The Darwin region, like much of the Top End, has atropical climate, with a wet and dry season. A period known locally as "the build up" leading up to Darwin's wet season sees temperature and humidity increase. Darwin's wet season typically arrives in late November to early December and brings with it heavymonsoonal downpours, spectacular lightning displays, and increased cyclone activity.[9] During the dry season, the city has clear skies and mild sea breezes from the harbour.
TheAboriginal people of theLarrakia language group are the traditional custodians and earliest known inhabitants of the greater Darwin area.[13] Their name for the area is Garramilla,[8] pronounced/ɡɑːrəmɪlə/ and meaning "white stone", referring to the colour of rock and sea cliffs found in the area.[14] They hadtrading routes with Southeast Asia (seeMacassan contact with Australia) and imported goods from as far afield asSouth and Western Australia. Establishedsonglines penetrated throughout the country, allowing stories and histories to be told and retold along the routes. The extent ofshared songlines and history of multiple clan groups within this area is contestable.[citation needed]
In 1863, the Northern Territory was transferred fromNew South Wales toSouth Australia. In 1864 South Australia sentB. T. Finniss north as Government Resident to survey and found a capital for its new territory. Finniss chose a site atEscape Cliffs, near the entrance to Adelaide River, about 60 kilometres (37 mi) northeast of the modern city. This attempt was short-lived, and the settlement abandoned by 1865.[18] On 5 February 1869,George Goyder, the Surveyor-General of South Australia, established a small settlement of 135 people at Port Darwin betweenFort Hill and the escarpment. Goyder named the settlement Palmerston afterBritish Prime MinisterLord Palmerston.[19] In 1870, the first poles for theOverland Telegraph were erected in Darwin, connecting Australia to the rest of the world. The discovery of gold by employees of theAustralian Overland Telegraph Line digging holes for telegraph poles atPine Creek in the 1880s spawned a gold rush, which further boosted the colony's development.[a][b][c]
Mitchell Street, 1879
In February 1872 thebrigantineAlexandra was the first private vessel to sail from an English port directly to Darwin, carrying people many of whom were coming to recent gold finds.[21]
Port Darwin, 1886
In early 1875 Darwin'swhite population had grown to approximately 300 because of the gold rush. On 17 February 1875 theSS Gothenburg left Darwinen route forAdelaide. The approximately 88 passengers and 34 crew (surviving records vary) included government officials, circuit-court judges, Darwin residents taking their firstfurlough, and miners. While travelling south along the north Queensland coast, theGothenburg encountered a cyclone-strength storm and was wrecked on a section of theGreat 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, which reportedly took several years to recover.[22]
In the 1870s, relatively large numbers ofChinese settled at least temporarily in the Northern Territory; many were contracted to work the goldfields and later to build the Palmerston to Pine Creek railway. By 1888 there were 6,122 Chinese in the Northern Territory, mostly in or around Darwin. The early Chinese settlers were mainly fromGuangdong Province. The Chinese community establishedDarwin Chinatown. At the end of the 19th century, anti-Chinese feelings grew in response to the 1890s economic depression, and theWhite Australia policy meant many Chinese left the territory. But some stayed, became British subjects, and established a commercial base in Darwin.[23]
The Northern Territory was initially settled and administered bySouth Australia, until its transfer to theCommonwealth in 1911. In the same year, the city's official name changed from Palmerston to Darwin.[24]
The period between 1911 and 1919 was filled with political turmoil, particularly with trade union unrest, which culminated on 17 December 1918. Led byHarold Nelson, some 1,000 demonstrators marched toGovernment House at Liberty Square in Darwin, where they burnt aneffigy of theAdministrator of the Northern Territory,John Gilruth, and demanded his resignation. The incident became known as theDarwin Rebellion. Their grievances were against the two main Northern Territory employers:Vestey's Meatworks and the federal government. Both Gilruth and the Vestey company left Darwin soon afterward.[citation needed][25][26]
On 18 October 1918, during theSpanish flu pandemic, the SSMataram sailing fromSingapore with infectious diseases arrived in Darwin.[27]
Around 10,000 Australian and otherAllied troops arrived in Darwin at the outset of World War II to defend Australia's northern coast. On 19 February 1942 at 9:57am, 188Japanese warplanesattacked Darwin in two waves.[30] It was the same fleet that had bombedPearl Harbor, though considerably more bombs were dropped on Darwin than on Pearl Harbor. The attack killed at least 243 people and caused immense damage to the town, airfields, and aircraft. These were by far the most serious attacks on Australia in time of war, in terms of fatalities and damage. They were the first ofmany raids on Darwin.[31]
Darwin Chinatown which lay within the heart of Darwin was razed to the ground by the Japanese bombing and was never rebuilt. Northern Territory administratorAubrey Abbott wanted to eliminate the Chinese community and forcibly seized their land as it was considered prime real estate.
