Alice was the wife of Sir Charles Todd, Postmaster General of South Australia. Originally, it was the name of the telegraph station on the Overland Telegraph from Adelaide to Darwin, completed in 1872. The town was originally named Stuart in honor of John McDouall Stuart who completed the north-south crossing of the continent in 1862. Completion of the railroad from Adelaide in 1929 led to a shift in settlement away from Alice Springs to the townsite on the Todd River (named for Alice's husband) about 10 km from the telegraph station.
Because of confusion between the name of the town and its telegraph station, the town was renamed from Stuart to Alice Springs in 1933. The location of the telegraph station is now known as Telegraph Station.
Incidentally, about 2000 of the 28,000 residents of the area are American because of a nearby satellite tracking station. Holidays celebrated in the area include Thanksgiving, Halloween, and the 4th of July, and baseball, basketball, and ten pin bowling are played.
Aboriginal name of the town is Mbamtwe.
