Utopia, also known as Urapuntja and Amengernterneah,[1] is anAboriginal Australian homeland area formed in November 1978 by the amalgamation of the former Utopiapastoral lease, from which it gains its name, with a tract ofunalienable land to its north. It covers an area of 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi), transected by theSandover River, and lies on a traditional boundary of theAlyawarre andAnmatyerre people, the twoAboriginal language groups which predominate there today (85% speakingAlyawarre).
It has a number of unique elements. It is one of a minority of communities created by autonomous activism in the early phase of theland rights movement. It was neither a formermission, nor a government settlement (Aboriginal reserve), but was successfully claimed byAboriginal Australians who had never been fully dispossessed. Its people have expressly repudiated any municipal establishment, and instead live in about 13 (or up to 16)outstations (homelands) orclan sites, each with a traditional claim to the place. The land is also differently identified as five Countries, which are reflected in Aboriginal place names, which were created by ancestors: Alhalpere, Rreltye, Thelye, Atarrkete and Ingutanka. Alhalkere, (also known as Alalgura) and Utopia Station.[2]
Itslocal government authority is theBarkly Regional Council, with two elected local authorities,Ampilatwatja andArlparra. The peak body for representing the residents is theUrapuntja Aboriginal Corporation. A permit is required for all visitors, obtainable via theCentral Land Council.
The health of the inhabitants is generally better than the averageIndigenous Australians' health. Utopia is known for its artists, such asEmily Kame Kngwarreye and the Petyarre sisters, and there is a community art centre at Ampilatwatja.
By 1872 theOverland Telegraph Line between Darwin and Alice Springs had been completed, which gave access to Europeans through manytraditional lands.Pastoralism grew little by little.[3] As thetelegraph station to the south atBarrow Creek was constructed and inhabited, conflict between the localKaytetye people and Europeans occurred. Punitive expeditions caused many Kaytetye,Warumungu, Anmatjerre, and Alyawarre andWarlpiri people to be killed. This conflict was part of theAustralian frontier wars in Central Australia, which caused the displacement of many Aboriginal people. Alyawarra people displaced by the violence during European dispossession fled in significant numbers acrossWakaya country to Soudan and stations on theBarkly Tableland, later moving toLake Nash and to refuges in the east inKaytete lands and beyond.[4]
The first European in the Ampilatwatja region was surveyorCharles Winnecke, who travelled through in 1877 and whose expedition needed help from the Anmatjerre to find water.[5] European occupation of theSandover region began in the early 1880s, around the southernDavenport Ranges, theElkedra and theBundey Rivers. The settlements did not have access to a good supply of surface water; most were abandoned by 1895 because ofdrought and conflict with the Aboriginal people in the area.[6]
However, the pastoral leases occupied the better-watered land, and continued to expand. Around 1910,freehold title leases were granted by thefederal government in order to establishcattle stations on Alyawarr land, aiming to bring white settlers and development to this part of the continent.Traditional owners lost rights toculturally significant sites as well as to their traditional hunting areas.[5]
Earlypastoralists named Utopia in the 1920s, as autopia in which they could catch rabbits by hand because there were so many of them.[2][7]
The land which later became Utopia Station was first leased in 1928, but Aboriginal culture remained strong in this region. Many Aboriginal people worked on Utopia and other nearby stations, with men employed asstockmen and women asdomestic servants. The name is said to have originated with German settlers, brothers Trot and Sonny Kunoth, who acquired thepastoral lease in the 1930s, but others have suggested that it could be a corruption ofUturupa, meaning "bigsandhill", referring to an area northwest of Utopia.[6]
In 1940, the land aroundAmpilatwatja was taken up by John "Nugget" Morton, who was connected to the 1928Coniston Massacre, and he createdAmmaroo Station.[5] By 1947, the entire land through the Sandover subdivision had been occupied.[3]
Relations between the Aboriginal people and cattlemen appear to have been problematic north of Utopia in Alyawarra/Anmatjirra/Kaititja country, but more cooperative in the south: Utopia, MacDonald Downs, Mt Swan, and Bundey River.[citation needed] The Chalmers family, who had owned the adjacent MacDonald Downs station since 1923, acquired the lease in 1965.[6] They sold the lease of Utopia as a going concern to the Aboriginal Land Fund, before it was handed back to the Anmatyerr and Alyawarr people as Aboriginal freehold land in 1979[6]–1980 under theAboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. TheCentral Land Council had lodged the claim on 20 November 1978.[8] Five clans (one Anmatyerre and four Alyawarre) became legal owners of the station.[3]