Darwin was further developed after the war, with sealed roads constructed connecting the region toAlice Springs to the south andMount Isa to the southeast, andManton Dam built in the south to provide the city with water. OnAustralia Day (26 January) 1959, Darwin was granted city status.[32]
Remains of Palmerston Town Hall, destroyed byCyclone Tracy
On 25 December 1974, Darwin was struck byCyclone Tracy, which killed 71 people and destroyed over 70% of the city's buildings, including many old stone buildings such as the Palmerston Town Hall, which could not withstand the lateral forces the winds generated. After the disaster, 30,000 of the population of 46,000 were evacuated in the biggest airlift in Australia's history.[11] The town was rebuilt with newer materials and techniques during the late 1970s by the Darwin Reconstruction Commission, led by formerBrisbaneLord mayorClem Jones. Asatellite city ofPalmerston was built 20 km (12 mi) east of Darwin in the early 1980s.
On 17 September 2003, theAdelaide–Darwin railway was completed, with the opening of the Alice Springs–Darwin standard gauge line.
Darwin Aviation Heritage Centre – 1st Ultralight – Hover Bird
Darwin hosted many of aviation's early pioneers. On 10 December 1919, CaptainRoss 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 30 days. Smith and his crew flew aVickers Vimy, G-EAOU, and landed on an airstrip that has become Ross Smith Avenue.
Darwin was home to Australian and U.S. pilots during the war, with airstrips built in and around Darwin. Today Darwin provides a staging ground formilitary exercises.
Darwin was a compulsory stopover and checkpoint in the London-to-Melbourne Centenary Air Race in 1934. The official name of the race was theMacRobertson Air Race. Winners of the race wereTom Campbell Black andC. W. A. Scott.
The following is an excerpt fromTime magazine, 29 October 1934:
Third Day. Biggest sensation of the race came just before dawn on the third day, when burly Lieutenant Scott and dapperCaptain Black flew their scarletComet into Darwin. They had covered the last 300 miles [480 km] over water on one motor, risked death landing on a field made soggy by the first rain in seven months. Said sandy-haired Lieutenant Scott: "We've had a devil of a trip." But they had flown 9000 miles [14000 km] in two days, had broken the England to Australia record of 162 hr. in the unbelievable time of 52hr. 33 min., were only 2000 miles [3200 km] from their goal at Melbourne.
TheDarwin Aviation Museum is about 8 km (5 mi) from the city centre on the Stuart Highway and is one of only three places outside the United States where a B-52 bomber (on permanent loan from the United States Air Force) is on public display.[35]
A satellite image of Darwin and the surrounding areas.
Darwin is a coastal city, situated along the western shoreline of the Northern Territory. The water meets the land from theBeagle Gulf, which extends out into theTimor Sea. The central business district occupies a low bluff overlookingDarwin Harbour to the south, beyond which lieEast Arm,Middle Arm, Northern Territory, and, across the gulf, West Arm. Middle Arm has an industrial precinct on the peninsula, which is being promoted as asustainable development area that will include plants for industries such as low-emissionpetrochemicals,renewable hydrogen, andcarbon capture storage.[36] The city is flanked by Frances Bay to the east and Cullen Bay to the west.
