The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia. The capital city is Darwin; the other two sizable settlements are Alice Springs (in the desert interior, 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) to the south) and Katherine (near the base of the Top End). Residents of the Northern Territory are often known simply as 'Territorians'.******************Alice Springs is a town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Its estimated population of 26,486 (in 2005) makes it the second-largest settlement in the Territory (the only other towns of significant size are Darwin, the capital, and Katherine). It is popularly described as "the Alice" or simply "Alice". Alice Springs is known as Mparntwe to its traditional inhabitants, the Arrernte. Alice Springs is almost equidistant between Darwin and Adelaide. ******************************* Alice Springs is best-known outside the region from the title of the Nevil Shute novel A Town Like Alice, even though little of the story takes place in Alice Springs, and because of its proximity to Uluru (Ayers Rock), the monolithic rock that is one of Australia's best-known natural landmarks and an important focus of Aboriginal culture.*****************Originally named Stuart, the town was established almost as a frontier settlement for north-south travel by camel trains through the desert of the outback. A telegraph station was placed near a permanent waterhole called Alice Springs after the wife of Sir Charles Todd, Postmaster General of South Australia, after whom the Todd River (which is usually dry) was named. The Ghan railway from Adelaide reached Stuart in 1929, and the town moved away from the waterhole, but locals kept the name. In 1933, after much debate, the town of Stuart was officially renamed Alice Springs. The north-south road between Darwin, Alice Springs and Adelaide is still called the Stuart Highway. Almost in the exact center of the continent, Alice Springs is some 1200 km from the nearest ocean and 1500 km from the nearest major cities, Darwin and Adelaide. Alice Springs is now the midpoint of the Adelaide–Darwin Railway. During the 1960s it became an important defence location with the development of the U.S/Australian Pine Gap joint defence satellite monitoring base, home to about 700 workers from both countries, but by far the major industry in recent times is tourism.********************According to the 2001 census, Australian Aborigines make up approximately 17% of the population of Alice Springs, and 29% of the Northern Territory. As Alice Springs is the regional hub of Central Australia it attracts Aboriginal people from all over that region and well beyond. Many Aborigines visit regularly to use the town's services. Aboriginal residents usually live in the suburbs, on special purpose leases (or town camps) or further out at Amoonguna to the South and on the small family outstation communities on Aboriginal Lands in surrounding areas. ******************************* The traditional owners of the Alice Springs area are the Central Arrernte people. As it is the largest town in central Australia, there are also speakers of Warlpiri, Warumungu, Kaytetye, Alyawarre, Luritja, Pintupi, Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara, Ngaanyatjarra, Pertame, Eastern and Western Arrernte among others.******************The American influence in Alice Springs comes primarily from the proximity to Pine Gap, a US satellite tracking station, located 19 km south-west of Alice Springs. While Pine Gap employs 700 American and Australians, there are currently 2,000 people in the Alice Springs district who carry citizenship of the United States of America. American influence can be seen throughout Alice Springs, which celebrates all major American festivals, including Halloween, Independence Day and Thanksgiving. There is also a large influence of American culture in sport, including baseball, basketball, and American football competitions, alongside more Australian sports of cricket, Australian rules football and rugby.**********************The primary reason for tourism to Alice Springs had been its proximity to Uluru/Ayers Rock, which is 400 km to the south west. However, with the creation of Yulara resort in 1984, and an airport allowing tourists to fly directly to Yulara, many tourists no longer visit Alice Springs. Alice Springs had also been used by many Australian tourists as a stopover point between Darwin and Adelaide or Brisbane and Perth, but the airlines now prefer to fly directly to their destinations. ********************************* Alice Springs has a large number of tourist resorts, a casino, the Araluen Centre for Arts and Entertainment, nightclubs, clubs, pubs, restaurants and cafes. Visitor attractions include a Desert Park wildlife centre, the Old Telegraph Station, hot air balloon rides, Royal Flying Doctor Service, School of the Air, camel tours, a reptile centre, the Olive Pink Botanic Garden, and a cinema. Also supporting the tourist industry are over a dozen hotels, caravan parks and backpacker lodges, as well as tourist centres that run tours to Hermannsburg, The Olgas, Uluru (Ayers Rock), King's Canyon, Wallace Rock Hole, Chambers Pillar and a number of other places.*******************Alice Springs is host to a large number of festivals, including the Finke Desert Race and the Todd River Race that are held annually. Much traditional Aboriginal artwork from the neighbouring Central Australian communities, including artefacts and Dreamtime stories is for sale to tourists in Alice Springs.