<P> World War II brought significant changes to Alice Springs . Prior to the war, Alice Springs was an extremely isolated settlement of fewer than 500 people . During the war, however, the town was an extremely active staging base, known as No. 9 Australian Staging Camp, and a depot base for the long four - day trip to Darwin . The railway hub in Alice Springs was taken over by military operations and the number of soldiers posted in Alice Springs grew rapidly, as did the number of personnel passing through on their way to and from Darwin . When Darwin was threatened by Japanese forces, the sea routes--the Northern Territory capital's primary means of transportation and resupply--were cut off . The evacuation of Darwin first brought a large number of civilians including elected officials and many of the territory government's records . Alice Springs became the war - time civilian capital of the Northern Territory . When Darwin was bombed by Japanese air forces, a large number of military personnel and their heavy equipment were rapidly moved south to Alice Springs . </P> <P> The number of soldiers posted in Alice Springs peaked at around 8,000 and the number of personnel passing through totalled close to 200,000 . Once the war ended, the military camps and the evacuees departed and Alice Springs' population declined rapidly . After being visited by nearly 200,000 people, including the American General Douglas MacArthur, Alice Springs gained considerable fame, The war years also left behind many structures . The historically - listed Totem Theatre, created for the entertainment of this camp, still exists today . The Australian Army set up the 109th Australian General Hospital at Alice Springs . Seven mile aerodrome was constructed by the Royal Australian Air Force . War - related operations necessitated the first sealing of the road between Alice Springs and Larrimah, expansion and improvement of Alice Springs' water supply, and improving the rail head . The war - related operations left behind thousands of pieces of excess military equipment and vehicles, and a marked increase in Alice Springs' population . </P> <P> During World War II Alice Springs was the location of RAAF No. 24 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot (IAFD), completed on 20 May 1942 and closed in November 1944 . Usually consisting of four tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the RAAF and the US Army Air Forces at a total cost of £ 900,000 ($1,800,000). </P> <P> During the 1960s Alice Springs became an important defence location with the development of the US / Australian Pine Gap joint defence satellite monitoring base, home to about 700 workers from both countries . </P>

Where does alice springs get its water from