The rest of the city is relatively flat and low-lying, and areas bordering the coast are home to recreational reserves, extensive beaches, and excellent fishing.
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 another, and the eastern suburbs, progressing towards Palmerston, forming the third.
Darwin'scentral business district (CBD) is bounded by Daly Street in the northwest, McMinn Street in the northeast, Mitchell Street on the southwest, and Bennett Street on the southeast. The CBD has been the focus of a number of major projects, such as the billion-dollar redevelopment of the Stokes Hill wharf waterfront area, including a convention centre with seating for 1,500 people and approximately 4,000 square metres (43,000 sq ft) of exhibition space. The developers announced that this includes hotels, residential apartments, and public space.[39] The city's main industrial areas are along the Stuart Highway toward Palmerston, centred onWinnellie. The area'a largest shopping precinct isCasuarina Square.
The most expensive residential areas stand along the coast in suburbs such as the marina ofCullen Bay,Larrakeyah,Bayview andBrinkin.[40] These low-lying regions are at risk during cyclones and higher tides, but adequate drainage and stringent building regulations have reduced the potential damage to buildings or injury to residents.[41] The inner northern suburbs are home to lower-income households, although low-income Territory Housing units are scattered throughout the metropolitan area.[42] The suburb ofLyons was part of a multi-stage land release and development in the Northern Suburbs; planning, development and construction took place from 2004 to 2009. More recent developments near Lyons subdivision includes the suburb ofMuirhead.
Darwin has atropical savanna climate (KöppenAw)[43][44] with distinct wet and dry seasons, and the average maximum temperature is similar year round. TheAustralian Building Codes Board classifies it as Climate Zone 1 under theNational Construction Code (NCC). Climate zones are a broad classification of climate zones in the NCC ranging from one to eight, categorising the different climates of Australia.[45] The sun passes directly overhead in mid-October and mid-February. The dry season runs from about May to September, during which nearly every day is sunny, and afternoon relative humidity averages around 30%.[46] The hottest months are October and November, just before the onset of the main rain season. The temperature is usually below 35 °C (95 °F), but theheat index sometimes rises above 45 °C (113 °F) due to humidity levels. The wet season runs generally between December and March, with a transition towards the dry season in April.
The average temperature of the sea ranges from 25.8 °C (78.4 °F) in July to 31.5 °C (88.7 °F) in December.[47]
The driest period of the year, seeing about 5 mm (0.20 in) of monthly rainfall on average, is between May and September. In the coolest months, June and July, the daily minimum temperature may dip as low as 14 °C (57 °F), but very rarely lower, and a temperature lower than 10 °C (50 °F) has never been recorded in the city centre. Outer suburbs away from the coast occasionally record temperatures as low as 5 °C (41 °F) in the dry season. Because of its long dry season, Darwin has the second-highest average daily hours of sunshine (8.4) of any Australian capital, with the most sunshine from April to November; onlyPerth, Western Australia, averages more (8.8).[48]
The wet season is associated withtropical cyclones andmonsoon rains.[49] Most rainfall occurs between December and March when thunderstorms are common, and afternoon relative humidity averages over 70 percent during the wettest months.[46] It does not rain every day during the wet season, but most days have plentiful cloud cover; January averages under six hours of bright sunshine daily. This cloud cover means the wet season is not the hottest period of the year, despite daytime hours being the longest at this time. The 3pm dewpoint average in the wet season is around 24.0 °C (75.2 °F).[46] Darwin's highest daily rainfall verified by the Bureau of Meteorology is 367.6 millimetres (14.47 in), which fell whenCyclone Carlos bore down on the Darwin area on 16 February 2011.[50] February 2011 was also Darwin's wettest month ever recorded, with 1,110.2 millimetres (43.71 in) at the airport.[46]
Extreme temperatures at the Darwin Post Office Station have ranged from 40.4 °C (104.7 °F) on 17 October 1892 to 13.4 °C (56.1 °F) on 25 June 1891; extreme temperatures at the Darwin Airport station (which is farther from the coast and routinely records cooler temperatures than the post office station, which is in Darwin's CBD) have ranged from 38.9 °C (102.0 °F) on 18 October 1982 to 10.4 °C (50.7 °F) on 29 July 1942. The highest minimum temperature on record is 30.7 °C (87.3 °F) on 18 January 1928 for the post office station and 29.7 °C (85.5 °F) on both 25 November 1987 and 17 December 2014 for the airport station. The lowest maximum temperature on record is 18.4 °C (65.1 °F) on 3 June 1904 for the post office station and 21.1 °C (70.0 °F) on 14 July 1968 for the airport station.[46][51]
For a 147‑day period during the 2012 dry season, from 5 May to 29 September, Darwin recorded no precipitation. Prolonged periods of no precipitation are common in the dry season inNorthern Australia (particularly in theNorthern Territory and northern regions ofWestern Australia), although a no-rainfall event of this extent is rare.
