A week on, Alice Springs is a town forever changed

Days after a riot brought the town to its knees, the mood in Alice Springs is sombre.

It has been a week since Kumanjayi Little Baby was abducted from her home at the Old Timers Camp, and it has been three days since her tiny body was found in a river bed.

Her alleged murder, of which Jefferson Lewis is suspected, ignited righteous anger in the town of nearly 35,000 people, leading to a riot that has left authorities despairing, and locals still burning with frustration.

Taken to Darwin after his arrest for his safety, Lewis is yet to be charged.

On Saturday morning, the house where the little girl was taken from had finally locked its front gates.

The cars that had been parked in its garden are long gone, and her family have returned to their communities and travelled to other camps around the town to begin sorry business, a period of cultural practices that occur after an Aboriginal person’s death.

Grandfather Robin Granites said in a statement last week now was time for people to grieve.

“It is time now for sorry business, to show respect for our family and have space for grieving and remembering,” he said.

“Everyone is feeling very upset, and emotions are very high … our children are precious, of course we are feeling angry and hurt at what has happened.”

One local staying in the camp, who this masthead has chosen not to name, watched on as families continued to pay their respects throughout Saturday.

Alice Springs residents from far and wide dropped flowers, candles, cards and teddy bears in memory of Little Baby.

Coles had run out of bouquets by 11am.

The woman, staying at the camp with her family, said the overwhelming sadness had been palpable, along with the anxiety of knowing her own little girl had played with Kumanjayi Little Baby on the same evening she was taken.

Lewis had been watching the girls together, she said. She has started the process of helping her own child cope with what has happened.

It was important, she said, that Australians know how much these people love their family and want to protect them.

Further around town, some businesses decided to shutter for the evening on Friday, planning to stay closed into Sunday.

Some business owners said they feared a repeat of the violence on April 30, when the local Shell petrol station and an Indigenous-owned grocery store were targeted by furious rioters on the night Lewis was captured and taken to Alice Springs Hospital.

Those that had opened said it was a quiet day, with most locals again choosing to spend the day indoors.

Many Alice Springs residents are reluctant to speak openly about the events of the past week, with one woman saying now was the time for the community and Australia alike to understand that traditional practices were now at play.

When Lewis was arrested by police, he had been beaten unconscious by a group of people who had begun the process of enacting “payback”.

“That has to be completed now,” she said.

Residents also praised the actions of police for taking Lewis to Darwin after his arrest, saying it had helped turn the temperature down.

In the absence of anger, sadness appears to have set in.

The girl’s family told this masthead they have been incredibly hurt by some of the conversations about their way of life on social media.

One family member expressed concern people were “laughing at them” at a time of unimaginable grief, and they were calling for police to step in.

But while the family contends with outside noise, the community of Alice Springs has continued to throw their weight behind them.

At one of the camps where sorry business is being conducted, a food bank has been set up for people to drop off their donations.

The emergency relief centre in town has stayed open to help those struggling – “we’ve been slammed”, one volunteer said – and the Catholic Church held a service to help people try and place their grief.

On its wall, a blessing is framed, called “the Prayer of the Aboriginal People”.

“Father of all, you gave us the Dreaming,” it reads.

“Make us strong as we face the problems of change. We ask you to help the people of Australia to listen to us and respect our culture. Make the knowledge of you grow strong in all people so that you can be home in us and we can make a home for everyone in our land.”

Ambulances, pulled off the road as hell rained down on paramedics and police officers on Thursday night, are back, parked outside a coffee shop on Saturday morning. One responder celebrated finally getting a full night’s sleep after the events of the week.

The Territorians this masthead spoke to all agreed: while the grief continued to be “palpable”, what Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Fiocchiaro said about the love for Kumanjayi Little Baby continued to ring true.

When the going got tough, Alice Springs locals stood shoulder to shoulder in the high buffel grass, walking for hours to find a little girl who was incredibly loved by her family.