forgotten territory

(2016-2019)

Forgotten Territory was a weekly photo column of historic images in the Northern Territory News which I curated from 2016 until 2019 supported by the collections of the Northern Territory Library and other cultural institutions around Australia, as well as local history Facebook groups.

Click on the images to read the story behind the image.

Warning: May contain images of people who have died.

Happy 130th birthday to the Arltunga goldfield, site of the first major European settlement in Central Australia. Eastern Arrernte people...

This week marked 145 years since the Overland Telegraph Line was completed, connecting Adelaide to Port Darwin, and Australia with the...

It was back to school this week for Territory kids after the mid-year holidays. It's a feeling many of us remember, beautifully expressed...

On this day 140 years ago, the Hermannsburg Mission was founded in Central Australia. It was established by Lutheran Missionaries Schwarz...

The mass exodus south before Christmas has begun, continuing a long tradition for many Territory residents. But our modes of transport...

Tennis anyone? It’s a huge weekend for tennis in the Centre, with the Alice Springs Tennis International taking the town by storm. And...

It's 130 years since the very first pub opened in Alice Springs, the Stuart Arms Hotel, pictured here with well-known locals Bill...

The faces were familiar but he just couldn't think of the names. After 18 months of research, author Peter Jones (of Newcastle Waters'...

This was many people's favourite shop in Alice Springs in the sixties - the dress shop at the Riverside Hotel, now the Todd Tavern, which...

One of the lesser known Central Australian explorers, Henry Vere Barclay, was back in the news this week. Shown here on horseback...

The grave of dingo trapper Fred Brooks at Lander Creek. His murder was followed by the Coniston Massacres that occurred 90 years ago this...

2 September 2018 Happy birthday to the town of Alice Springs, which was gazetted 85 years ago this week, ending decades of naming...

Friday marked World Teacher's Day! This is one of the few photos of Central Australia's first Aboriginal school teacher Rona Glynn (the...

Parts of Alice Springs are being brightened up this week as part of its inaugural street art festival, the new works joining the town's...

The Territory's first bowling green opened at the Memorial Club in Alice Springs 60 years ago this year. More than 100 people gathered...

After a wet week in Alice Springs, there'll be a lot of this going on this weekend. Here the Bradshaw children play at the Claypans, just...

With some cooler/drier weather not too far away, Territorians are beginning to think about what camping trips they might make this year,...

This week marks 90 years since one of Central Australia's more famous aviation incidents. When legendary aviator Sir Charles Kingsford...

Even if you're sick, there's no excuse to miss the parade. Patients and staff of the Alice Springs Public Hospital gather to see the...

This week the Territory farewelled a great matriarch, Aunty Nancy Croft (née Gibbs). She was born in the northern Tanami Desert in 1928...