The Story of The Big Hand
The Big Hand is a sculpture of an enormous hand emerging from the ground with another smaller hand protruding from its index finger. The sculpture can be found outside Central Second Hand Shop in Alice Springs, Northern Territory.
The oversized hand attracts customers to the second-hand shop that sells various collectables, ranging from clothes to furniture. The shop operates from 10 am to 6 pm, six days a week, and is closed on Sundays.
A Short Story of Alice Springs
Alice Springs was initially known as Stuart, until August of 1933. The town’s current name was coined by an English surveyor William Whitfield, deriving from the wife of a telegraph pioneer, Alice Todd. However, for many years, the original inhabitants of the region referred to the town as Mparntwe.
Alice Springs is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory, traditionally owned by the Arrernte people for over 30,000 years. The modern Alice Springs is a mixture of European and Aboriginal lifestyles, following the European colonization of the region in the 1860s.
The town is also home to the iconic Big Books. The sculpture is located at the Alice Springs Public Library and represents some of the books that tell the story of the town’s growth and development through different eras. Also, the library has a rich collection of historical and cultural books in online catalogues, serving other public libraries in the Northern Territory.
Alice Springs once had a population of a little over 26,000 people in the urban area around June 2018. Despite the small population, the town’s beautiful landscape, communities, and unique history attract many tourists to the region.
Other Big Things in the Northern Territory
You’ll love checking out or reading about these additional iconic Big Things found in the Northern Territory:
- The Big Fish in Wanguri
- The Big Boxing Crocodile in Humpty Doo
- The Big Aboriginal Hunter in Anmatjere