Darwin occupies one of the most lightning-prone areas in Australia. On 31 January 2002 an early-morningsquall line produced over 5,000 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes within a 60-kilometre (37 mi) radius of Darwin alone—about three times the amount of lightning that Perth experiences on average in an entire year.[9][52]
Darwin's population changed after the Second World War. Like many other Australian cities, Darwin experienced influxes from Europe, with significant numbers ofItalians andGreeks during the 1960s and 1970s. It also began to experience an influx from other European countries, which included theDutch,Germans, and many others.[58] A significant proportion of Darwin's residents are recent immigrants fromAsia, including the peoples ofEast Timor.[59][60]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found onPhabricator and onMediaWiki.org.
38.3% of the population at the 2016 census was born overseas. The five largest groups of overseas-born were from thePhilippines (3.6%),England (3.1%),New Zealand (2.1%),India (2%) andGreece (0.9%).[56][57]
In 2011, the Darwin population averaged 33 years old (compared to the national average of around 37),[66] to a large extent because of the military presence and because many people opt to retire elsewhere.[67][needs update]
The Darwin City Council (incorporated under the Northern Territory Local Government Act 1993) governs theCity of Darwin, which takes in the CBD and the suburbs. The city has been governed by a city council form of government since 1957. The council consists of 13 elected members, thelord mayor, and 12aldermen.
The City of Darwin electorate is organised into four electoral units or wards. The wards are Chan, Lyons, Richardson, and Waters. The constituents of each ward are directly responsible for electing threealdermen. Constituents of all wards are directly responsible for electing the Lord Mayor of Darwin.[69] Since the August 2017 council elections, the mayor has beenKon Vatskalis.[70]
Also on the Esplanade is theSupreme Court of the Northern Territory.[72] Darwin has a Magistrate's Court on the corner of Cavenagh and Bennett streets, close to the Darwin City Council Chambers.[73]
Darwin's police force are members of theNorthern Territory Police, under the NT Police Darwin Metropolitan Command. The Darwin urban centre includes Darwin City and the associated suburbs fromBuffalo Creek,Berrimah, and East Arm westwards, representing around 35% of the Northern Territory's population.[74] Palmerston urban centre closely approximates the Palmerston Local Government Area, and represents approximately 13% of the Northern Territory's population.[75]
Darwin has had a history ofalcohol abuse and violent crime, with 6,000 assaults in 2009, of which 350 resulted in broken jaws and noses—more than anywhere else in the world, according to theRoyal Darwin Hospital.[76]
Mitchell Street, with its numerous pubs,clubs and other entertainment venues, was one of the areas policed by the CitySafe Unit, officially launched by the NT Chief MinisterPaul Henderson on 25 February 2009. It was credited with success in tackling alcohol abuse linked to crime,[77] and the NT police were looking at establishing a specialist licensing enforcement unit in 2010.[78]
The First Response Patrol, run by Larrakia Nation, which helps move homeless Indigenous women out of dangerous situations, was credited with the decline in sexual assaults in 2009.[79] The service operates every day from 5am to 2am.[80]
