Hermannsburg, Northern Territory Website Links For
Hermannsburg
 

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Hermannsburg, Northern Territory






Hermannsburg () is an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory of Australia , 124 km southwest of Alice Springs . It was established as an Aboriginal mission in 1877 by two Lutheran missionaries from Germany who had travelled overland from Bethany in the Barossa Valley in South Australia . They named their new mission after Hermannsburg in Germany where they had trained.

The missionaries learned the local Arrernte language, and developed a dictionary by 1891 so they could translate the Bible . They documented the Aranda traditions carefully, in contrast to cultural and colonial norms at the time such as the White Australia Policy .

In 1891 , these missionaries left, but the settlement was revived in 1894 by Pastor Carl Strehlow . His son T.G.H. Strehlow became a noted Anthropologist and was initiated into Aranda customs.

Albert Namatjira was born at Hermannsburg in 1902 . He developed the ability to use his acute observation of the land to paint western-style watercolours, using the eyes of an Aborigine.

The mission land was handed over to traditional ownership in 1982 . Much of the historic township is now protected by the National Trust .


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