Catholic Mission School, 1947, by Duckworth, Richard, courtesy of Northern Territory Library.
Details
Arltunga Mission was established in 1942 when the Roman Catholic Little Flower Mission was relocated from Charles Creek to Arltunga, 100kms east of Alice Springs. It was run by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. A Mission School was established at Arltungu, it is unclear whether there were also Mission dormitories. In 1953, the Arltunga Mission moved to a new site 80kms south-east of Alice Springs, where it was renamed Santa Teresa Mission.
Arltunga Mission was the new name given to the Roman Catholic Little Flower Mission in 1942 when it was forced to relocate from Charles Creek to Arltunga, 100kms east of Alice Springs. The arrival of the Army and the establishment of Alice Springs as an Army base due to World War II was a deciding factor in the move.
Two Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, and two Sisters from the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, along with all the Aboriginal residents of Little Flower Mission, were taken to Arltunga in Army trucks in September of 1942. Facilities at the new site were not ready for their arrival and the two Sisters and one of the Missionaries returned to Alice Springs, leaving the Aboriginal people and one Catholic Brother to work at the Mission site. Building materials were supplied by the Military in March 1943 and over the next few months a Mission School was established. It is unclear whether there were also Mission dormitories. At the Mission the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart were in charge of the boys and the girls were under the control of the Sisters from the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.
In 1953, the Arltunga Mission moved again to a new site, 80kms south-east of Alice Springs, where it was renamed Santa Teresa Mission.
1935 - 1942 Little Flower Mission
1942 - 1953 Arltunga Mission
1953 - 1977 Santa Teresa Mission
Sources used to compile this entry: 'Northern Territory: Protectors /Administration / Welfare Branch reports', in To remove and protect: laws that changed Aboriginal lives, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, 2010, http://aiatsis.gov.au/collections/collections-online/digitised-collections/remove-and-protect/northern-territory; 'Reappraising Aspects Of Mission Activity', in Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, 24 June 2013, https://misacor.org.au/index.php/item/201-reappraising-aspects-of-mission-activity; Little Flower Mission Site and Cemetery, Australian Heritage Places Inventory, https://web.archive.org/web/20180404071029/https://dmzapp17p.ris.environment.gov.au/ahpi/action/search/heritage-search/record/RNE16835; Northern Territory Protectors /Administration / Welfare Branch reports 1953-55.
Prepared by: Karen George and Gary George
Created: 7 February 2011, Last modified: 7 November 2018
Last updated: 4 August 2023
Cite this: https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/nt/biogs/YE00026b.htm
First published by the Find & Connect Web Resource Project for the Commonwealth of Australia, 2011
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