In the 10 months between 1 October 2018, the date that the alcohol floor price and various other measures were imposed by the NT government following the Riley Review, and 31 July 2019, alcohol-related assaults dropped by 16% and domestic violence by 9% in the Darwin area.[81]
The rate of offending in most categories of crime dropped in the Darwin urban area between 2018 and 2019, with the notable exceptions of motor vehicle theft and break-ins (both up about 12%).[74] Apart from sexual assault, which rose from 21 to 46, all other categories of crime declined in Palmerston.[75]
The two largest economic sectors aremining andtourism. Given its location, Darwin serves as a gateway for Australian travellers to Asia.[82]
Manunda Place
Mining and energy industry production exceeds $2.5 billion per annum.[83] The most important mineral resources are gold, zinc, andbauxite, along withmanganese and many others. The energy production is mostly off-shore with oil and natural gas from theTimor Sea, although there are significanturanium deposits near Darwin. Tourism employs 8% of Darwin residents and is expected to grow as domestic and international tourists now spend time in Darwin during the wet and dry seasons.[84] Federal spending is also a major contributor to the local economy.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 includingOutrigger Pandanas andEvolution on Gardiner, retail and entertainment outlets including a large wave pool and safe swimming lagoon. TheChinatown project has also started with plans to construct Chinese-themed retail and dining outlets.[85]
Tourism is one of Darwin's largest industries and a major employment sector for the Northern Territory. In 2005–2006, 1.38 million people visited the Northern Territory. They stayed for 9.2 million nights and spent over $1.5 billion.[86] 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 toKakadu National Park,[87]Litchfield National Park[88] andKatherine Gorge. The year is traditionally divided into the wet and dry seasons, 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 that rejuvenate the landscape. Tourism is largely seasonal, with most tourists visiting during the cooler dry season, from April to September.
The military presence in both Darwin and the wider Northern Territory is a substantial source of employment. On 16 November 2011, Prime MinisterJulia Gillard and PresidentBarack Obama announced that the United States would station troops in Australia for the first time since World War II. The agreement between the U.S. and Australia would involve a contingent of 250Marines arriving in Darwin in 2012, with the total number rising to a maximum of 2,500 troops by 2017 on six-month rotations as well as a supporting air element including F-22 Raptors, F-35 Joint Strike Fighters and KC-135 refuellers.[89] China andIndonesia have expressed concern about the decision.[90] Some analysts[who?] have argued that an expanded U.S. presence could pose a threat to security.[91] Gillard announced that the first 200 U.S. Marines had arrived in Darwin fromHawaii on 3 April 2012.[92] In 2013, further news of other expansion vectors aired in U.S. media,[93] with no comment or confirmation from Australian authorities. The agreement between the two governments remains hidden from public scrutiny.[94] Marine numbers based in Darwin increased to more than 1,150 by 2014.[95] In a 2019 telephone survey of local residents, 51% of respondents had positive feelings about the U.S. troop presence, with 6% responding negatively.[96] In late 2021, theU.S. Department of Defense signed a contract to create a 300 million litres (79,000,000 US gal) fuel storage facility atEast Arm.
