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Central Australia is a term used to describe an area centred on Alice Springs in Australia. It is sometimes referred to as Centralia; likewise the people of the area are sometimes called Centralians.

The main township in Central Australia is Alice Springs, however this area also includes all of the desert lands surrounding it. Whilst a few of these townships (such as Barrow Creek) are stations (ranches), the vast majority of them are indigenous Australian communities.

Alice Springs, the main focus of Central Australia, is predominantly Anglo-Celtic Australian, with approximately 25% Aboriginal population, however the surrounding communities which make up Central Australia are almost exclusively Aboriginal. Therefore, the total population of the area known as Central Australia is approximately 50% Aboriginal. This population is estimated to be approximately 60,000 people.

Location of Central Australia shown on this map of Australia as it was from 1927 to 1931

George Pearce, Minister for Home and Territories in the Federal Parliament in the 1920s, thought that the Northern Territory was too large to be adequately governed, and thus for a short time a separate territory named Central Australia existed.

Central Australia, like the Northern Territory, had its own Government Resident and administration. The division was along the line of 20 degrees south, down to the South Australian border, and took effect on 1 February 1927 through the North Australia Act 1926. However the territory only lasted for five years, and was reincorporated into Northern Territory on 12 June 1931. A rare, perhaps unique, original map of this temporary division is on display at the Overlander's steakhouse restaurant in Hartley Street, Alice Springs.

There is no official centre of Australia. The concept has intrigued various people from the time of early European exploration. Central Mount Stuart, for example, was so-named because it was believed to stand at the geographical centre of Australia. Today, different calculations give varying results but in general they agree on the area within 200 kilometres south of Alice Springs.

• Eastern states of Australia
• Northern Australia
• Southern Australia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (August 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

• Alice Springs Film and Television
• Centre of Australia, States and Territories. Education/Fab Facts. Geoscience Australia (2004). Retrieved on 2006-02-13.
• storyWall - An Alice Springs community project - http://storywall.wikispaces.com