St Mary’s Alice Springs

The St Mary’s Alice Springs redevelopment project holds significant importance to the Central Australian community and intends to honour the site’s historical, cultural and spiritual importance, including St Mary’s Chapel.

Overview

The St Mary’s Alice Springs site holds deep significance for:

• The Alice Springs community
• Arrernte people
• Former St Mary’s residents, including those impacted by Stolen Generations policies and their families
• The Anglican Church

In 2024, the Northern Territory Government (NTG) acquired the St Mary’s property from the Anglican Diocese of the Northern Territory to expand social housing supply in Alice Springs.

As part of the acquisition, an agreement was reached with the Diocese to preserve the historically significant St Mary’s Chapel.

In May 2026, part of the site was permanently declared as a Heritage Place under the Heritage Act 2011.  The declared area includes the St Mary’s Chapel (with its heritage listed mural), the Tree of Knowledge (an ancient river red gum), the Yellow Cottage, and the fireplace and chimney from the mission’s foundational building.

The agreement also ensures ongoing community access, particularly for members of the St Mary’s Stolen Generations Group.

The full Statement of Intent is available below on this webpage.

The site is also of strong cultural significance to Arrernte people and is subject to sacred site protections under the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act 1989 (NT). Key protected features include more than 200 trees located across the site, which must be preserved.

Current status

The Northern Territory Government has secured $25 million under the Australian Government’s Housing Support Program – Priority Works Stream to deliver enabling infrastructure that will support future housing development.

Of this amount, $14 million is anticipated to be allocated to enabling infrastructure works at the St Mary’s site. These works will include:

• Power, water and sewerage
• roads
• site preparation
• demolition and remediation.

This investment will facilitate the potential development of social housing dwellings.

The site has capacity to accommodate housing and complementary community spaces, while preserving the historic chapel, mural and other culturally significant features.

In addition to enabling infrastructure works, the 2026 NT Budget continues to develop the St Mary’s site with an additional $12 million in 2026-27 to support an application to the Australian Government’s Housing Australia Future Fund.

Land investigations and stakeholder engagement

The NTG has completed a site survey of sacred trees and existing services, along with a preliminary site investigation.

Concept design for enabling infrastructure is currently underway.

Before any enabling infrastructure works commence, the NTG will ensure that stakeholders are informed.

Consultation activities to date include, but are not limited to:

• The heritage assessment process, including engagement with:
  • The St Mary’s Stolen Generations Group
  • Lhere Artepe Aboriginal Corporation
• Community Housing Provider sector on identifying opportunities and issues to facilitate a social housing development.

This information will guide the delivery of enabling infrastructure works to realise the site’s development potential before any formal market release.

Next steps

Subject to completion of site investigations and design, enabling infrastructure works are anticipated to commence during the 2026–27 financial year.

It is anticipated that there will be further announcements regarding opportunities for the community housing sector to submit proposals for the development of the St Mary’s Alice Springs site.

The Northern Territory Government will continue to keep stakeholders informed throughout all stages of the project with the St Mary’s Stolen Generations Group, particularly regarding continued access to the chapel.

Contact

For further information, please call 08 8999 6596.

Statement of Intent

This Statement of Intent is made between the former Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities (now the Department of Housing, Local Government and Community Development) and the Anglican Diocese of the Northern Territory to ensure the preservation of, and future access to, the St Mary’s Hostel chapel at 311 Stuart Highway.

Download Statement of Intent - St Mary’s Hostel Chapel PDF (204.0 KB)

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which this work takes place, the Arrernte people of Mparntwe, and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. We honour their deep and ongoing connection to Country, culture and community.