Visit Tennant Creek’s Aboriginal museums, galleries and historic sites and hear the stories borne from thousands of years of Aboriginal culture.
The Tennant Creek and the Barkly region is rich in ancient tradition and history and home to nine Aboriginal groups including the Warumungu, Walpiri, Kaiditch and Alyawarr people.
Art & culture
Stop by the Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Culture Centre, which showcases the ways of the Warumungu people, whose legend states that Tennant Creek is within the homeland of the powerful ancestral being, Nyinkka, a spiky tailed goanna. Visit the award-winning museum and gallery and get an insight into the ancient traditions and beliefs of the Warumungu people and see local Aboriginal artwork. The centre also invites guests to join a guided tour through the gallery and museum before heading outdoors to learn about bush foods and medicines.
Located on the northern outskirts of Tennant Creek, the Pink Palace was originally built as a hostel for stockmen and their families, but today is home to the Julalikari Arts and Crafts program, where local Aboriginal women meet to paint traditional and contemporary artwork. Pop in to chat with local artists, watch them at work, and have the opportunity to purchase works directly.
Giant boulders
The famous Devils Marbles, within the Karlu Karlu/Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve, are a spectacular sight to behold. Take a self-guided walk from the car park and enjoy the changing colours of the rocks, particularly as the sun rises or falls.
The smaller relatives of the Devils Marbles, The Pebbles form a unique and beautiful landscape. These granite boulders are known to the Warumungu Aboriginal people as Kunjarra, and are a sacred site and women’s dancing place for the Munga Munga Dreaming.
