Everything about Darwin Northern Territory totally explained
Darwin is the
capital city of the
Northern Territory,
Australia. Situated on the
Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 114,368, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely peopled Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities. It is the smallest and most northerly of the Australian capital cities, and acts as the
Top End's regional centre.
Over time Darwin has grown from a pioneer outpost and small port into one of Australia's most modern and
multicultural cities. Its proximity to
Asia makes it an important Australian gateway to countries such as
Indonesia and
East Timor. The
Stuart Highway begins in Darwin, ending at
Port Augusta in
South Australia.
The city itself is built on a low bluff overlooking the harbour. Its
suburbs spread out over some area, beginning at
Lee Point in the north and stretching to
Berrimah in the east – past Berrimah, the Stuart Highway goes on to Darwin's
satellite city,
Palmerston, and
its suburbs.
The region, like the rest of the Top End, has a
tropical climate, with a
wet season and a
dry season. It receives heavy rainfall during the Wet, and is well-known for its spectacular
lightning.
The original inhabitants of the greater Darwin area are the
Larrakia people. On 9 September 1839, the
HMS Beagle sailed into Darwin harbour during its surveying of the area.
John Clements Wickham named the region "Port Darwin" in honour of a former shipmate, famed scientist
Charles Darwin.
Having been almost entirely rebuilt twice, once due to
Japanese air raids during
World War II and again after being devastated by
Cyclone Tracy in 1974, the city is one of Australia's most modern capitals.
History
Pre-European settlement, first European contact
The Aboriginal people of the
Larrakia language group are the first inhabitants of the greater Darwin area. They had
trading routes with
Southeast Asia (see
Macassan contact with Australia), and imported goods from as far afield as
South and
Western Australia. Established
songlines penetrated throughout the country, allowing stories and histories to be told and retold along the routes.
The
Dutch visited Australia's northern coastline in the 1600s, and created the first
European maps of the area. This accounts for the Dutch names in the area, such as
Arnhem Land and
Groote Eylandt.
The first
British person to see Darwin harbour appears to have been Lieutenant
John Lort Stokes of
HMS Beagle on
9 September 1839. The ship's captain, Commander
John Clements Wickham, named the port after
Charles Darwin, the British naturalist who had sailed with them both on the earlier
second expedition of the Beagle.
In the early
1870s, Darwin felt the effects of a
gold rush at
Pine Creek after employees of the
Australian Overland Telegraph Line found gold while digging holes for telegraph poles.
In early
1875, Darwin's European population had grown to approximately 300 because of the gold rush. On 17 February 1875, the
SS Gothenburg left Darwin
en route for
Adelaide. Amongst the approximately 88 passengers and 34 crew (surviving records vary) were government officials, circuit court judges, Darwin residents taking their first
furlough and miners. While travelling south along the north
Queensland coast, the
Gothenburg encountered a cyclone-strength storm and was wrecked on a section of the
Great Barrier Reef. Only 22 men survived, while between 98 and 112 people perished. Many passengers who perished were Darwin residents and news of the tragedy severely affected the small community, reportedly taking several years to recover.
1900 to present
The Northern Territory was initially settled and administered by
South Australia, until its transfer to the
Commonwealth in 1911. On
5 February 1869,
George Goyder, the Surveyor-General of South Australia, established a small settlement of 135 people at Port Darwin. Goyder named the settlement
Palmerston, after the
British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston. In 1870, the first poles for the
Overland Telegraph were erected in Darwin, connecting Australia to the rest of the world. The discovery of gold at
Pine Creek in the 1880s further boosted the young colony's development. Upon Commonwealth administration in 1911, Darwin became the city's official name.
The period between 1911 and 1919 was filled with political turmoil, particularly with
trade union unrest, which culminated on
17 December 1918. Led by
Harold Nelson, some 1000 demonstrators marched to Government House at Liberty Square in Darwin where they burnt an
effigy of the
Administrator of the Northern Territory John Gilruth and demanded his resignation. The incident became known as the '
Darwin Rebellion'. Their grievances were against the two main Northern Territory employers;
Vestey’s Meatworks and the
Commonwealth of Australia. Both Gilruth and the Vestey company left Darwin soon afterwards.
