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We’re excited to announce that after the hard work and organisation of a range of dedicated individuals, the Watarrka School now has a newly paved basketball court which the children are enjoying on a daily basis.

The original Watarrka School basketball court consisted of a small uneven paved area, surrounded by dirt between the two hoops, which made it hard for the children to play due to the uneven surface.

Christine Munro, Teacher at the Watarrka School saw the children playing on the court and how often it got used, and suggested to upgrade the court to make it more accessible and functional for the kids. The Foundation is always striving to develop projects that promote health and wellbeing among the students, and the school basketball court was a great opportunity to harness their interests while allowing them to further enjoy healthy physical activity.

Reg and Jason from Remote Tours were resourceful in planning the court upgrade, using a local Aboriginal driver to transport the pavers from Alice Springs, (an almost 500km journey) and working with local organisations to keep costs down.

Kings Canyon Resort generously donated a bobcat and bobcat driver for two days who helped transport the soil and level the area.

With no forklifts or cranes available in such a remote area, the job was a big one and was very hands-on, which is where the students, teachers and parents from Braemar College became an integral part of completing this project.

Above: The Braemar College team hard at work during construction.

Generous support from Braemar College

Braemar College has been a huge support to the Watarrka community for the past 7 years. They have been completing tours to the area on a yearly basis with Remote Tours, and have donated a substantial amount of funds to the Watarrka Foundation which were instrumental in the recent build of the second school classroom.

Braemar College also provided the children's play equipment which is used every day at Watarrka Primary School. After a school renovation the equipment had no intended use at the college in Melbourne, so they dissembled it, sent it up on a truck and had their tour group set it up on-site in Watarrka during their next visit.

"The students, teachers and parents from Braemar College have been a huge support to the Watarrka community over the years, and without their help we wouldn’t have been able to finish the new basketball court project in such a short time.” 

- Reg Ramsden, Remot Tours & Founder of the Watarrka Foundation

Above: The finished product! The new basketball court and our helpful Braemar College volunteers.


As part of the Braemar College tour in 2019, there was a group of over 80 individuals from the college including students, parents and teachers who made the trip up to the Watarrka region to help out with the new basketball court.

Children from the Watarrka School are making a trip down to Melbourne next month to experience a different school environment, and students from Braemar College will behousing them during their stay.

The Watarrka students will be attending a range of classes and activities at Braemar College and Mentone during their time in Melbourne, with the purpose of the trip being to excite the students about education and encourage them to continue learning.

Most of the Watarrka students who are going down have never been on a plane before, or even left the Northern Territory. We’re looking forward to providing a summary of highlights from their trip in December 2019.

A huge thank you to Braemar College for their ongoing support, and for their most recent assistance with building the new basketball court for the Watarrka children to enjoy.