The provision of water infrastructure in Aboriginal communities in South Australia

Abstract

The provision of water supplies to Aboriginal people in South Australia, particularly to communities covered under the Commonwealth–State (South Australia) Bilateral Agreement is considered world class in terms of the suitability of the technology to the remoteness of many of the communities and the harsh arid environment. This article explores the history of domestic water supplies to these Aboriginal communities. The article begins with a brief outline of pre-contact Aboriginal technologies for the maintenance of water supplies and reflects on the continuity of these approaches through the early years of pastoralist and missionary settlement. This is followed by a description of the services offered by the state and federal governments since the late 1970s to the present.