Many of the families who had lived in this region historically were forced to leave the area due to nuclear weapons tests at Maralinga. They were moved to Fregon in the north and to Yalata, very far to the south. Not all of them left, however, and some still living around Iltur reported that they were affected by the fallout of the tests. In 1976, the Department of Aboriginal Affairs offered AU$10,000 for the establishment of an outstation community at Iltur. An outstation was built, but is not always occupied.