Alyawarr people took up work asdrovers and fencers on Ammaroo Station the 1960s and 1970s, and in 1976 they were granted a small plot at what was known as Honeymoon Bore, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the station, by the government; this later developed intoAmpilatwatja, the biggest community in Utopia.[5]
During theOutstation movement of the 1970s and 1980s, many Aboriginal people created and moved to tiny communities known as outstations or homelands, as a move towards autonomy and self-sufficiency.[9] There are 16 outstations in Utopia,[1] 13 of these being small family outstations, two (Irrultja and Arawerr) classed as "minor communities" and Ampiliwatja, with a population of 350, classed as a "major community" (see also below).[3]
In 1976 Utopia pastoral lease No. 637 was acquired by the Aboriginal Land Fund Commission.[10] In the 1990s Utopia Station was returned totraditional ownership, and around that time, the Alyawarr people of Ampilatwatja lodged a land claim for their traditional homelands.[11]
In 2013, Utopia lent its name to, and was a major focus of, a documentary film byJohn Pilger namedUtopia, highlighting historical and current issues faced by Indigenous communities across Australia.[12]
Prior to 1 July 2008, Urapuntja Aboriginal Corporation was thelocal government authority responsible for service delivery to the people who live on the Angarapa and Alyawarra Land Trusts. On this date, there was an amalgamation of councils into a newshire framework, but the Corporation remains the peak representative body for residents.[13]
As of 2017[update] provision of services to Utopia is split between several bodies:Barkly Regional Council ("Shire" until 2014[14]) has responsibility foraged care and night patrol services, while the neighbouringCentral Desert Regional Council has responsibility forroad maintenance, and Urapuntja has responsibility for administering mail andCentrelink. This arrangement has led to some confusion on occasion.[15]
The councilward covering Utopia is Alyawarr.[16][17] There are also two local authorities, which serve to advise the council on service delivery plans, give advice on Council community and social projects to improve the life of residents, and alert Council to new issues in the community.[18] The two local authorities in Utopia are Arlparra[19] and Ampilatwatja.[11]
In the2016 Australian census, the population of the Utopia - Arawerr - Arlparra Indigenous location was 401, all Aboriginal, 85% of whom identified as Alyawarr. Only 4% of households only spoke English at home.[20] However the population can vary enormously, depending on seasonal, social and cultural events, and is estimated to be around 1,000 people in total.[1] The population of the small outstations can vary between 20 and 100 people.[21]
Today the largest centre is Ampiliwatja (about 350 people), with Irrultja and Arawerr next in size. The 13 family outstations are:[3]
Ampilatwatja (pronouncedum-bludder-witch) is located in the heart of Alyawarr country, on theSandover Highway, and is considered the "cultural heart" of the country, with many local artists living in this region. The Community Art Centre was established in 1999. The people of this area have close ties to the people who live atAlpurrurulam (Lake Nash).[11]
Alhalkere, also known as Alalgura and formerly Utopia Station, lies adjacent to Utopia (and sometimes included in Utopia[7]), and is the birthplace of Emily Kame Kngwarreye. Utopia is also described as a grouping of five Countries, named after the ancestors who created them, giving them Indigenous place names: Alhalpere, Rreltye, Thelye, Atarrkete and Ingutanka.[2]
The Utopia clinic is at Amengernternenh, and it services other small outstations such as Antarrengeny, Ngkwarlerlaner, and Arnkawwenyerr.[21][23] It is "community-controlled". Aboriginal health workers are employed at some of the outstations.[13]
Community facilities in Arlparra, about 17 kilometres (11 mi) south of the clinic,[1] include a general store (with limited supplies of fresh food[1]), sports centre, police station (built duringThe Intervention in 2007 and staffed by two officers[13]), the main school and a campus of theBatchelor Institute, a tertiary education facility,[21] and an aged care facility.[1] Three other schools are based at Soapy Bore homeland, Apungalindum homeland and "the Health Clinic homeland.[13]
There is anairstrip at Ampilatwatja, used mostly for mail and theRoyal Flying Doctor Service.[11]
There are other stores at Red-Gum Station and Three Bores.[1]
