Hermannsburg
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“Most of the early houses have long since been demolished and their position and construction is unclear. Erected in 1883-4 the Colonist’s House is the oldest dwelling still standing, and originally consisted of several rooms or small flats for white workmen and their families".
Not that far from Wallace Rockhole in Tjoritja (the West MacDonnell Ranges country) is the community of Hermannsburg (the sacred site of Ntaria). The township is 130km to the west of Alice Springs.
“The decorated ceramics of the Hermannsburg Potters are a celebration of the boundless capacity of the human mind and spirit. We can only hope that the artists stay firm in their resolve not to be typecast, and that those who may attempt to typecast Aboriginal art will come to realise that it is as diverse as any other contemporary art form” Betty Churcher
Hermannsburg Mission was established by German Lutheran missionaries in 1877 and since 2006 has been included in Australia’s National Heritage List. The mission was established at a time of pastoral industry expansion or cattle grazing in this central region of Australia.
“Most of the early houses have long since been demolished and their position and construction is unclear. Erected in 1883-4 the Colonist’s House is the oldest dwelling still standing, and originally consisted of several rooms or small flats for white workmen and their families. Colonists were Lutheran workmen sent from Germany, trained in the skills of carpentry, shearing, stock breeding and so on.
Until the railway reached Alice Springs in 1929 Hermannsburg was almost a month’s continuous travel from the Barossa Valley”.
Hermannsburg is not quite what you expect as its historic precinct, eucalypts and desert country aside, looks very German indeed. The mission was developed by the Hermannsburg Missionary Society under the additional influence of the German Lutheran community in South Australia’s Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills.
The influence of German architectural style and the instruction of German tradesmen are clearly present in the layout and in the buildings themselves. Unusually for this region today, many of the buildings are made from stone, a style that helps to keep the buildings cooler in the extreme heat of summer months.
The layout of the architectural elements that comprise the historic precinct are in a ‘village’ style, the church and school a central feature in this part of town.
Each building in the precinct with its purpose that includes accommodation facilities for the German pastors, colonists and Aboriginal people. There are places of work too, such as the tannery, which was established in 1936. It is not too hard to imagine mission life here and what this did to change the lives of Aboriginal people.
There are the places for the distribution of rations and dinning places for communal meals, the separation of Aboriginal children from their parents and central to life here, the church, school and work, the work for women, domestic and the work for men, labouring.
The Australian Heritage Council describe Hermannsburg Mission thus:
"Managed by Lutheran missionaries and the Lutheran Church from 1877-1982, it is one of the longest serving denominational missions in Australia. Its history, expressed through the structures and landscaping which are a feature of the Historic Precinct, reflects several phases of missionary and government policy towards Aboriginal people spanning 105 years, from intervention to protectionist policies, assimilation and finally self-determination".
The mission functioned as a refuge for Aboriginal people during the violent frontier conflict that was a feature of early pastoral settlement in central Australia. The Lutheran missionaries played a key role in attempting to mediate conflict between pastoralists, the police and Aboriginal people, and spoke out publicly about the violence, in doing so creating a heated national debate.
Since its establishment in 1877 or shortly thereafter, Aboriginal people have lived at Hermannsburg. Today it is a relatively large Aboriginal settlement with a population of somewhere between 600 and 700 people.
We should also not forget that this is ‘Namatjira country’. The famous artist grew up in Hermannsburg and his tradition of watercolour painting continues in the hands and eyes, and the brushes of artists working today.
Namatjira is important in the history of Australian art because he created a highly distinctive style and hence the Aboriginal school of Central Australian landscape painting, using watercolour paints on paper. As a result he was probably the first Aboriginal artist to hold exhibitions of his work, both in Australia and overseas.
Life at the Hermannsburg Mission was central to Namatjira’s development as an artist. His first experience in painting commercially occurred here in the early 1930s. Artist, Rex Battarbee’s visit to Hermannsburg Mission was pivotal in introducing the European style of watercolour painting to the young Namatjira. The mission played an important part in supporting and promoting Namatjira’s early paintings.
In 1947 a Namatjira watercolour was given to the Queen for her Majesty’s 21st birthday. Namatjira met the Queen in 1954 during her coronation tour of the Australian capital, Canberra. The Queen was given a second work at this time. In 2013 Kevin and Lenie Namatjira met the Queen and Prince Phillip at Buckingham Palace.
We drop in to say hello to the Hermannsburg Potters, the now internationally known group of local potters are a story that began in 1982, when the Arrernte community took over responsibility for the mission and surrounding community. At that time Pastor Nahasson Ungwanaka wanted to find opportunities for employment in the community, he pursued the idea of providing training in ceramic design in the community and this led to the appointment of Naomi Sharp, as potter and teacher and the founding of Hermannsburg Potters in 1990.