Around 10,000
Allied troops arrived in Darwin in the early 1940s at the outset of
World War II, in order to defend Australia's northern coastline. On
19 February 1942 at 0957, 188
Japanese warplanes
attacked Darwin in two waves. It was the same fleet that had bombed Pearl Harbor, though a considerably larger number of bombs were dropped on Darwin, than on Pearl Harbor. The attack killed at least 243 people and caused immense damage to the town. These were by far the most serious attacks on Australia in time of war, in terms of fatalities and damage. They were the first of
many raids on Darwin.
Despite this major attack, Darwin's development was furthered considerably during the war, with sealed roads constructed connecting the region to
Alice Springs in the south and
Mount Isa in the south-east, and Manton Dam built in the south to provide the city with water. On
Australia Day (
26 January) 1959, Darwin was granted city status.
On
25 December 1974, Darwin was struck by
Cyclone Tracy, which killed 71 people and destroyed over 70% of the town's buildings, including many old stone buildings such as the Palmerston Town Hall, which couldn't withstand the lateral forces generated by the strong winds. After the disaster, an airlift evacuated 30,000 people, over half the city's population at the time. The town was subsequently rebuilt with newer materials and techniques during the late 1970s by the Darwin Reconstruction Commission. A satellite city of
Palmerston was built 20 km south of Darwin in the early 1980s.
On
17 September 2003, the
Adelaide-Darwin railway was completed.
Geography
Darwin is situated in the Northern Territory, on the
Timor Sea. The town proper is built on a low bluff overlooking Darwin harbour, flanked by Frances Bay to the east and Cullen Bay to the west. The remainder of the city is flat and low-lying, and coastal areas are home to recreational reserves, extensive beaches, and excellent fishing.
Darwin is closer to the capitals of three other countries than to the capital of Australia: Darwin is away from
Canberra.
Dili (
East Timor) is from Darwin,
Port Moresby (
Papua New Guinea) is, and
Jakarta (
Indonesia) is from Darwin. Even
Singapore is only slightly farther away at, as is
Manila (
Philippines) at .
Ambon, Indonesia is only away from Darwin.
Along with its importance as a gateway to Asia, Darwin also acts as an access point for the
Kakadu National Park,
Arnhem Land, and northerly islands such as
Groote Eylandt and the
Tiwi Islands. The city is the largest in the area, and provides services for these remote settlements.
City and suburbs
Darwin and its suburbs spread in an approximately triangular shape, with the older southwestern suburbs - and the city itself - forming one corner, the newer northern suburbs in another, and the eastern suburbs, progressing towards Palmerston, forming the third.
The older part of Darwin is separated from the newer northern suburbs by
Darwin International Airport and Royal Australian Air Force Base.
Palmerston is a satellite city 20 kilometres south of Darwin that was established in the 1980s and is one of the fastest growing municipalities in
Australia. The rural areas of Darwin including
Howard Springs,
Humpty Doo and
Berry Springs are experiencing strong growth.
Darwin's
central business district is bounded by Daly Street in the north-west, McMinn Street in the north-east, Mitchell Street on the south-west and Bennett Street on the south-east. The CBD has been the focus of a number of major projects, including the billion dollar redevelopment of the Stokes Hill wharf waterfront area including a convention centre with seating for 1500 people and approximately 4000m
2 of exhibition space. The development will also include hotels, residential apartments and public space. The city's main industrial areas are along the Stuart Highway going towards Palmerston. The largest shopping precinct in the area is
Casuarina Square. The most expensive residential areas are located along the coast in suburbs such as
Larrakeyah and
Brinkin, despite the slight risk these low-lying regions face during cyclones and higher tides. Inner, eastern suburbs such as
Malak and
Karama are home to lower-income households.
