Hermannsburg, Northern Territory
Encyclopedia : H : HE : HER : Hermannsburg, Northern Territory
- This article deals with the community in Australia. See Hermannsburger Mission for the German mission.
Hermannsburg () is an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory of Australia, 124 km southwest of Alice Springs. It was established as an Aboriginal mission in 1877 by two Lutheran missionaries from Germany who had travelled overland from Bethany in the Barossa Valley in South Australia. They named their new mission after Hermannsburg in Germany where they had trained.
The missionaries learned the local Arrernte language, and developed a dictionary by 1891 so they could translate the Bible. They documented the Aranda traditions carefully, in contrast to cultural and colonial norms at the time such as the White Australia Policy.
In 1891, these missionaries left, but the settlement was revived in 1894 by Pastor Carl Strehlow. His son T.G.H. Strehlow became a noted anthropologist and was initiated into Aranda customs.
Albert Namatjira was born at Hermannsburg in 1902. He developed the ability to use his acute observation of the land to paint western-style watercolours, using the eyes of an Aborigine.
The mission land was handed over to traditional ownership in 1982. Much of the historic township is now protected by the National Trust.
External links
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