The area covered by APY represents the southern portion of the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara homelands; the northern portion is in the Northern Territory, surrounding Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. In 1921, the western half of what is now the APY lands was made into the North-West Aboriginal Reserve. This was alongside another reserve across the border in the Northern Territory, called the Petermann Reserve. Both reserves were intended to form a temporary refuge (safe place) for Aboriginal people. The government said they could continue their nomadic lifestyle there until they could be assimilated into modern society. The eastern half of what is now the APY lands was part of the Woomera Test Range during the 1950s and 1960s. The boundary of the range was later moved further south, and the land was then leased to cattle farmers.