Yulara

Yulara is an isolated town in the Southern Region of the Northern Territory, Australia. It lies as an unincorporated enclave within MacDonnell Region. At the, Yulara had a permanent population of 887 on an area of. It is by road from world heritage site Uluru (Ayers Rock) and from Kata Tjuta (the Olgas). It is located in the Northern Territory electorate of Namatjira and the federal electorate of Lingiari.HistoryIn early 1970, the pressure of unstructured and unmonitored tourism including motels near the base of Uluru was having detrimental effects on the environment surrounding Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Following the recommendations of a Senate Select Committee to remove all developments near the base of the rock and build a new resort outside of the boundaries of the national park to support tourism to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Commonwealth government agreed in 1973 to relocate accommodation facilities to a new site. In 1976, the Governor General proclaimed the new town of Yulara, some from Uluru.After the Northern Territory was granted Self Government in 1978, development of the new town became a major priority of the Northern Territory Government. Between 1978 and 1981, basic infrastructure was built via the government's capital works program. In 1980 the government set up the Yulara Development Company Ltd to develop tourist accommodation, staff housing and a shopping centre. The first stage of the resort was built between 1982 and 1984 for the Northern Territory Government by Yulara Development Company Ltd., at a cost of A$130 million. The resort was designed by Philip Cox & Associates and won the Royal Australian Institute of Architects Sir Zelman Cowen Award in 1984.