ALICE SPRINGS, WEST MACDONNELL RANGES
NATIONAL PARK
ALICE SPRINGS
Alice
Springs is located on the usually dry Todd River in the MacDonnell ranges, 1500 kilometres
north of Adelaide, 1500 kilometres south of Darwin, in the centre of the Australian
mainland. In 1862 explorer John McDouall Stuart led an expedition (his third and final
attempt) through the Centre, to the north coast. Following in Stuart’s footsteps, the
construction of the Overland Telegraph Line from Adelaide to Darwin was completed in 1872.
It was the discovery of alluvial gold at Arltunga, some 100 kms east of Alice Springs, in
1887 that provided a population boom for the area. By 1929 the railway line linking Alice
Springs with Adelaide was completed. Until the early 1930s, the town’s official name
was Stuart.
Alice Springs was the name given to the Telegraph Station, the site of
original white settlement in Central Australia, on 31 August 1933 the township of Stuart
was officially renamed Alice Springs. Today its population of 28.178 (2001 Census) makes
it the second-largest settlement in the Northern
Territory, Australian Aborigines make up approximately 17% of the population of Alice
Springs. Temperatures vary by an average of 20°C from minimum to maximum on any given
day. In summer, the temperature reaches 40 C maximum, while in winter it can drop to as
low as -7°C minimum. The climate is arid, with little or no rainfall.
Old Telegraph Station, Alice Springs,
Northern Territory, Australia.
STADLEY CHASM, West MacDonnell Ranges
Located 50
kms by sealed road from Alice Springs, Standley Chasm has been gouged into tough sandstone
by floods. The result is a deep red cleft crowded on either side by craggy slopes that
rise 80 metres above the floor. The 15 minute walk to the chasm follows a creek where
spring fed pools attract a great variety of wildlife, particularly birds and rock
wallabies.
Standley Chasm, West MacDonnell Ranges,
Alice Springs, Northern Territory.
Standley Chasm, West MacDonnell Ranges,
Alice Springs, Northern Territory.
SIMPSONS GAP, West MacDonnell Ranges National Park
Simpson Gap is 20 km west of Alice Springs. It was named by Surveyor McMinn in 1871 while exploring possible routes fo the Overland
Telegraph Line. Also at Simpsons Gap there is opportunity to see rock wallabies.
Simpsons Gap, West MacDonnell Ranges,
Alice Springs, Northern Territory.
![[Australian flag]](http://flagspot.net/images/a/au.gif){kind=small}
