Santa Teresa

History

The mission run by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart at Arltunga was moved to Santa Teresa in 1953. It included a Mission school and dormitories which accommodated Aboriginal children aged 5 to 17 years. Hospital care was provided. Father Thomas Dixon was responsible for the church. In 1976, administration was passed from the Mission to an Aboriginal land trust and the community was renamed Ltyentye Apurte. Although the residential section of the Mission school was closed in the same year, the day school remains operational and in the hands of the church. The Keringke Arts Centre was established in 1989. Since 2007 women in the community have painted religious crosses which are exported to Catholic churches around the world. In 1996, the population was recorded at 458, rising to 932 in 2011 and to 684 in 2016 and 708 in 2021. According to data from the 2011 census, Santa Teresa is the most Catholic place in Australia. On November 1, 2023, a landmark legal case was won in the High Court by two public housing tenants in Santa Teresa. The court ruled that NT Housing was liable for any emotional distress caused due to a failure to maintain the houses, and as such the tenants can sue for damages.

Most-observed species

• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  45
• Zebra Finch

  Taeniopygia guttata (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  43
• Budgerigar

  Melopsittacus undulatus (Shaw, 1805) · Aves
  31
• Gray Teal

  Anas gracilis Buller, 1869 · Aves
  28
• Black-faced Woodswallow

  Artamus cinereus Vieillot, 1817 · Aves
  28
• Hoary-headed Grebe

  Poliocephalus poliocephalus (Jardine & Selby, 1827) · Aves
  22
• Crested Pigeon

  Ocyphaps lophotes (Temminck, 1822) · Aves
  21
• Rufous Songlark

  Megalurus mathewsi (Iredale, 1911) · Aves
  21