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ABC News
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Alice Springs residents celebrate friendship at 2025 Bangtail Muster
Alice Springs residents have celebrated the warmth, openness and diversity of their community at the annual Bangtail Muster event. About 1,500 spectators lined the Todd Mall today to cheer as 28 community groups danced, drove and marched in a colourful parade. The Alice Springs Rotary Club organised the event and said this year's theme was "the magic of friendship". These preschool kids had fun being part of the parade. ( ABC Alice Springs: Xavier Martin ) About 1,500 people watched the parade. ( ABC Alice Springs: Victoria Ellis ) "I've only been here two years and one of the things I love about it is how quickly you make good friends and lasting friends," Rotary member Helen Perry said. "People have that sense that you're here, you may as well be open — what have you got to lose?" Helen Perry dressed up as Chuckles the Clown for the parade. ( ABC Alice Springs: Xavier Martin ) A band of marauding pirates made a swashbuckling appearance. ( ABC Alice Springs: Xavier Martin ) "Today you'll see there'll be 50 nationalities up the mall at least, people from all over the world, which is what Alice is amazing for," she said. A crew of "popcorn princesses" graced the parade. ( ABC Alice Springs: Xavier Martin ) History of the muster The first Bangtail Muster was held in 1959 and was originally a cattle muster that involved stock workers cutting off the hairy ends of cattle's tails so they could be counted. Since then the event has evolved into a community-led fundraiser. Alice Springs Rotary Club president Neil Ross said enthusiasm for the event remained strong after more than 65 years. The crowd packed into the Todd Mall to support their community. ( ABC Alice Springs: Xavier Martin ) Neil Ross has been attending the event since he was a youngster. ( ABC Alice Springs: Xavier Martin ) "Anyone who's ever lived in Alice Springs for any length of time … will have participated in at least one Bangtail Muster," he said. "I was four years old when I had my first Bangtail Muster, I was at Ida Standley kindergarten. "I still remember that and I've been in plenty since, too. " It's just a celebration of our community and makes us feel good about who we are and what we represent. " People of all ages enjoy the parade. ( ABC Alice Springs: Victoria Ellis ) Skateboarders carved it up during the parade. ( ABC Alice Springs: Xavier Martin ) Where will the money go? The roughly $1,700 donated at this year's Bangtail Muster will go towards palliative care services in Central Australia. Palliative care nurse Cathy Reid said the service was "a beautiful space for families to come and spend quality time when time is short". "I get goosebumps every time I talk about it," she said. " It gives families the chance to give time with their loved one without the burden of having to be their carer at the same time. " Palliative care nurse Cathy Reid says friendship is "everything" in an isolated town such as Alice Springs. ( ABC Alice Springs: Xavier Martin ) A hoard of Vikings joined the parade. ( ABC Alice Springs: Xavier Martin ) Ms Reid said friendship was "everything". "Alice Springs is such a remote area and many of us are here without extended family, so your friends become your family," she said. "I've been in town 29 years now and I have some amazing friends who I've met here and we are family to each other. " You wouldn't survive in Alice Springs without good friends. "
ABC News
24-04-2025
- General
- ABC News
Remote Ltyentye Apurte Catholic community pays tribute to Pope Francis
At the entrance to the remote community of Ltyentye Apurte, known also as Santa Teresa, visitors are greeted by a giant cross on a hill looming over a church. Santa Teresa's church lies at the foothills of mountains that surround the remote community. ( ABC Alice Springs: Xavier Martin ) The former mission town is home to about 600 people, more than 80 per cent of whom identified as Catholic at the 2021 census — making it one of the most Catholic places in Australia. A statue in the garden of the Catholic Church in Santa Teresa. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin ) Here in the heart of Australia, worlds away from the Vatican, news of Pope Francis's death has rippled through this small desert community. This week, his framed photo is on display at the church altar, the Santa Teresa Spirituality Centre and in the school library. Framed photos of Pope Francis are on display in several places in Santa Teresa. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin ) At the Ltyentye Apurte Catholic School, Eastern Arrernte teacher Carmel Ryan talked about going on a pilgrimage to Rome to see a previous pope. She said she was "really sad" to have not met Pope Francis. Eastern Arrernte teacher Carmel Ryan at the Ltyentye Apurte Catholic School. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin ) "I am very sad [hearing about the pope's death] … and we will be missing him," she said. " I was always wanting to go and meet this Pope Francis but it didn't happen. " Sitting in the community's spirituality centre, Eastern Arrernte artist Clare Young is surrounded by her paints and rows of painted crosses hanging on the walls. Clare Young surrounded by her paints at the Santa Teresa Spirituality Centre. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin ) Ms Young said her and her cousin had recently painted a cross that was sent to Rome. She later found out they happened to paint the cross in the colours of the Argentinian flag — a link to Pope Francis's home country. "We didn't even know what colour Argentina's country's flag was," she said. "[The cross] was sent to Rome with one of the nuns who came to visit the centre. Clare Young painting a cross in bright colours. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin ) "I've still got it [the story] here, in my mind, and in my heart. " Thinking back after [we] heard about his death, made me feel really sad. " One of Clare Young's finished crosses. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin ) Crosses line the walls of the Santa Teresa Spirituality Centre. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin ) Fighting to keep culture strong Santa Teresa was established by a Christian mission in the 1950s. Sunrise over the community of Santa Teresa in Central Australia. ( ABC News: Greg Nelson ) Early Catholic missionaries across Central Australia instructed Aboriginal people to abandon their language and belief systems and fully adopt Catholic beliefs. But in Santa Teresa, residents made Catholicism their own, by championing their cultural knowledge. Inside the local church — where photography is prohibited — the walls are painted with biblical images featuring solely Aboriginal people, including an Indigenous Jesus. The Santa Teresa community was established in the 1950s as a Catholic mission. The church was built by locals from mud bricks. ( ABC News: Isabella Higgins ) Ms Ryan said while she was a "strong Catholic woman", her language was what gave her strength. "There is a lot of culture in the churches, singing in language … doing activities in language, reading," Ms Ryan said. "Our belief in our language and culture and Catholic faith are joined together as one. "We do respect the pope [in] how he was respecting all languages, all races, all nations." Santa Teresa is believed to be one of the most Catholic places in the country. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin ) Older residents spoke about the impact assimilation policies continued to have on their lives and their families. Ms Young said the Santa Teresa community's culture remained strong despite that, and they "want to keep it that way". "For our kids, for our future, because we don't want to lose our identity," Ms Young said. "We don't want to lose our culture, and we especially don't want to lose our language." The large cross atop the mountains shining over the community. ( ABC Alice Springs: Xavier Martin )
