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A large sandstone mountain in central Australia, 208 miles southwest of Alice Springs. There are many springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. It rises to a height of 1142 feet, and is nearly six miles in circumference. Various bats and other marsupials dwell on or near the rock, along with many reptiles.

While of course known to the aborigines for thousands of years, Ayers Rock was discovered by Europeans in 1872 (during surveys for the Overland Telegraph Line). The area is an aboriginal reserve; no tourists have ever visited Ayers Rock (until 1936). The local aborigine tribes do not climb onto Ayers Rock, and consider various areas around the base of the rock to be taboo. Most of these taboos are gender-specific.

Alice Springs    [name changed from Stuart on August 31, 1933]

The narrow-gauge Commonwealth Railways line didn't reach Alice Springs (from the south coast at Adelaide) until 1929. Much of the development in the Alice Springs area followed a gold strike in 1887. The town, with a population of just over 500 (only 50 or so of them whites; and another 50 or so being Pathan cameleers and their families), has a few stores, a post/telegraph office, a police station, a hotel (the Stuart Arms), a few pubs, a couple of churches, a tin-roofed mosque (for the Pathans), a police station and gaol, a hospital (Adelaide House, the only hospital in Central Australia) and a telephone system. Settlers, miners and other rugged rural sorts from all over Central Australia come to Alice Springs for supplies, communications, medicine, etc.  There is a landing strip, and an airplane passes through every other day in each direction (from the south coast to the north, carrying mail). The aircraft, operated by QANTAS, are single-engine DH.61 Giant Moth biplanes; the cabin can accomodate eight passengers (with 800 pounds of luggage and air mail).

The hospital has an ambulance, the police have two simple autos, the railway depot has a truck, and several of the better-off residents own their own automobiles or pickups. Some of the miners and settlers come and go in simple trucks or cars, but horses (and some camels) are still the main means of transport outside of Alice Springs.