Alice Springs
Postcode: 0870
Alice Springs is a town and the second largest centre in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as “the Alice” or simply “Alice”, it had a population of 26,486 in 2005. Averaging 576 metres above sea level, the town is nearly equidistant from Adelaide and Darwin, close to the geographic centre of Australia. The site is known as Mparntwe to its traditional inhabitants, the Arrernte, who have lived in the Central Australian desert in and around what is now Alice Springs for more than 50,000 years.
Alice Springs is best-known outside the region from the title of the Nevil Shute novel A Town Like Alice, even though little of the story takes place in Alice Springs, and because of its proximity to Uluru (Ayers Rock), the monolithic rock that is one of Australia’s best-known natural landmarks and an important focus of Aboriginal culture.
Alice Springs has many historic buildings, such as the Overland Telegraph Station, the Old Courthouse and Residency and the Hartley Street School. Today the town is an important tourist hub and service centre for the surrounding area. It is a well-appointed town for its size with several large hotels, a world class convention centre and a good range of visitor attractions, restaurants and other services.
The Alice Springs Desert Park was created to educate visitors on the many facets of the surrounding desert environment. The arid climate botanic garden, Olive Pink Botanic Garden is a short distance from the town centre. They were named after naturalist and artist Olive Pink, who lived in the town for almost 30 years and died in 1975.
Alice Springs began as a service town to the pastoral industry that first came to the region. The introduction of the rail line increased its economy and productivity. Today the town services a region of 546,046 square kilometres and a regional population of 38,749. The region includes a number of mining and pastoral communities, the Joint Defence Facility at Pine Gap and tourist attractions at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Watarrka National Park and the MacDonnell Ranges.
Alice Springs Population
The population in Alice Springs as of
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Time in Alice Springs
Alice Springs is GMT +7