Central Land Council's new
interior layout proves to be a
boost for local economy

"We looked at the specifications for the CLC building and we thought, 'well, we did our own building (the Julalikari Council main office) and it can't be harder than that, so we'll have a go at it.'"
"After we got into it though, we realised that it was a lot more complex. It really tested our abilities."
Robert Andrews, workshop manager with Julalikari Workshops gives us an insider's view on the construction of the new Central Land Council building in Tennant Creek. With a workforce of two tradespersons and a team of Aboriginal trainees, the job was completed in eight months, just a couple of weeks over the estimated time.
"We put in the lowest tender, even then it was a bit high and as a consequence the specifications were scaled down a bit. There is no doubt though, that it benefits the town enormously for a local builder to win the contract."
"We had Dexter Barnes, Lavery Plumbing, T & J Refrigeration, Orlando Furniture and G.K. Painting Contractors all supplying their services on this job. There've been other big building jobs in town in recent times where it didn't go to a local builder and as a result the local suppliers hardly got a look in."
Robert points out that local builders are more likely to see past a simple 'bottom line figure', and not go simply for the lowest price when service is what really counts. Local contractors are far better placed to provide fast service.
The curved ceilings with their curved rafters kept the builders on their toes and the complex design called for many phone calls from the site to the architects, Tangentyere Design, in Alice Springs. Another problem was the age of the original structure which resulted in problems like the old imperial size bricks not matching with the new ones. The brief itself was a difficult one - to completely remodel the inside while keeping the external structure the same.
"Nothing was square in the old building, nothing lined up," complained Robert.
"I used to wake up at night thinking about some problem or other and how we could work around it. I'm really proud of the job we've done but I'm sure glad it's finished."
The landscaping of the site was undertaken by SkillShare, also using trainees, who looked at the architect's design and selected and arranged the appropriate plantings.
The renovated office was officially opened on the 11th February by CLC Deputy Director Harold Furber. He congratulated Julalikari Workshops on the excellent standard of work.
Julalikari Workshops are currently building five houses out bush for Buramana and another thirty houses in town through the Health Infrastructure Priority Projects (HIPP) program.