Climate
Darwin has a
tropical monsoon climate (
Köppen Am) with distinct wet and dry seasons. The
dry season runs from May to September (the southern hemisphere winter), during which nearly every day is warm and sunny, and afternoon humidity averages around 30%. There is very little rainfall between May and September. In the coolest months of June and July, the daily minimum temperature may dip as low as 14 °C (57 °F), but very rarely lower, and frost has never been recorded.
The
wet season is associated with
tropical cyclones and monsoon rains. The majority of rainfall occurs between December and March (the southern hemisphere summer), when
thunderstorms are common and afternoon relative humidity averages over 70% during the wettest months. It doesn't rain every day during the wet season, but most days are warm to hot with plentiful cloud cover; January averages under 6 hours of bright sunshine daily. The hottest month is November, just before the onset of the main rainy season. Darwin has the most daily average sunshine hours (8.4) of any Australian capital with the most sunshine from April to November.
Climatically Darwin has more in common with
Singapore than
Sydney as it sits well inside the tropical zone.
Demographics
Darwin
Population by year |
| 1911 |
1,082 |
|
| 1956 |
8,900 |
|
| 1961 |
15,477 |
|
| 1974 |
46,700 |
(Cyclone Tracy) |
| 1975 |
25,700 |
|
| 1981 |
61,412 |
|
| 1991 |
86,415 |
|
| 2001 |
106,842 |
|
| 2006 |
114,368 |
|
| 2021 |
185,000 |
(Projected) |
| 2050 |
> 250,000 |
(Projected) |
In 2006 the largest ancestry groups in the Darwin were, Australian (42,221 or 36.9 per cent), English (29,766 or 26 per cent), Irish (9,561 or 8.3 per cent), Scottish (7,815 or 6.8 per cent), Chinese (3,502 or 3 per cent), Greek (2,828 or 2.4 per cent) and Italian (2,367 or 2 per cent)
Darwin's population is notable for the proportional population of
Aboriginals of any Australian
capital city. in the 2006 census there were 10,259 (9.7 per cent) of Aboriginals living in Darwin.
Darwin's population changed after the Second World War, Darwin like many other Australian cities experienced influxes from
Europe, with significant numbers of
Italians and
Greeks during the 1960s and 1970s, Darwin started to also experience an influx from other European countries, which included
Dutch,
Germans,
Serbs and many others. A significant percentage of Darwin's residents are recent
immigrants from
South East Asia (
Asian Australians were 9.3% of the Darwin's population in 2001).
Darwin's population comprises people from many different ethnic backgrounds. The 2006 Census revealed the following most places of birth for overseas migrants:
England (3.4 per cent),
New Zealand (2.1 per cent),
Philippines (1.4 per cent) and
East Timor (0.9 per cent). 18.3 percent of the city's population was born overseas which is less than the Australian average of 22%
The most common non English languages spoken in Darwin are:
Greek,
Italian,
Indonesian,
Vietnamese and
Cantonese. The largest denominations of Christianity are
Catholicism (24,538 or 21.5 per cent),
Anglicanism (14,028 or 12.3 per cent) and
Greek Orthodox (2,964 or 2.6 per cent).
Buddhists,
Muslims,
Hindus and
Jews account for 3.2 per cent of Darwin's population. There were 26,695 or 23.3 per cent of people professing no religion.
Population growth
Darwin is one of the fastest growing capital city in Australia, with an annual growth rate of 2.6 per cent since the 2006 census. In recent years
Palmerston and
Litchfield part of the Darwin statistical division have recorded the highest growth in population of any
Northern Territory Local Government Area and by 2016 the
Litchfield could overtake
Palmerston as the second largest municipality in metropolitan Darwin. It is predicted by 2021 the combined population of both the
Palmerston and the
Litchfield would be 101,546 people. If the population growth continues at its current rate, Darwin could overtake
Hobart's population by 2048.
