MULGA GUITARS CREATED BY FIRST NATION MUSOS

Young people in three communities east of Alice Springs are making their own electric guitars.

Project coordinator Kelvin McCann said it began as part of a CDP program at Ampilatwagja.

“The necks we’re making out of Gidji, we’re actually experimenting with different types of wood,” he said. “But I was particularly keen that we used local wood. The place of Ampilatwagja is surrounded by Mulga so the old men make the spears and boomerangs and nulla nullas out of it.”

Mr McCann said they were yet to go into full scale production but the individual guitars were in high demand.