Ntaria, the former Lutheran Hermannsburg Mission, located about 130 kilometres west of Alice Springs, is now home to the Hermannsburg Potters. The Arrernte people from this area – inspired by the example of their forebear, Albert Namatjira – are famous for their watercolours of the desert interior of Australia.
When the Arrernte community took responsibility for the mission in 1982, Pastor Nahasson Ungwanaka (an important figure in the community and husband of potter Rahel Ungwanaka) sought to establish livelihoods for his people. Although he had had some experience of modelling clay figures in the early 1970s, he lobbied for more formal instruction in ceramics. This resulted in the 1990 appointment of teacher-potter Naomi Sharp and, later, the establishment of the Hermannsburg Pottery.