Reflecting on all of the major moments in Central Australia in 2020

LIKE with most things, Central Australia did the chaos of 2020 in its own way. Here are some of the HIGHLIGHTS

LIKE with most things, Central Australia did the chaos of 2020 in its own way.

Here are some of the highlights.

JANUARY

Death of three men

AN OUTBACK community was shocked following the deaths of three NT men near the Queensland-NT border.

Early investigations indicated the deaths were not suspicious, with initial reports suggesting the men travelled from the NT to Mount Isa before Christmas.

One of the men was found on December 28, 2019, and was taken to a medical clinic where he later died. The other two men were found dead on January 7.

Urapuntja Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Michael Gravener said the men were from the Utopia homelands north of Alice Springs.

Action for Alice

In an effort to seek change, Alice Springs business owner Darren Clark created a Facebook group this year where locals can share their experience with crime, called Action for Alice 2020.

“The first priority of government is the safety of its people, and we don’t feel safe,” Mr Clark said.

“That affects a lot of things. It affects people’s mental states, it affects business which in turn affects the economy. It affects tourism, population growth.”

The group is only part of a movement Clark said was aiming to put pressure on Alice Springs’ leaders to act before something drastic occurred.

FEBRUARY

ScoMo visits Pine Gap

PRIME Minister Scott Morrison made a visit to the NT’s secretive Pine Gap military intelligence base for a classified briefing in February.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister told the NT News, “The facility is crucial to keeping the Aussies safe from terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction and provides a critical contribution to the security of Australia.”

MARCH

COVID-19

CONCERN for residents of remote NT communities was rife when coronavirus ramped up earlier this year.

From closed borders and a lockdown stint, the health of the people was key.

Later in the year, a dedicated COVID-19 drive-through screening clinic was established, later known as the Todd Facility. It offers testing for people who may be displaying COVID-19 symptoms as well as an additional testing service for people arriving in the NT from interstate.

APRIL

Virus threatens Anzac Day

THIS year marked only the second time in 72 years that Alice Springs veteran Sydney Kinsman didn’t attend the local Anzac Day ceremony on Anzac Hill.

Social distancing rules meant Mr Kinsman and his family couldn’t gather on Anzac Hill but instead had to observe the occasion via the “driveways at dawn” movement, by holding a candle and facing east in his driveway with his wife and daughters.

The only other time Mr Kinsman didn’t make the event at Anzac Hill was more than 50 years ago, when he attended a ceremony in Adelaide instead.

The local World War II hero is one of the last remaining Rats of Tobruk — a group of soldiers that withstood enemy attack in Libya during the Siege of Tobruk in 1941.

MAY

Art gallery argy-bargy

A NEW chapter was written in the long-running saga of the National Aboriginal Art Gallery when the Gunner government announced that it would proceed with controversial plans to build the gallery at the Anzac Oval precinct.

Alice Springs Town Council owns some of the land within that precinct and had been adamant it would not consent to the gallery’s development there without approval from traditional owners.

In a statement released in May, the NT government said it had finally received that approval in a letter from the Lhere Artepe Aboriginal Corporation, which represents Arrernte people from the Mparntwe, Antulye and Irlpme estates.

“The letter states Lhere Artepe’s support for the National Aboriginal Art Gallery to be situated at the Anzac Hill precinct,” Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Lauren Moss said in the statement.

Drug-smuggling in the Outback

ALICE SPRINGS woman Claire Hockridge, whose death in the Outback last December made international headlines, died while taking part in an elaborate drug smuggling effort, investigators concluded in May.

At the time, Ms Hockridge’s death was mourned as a case of innocent misadventure. But the detailed police investigation revealed Ms Hockridge, 46, travelled to Henbury Station near Alice Springs in an effort to avoid authorities and sneak into town with a $100,000 stash of methamphetamine she had earlier purchased in Adelaide.

JUNE

Last issue of the Centralian

ALICE SPRINGS’ Centralian Advocate newspaper hit the stands for the last time in June after more than 70 years of publication.

The Centralian Advocate now has two dedicated reporters in Alice Springs who file daily content on centralianadvocate.com.au.

The printed NT News and Sunday Territorian also contain increased Alice Springs and Central Australian coverage. Each Tuesday and Friday in the NT News, a special Centralian Advocate print edition is also published.

JULY

Tennant Creek IGA fire

TENNANT CREEK has had to rebuild its only supermarket over the past few months after the IGA was destroyed in a fire in July, which caused an estimated $900,000 in damage.

