Pipalyatjara (formerly Mount Davies) is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being

Amata According to Roman mythology, Amata (also called Palanto) was the wife of Latinus, king of the Latins, and the mother of their only child, Lavinia. In the Aeneid of Virgil, she commits suicide during the conflict between Aeneas and Turnus over ...

Pukatja Pukatja (formerly Ernabella, ) is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being Amata, Pipalyatjara, Fregon/ Kaltji ...

Kaltjiti Kaltjiti (formerly Fregon) is an Aboriginal community in Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY lands) in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being Amata, Pukatja, Pipalyatjara, Indulkana ...

, Indulkana, and Mimili). Other smaller communities include

Nyapari Nyapaṟi is an Aboriginal community in the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia. It is located about south of the Northern Territory border at the base of the Mann Ranges. The nearby community of Kanpi is to the w ...

Kanpi Kaṉpi is an Aboriginal community in the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia. It is located about south of the Northern Territory border at the base of the Mann Ranges. The nearby town of Nyapari is to the east. ...

Kalka Kalka is a town in the Panchkula district of Haryana, India. It is near Panchkula city. The name of the town is derived from the Hindu goddess Kali. Kalka is situated in the foothills of the Himalayas and is a gateway to the neighbouring st ...

and

Yunyarinyi Yunyarinyi is an Aboriginal homeland on the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia. It is located about south of the border with the Northern Territory, south of Alice Springs. Yunyarinyi started as a cattle stat ...

. The residents are mainly Anangu who speak

Pitjantjatjara The Pitjantjatjara (; or ) are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all are v ...

as their first language.The closest community is Kalka to the west.

Time zone

Due to its links with the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

and proximity to the border, the

APY Lands Annual percentage yield (APY) is a normalized representation of an interest rate, based on a compounding period of one year. APY figures allow a reasonable, single-point comparison of different offerings with varying compounding schedules. Howev ...

do not observe daylight savings unlike the rest of South Australia. The time zone observed throughout the year is Australian Central Standard Time ( UTC+9:30), in line with Darwin rather than

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Geography

Pipalyatjara is situated approximately south-west of

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

on the

Gunbarrel Highway The Gunbarrel Highway is an isolated desert track in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. It consists of about of washaways, heavy Corrugated road, corrugations, stone, sand and flood plains. The Gunbarrel Highway c ...

, an unsealed road. Pipalyatjara is approximately from the junction of the

Western Australian Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

and

borders (known as the Surveyor-General's Corner). The community of

is situated some away (by road, on the north side of the mountain ridge to which Pipalyatjara lies to the south). Both communities are located within the

Tomkinson Ranges The Tomkinson Ranges is a mountain range in the northwest corner of South Australia. The range consists of sandstone hills, surrounded by spinifex grasslands. The range was named after politician Samuel Tomkinson (1816–1900) by the explorer ...

. Kunytjanu is an outstation and

waterhole Waterhole or water hole may refer to: * Watering hole, a depression in the ground in which water can collect, or a more permanent pool in the bed of an ephemeral river * Water hole (radio), an especially quiet region of the electromagnetic spectru ...

to the south, serviced from Pipalyatjara. It is located on the road between Pipalyatjara and

Watarru Watarru Community is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands in South Australia (one of a number of communities or homelands on "The Lands"; others include Amata, Ernabella/Pukatja, Fregon/Kaltjiti, ...

Climate

, based upon the climate records of the nearest weather station, the

Giles Weather Station Giles Weather Station (also referred to as Giles Meteorological Station or Giles) is located in Western Australia near the Northern Territory border, about west-south-west of Alice Springs and west of Uluru. It is the only staffed weather sta ...

, just across the border and slightly to the northwest in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, Kalka experiences summer maximum temperatures of an average of 37.2 degrees Celsius in January and a winter maximum average temperature of 19.9 degrees Celsius in July. Overnight lows range from a mean minimum temperature of 23.5 degrees in January to 6.8 degrees in June. Annual rainfall averages .

History

Little is known about how the

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

and other peoples came to have a settlement at what is now known as Pipalyatjara. Pipalyatjara was formerly known as Mount Davies, named after the tallest local peak. The settlement was funded as an outstation during the 1980s.PDF
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Chrysoprase Chrysoprase, chrysophrase or chrysoprasus is a gemstone variety of chalcedony (a cryptocrystalline form of silica) that contains small quantities of nickel. Its color is normally apple-green, but varies from turquoise-like cyan to deep green. The ...

was mined at Pipalyatjara until recently.

Facilities

A general store provides for both the Pipalyatjara and Kalka communities. As of 2007,

South Australia Police South Australia Police (SAPOL) is the police force of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Po ...

were based at

Murputja, South Australia __NOTOC__ Murputja is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara in South Australia. In 2007, four South Australia Police officers were based at Murputja and running patrols in the area. There was a rudimentary sh ...

and running patrols in the area. There was a rudimentary shed structure that serves as a police station when police are present. a new, permanent policing complex is being built at Umawa. It will accommodate officers with specialist response capabilities, as well provide a base for a mobile unit which will be deployed in Fregon/Kaltjiti, Indulkana and

Pipalyatjara Pipalyatjara (formerly Mount Davies) is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being Amata, Pukatja, Kaltjiti, Indu ...

. The service will work closely with

child protection Child protection (also called child welfare) is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, abandonment, and neglect. It involves identifying signs of potential harm. This includes responding to allegations or suspicions ...

service agencies address

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

and

family violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. In a broader sense, abuse including nonphysical abuse in such settings is called domestic abuse. The term "domestic violence" is often use ...

issues. The 2019–2020

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state government, state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the h ...

agency budget estimates the completion date as June 2021, with a total spend of . Diesel power generation facilities supply power to both Pipalyatjara and Kalka. Water for the power station is supplied by

SA Water SA Water is a government business enterprise wholly owned by the Government of South Australia. It is a successor to the Engineering and Water Supply Department, styled E & W S, a state government department, which was itself preceded by the Water ...

. The

Pipalyatjara Anangu School Anungu schools is a group of ten schools operated by the Government of South Australia which are located in the west of the Australian state of South Australia. Eight are located in the Aboriginal lands of Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara ...

serves both Pipalyatjara and Kalka Community. The swimming pool reopened around 2024 after a period of closure, after much needed upgrades, including new rescue and safety equipment as well as new staff. The community-run Ninuku Arts project supports artists from Pipalyatjara and Kalka. As with most APY settlements,

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

and

Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from tax revenue. SBS operates six TV channels (SBS (Australian TV chann ...

television are available. There is an unsealed

airstrip An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...

. A mobile polling booth visits Pipalyatjara every four years for elections of the

Parliament of South Australia The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the 47-seat South Australian House of Assembly, House of Assembly (lower house) and the 22-seat South Australian Legislati ...

. A permit is required for a member of the public to visit any community on the APY Lands, as they are

freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

lands owned by the Aboriginal people.

Footnotes

External links

* {{authority control Towns in South Australia Aboriginal communities in South Australia Australian Aboriginal missions Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara