Hermannsburg, also known as Ntaria, is an Aboriginal community in Ljirapinta Ward of the MacDonnell Shire in the Northern Territory of Australia, 125 kilometres (78 mi); west southwest of Alice Springs, on the Finke River, in the traditional lands of the Western Arrarnta people.

Established as a Lutheran Aboriginal mission in 1877, linguist and anthropologist Carl Strehlow documented the local Western Arrernte language during his time there.

Hermannsburg lies on the Finke River within the rolling hills of the MacDonnell Ranges in the southern Central Australia region of the Northern Territory.

[8] A third missionary, Louis Schulze (from Saxony[4]), arrived in Adelaide in October 1877, accompanying three additional lay workers and the wives of Kempe and Schwarz.

[8] In 1891 the mission published an Arrernte-language book on Christian instruction and worship, containing a catechism, stories from the Bible, psalms, prayers and 53 hymns.

In the same year, the Royal Society of South Australia published Schulze's thesis on the habits and customs of the local Aboriginal people and the geography of the Finke River area.

[6] While the population fluctuated, there were always about 100 people living at the mission as pastoralism increased and racial issues developed.

[7] Kempe endured trouble from the native police, 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.

[7] 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.

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".

[14] However, when the Administrator of the Northern Territory, John A. Gilruth, came down from Darwin in 1913 to see whether these negative reports were true, he gave Strehlow his support.

[15] Albrecht also developed various other enterprises such as a large vegetable garden and orchard, beef cattle ranching and a tannery.

The congregation included around 6,000 people, and sermons were being delivered in Luritja, Western Arrarnta, Pitjantjatjara, Anmatyerre, and Alyawarr, as well as English.

[19] The Lutherans worked at keeping the local languages alive, and the Strehlows greatly increased the knowledge of Aranda culture.

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[21]) act as managers.

[21][6][26] Yirara College is a co-educational boarding school in Alice Springs run by Finke River Mission, catering for around 200 Aboriginal students.

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.

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.