Central Desert Regional Council (CDRC) communities held their Christmas parties this December in the lead-up to the big day.

Yuelamu had their Christmas party on 11 December. Attendees were from Childcare, Agedcare and the Municipal team. They had a spread of cold salads with ham, smoked turkey and roast chicken, along with a Christmas sponge cake with fresh cream. The staff enjoyed their lunch provisions sitting around the table telling yarns in language. Main photo: the Yuelamu Christmas cake.

Left to right: Mack Murphy, Dulcie Frank, Noressa Briscoe, Linda Marshall and Norman Hagan.

Anmatjere also had their party on 11 December at the Ti Tree Roadhouse. Staff gathered to share a meal and reflect on the year that was.  They enjoyed a meal of Christmas ham, chicken and salads – potato, coleslaw, tossed green salad, chicken and salad wraps and some cool non-alcoholic beverages, followed by Christmas pudding and custard.  “We look forward to what 2021 brings,” said Pane Komene, Senior Administration – Anmatjere.

Left to right: Michael Morozak-Smith, Elias Birch-Baird, Jason McKissock, Jason Canning (Local Police Officer), Shane McDonnell, Susan Lin and Pane Komene at the Ti Tree Roadhouse.

Nyirripi had their Christmas party on 16 December. “We had a barbecue in conjunction with Aged Care here at Nyirripi. There was only about eight of us, and we had plenty of food, cooked by our chef, Ben Campion. It was an excellent meal!” said Peter Campbell, Works Team Leader Nyirripi.

Engawala also had their party on 16 December, with staff from the office, Aged Care and the Works team attending. They ate a ham and barbecue lunch with vegetables fresh from Niny Owen’s garden. “It was really good,” said Eddie Owen, Essential Services Officer Engawala.

Atitjere combined their staff party with a community party, with extra funding supplied by Children’s Ground, who helped organise the event at very short notice. A barbecue was cooked with the CDRC barbecue trailer and music was played by local Raymond Reiff and band. The local children enjoyed a visit from ‘Santa’, each receiving a gift.

Atitjere children waiting patiently for Santa.

Lajamanu had their Christmas Party on 18 December. It was a simple affair, with a barbecue enjoyed by the staff that attended.

L – R: Frederick (Jake) Patterson, Stephen Kelly, Maxie Gordon, Sean Murphy, Heather Smith, Michael Erglis and Stewart Penn after the Christmas barbecue in Lajamanu.

Yuendumu also had their Christmas party on 18 December with a barbecue lunch attended by the CDRC Municipal Works Team, Roads Crew and Community Development Program. 

Salads were prepared, many varieties of steak, fish, and not quite meat sausages were barbecued and they even had vegetables and gravy. Everyone pitched in to help cook; one person even mashed his first lot of potatoes. Crackers were pulled, bad jokes were told and platters of fruit were had for dessert. “A good time was had by all; and the best comment was, ‘this was better than Tilmouth,’” said Deb Wearne, Community Services Manager (CSM) in Yuendumu.

The leftovers at Yuendumu.

Laramba and Willowra also had Christmas parties for CDRC staff.

 Lhere Mparntwe (Todd River) is flowing after a good amount of rain fell in Alice Springs.

Good rain has fallen on the Central Desert Regional Council (CDRC) communities as well. North of Alice Springs, the rain is steady and there are sporadic parts where there is water over the Stuart Highway (with a gentle current – for now) from approximately 2 kms before the Laramba turnoff, until Aileron. The Tanami road has been closed due to flooding.

Main photo: the Tanami Highway.

The Nyirripi road is closed and in Nyirripi the phones are not working and large parts of the community are under water, including roads and the football oval.

Rain over the roads in Nyirripi.

All Yuelamu access roads are closed due to the rain over the past two days with more forecasted until 25 December. Also closed is the Yuelamu Clinic as they are on call from Yuendumu clinic over the Christmas period. Yuelamu airstrip, rubbish collection and Power and Water staff are also not available due to this weather system.

Rain over the road out of Yuelamu.

All Engawala access roads are now closed due to heavy rain falls over the past two days with more forecasted for at least the next two days. Engawala airstrip is also closed until further notice.

Locals enjoying the floods in Engawala.

The Mt Dennison to Willowra road is closed and the road from Willowra to Stuart Highway is unpassable due to the heavy rain we had in the last few days. Lander River is predicted to soon be flooded.

Atitjere has had steady rain and the creeks are flowing on the Plenty highway but are not an issue to traffic. “We have been getting a good soaking rain,” said Scott Pinchbeck, Community Safety Patrol Team Leader for Atitjere. The Plenty Highway is closed between Dneipier Intersection and the Queensland Border due to flooding.

The freight truck got in early on the morning of 22 December to get in Christmas supplies to Lajamanu. “The rain is a continuous heavy drizzle that occasionally turns into heavy rain,” said Community Services Manager Heather Smith.

Hooker Creek at Lajamanu.

Laramba has been cut off due to closed roads and the Napperby River flowing. “The two sides of the river are flowing and it’s still raining,” said Billy Briscoe, acting Community Services Coordinator. “It’s good for country. Lots of green grass coming up,” he added.

But some of the houses have been flooded with water in Laramba.

One of the flooded houses in Laramba.

Yuendumu has had several days of persistent rain.  Monday morning early was torrential resulting in the flooding of roads.  The airstrip was closed for almost 24 hours but re-opened the morning of 22 December.

The levy bank breaching on the south side of Yuendumu – there are houses on the right of the photo but the flood water had not penetrated them.