Government
The
Darwin City Council (Incorporated under the Northern Territory Local Government Act 1993) governs the
City of Darwin which takes in the CBD and the suburbs. The City of Darwin has governed the City of Darwin since 1957. The Darwin City Council consists of 13 elected members, the
Lord Mayor and 12
aldermen. The City of Darwin electorate is organised into four electoral units or wards. The names of the wards are Chan, Lyons, Richardson, and Waters. The constituents of each ward are directly responsible for electing three
aldermen. Constituents of all wards are directly responsible for electing the Lord Mayor of Darwin. The current mayor is
Graeme Sawyer after council elections in
March 2008 replacing
Garry Lambert, who took over from previous mayor
Peter Adamson.
The rest of the Darwin area is divided into
2 local government areas. One of these is designated as a City, and the second, which is on the city's outer fringe, has the title of Shire. These areas have elected councils which are responsible for functions delegated to them by the
Northern Territory Government, such as planning and garbage collection.
The
Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory convenes in Darwin in the Northern Territory
Parliament House.
Government House, the official residence of the
Administrator of the Northern Territory, is located on The Esplanade.
Economy
The two largest economic sectors are
mining and
tourism. Mining and energy industry production exceeds $2.5 billion per annum. The most important mineral resources are gold, zinc and
bauxite, along with
manganese and many others. The energy production is mostly off shore with oil and
natural gas from the Timor Sea, although there are significant
uranium deposits near Darwin. Tourism employs 8% of Darwin residents, and is expected to grow as domestic and international tourists are now spending time in Darwin during the
Wet and
Dry seasons. Federal spending is a major contributor to the local economy as well.
The military presence that's maintained both within Darwin, and the wider Northern Territory, is a substantial source of employment. The continued involvement of the
Australian Army in the stabilisation of
East Timor has swelled the military population of Darwin to over 11,000 individuals as of 2001. There is also a substantial United Nations presence in Darwin, since Darwin serves as the staging center for U.N. workers and contractors en route to nearby East Timor.
Darwin's importance as a port is expected to grow, due to the increased exploitation of
petroleum in the nearby
Timor Sea, and to the completion of the railway link and continued expansion in trade with Asia.
During 2005, a number of major construction projects started in Darwin. One is the redevelopment of the Wharf Precinct, which includes a large convention and exhibition centre, apartment housing including
Outrigger Pandanas and
Evolution on Gardiner, retail and entertainment outlets including a large wave pool and safe swimming lagoon. The Chinatown project has also started with plans to construct multi-level carparks, Chinese-themed retail and dining outlets.
Education
Education is overseen territory-wide by the Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET), whose role is to continually improve education outcomes for all students, with a focus on Indigenous students.
Preschool, primary and secondary
Darwin is served by a number of
public and
private schools that cater to local and overseas students. There are over 16,500 primary and secondary students are enrolled in schools in Darwin, with 10,524 students attending primary education, and 5,932 students attending secondary education. There are over 12,089 students enrolled in government schools and 2,124 students enrolled in independent schools. There are over 35 primary and pre - schools, and 12 secondary schools including both government and non-government. Most schools in the city are secular, but there are a small number of
Christian,
Catholic and
Lutheran institutions. Students intending to complete their secondary education work towards the
Northern Territory Certificate of Education, which is recognised in all states and territories. Many of the schools are undergoing renovations and reconstruction. Schools have been restructured into Primary, Middle and High schools since the beginning of 2007.
Tertiary and vocational
Darwin's largest University is the
Charles Darwin University which is the central provider of tertiary education in the Northern Territory, it covers both vocational and academic courses, acting as both a university and an Institute of
TAFE. There are over 5,500 students enrolled in tertiary and further education courses. (Thursdays and Sundays during the dry season),
Parap Market,
Nightcliff Market and
Rapid Creek market.
The
Darwin Festival held annually, includes comedy, dance, theatre, music, film and visual art and the
NT Indigenous Music Awards. Other festivals include the
Glenti, which showcases Darwin's large Greek community, and India@Mindil, a similar festival held by the smaller Indian community. The
Chinese New Year is also celebrated with great festivity, highlighting the Asian influence in Darwin.