The timeline for a new IGA is unknown, however a temporary supermarket is available with almost the same number of offerings.

Alice Springs hospital car park

AFTER years of lobbying from locals, it was announced in July one of the Alice Springs Hospital’s biggest dilemmas will be resolved with a new multistorey carpark set to be built in the coming years.

The $12m project will support hundreds of jobs and is currently being heard before the Development Consent Authority.

AUGUST

NT election

NUMEROUS councillors resigned to contest this year’s election, which saw some existing members retain seats as well as new faces step up.

Labor’s Chansey Paech moved seats to Gwoja, Bill Yan took Namatjira, CLP’s Joshua Burgoyne was elected in Braitling as the youngest parliamentarian in the NT after narrowly defeating Labor contestant Dale Wakefield, and long-serving Araluen MLA Robyn Lambley retained the seat after joining the Territory Alliance Party, before resigning as the sole surviving member and standing again as an independent after the election had been called.

AFL comes to Alice

THE Melbourne Demons triumphed over St Kilda in a three-point thriller in Alice Springs on August 29.

Many fans were left out in the cold though, as crowd capacity at the ground was reduced due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Based on the COVID Event Plan, only 1939 fans were allowed into TIO Traeger Park for the round 14 encounter.

Tickets officially sold out just 44 minutes after going on sale.

SEPTEMBER

Welcoming back events

THE Territory was lucky enough to be one of the first places in Australia to reintroduce events this year — with tens of thousands flocking to Alice Springs for Parrtjima and Red CentreNATS.

Both events have been reannounced for 2021.

New deputy mayor

ALICE Springs councillor Jacinta Price was appointed the town’s new deputy mayor in September.

Ms Price, a Warlpiri/­Celtic woman who grew up in Alice Springs, said she believed it was a historic first for the council.

Historic Supreme Court victory

THE Territory government could be forced to pay remote residents millions of dollars in compensation after charging them rent for inadequate housing following a landmark ruling in the Supreme Court in September.

Santa Teresa woman Enid Young and another man, who has since died, took the government to the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal last year. NTCAT found the government did not adequately maintain its properties and ordered the government to pay compensation, a decision which was later appealed by lawyers as inadequate.

Justice Jenny Blokland later increased the figure more than a hundredfold and also upheld another ground of appeal, ruling NTCAT adopted too narrow a definition of the term “habitable” and remitted that issue back to the tribunal for reconsideration.

OCTOBER

Uluru turns into waterfall

TOURISTS who stopped into Uluru in October were treated to a “magical” sight, when the rain created a rare series of waterfalls cascading down the rock.

With 30mm of rain falling over 24 hours, parts of the Top End — including Uluru — experienced the biggest downpour in three years.

Hit-and-run death

THE victim of an alleged hit and run in Alice Springs in October died after he was flown to Royal Adelaide Hospital in a critical condition.

Shane Powell was riding his motorcycle when he was hit by an allegedly stolen car that was driven through a red light at the Larapinta Drive intersection.

NOVEMBER

Camper dies in the heat

A WIDELY ADORED man who was living in Alice Springs has been remembered as a “unique, one-of-a-kind guy” who loved spending time in nature.

Thirty-seven-year-old Yun-Seob Shin died in November after going camping in Central Australia.

His car was found by a helicopter in a search near Boggy Hole, approximately 170km south of Alice Springs.

Yun-Seob got bogged on a four-wheel-drive track and succumbed to the extreme weather.

The temperature reached 42.9C in town that day, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Sixth time’s a charm

CALLS for a youth curfew arose several times in 2020, with the latest in November when the council voted to call on the NT government to implement one.

Alice Springs councillor Eli Melky led the charge.

He had introduced a similar motion on five previous occasions, but had lost the vote each time.

“I think the issues of crime in Alice Springs have now escalated to a point where we can’t ignore this,” Mr Melky said.

DECEMBER

Rolfe to be tried in Darwin

THE murder trial of NT Police officer Zachary Rolfe will be held in Darwin following a decision by a Supreme Court judge.

Justice Dean Mildren granted an application by Mr Rolfe’s lawyers for a change of venue after hearing arguments from the defence and from crown prosecutor Sophie Callan SC.

Rolfe was charged with murder after the shooting death of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in Yuendumu last year and was committed to stand trial in the Supreme Court in October.

Mr Rolfe’s lawyer, David Edwardson QC, applied to have the trial moved from Alice Springs to Darwin last month due to “mischievous and inflammatory” pre-trial publicity.

Mr Rolfe has not entered a plea yet but has previously indicated he intends to plead not guilty.

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