Alice - History

Original inhabitants were the Aranda Aborigines who had lived here at least 10 000 years. European history began in 1871 with the discovery of the Todd River and nearby springs by the Overland Telegraph (incl the repeater station) building party both named to honour Sir Charles Todd (SA Postmaster-General) and his wife, Alice. Initially the town was called Stuart (after the explorer) but changed to Alice Springs in 1933. The population grew rapidly following the advent of the Central Australian Railway (‘The Ghan’) in 1929. Alice Springs began as a pastoral industry service town and developed into a major tourist destination, with large mining communities nearby and the joint defence facility at Pine Gap.