The Seabreeze festival, which first started in 2005, is held on the second week of May in the suburb of Nightcliff. It offers the opportunity for local talent to be showcased and a popular event is Saturday family festivities along the Nightcliff foreshore which is one of Darwin's most popular fitness tracks.
The Speargrass Festival is held annually the week prior to July's first full moon and celebrates the alternative Top End lifestyle. The festival activities include music, screening of locally produced films, screen printing, basket weaving, sweat lodge, water slides, human pyramid, hot tub, frisbee golf, spear throwing, Kubb competition, bingo, communal organic cooking, morning yoga, meditation, greasy pig and healing circles. The festival occurs at the Speargrass property, 50 km northeast of Pine Creek.
The
Darwin beer-can regatta, held in August, celebrates Darwin's love affair with
beer and contestants' race boats made exclusively of beer cans. Also in Darwin during the month of August, are the Darwin Cup horse race, and the
Rodeo and
Mud Crab Tying Competition.
Arts and entertainment
The
Darwin Symphony Orchestra was first assembled in 1989, and has performed throughout the Territory. The
Darwin Theatre Company is a locally produced professional theatre production company, performing locally and nationally.
The
Darwin Entertainment Centre is the city's main concert venue and hosts theatre and orchestral performances. Other theatres include the
Darwin Convention Centre, which is expected to be open in mid 2008. The Darwin Convention Centre is part of the $1.1 billion
Darwin Waterfront project.
Darwin's only casino opened in
1981 as
MGM Grand Darwin, before it changed to
SKYCITY Darwin after
SKYCITY Entertainment Group purchased the hotel in
2004.
Darwin is home to the
Indo-Pacific Marine & Australian Pearling Exhibition, which houses an
aquarium complete with living
coral, and its complementary sea life. The
Northern Territory Museum and Art Gallery in Darwin gives an overview of the history of the area, including exhibits on Cyclone Tracy and the boats of the Pacific Islands. The
East Point Military museum tells the story of the Japanese air raids on Darwin during WWII.
Darwin has a vibrant arts scene given its size. The Darwin Festival and the Darwin Fringe festival are annual events. Darwin has a range of quality indoor and outdoor live music venues hosting local and visiting acts. A range of art galleries including specialised Aboriginal art galleries are a feature of Darwin.
Local and visiting
bands can be heard at venues including the
Darwin Entertainment Centre,
The Vic Hotel,
Happy Yess, and
Brown's Mart. An yearly music festival,
Bass in the Grass, is very popular with youth from the surrounding area. Artists such as
Jessica Mauboy and
The Groovesmiths call Darwin home.
There have been no major films set in Darwin; however, some scenes for
Australia by
Baz Luhrmann and
Black Water were both shot in Darwin in 2007
Considering its moderate size, Darwin has a lively night scene. Mitchell Street in the central business district is lined with nightclubs, takeaways, and restaurants, many with al fresco dining. This is the city's entertainment hub. There are several smaller theatres, three cinema complexes (CBD, Casuarina, and Palmerston), and the
Deckchair Cinema. This is an open-air cinema which operates through the dry season, from April to October, and screens
independent and
arthouse films.
Recreation
The city has many kilometres of wide, unpolluted beaches, including the Casuarina Beach and well renowned Mindil Beach, home of the Mindil Beach markets. Darwin City Council has designated an area of Casuarina Beach as a free beach which offers a designated nudist beach area since 1976.
Swimming in the sea during the months of October–May should be avoided due to the presence of deadly
box jellyfish.
Saltwater crocodiles are very common in all waterways surrounding Darwin and are even occasionally found swimming in Darwin Harbour and on local beaches.
Fishing is one of the recreations of Darwin locals. Visitors from around the world flock to Darwin aiming to catch the prized
barramundi, an iconic fish for the region. The
Mary River,
Daly River, South and
East Alligator River are just a few of the water bodies where the barramundi thrive. Outstanding blue water fishing is also available off the coast of Darwin;
Spanish mackerel,
jewfish,
queenfish,
snapper and other varieties are all found in the area and accessible in a day trip from Darwin.
