Aputula, Northern Territory
Encyclopedia
Aputula is a remote Indigenous Australian community in the Northern Territory
of Australia
. It is south of Alice Springs
, 159 km (98.8 mi) east of the Stuart Highway
, near the South Australia
and Northern Territory
border.
The community is also known as Finke, which was the name Europeans gave to the railway siding from which the township eventually grew. Most of the Europeans left the town when the Central Australian Railway line was shifted westwards.
It was after this that the town came to be known as Aputula. The name comes from a place called 'Putula' near the community, which used to be the site of a water soakage
. Putula is an Arrernte word. Arrernte people
used to get their water there, before the white people and the railway line came to the area.
Aputula holds the record of having the hottest day ever recorded in the Northern Territory—48.3 °C (118.9 °F) on 1 and 2 January 1960.
The population of the town is 250 people. They are Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara, Luritja
, and Lower Southern Arrernte people.
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is south of Alice Springs
Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Alice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as "the Alice" or simply "Alice", Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory...
, 159 km (98.8 mi) east of the Stuart Highway
Stuart Highway
The Stuart Highway is one of Australia's major highways. It is a segment of Australia's Highway 1 extending from Darwin, Northern Territory, in the north, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta, South Australia, in the south—a distance of...
, near the South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
and Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
border.
The community is also known as Finke, which was the name Europeans gave to the railway siding from which the township eventually grew. Most of the Europeans left the town when the Central Australian Railway line was shifted westwards.
It was after this that the town came to be known as Aputula. The name comes from a place called 'Putula' near the community, which used to be the site of a water soakage
Soakage
A soakage, or soak, is a source of water in Australian deserts.It is called thus because the water generally seeps into the sand, and is stored below, sometimes as part of an ephemeral river or creek system.-Aboriginal water source:...
. Putula is an Arrernte word. Arrernte people
Arrernte people
The Arrernte people , known in English as the Aranda or Arunta, are those Indigenous Australians who are the original custodians of Arrernte lands in the central area of Australia around Mparntwe or Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. The Arrernte tribe has lived there for more than 20,000 years...
used to get their water there, before the white people and the railway line came to the area.
Aputula holds the record of having the hottest day ever recorded in the Northern Territory—48.3 °C (118.9 °F) on 1 and 2 January 1960.
The population of the town is 250 people. They are Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara, Luritja
Luritja
Luritja is a name used to refer to several dialects of the Indigenous Australian Western Desert Language, and thereby also to the people who speak these varieties, and their traditional lands.-Origin and meaning of Luritja:...
, and Lower Southern Arrernte people.