The name of the community Alpurrurulam was taken from the traditional name of the lake now known as Lake Nash.
The community moved to its present site in 1984 and has since flourished.
There is still a strong cultural connection with the lake, as well as the food source of fish and mussels.The surrounding area also provides bush turkey, kangaroo, goanna and other bush foods.
The elders since long ago had a strong work ethic due to their time on many of the surrounding cattle stations, and with heads held high and with great effort and struggle they achieved to establish not just a town but a Christian community and secure a better way of life for their children and future generations.
As God-fearing people the first building constructed was the church which is still in use today. In 2007 the community council established a Liquor Restricted Area which helped towards a peaceful community.
Today the community is serviced by the Barkly Regional Council, church, school, police, community shop, aged care centre and clinic.
During the wet the main roads close down for up to three months, but many bush tracks are used depending on where the water is running, mostly known only by the locals and still difficult to drive without intimate knowledge of the land and soils.