Nyurapayia had ascended to the apex of desert wisdom and sacred knowledge, revered by women across the Western Desert.
Nyurapayia 'Mrs Bennett' Nampitjinpa, was born in 1935 on Pitjantjatjara territory, near today's Docker River community. She experienced her formative years at Pangkupirri, nestled amidst the Gibson Desert's ranges. It wasn't until her teenage years that she encountered white settlers upon arriving at the ration depot in Haasts Bluff. By then, she had already begun to develop a reputation as a healer and ritual authority in the community. Transitioning to Kintore, a newer settlement of the Pintupi, Nyurapayia found herself closer to her ancestral lands. Later, in the 1980s, she journeyed to Tjukurla, crossing into Western Australia.