Anmatjere, Northern Territory

Anmatjere is a locality in the Northern Territory of Australia located about 1,088 kilometres (676 mi) south of the territory capital of Darwin.^[1][3]

Anmatjere Northern Territory
Sculpture at the Aileron Roadhouse on the Stuart Highway
Anmatjere
Coordinates	21°44′47″S 133°19′08″E[1]
Population	477 (2016 census)[2] [a]
• Density	0.008758/km2 (0.022684/sq mi)
Established	4 April 2007[1]
Postcode(s)	0872[3]
Elevation	566 m (1,857 ft)(weather station) [4]
Area	54,462 km2 (21,027.9 sq mi)[5]
Time zone	ACST (UTC+9:30)
Location	1,088 km (676 mi) S of Darwin City[3]
LGA(s)	Barkly Region[1] Central Desert Region[6]
Territory electorate(s)	Stuart[7]
Federal division(s)	Lingiari[8]
Mean max temp[4] Mean min temp[4] Annual rainfall[4] 31.0 °C 88 °F 14.4 °C 58 °F 315.8 mm 12.4 in
Suburbs around Anmatjere: Tanami Warumunga Davenport Sandover Lake Mackay Chilla Well Anmatjere Sandover Hart Mount Zeil Mount Zeil Burt Plain Hart Hart
Footnotes	Adjoining localities[9][10][6]

A sign to Aileron as pictured in the 1940s

History

The locality was named after the former Anmatjere Community Government Council, whose seat was located in the town of Ti Tree. Its boundaries and name were gazetted on 4 April 2007.^[9][1]

Governance and demographics

Anmatjere is located within the federal division of Lingiari, the territory electoral division of Stuart and the local government areas of the Barkly Shire and the Central Desert Region.^{[8][7][10][6][1]}

The 2016 Australian census reports that Anmatjere had 477 people living within its boundaries, of whom 47.3% were male, 52.7% were female and 87.9% identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.^[2]

Sites and attractions

The following sites located within Anmatjere are listed on the Northern Territory Heritage Register:^{[11][12][13][14][15]}

• Aileron Homestead No. 1
• Alcoota Fossil Beds
• Anna's Reservoir Conservation Reserve
• Old Mount Riddock Homestead – Gemtree
• Ryan Well Historical Reserve

The homestead of Woodgreen Station, also known as Atartinga, is situated within Anmatjere.^[16]

Mount Skinner, a mountain,^[17] is within Anmatjere. The Ediacaran-aged fossil known as Skinnera is named for its discovery at from three sites near Mount Skinner.^[18] Mount Skinner Station, a station of around 2,860 km² (1,100 sq mi) in extent, is located approximately 160–200 km (99–124 mi) north of Alice Springs on the Sandover Highway.^[19] The property was established in 1952 by John "Jock" Nelson, a Labor MP who served in the Australian House of Representatives for 17 years. The Nelson and Barber families held the pastoral lease on the property until 2019, when a South Australian family acquired the station. At that time it had around 2,500 Poll Hereford cattle.^[20]

As of 2020^[update], anthropologists' work is continuing on both Woodgreen and Mount Skinner pastoral leases as the basis for any future native title claims, under the auspices of the Central Land Council.^[21]

Two sculptures, Anmatjere Man and Anmatjere Woman and Child, are located at the Aileron roadhouse.^[22][23]

Footnotes

1. For the 2016 census, the population of the State Suburb of Anmatjere (whose boundaries align with those of the locality of Anmatjere), does not include the population of the following communities which are fully surrounded by the locality – Engawala, Laramba, Ti-Tree, Willora, Willowra and Yuelamu