LIKE a lot of people in town, I was not born here. 

I am a “southern import” who was dragged up here when my husband got a job at Nobel’s Nob. 

I was pregnant at the time and the culture shock of moving from a major city to a country town was certainly a unique experience.

That was 35 years ago, and I think I almost qualify as a local these days.

I have never had a driver’s license, never seen the need for one, so I have always walked almost everywhere. 

Even when my daughter was a teen, we would take our dogs out for a walk and were never concerned about it as there was nothing to be worried about in Tennant Creek – there may have been the odd troublemaker (every town has a couple) but nothing so bad that you had to fear for your safety.

However, in the last 12 months or so, this has changed for the worse, I still walk most places, and my job means that I tend to get about a bit, but these days I try to avoid being out on the street after dark, or even just on dusk. 

I no longer feel it is safe to be out when large groups of young people are wandering the streets with no regard for others and bad attitudes. 

Over the years I have volunteered with community groups that work with kids and teens, a lot of whom are now parents themselves. 

I never had a problem with any of them, and I can confidently say I was never scared of them, and some I am still friends with to this day.

Tennant Creek needs help (as does Alice Springs), so the people who live here do not feel like prisoners or hostages to a bunch of children.