Alice Springs is the third largest town in the Northern Territory, Australia. Popularly known as "the Alice" or simply "Alice", Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory. The site is known as Mparntwe to its original inhabitants, the Arrernte, who have lived in the Central Australian desert in and around what is now Alice Springs for thousands of years. "Alice" in the English language was named by surveyor W. W. Mills after Lady Alice Todd (née Alice Gillam Bell), wife of Sir Charles Todd. Alice Springs has a population of 28,605, which makes up 12.2 percent of the territory's population. Alice Springs is nearly equidistant from Adelaide, South Australia and Darwin.
The town straddles the usually dry Todd River on the northern side of the MacDonnell Ranges. The surrounding region is known as Central Australia, or the Red Centre, an arid environment consisting of several different deserts. In Alice Springs temperatures can vary dramatically with an average maximum temperature in summer of, and an average minimum temperature in winter of.
History
Traditional custodians
The Arrernte Aboriginal people have made their home in the Central Australian desert in and around the site of the future Alice Springs for thousands of years, with evidence suggesting Indigenous occupation of the region dating back at least 30,000 years. The Aboriginal name for Alice Springs is Mparntwe. Many Arrernte people also live in communities outside of Alice Springs and on outstations.
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