Lake Alexander is a man-made lake which is generally considered safe, bar a freak jellyfish outbreak in 2003, and is located at East Point Reserve.
The
Darwin Surf Lifesaving Club operates long boats and surf skis and provides events and lifesaving accreditations.
Parks and gardens
Darwin has extensive parks and gardens. These include the
George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens,
East Point Reserve,
Casuarina Coastal Reserve,
Charles Darwin National Park,
Knuckey Lagoons Conservation Reserve,
Leanyer Recreation Park, the
Nightcliff Foreshore,
Bicentennial Park and the
Jingili Water Gardens.
Sports
The Marrara Sports Complex near the airport has stadiums for
Aussie Rules (
TIO Stadium),
cricket,
rugby union,
basketball (and indoor court sports),
football(soccer),
athletics and
field hockey. Every two years since 1991 (excluding 2003 due to the
SARS outbreak), Darwin has played host to the
Arafura Games, a major regional
sporting event. In July 2003, the city hosted its first international
test cricket match between
Australia and
Bangladesh, followed by Australia and
Sri Lanka in 2004. Australian-rules football and
rugby league are played all year round.
Melbourne's
Western Bulldogs Australian Football League side plays one home game at Marrara Oval each year. The ATSIC
Aboriginal All-Stars also participate in the
AFL pre-season competition. In 2003, a record crowd of 17,500 attended a pre-season game between the All-Stars and
Carlton Football Club at Marrara.
Darwin hosts a round of the
V8 Supercars every year bringing thousands of motorsports fans to the
Hidden Valley Raceway.
The Darwin Cup culminating on the first Monday of August is a very popular horse race event for Darwin and draws large crowds every year to Fannie Bay Racecourse. While it isn't as popular as the
Melbourne Cup, it does draw a crowd and, in 2003,
Sky Racing began televising most of the races. The Darwin Cup day is a public holiday for the Northern Territory (
Picnic Day public holiday).
Media
Darwin's major newspapers are the
Northern Territory News, and one Sunday paper,
The Sunday Territorian, both owned by
Rupert Murdoch's
News Corporation. Darwin also receives the national daily,
The Australian, and the
Darwin Sun, also produced by
News Corporation
four free-to-air channels service Darwin. Commercial television channels are provided by
Southern Cross Darwin,
Channel Nine Darwin (formerly branded as Channel 8) and
Darwin Digital Television (DTD), which launched on
April 28 2008. The two Government owned national broadcast services in Darwin are
ABC and
SBS Television.
Darwin has radio stations on both AM and FM frequencies. ABC stations include News Radio (102.5FM),
ABC Local Radio 8DDD (105.7FM),
Radio National (657AM),
ABC Classic FM (107.3FM) and
Triple J (103.3FM).
SBS (102.5FM) also broadcasts its national radio network to Darwin.
Darwin has two commercial radio stations
Hot 100 100.1 and
Mix 104.9. Other stations in Darwin include University-based station
104.1 Territory FM, dance music station
KIK FM 91.5, Italian language channel
Rete Italia 1611AM, community based stations includes
Radio Larrakia 94.5 and
Yolngu Radio 1530AM and
Rhema FM 97.7.
Infrastructure
Health
The
Government of the Northern Territory Department of Health and Community Services oversees one public hospital in the Darwin metropolitan region. The
Royal Darwin Hospital, located in
Tiwi, is the city's major teaching and referral hospital, and the largest in the Northern Territory.
There is one major private hospital
Darwin Private Hospital located at
Tiwi, opposite the Royal Darwin Hospital.
Transport
Darwin has no intracity rail. The Alice Springs to Darwin rail line was completed in 2003 linking Darwin to
Adelaide. The first service ran in 2004.
