Many were originally designed to accommodate people visiting Alice Springs from remote communities but, for many, they have become a permanent and often generational home.
[1][2] Alice Springs town camps began as early as the 1880s when Europeans first came to Central Australia following John McDouall Stuart's expedition, which was soon followed by pastoralists and, from 1872, the telegraph line and the establishment of the Alice Springs Telegraph Station.
The township of Alice Springs was also declared a prohibited area for Aboriginal people from 1929 to 1960.
[4] As of 2019[update] there were between 1600 and 2000 people living in town camps permanently, many of whom receive many visitors from remote communities.
Prominent anti-domestic violence campaigner and founding member of the Tangentyere Women’s Family Safety Group, 46-year-old R. Rubuntja, was murdered by her partner, who had a history of violent offences, in January 2021.