immediately west of the Derwent River, that forms a frontier with the Arrernte p ...
, Western Arrarnta, Pitjantjatjara,
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 Eas ...
, and Alyawarr, as well as English.


Legacy of the missionaries

The Lutherans worked at keeping the local languages alive, and the Strehlows greatly increased the knowledge of Aranda culture. Much is preserved in the Strehlow Research Centre in Alice Springs, and author John Strehlow, son of Ted, has written a two-volume book about his grandparents, Carl and Frieda Strehlow. According to musician Warren H Williams, who was born at Hermannsburg, "If the missionaries had not come to Hermannsburg, there would be no blackfellas in Central Australia" – this observation based on the attitude of the English-speaking administrators and other settlers in the region.


Heritage listing

The Hermannsburg Historic Precinct was listed on the Northern Territory Heritage Register on 19 May 2001 and on the Australian National Heritage List in April 2006. The mission buildings, located adjacent to the town of Ntaria, are empty. The heritage precinct is owned by the local Western Arrarnta people, represented by the Hermannsburg Historical Society, while the Finke River Mission (a term that now embraces all Lutheran missionary activities in the Northern Territory) act as managers.


Facilities

The Finke River Mission operates the general store, by request of the community.


Art

Albert Namatjira (1902–1959), famous for his watercolour landscapes, founded a style later known as the Hermannsburg School of painting. The Hermannsburg Potters are well known for their
ceramic art Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take varied forms, including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is a visual art. While ...
, and many successful artists live in the town.


Choir

In 1891 Pastors Kempe and Schwarze created a Western Arrernte language version of the Lutheran hymn book, comprising 53 hymns. The congregation learnt to sing them, and a choir was born. Singing was an important part of the church activities, and there were many versions of the choir over the years, eventually evolving into what is called the Ntaria Choir. The choir sings in Western Arrernte and Pitjantjatjara. Initially a mixed choir, it became women-only in the 1970s until the late 2010s, when men joined the choir again. It is today world-famous and has produced several albums. it included six women and two men.


"Finke River Mission"

"Finke River Mission" was initially an alternative name for the Hermannsburg Mission, but this name was later often used to include the newer government settlements at Haasts Bluff, Areyonga and Papunya. In 2014, the Lutheran Church of Australia started using the term to apply retrospectively to all Lutheran missionary activity in Central Australia since the first mission was established at Hermannsburg in 1877, including establishments at Alice Springs, and the name continues to be used . Yirara College is a co-educational
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
in
Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...
run by Finke River Mission, catering for around 200 Aboriginal students. It also has a small campus in Kintore (Walungurru), catering for around 30 students. As of 2015, there were 21 Aboriginal pastors and many other church workers employed by Finke River Mission, serving over 30 communities in five Aboriginal languages.


Notable people


The Radkes

Reverend Doug Radke and his wife Olga Radke , along with their four children, moved to the Finke River Mission in 1965. Both worked with the Aboriginal community until 1969. They both loved music, and worked with the choir, including taking the singers on a tour to the southern states in 1967, for which Olga was the piano accompanist and organist. After leaving Hermannsburg they moved on to work with other Lutheran congregations, until Doug's untimely death, when Olga moved to Alice Springs to work at the Strehlow Research Centre as a volunteer. In 2003, she became a member of the Prisoners' Aid and Rehabilitation Association of Alice Springs. She lobbied for a support group for people with mental illness, and has continued to work with churches and choirs. In the 2015 Queen's Birthday honours list, Olga was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the community of Alice Springs. In 2021, she wrote and published a book about the 1967 tour, entitled ''Hermannsburg Choir on Tour - Remembering the 1967 Choir Tour''. The book includes her original detailed "Choir Tour Diary".


Other people

* Yvette Holt, a poet from
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, has lived in Hermannsburg since 2009 () * Peter Latz (1941–), botanist, grew up there * Shane Nicholson, after a visit to Hermannsburg with Warren H Williams, wrote a song called "Hermannsburg" in 2015 *Otto Pareroultja, first painter in the region to paint in a more impressionist style * Ted Strehlow (1908–1978), son of Carl, noted
anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
, initiated into Aranda customs * Gus Williams, Aboriginal country music singer * Warren H Williams, son of Gus, also a singer, and a
traditional owner Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title right ...
of Ntaria


See also

* Strehlow Research Centre


References


Further reading


Hermannsburg Aboriginal Mission, Ntaria
South Australian History - Flinders Ranges Research * Detailed report compiled in 1885 from data supplied by Kempe and a letter by Schwarz. * Roennfeldt, D. and the community members (2006) ''Western Arrarnta Picture Dictionary''. IAD Press, Northern Territory, Australia. . *


External links

* * Painting by Namatjira of the mountain
Photograph of Hermannsburg in 1994
National Library of Australia
Hermannsburg Potters
{{authority control Populated places established in 1877 Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory Australian Aboriginal missions Towns in the Northern Territory Australian National Heritage List Arrernte 1877 establishments in Australia MacDonnell Region