The Residency, Alice Springs
12 Parsons Street, Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Under the Commonwealth Bruce-Page Government, a decision was made to split the Northern Territory into two separate administrations under the Northern Australia Act, 1926. Major Robert Hunter Weddell was appointed Government Resident of North Australia, residing at Government House, Darwin, and John Charles Cawood was appointed Government Resident of Central Australia to be based at the capital, Stuart, (as Alice Springs was then known). Cawood's appointment was speedily arranged and he arrived in Stuart in 1927 to take up his appointment.
The Residency was still not finished, however, and Cawood and his party were forced to seek alternative accommodation on their arrival in Stuart. A number of options were suggested – from taking up rooms at the Stuart Arms, to borrowing a tent.