Thepower station at Arlparra generates and provides power to all homelands in the Utopia region, Ampilatwatja community, Ammaroo Station, Irrultja and Atnwengerrpe Homelands. Allbores on homelands are electrified, apart from two operated bysolar power.[13]
A permit is required for all visitors, obtainable via theCentral Land Council.[1]
The Utopia region is a dry community, andalcohol is strictly prohibited. There is a night patrol operated by the Urapuntja Aboriginal Corporation.[21]
The 30-year history of Utopia (until 2011) is a record of self-determination against a background of well-developed communal will and widespread participation. The era of settlement included some profitable relations with white pastoralists and some degree of continuous Indigenous occupation. The community has had some success in mitigating the clinical disorders associated with transition to sedentary life, and minimising the advent of destructive behaviours and intoxicants. In addition, they have maintained a strong commitment to traditional practices and customs, which support identity in the face of coercive change. Sanitation issues such as the lack of rubbish collection and poor hygiene are significant obstacles to greater well-being.[24]
A series of population health surveys carried out between 1986 and 2004 showed that Utopia people were significantly healthier than comparable groups, particularly theirrates of mortality. This has been attributed to the more active "outstation way of life" and the consumption oftraditional foods. Community living, cultural factors and theprimary health care facility were also important factors.[25][26][6]
In 2014, theborehole supplying water to the community of Utopia was broken during maintenance by Barkly Regional Council, and delivery of water via truck was irregular and insufficient, leading to the spread of disease.[27][28] While there was dispute by authorities about the extent of the water shortage[29][30][31] the Northern Territory government eventually agreed to fund the bore repairs, and money raised by a crowdfunding campaign was transferred to the Urapuntja Health Service.[32]
Body painting andsand paintings have always been important aspects ofceremony, and there has been a tradition ofwoodcarving which still continues, such as in the work of Josie Kunoth Petyarr, Dinni Kunoth Kemarr and Trudy Raggett Kemarr.Batik was introduced in 1977 and proved to be a very popular medium among the artists.[6]
In 1987, Rodney Gooch from theCentral Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) took over the Utopia Batik Group and encouraged the women to depict their stories and country on batik. This project culminated in the exhibitionUtopia: A Picture Story, in which 88 artists contributing (all women, except for two and which was shown inAdelaide,Sydney,Perth andMelbourne and then travelled to Ireland, Germany,Paris andBangkok.[6]
In 1989, artworks on silk by women artists from Utopia were exhibited in the very first exhibition in theTandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute in Adelaide, entitledUtopia — A Picture Story.[33]
The artists continued to experiment with many media and styles, with the dominating styles being "gesturalabstractionism", such as the work ofEmily Kame Kngwarreye, and the finestippling techniques, as seen in the work of the Ngal sisters andKathleen Petyarre.[6]
Utopia's Aboriginal artists have been remarkably successful, and continue to produce distinctive works that are collected by people in Australia and all over the world.[34] Notable artists from Utopia include Emily Kame Kngwarreye;Angelina Pwerle; seven sisters includingGloria Petyarre,Kathleen Petyarre,Nancy Petyarre andJeanna Petyarre, and their extended family membersElizabeth Kunoth Kngwarray (Kngwarreye) and others; Polly and Kathleen Ngal; Ruby, Lucky, Sarah and Hazel Morton; and many others.[6]
The Community Art Centre at Ampilatwatja, now known asArtists of Ampilatwatja,[35] was established in 1999, and most artists based there paint landscapes and "Arreth" themes, which means paying homage to their traditionalbush medicine, rather thanDreaming stories. The style is distinctive and different from most other Aboriginal artists, marked by their application of fine dots, and "often bright and child-like figurative depiction of the land".[11]
There is also another, more recently established art centre, the Utopia Art Centre,[36] established in 2020.[37] It is located at Urapuntja and representsAlyawarr artists.[38] where local artists Jennifer Purvis Kngwarreye (granddaughter ofEmily Kame Kngwarreye, and anelder of the community) work. Jennifer's work (among others from the art centre) was exhibited at theAraluen Arts Centre in Alice Springs as part of the 30th annualDesert Mob exhibition in 2021, and bought byArtbank.[7] The centre is 100% Indigenous-owned and -run, and as of December 2023[update], the manager is Sophie Lunn.[37]
reproduced by permission 1996