History: The Pwanye Aboriginal Land Trust was handed back on 13 th of December 1991 to the traditional owners, the Ryder and Oliver families. Pwanye Aboriginal Corporation was registered in 1998.
Location: William Well is 56km east of Alice Springs along the Ross Highway. There is 1.2km flat bladed track to the outstation that is mostly washed out. The outstation is set on a raised level area among low hills.
Population
Infrastructure
Housing: There are 3 shelters at William Well and one tin shed that is unfinished. It requires electricity and plumbing to be connected.
 
Unfinished housing at William Well.
The 3 houses have basic outdoor kitchen set up – a bench top and sink, but there is no plumbing connecting the water to the sink and all the cooking is done on fires.
Water Supply: Water supply is one of the largest concerns at William Well. Water is from Williams Bore (RN 947) which is pumped to a 12,000 litre tank situated on a hill above the outstation. The bore and tank is shared with and maintained by Undoolya Station, who use a proportion of the water to supply stock. The water is gravity fed (600m) to one tap in the middle of the community at Williams Well. The houses do not have water connected. Residents must collect all there water from the one tap.
 
(left) Water tank at William Well
(right) Henry Oliver, a CDEP worker on the outstation works on enclosing the house shown in photo as part of his CDEP work activities on the outstation.
Security: The excised area of land belonging to Pwanye Aboriginal Corporation is currently not fenced which poses security threats to current infrastructure. There have been 2 incidents of solar equipment, generators and general belongings stolen from William Well. Not only does this cause grief among the residents, but also poses huge setbacks both in terms of capacity building of individuals aswell as further development of the outstation.
Future: The community at William Well continue to struggle for the basic infrastructure – water supplies to housing, power, communication services and shelter. For the Oliver and Ryder family this disrupts their ability to live on country on a permanent basis. Most of the family members move between William Well, Alice Springs, Amoonguna and Santa Teresa community (70km south of Alice Springs). The future of the outstation depends very much on obtaining sustainable, affordable and reliable basic services.
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