The Ghan passenger train service from Adelaide via
Alice Springs and Katherine runs two to three times per week depending on the season.
Darwin International Airport has flights to Singapore (
Tiger Airways and
Jetstar Airways), Bali (Garuda Indonesia), Brunei (Royal Brunei) and East Timor (Air North).
Qantas operates domestic flights between Alice Springs, Gove, Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
Virgin Blue flies to Brisbane,
Skywest Airlines and
Airnorth fly to Broome. Tiger Australia began flights to and from Melbourne in November 2007.
Darwin can be reached via the
Stuart Highway which runs the length of the Northern Territory from Darwin through Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and on to Adelaide. Other major roads in Darwin include,
Tiger Brennan Drive,
Amy Johnson Avenue, Dick Ward Drive,
Bagot Road,
Trower Road and
McMillans Road. The greater Darwin area is served by
Darwinbus.
Ferries leave from Port Darwin to island locations, mainly for tourists. A ferry service to the
Tiwi Islands, the
Arafura Pearl operates from Cullen Bay.
Darwin has a new
deepwater port at Darwin East Arm, which is capable of handling
Panamax sized ships.
Utilities
Water storage, supply and Power for Darwin is managed by
Power and Water Corporation, which is owned by the
Government of the Northern Territory . The corporation is also responsible for management of sewerage and the major water catchments in the region. Water is mainly stored in the largest dam,
The Darwin River Dam which holds up to 90% of Darwin's water supply.For many years, Darwin's principal water supply came from
Manton Dam.
Darwin, suburbs, Palmerston and
Katherine is powered by the
Channel Island Power Station. The largest power plant in the
Northern Territory
A new power plant is currently near to completion, the
Weddell Power Station. The first generator is due to come on line in late January 2008. The new power station will add 30% capacity to Darwin power supply. A second generator is due for completion in 2008.
Tourism
Tourism is one of Darwin's largest industries. Tourism is a major industry and employment sector for the Northern Territory.
In 2005/06, 1.38 million people visited the
Northern Territory. They stayed for 9.2 million nights and spent over $1.5 billion.
The tourism industry directly employed 8,391 Territorians in June 2006 and when indirect employment is included, tourism typically accounts for more than 14,000 jobs across the Territory.
Darwin is a hub for tours to
Kakadu National Park,
Litchfield National Park and
Katherine Gorge.
The Territory is traditionally divided into the wet and dry, but there are up to six traditional seasons in Darwin.
It is warm and sunny from May to September. Humidity rises during the green season, from October to April bringing thunderstorms and monsoonal rains which rejuvenates the landscape. Tourism is largely seasonal with most tourists visiting during the cooler dry season which runs from April to September.
Aviation history
Darwin has played host to many of aviation's early pioneers. On
10 December 1919 Captain
Ross Smith and his crew landed in Darwin and won a £10,000 Prize from the Australian Government for completing the first flight from London to Australia in under thirty days. Smith and his Crew flew a
Vickers Vimy, G-EAOU and landed on an airstrip that has now become Ross Smith Avenue. Other aviation pioneers include
Amy Johnson,
Amelia Earhart, Sir
Charles Kingsford Smith and
Bert Hinkler. Darwin was home to Australian and U.S. pilots in World War II with air strips being built in and around Darwin. Today Darwin provides a staging ground for
military exercises.
Darwin was a compulsory stop over/check point in the
London to
Melbourne Centenary Air Race in 1934. The official name of the race was the
MacRobertson Air Race. Winners of the great race were
Tom Campbell Black and
C.W.A. Scott.
The following is an excerpt from
Time Magazine,
29 October,
1934, Volume XXIV, Number 18.
Third Day. Biggest sensation of the race came just before dawn on the third day, when burly Lieutenant Scott and dapper Captain Black flew their scarlet [[De Havilland DH.88 |
The Australian Aviation Heritage Centre is located around 8km from the City centre on the Stuart Highway, is the one of two places outside the
United States where a B52 bomber, on permanent loan from the United States Air Force is on public display.
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