Tony Tjamiwa (died 12 May 2001), also known as Tony Curtis, was a highly respected elder, traditional healer and storyteller of the Pitjantjatjara people. He was a native speaker of the Pitjantjatjara language.
Tony Tjamiwa was a senior traditional owner of Uluru and Kata Tjuta and was intimately involved in the long battle for the return of them to his people. [1] [2] He was a board member of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. [3] His wife was the renowned artist and carver, Pulya Taylor.
It is one Tjukurpa inside the Park and outside the Park-not different. There are very important secret and sacred places in the Park. One line. Everything is one Tjukurpa.
— Tony Tjamiwa [4]
There is strong and powerful Aboriginal Law in this place. There are important songs and stories that we hear from our elders, and we must protect and support this important Law. There are sacred things here and this sacred Law is very important. It was given to us by our grandfathers and grandmothers, our father and mothers, to hold onto in our heads and in our hearts.
— Tony Tjamiwa [5]
The tourist comes here with the camera taking pictures all over. What has he got? Another photo to take home, keep part of Uluru. He should get another lens – see straight inside. Wouldn’t see big rock then. He would see that Kuniya [= Ramsay's python] living right inside there as from the beginning. He might throw his camera away then.
— Tony Tjamiwa [6]
Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia. The park is home to both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. It is located 1,943 kilometres (1,207 mi) south of Darwin by road and 440 kilometres (270 mi) south-west of Alice Springs along the Stuart and Lasseter Highways. The park covers 1,326 square kilometres (512 sq mi) and includes the features it is named after: Uluru and, 40 kilometres (25 mi) to its west, Kata Tjuta. The location is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for natural and cultural landscape.
Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock and officially gazetted as Uluru / Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory in Australia. It lies 335 km (208 mi) southwest of the nearest large town: Alice Springs.
Kata Tjuṯa,, also known as the Olgas, is a group of large, domed rock formations or bornhardts located about 360 km (220 mi) southwest of Alice Springs, in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. Uluṟu, also known as Ayers Rock, located 25 km (16 mi) to the east, and Kata Tjuṯa form the two major landmarks within the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. The park is considered sacred to the Aboriginal people of Australia.
The Pitjantjatjara are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible.
Lake Amadeus is a large salt lake in the southwest corner of Northern Territory of Australia, about 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Uluru. The smaller Lake Neale is adjacent to the northwest. It is part of the Amadeus Basin that was filled with the erosion products of the Petermann Orogeny.
Mutitjulu is an Aboriginal Australian community in the Northern Territory of Australia located at the eastern end of Uluru. It is named after a knee-shaped water-filled rock hole at the base of Uluru, and is located in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Its people are traditional owners and joint managers of the park with Parks Australia. At the 2011 census, Mutitjulu had a population of 296, of which 218 (71.2%) were Aboriginal.
Aṉangu is the name used by members of several Aboriginal Australian groups, roughly approximate to the Western Desert cultural bloc, to describe themselves. The term, which embraces several distinct "tribes" or peoples, in particular the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara groups, is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable: [ˈaɳaŋʊ].
Pitjantjatjara is a dialect of the Western Desert language traditionally spoken by the Pitjantjatjara people of Central Australia. It is mutually intelligible with other varieties of the Western Desert language, and is particularly closely related to the Yankunytjatjara dialect. The names for the two groups are based on their respective words for 'come/go.'
Curtin Springs is a pastoral lease operating as a cattle station in the Alice Springs region of the Northern Territory of Australia.
Amata, formerly known as Musgrave Park, is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands".
Angas Downs Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) is an Aboriginal Australian-owned 320,500-hectare (1,237 sq mi) pastoral lease, within the MacDonnell Shire area, 300 kilometres (190 mi) south-west of Alice Springs, Northern Territory, 135 kilometres (84 mi) east from Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park, 100 kilometres (62 mi) south-east of Kings Canyon/Watarrka National Park and 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Mount Ebenezer Roadhouse on the Lasseter Highway. The property is a pastoral lease held by the Imanpa Development Association.
Australia's monuments take on many distinct forms, including statues, fountains, natural landmarks and buildings. Whilst some monuments of Australia hold a national significance, many are constructed and maintained by local community groups, and are primarily significant on a local scale. Although Australia's monuments have many roles, including as tourist attractions, their primary purpose is to "safeguard, prolong or preserve social memory into the future". This social memory may relate to anything from colonisation to local industry to sports. The monuments of Australia reflect the nation's social and political history and by memorialising select moments, contribute to shaping how Australian history is told. Although a significant portion of Australia is desert, the population is highly urbanised and the cities contain some noteworthy monuments.
Rene Kulitja, also known as Wanuny Kulitja, is an Aboriginal Australian artist. She works with a range of media, including paint, glass and ceramics. Her most famous design is probably Yananyi Dreaming, which covers a Qantas Boeing 737.
Tjunti is a soakage site near Kaḻṯukatjara, in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located where the Hull River cuts through the Petermann Ranges, about 36 kilometres (22 mi) to the southeast of Kaḻṯukatjara, 41 km (25 mi) by road along the Tjukaruru Road. Tjunti is known as the site where the famous gold prospector Harold B. Lasseter took refuge on his fatal search for Lasseter's Reef. An outstation was established here in 1977, and belongs to a Pitjantjatjara family.
Hector Tjupuru Burton was an Australian Aboriginal artist. He is a leading artist from Amaṯa, in north-western South Australia. His work has been shown in exhibitions since 2003, in several cities in Australia and other countries. His first solo exhibition was held in 2004 in Melbourne. Examples of his paintings are held in the National Gallery of Victoria, the Art Gallery of South Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and Flinders University.
Ginger Nobby Wikilyiri is an Australian Aboriginal artist from Nyapaṟi, South Australia.
Walter Pukutiwara was an Aboriginal artist from central Australia.
Malya Teamay is an Aboriginal Australian artist. He is also an administrator of Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park, serving as a member of its Board of Management. As an artist, Teamay works for Walkatjara Art Uluṟu. This art centre is part of the Uluṟu–Kata Tjuṯa Cultural Centre located inside the national park. Examples of Teamay's paintings are held in the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, and the Museum of Victoria.
Billy Wara was an Australian Aboriginal craftsman who made wooden sculptures. He is best known for his sculptures of goannas, made from wood that is native to the central Australian desert. His sculptures were carved by hand and decorated by burning patterns into the wood. He also crafted traditional hunting tools, such as spears and spear-throwers.
The Katiti Aboriginal Land Trust is a land trust for a block of land in the southwest of the Northern Territory of Australia located in the locality of Petermann. It was created through the Katiti Land Claim in 1980. The trust's owners include Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and Luritja people. The block of land is officially referred to as Northern Territory Portion 1818. It borders the larger Petermann Land Trust area and Uluṟu–Kata Tjuṯa National Park to the north and west, and two pastoral stations to the east and south: Curtin Springs and Mulga Park. The town of Yulara is excluded from the Land Trusts, and sits between the Katiti block and Uluṟu–Kata Tjuṯa National Park.
Breeden, Stanley (1995). Growing Up at Uluru, Australia. Fortitude Valley, Queensland: Steve Parish Publishing. ISBN 0-947263-89-6. OCLC 34351662.