May 1 Hermannsburg

Our tour guide daughter had 3 days off so we got to discover some of the sites surrounding Alice Springs. On the first day, we decided to drive out to Hermannsburg. This is an old missionary town that was set up by the Lutheran church in 1877. It is about 150km west of Alice. Makes you wonder how they got out to this place at the time. The driving around Alice is very pretty and interesting. There are always rocky, rugged moutain ranges on the horizon, more often then not in all directions.

First stop along the way was the memorial for John Flynn - the founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

The John Flynn monument

We drove for an hour or so before arriving at Hermannsburg. Perhaps the most famous resident of Hermannsburg was Albert Namatjira, an aboriginal water colour landscape painter. Just outside of the town, there is a monument to this great artist.

Monument to Albert Namatjira

Princess takes in the views of the landscape that inspired Albert Namatjira

The old missionary buildings of Hermannsburg were interesting, but probably not justification to drive the distance from Alice Springs as a sole destination. But we spent a little time wandering through them and learning of some of the hard and harsh times that were experienced in setting up and running the mission.

The old church building at the Hermannsburg mission

Ruby & Judith checking out the old buildings

Ruby framed in a window of an old dormitory room in Hermannsburg

A small population still resides in the town of Hermannsburg. Being mostly aboriginal, we were restricted where we could drive and where I could take photos. However, I did sneak in a couple of photos.

The grandstand at a local footy match in Hermannsburg

Mr Whippy actually visits Hermannsburg!