Mount Ebenezer facts for kids
Mount Ebenezer is a special place in the southern part of the Northern Territory, Australia. It's both a large farm where animals are raised and a roadhouse where travelers can stop. You can find it along the Lasseter Highway. It's about 55 kilometers (34 miles) from the Stuart Highway and 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the famous rock, Uluṟu.
Mount Ebenezer is owned by the people of Imaṉpa. This community is completely surrounded by the station's land. It's one of the few large farms in the Northern Territory owned by Aboriginal people. A company called Lisanote Pty Ltd manages the station. This company is also owned by the Imaṉpa Community. They also look after the Angas Downs Indigenous Protected Area, which is next to Mount Ebenezer. The Fogarty family holds the main agreement, or lease, for the property.
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History of Mount Ebenezer
Early Beginnings and Traditional Lands
The land where Mount Ebenezer is located has always been the traditional homeland of the southern Luritja people. They are also known as the Matuntara. The station gets its name from a nearby mountain called Mount Ebenezer. This mountain is part of the Basedow Range and can be seen north of the roadhouse.
The mountain was named after Ebenezer Flint. He worked in the area in 1871. He was helping to build the Australian Overland Telegraph Line. This was a very important line that allowed messages to be sent across Australia.
The Liddle Family and Angas Downs
In the early 1920s, a pioneer named William Liddle started a sheep farm called Angas Downs. This farm was located west of the Basedow Ranges. William Liddle had worked before at the telegraph station in Alice Springs.
He settled at Angas Downs with his wife, Mary. Mary was an Aranda woman. They had several children together. From the late 1920s, the Liddle family began to use the Mount Ebenezer area. They used it as an extra part of their Angas Downs farm.
Mount Ebenezer Becomes Its Own Station
Mount Ebenezer officially became its own separate station in 1947. William Liddle's second son, Harold Liddle, started it. Harold was one of the first Aboriginal people to get a special type of long-term agreement, called a perpetual lease, for a farming property.
In 1952, Harold Liddle sold the new station to Ted Kunoth. Ted Kunoth then built a roadhouse at Mount Ebenezer. This roadhouse was important for travelers. It served people driving between the Stuart Highway and Uluṟu.
The Imaṉpa Community and New Ownership
In 1978, Ted Kunoth agreed to let the Aboriginal people of the area create a community. They set up their community on a part of the station's land. This area, known as Imaṉpa, is located beneath the Basedow Ranges. It was separated from the main property for the community.
Later, Kunoth sold the station's lease to Alan Rogers. In 1993, Alan Rogers then sold it to the Fogarty family. The Fogarty family still holds the lease for Mount Ebenezer today.