The potter’s studio has had a recent make over and it looks contemporary and like a great space to work in. The pots are made using the coil technique, now a long held tradition, with strong decoration that can feature sculptural forms, which include sporting figures and Australian wildlife.
“The decorated ceramics of the Hermannsburg Potters are a celebration of the boundless capacity of the human mind and spirit. We can only hope that the artists stay firm in their resolve not to be typecast, and that those who may attempt to typecast Aboriginal art will come to realise that it is as diverse as any other contemporary art form” Betty Churcher
Hermannsburg Mission was established by German Lutheran missionaries in 1877 and since 2006 has been included in Australia’s National Heritage List. The mission was established at a time of pastoral industry expansion or cattle grazing in this central region of Australia.
“Most of the early houses have long since been demolished and their position and construction is unclear. Erected in 1883-4 the Colonist’s House is the oldest dwelling still standing, and originally consisted of several rooms or small flats for white workmen and their families. Colonists were Lutheran workmen sent from Germany, trained in the skills of carpentry, shearing, stock breeding and so on.
Until the railway reached Alice Springs in 1929 Hermannsburg was almost a month’s continuous travel from the Barossa Valley”.
Hermannsburg is not quite what you expect as its historic precinct, eucalypts and desert country aside, looks very German indeed. The mission was developed by the Hermannsburg Missionary Society under the additional influence of the German Lutheran community in South Australia’s Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills.
The influence of German architectural style and the instruction of German tradesmen are clearly present in the layout and in the buildings themselves. Unusually for this region today, many of the buildings are made from stone, a style that helps to keep the buildings cooler in the extreme heat of summer months.
The layout of the architectural elements that comprise the historic precinct are in a ‘village’ style, the church and school a central feature in this part of town.
Each building in the precinct with its purpose that includes accommodation facilities for the German pastors, colonists and Aboriginal people. There are places of work too, such as the tannery, which was established in 1936. It is not too hard to imagine mission life here and what this did to change the lives of Aboriginal people.
There are the places for the distribution of rations and dinning places for communal meals, the separation of Aboriginal children from their parents and central to life here, the church, school and work, the work for women, domestic and the work for men, labouring.
The Australian Heritage Council describe Hermannsburg Mission thus:
"Managed by Lutheran missionaries and the Lutheran Church from 1877-1982, it is one of the longest serving denominational missions in Australia. Its history, expressed through the structures and landscaping which are a feature of the Historic Precinct, reflects several phases of missionary and government policy towards Aboriginal people spanning 105 years, from intervention to protectionist policies, assimilation and finally self-determination".
The mission functioned as a refuge for Aboriginal people during the violent frontier conflict that was a feature of early pastoral settlement in central Australia. The Lutheran missionaries played a key role in attempting to mediate conflict between pastoralists, the police and Aboriginal people, and spoke out publicly about the violence, in doing so creating a heated national debate.
Since its establishment in 1877 or shortly thereafter, Aboriginal people have lived at Hermannsburg. Today it is a relatively large Aboriginal settlement with a population of somewhere between 600 and 700 people.
We should also not forget that this is ‘Namatjira country’. The famous artist grew up in Hermannsburg and his tradition of watercolour painting continues in the hands and eyes, and the brushes of artists working today.
Namatjira is important in the history of Australian art because he created a highly distinctive style and hence the Aboriginal school of Central Australian landscape painting, using watercolour paints on paper. As a result he was probably the first Aboriginal artist to hold exhibitions of his work, both in Australia and overseas.
Life at the Hermannsburg Mission was central to Namatjira’s development as an artist. His first experience in painting commercially occurred here in the early 1930s. Artist, Rex Battarbee’s visit to Hermannsburg Mission was pivotal in introducing the European style of watercolour painting to the young Namatjira. The mission played an important part in supporting and promoting Namatjira’s early paintings.
In 1947 a Namatjira watercolour was given to the Queen for her Majesty’s 21st birthday. Namatjira met the Queen in 1954 during her coronation tour of the Australian capital, Canberra. The Queen was given a second work at this time. In 2013 Kevin and Lenie Namatjira met the Queen and Prince Phillip at Buckingham Palace.
We drop in to say hello to the Hermannsburg Potters, the now internationally known group of local potters are a story that began in 1982, when the Arrernte community took over responsibility for the mission and surrounding community. At that time Pastor Nahasson Ungwanaka wanted to find opportunities for employment in the community, he pursued the idea of providing training in ceramic design in the community and this led to the appointment of Naomi Sharp, as potter and teacher and the founding of Hermannsburg Potters in 1990.
The potter’s studio has had a recent make over and it looks contemporary and like a great space to work in. The pots are made using the coil technique, now a long held tradition, with strong decoration that can feature sculptural forms, which include sporting figures and Australian wildlife.
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