Thecla Puruntatameri was born at Nguiu, Bathurst Island (Wurrumyianga) in 1971 and grew up on Melville Island at Garden Point (Pirlangimpi). Her Father’s Country is Rangini, Melville Island, NT and her Mother’s Country is Wangarruwu, Bathurst Island, NT. Her Dreaming is the Kirilima (Jungle Fowl).
Thecla went to primary school at Pularumpi School and to St Johns College in Darwin for high school. She completed year 10 in 1989 and then came back to Pirlangimpi became an artist at Munupi Art Centre. In 2002 after completing a Certificate II in Arts and Crafts at Batchelor College, Thecla started to work as an assistant teacher at the Pirlangimpi School until she retired from her teaching assistant position in 2017. Since this time Thecla has painted on canvas and on paper with natural ochres.
Thecla participated in print making workshops in Canberra (1998), the Pacific Arts Festival Raratonga, Cook Islands (1992) and cultural exchanges with indigenous artists from Tasmania and Victoria. Thecla's artworks are included in many private collections in Australia and overseas as well as in the collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia.