Alice Springs is a town of fences and this one is the granddaddy of them all: It surrounds what is apparently a Pine Gap facility, between McDonald and Whittaker streets, behind the Harvey Norman store.

The owner of Lot 9145 is the Commonwealth of Australia.

The fence consists of the frequently used spear tipped black uprights, except these are some three metres tall. And above them, more than a metre high, are several strands of wire apparently carrying electricity.

We emailed Defence Media in Canberra: “What is this urban block being used for? Two sources tell us it is a social club for Pine Gap workers.

“Is that true? If not, what is it used for and why does it need a three meter high steel fence topped by about one metre of wires apparently charged with electricity?

“Is it?”

Stand by for an update.

Update 3pm November 7:

Mark Bruno, the manager of Hardy Fencing (not the company which built the fence described above), says fencing is big business in Alice Springs, with some six firms competing here. A two-metre high fence costs about $250 a metre and automatic gates cost around $10,000.

Hardy is an Aboriginal owned firm with 25 employees, almost all Indigenous, and doing most of its work out bush. This year Hardy won the national Supplier of the Year Award – one of Australia’s top Indigenous recognitions.

Update 10am November 8:

A reader shared the following encounters.

I’ve been inside the Lot 9145 at least twice before.

A very long time ago when it was first built, before they heightened the fence, I had been in there where they had an auction of items for sale. Not sure if it’s still being used as a storage facility.

But I do know the smaller offices backing onto Harvey Norman is their Mail Delivery and sorting centre. I know that even former North Americans who used to work at Pine Gap can choose to have any mail from the US delivered there.

They also have training / meeting rooms. Years ago there was a training session for a bunch of new recruits. I was there because I was looking for a job and was told I could go there. Someone let me in thinking I was there to do training. I made myself a cup of tea in the kitchen while I waited.

I also know that if one ever is employed by the base that their low security clearance jobs are in that campus. The high security clearance jobs are out of town, at the base.

Not sure about the social club.

LOL the first time I was there I learnt that you technically can’t just enter the offices without a pass or invitation. A group of new recruits had training in there that afternoon and one person thought I was there for training due to the way I had presented myself at the time. Not sure how long I was there for.

I forgot but would have been maybe 15 minutes before the trainer arrived and I asked them about how to get a job here. They gave me the name of their HR person and only referred me to the website.

It was a different company to what it is now. This was sometime in 2019 between July and October.

I do want to try my luck and get a job with them again in the future. Only because they’ve got a really good package. I’m not worried about the pay, but it’s more or less I’m curious as to what they do. Even low clearance would be an interesting experience.

ED – Amentum is currently advertising 30 jobs in Alice Springs, all “on site” – meaning presumably at Pine Gap. Matt Paterson was working with Amentum during his term as Mayor.

This article appeared on Alice Springs News on 7 November 2025.