Displaying results 31 - 38 of 38
The church building of course was the heart of the mission. While the historic Church stands quietly now in the heart of the historic precinct, the new heart has moved with the growing town of Ntaria and is located outside the Mission compound; if you sit quietly enough you can still hear the echo of Arrarnta ancestors raising their voices to God.
The records of the mission often mention the beautiful sounds of the Arrarnta people with their voices raised in song. Hermannsburg Mission has a long tradition of music including both pastoral music and popular country and western.
Pottery did not exist in Arrarnta culture before the coming of Europeans, however the Hermannsburg Potters demonstrate the adaptive and continually evolving creativity of Arrarnta people.
The watercolour traditions of the Namatjira school of painting need no introduction. Hermannsburg mission has a large collection of these paintings.
The Manse was completed in 1888 and built to accommodate the first missionaries and their equally intrepid wives who had journeyed from Hamburg, Germany into a new and totally unfamiliar world in Central Australia.
The exact origin of this building is a mystery waiting to be solved; at its core it may be as old as 1896 although there have been many modifications over the years.
Ted or Theodor Georg Heinrich (T.G.H.) Strehlow’s story is fascinating. The son of the missionary Carl and Frieda, he spent his formative years growing up on Hermannsburg Mission, leaving only on the tragic journey on which his father died. He returned to Central Australia many years later as the local patrol officer and anthropologist and picked up where his father left off recording the culture of the Arrarnta people and their neighbours.
The cultural landscape that exists today is testimony to Aboriginal people’s resilience and ability to adapt over time. Hermannsburg, pastoralism and religion are key features of the past that have shaped and defined the lives of Traditional Owners today. Arrarnta people have maintained strong connections and deep attachment to their country, despite the effects of colonialism and the efforts of many to undermine traditional practices and Aboriginal law.
