Ltyentye Apurte Community


The Ltyentye Apurte Community, also known as Santa Teresa, is an Arrernte indigenous community in the Northern Territory, Australia, located about south-east of Alice Springs.

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 boys and girls aged 5 to 17 years. Hospital care was provided. Fr Thomas Dixon was responsible for the church.
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.
On 2011 Census data, Santa Teresa is the most Catholic place in Australia.

Governance

The community is governed by a Community Government Council which runs the health service and some other facilities. The community contains a , police station, airstrip and Catholic Church. Since 1 July 2008, the MacDonnell Shire is the responsible local government for the area.

Awards

In 2019, Ltyentye Apurte Community has won the Australian Tidy Town Awards competition and is named Australian most sustainable Community.