Aputula Store

The new Aputula store is a small modern building which was officially opened by Mr Charles Perkins in 1988. Before that the community had a much smaller store with a really old building. The building got too old so a new one was built.

There are six people who work in the store. Five Anangu workers and one European manager who carry out the daily tasks.

The store provides food, fuel and other basic goods for two hundred and fifty residents plus lots of tourists who come through daily in the season. There is a limited range of items available in the store, and everything is very expensive because the store is just recovering from being in massive debt due to previous mismanagement.

All of the food and goods sold in the store are delivered from Alice Springs to Aputula via truck. A big order is received every five to six weeks and a smaller backload is recieved weekly for fresh goods, meat, fruit, vegetables and other items that are running low. To receive these goods, Ray has to travel to Kulgera, 150kms away, to meet the big truck, with the Community Store truck. The round trip takes about six hours every week.

Aputula Store is owned fully by the community and run by the council, although the previous debt was incurred by the lack of continuous good management, not the community. Food is very expensive in the store, as it is in most Aboriginal communities. This is because of a range of reasons including the remoteness and cost of transport and that there are no subsidies from government. Also, up until recently, the community has been paying back the massive debt through big prices.

Anangu workers are all working through CDEP, the community development employment program with top up from the community social club (which is the store).

All of the store workers are currently undertaking computer training which began to be delivered in the community.

The Aputula Store is open 9-12 and 2-4 Mon - Friday and 9-12 Saturdays. Fuel is available outside of these hours with a $10 surcharge.