Darwin hosts biennial multi-nation exercises named "Pitch Black";[97] in 2014 this involved military personnel from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and the United States.[98]
Education is overseen territory-wide by the Department of Education and Training (DET), whose role is to continually improve education outcomes for all students, with a focus on Indigenous students.[99]
Darwin is served by a number of public and private schools that cater to local and overseas students. 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.[100] Over 12,089 students are enrolled in government schools, and 2,124 in independent schools.[100]
Darwin's largest university isCharles Darwin University, the Northern Territory's central provider of tertiary education. It has both vocational and academic courses, acting as both a university and an Institute ofTAFE. More than 5,500 students are enrolled in tertiary and further education courses.[101]
Darwin is also home to several privatevocational colleges, including Alana Kaye College[103] and Latitude College.[104]
18 Smith Street; constructed in the late 19th century
As Darwin was destroyed by cyclones several times and suffered severe bomb damage during World War II, few historic buildings remain in town. The Administrator's Office dating from 1883 was used as a law court and as a police station and was only slightly damaged by bombs, but in 1974, the cyclone completely destroyed it. In 1979, it was decided to rebuild, and the reconstruction was finished in 1981. The building houses government offices today. Opposite the building, Survivors Lookout offers a view of the marina.[105][non-primary source needed]
In a park in the south of the CBD, the ruin of the Town Hall built in 1883 and destroyed by the cyclone in 1974 can be seen. Browns Mart is a stone building dating from 1880 opposite the park. Browns Mart was originally used in many different activities including commerce, storage, shipping and insurance agency, mining exchange and meetings of local organisations[106] but it was transformed into a theatre.[107]
One of Darwin's most prominent buildings is the Chinese Temple, which was founded in 1887 and damaged by cyclones in 1897 and in 1937. It was severely damaged by bombs in 1942 and rebuilt after the war. On 24 December 1974 the cyclone completely destroyed it. Reconstruction was completed in 1978.
There are various modern churches in Darwin. St Mary's Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Cathedral was inaugurated in 1962. Christ Church Anglican Cathedral was rebuilt in 1977 after being severely damaged by bombs in 1942 and destroyed by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. The Uniting Memorial Church was built in 1960.
TheNightcliff Seabreeze Festival, which started in 2005, is held on the second week of May in the suburb of Nightcliff. It showcases local talent, and a popular event is Saturday family festivities along the Nightcliff foreshore, one of Darwin's most popular fitness tracks.[111][112]
TheDarwin beer-can regatta, held in August, celebrates Darwin's love affair with beer, and contestants race boats made of beer cans. Also in Darwin during August are the Darwin Cup horse race and therodeo andMud Crab Tying Competition.
TheWorld Solar Challenge race attracts teams from around the world, most fielded by universities or corporations and some by high schools. The race has a 20-year history spanning nine races, with the inaugural event taking place in 1987.
TheRoyal Darwin Show is held annually in July at the Darwin Showgrounds. Exhibitions include agriculture and livestock, and horse events. Entertainment and sideshows are also included over the three days of the event.[113]
TheDarwin Street Art Festival is an annual event in September where street artists from around the world create large outdoor murals.[114]
A yearly music festival,BASSINTHEGRASS, has been held since 2003. Since 2019 it has been held atMindil Beach.
On 1 July, Territorians celebrateTerritory Day. This is the only day of the year, apart from the Chinese New Year and New Year's Eve, that fireworks are permitted. In Darwin, the main celebrations occur atMindil Beach, where the government commissions a large firework display.
Other festivals include the Glenti, which showcases Darwin's largeGreek community, and India@Mindil, a similar festival held by the city's Indian community. TheChinese New Year is also celebrated with great festivity, highlighting theEast Asian influence in Darwin.
TheDarwin Symphony Orchestra was assembled in 1989[115] and has performed throughout the Territory. The Darwin Theatre Company is a locally produced professional theatre production company, performing locally and nationally.[116]
TheDarwin Entertainment Centre is the city's main concert venue and hosts theatre and orchestral performances.[117] Other theatres include theDarwin Convention Centre, which opened in July 2008. The Darwin Convention Centre is part of the $1.1 billion Darwin Waterfront project.[118]
TheNorthern Territory Museum and Art Gallery[119] (MAGNT) in Darwin gives an overview of the history of the area, including exhibits on Cyclone Tracy and the boats of the Pacific Islands. The MAGNT also organises the annualTelstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, the longest-running Indigenous art award in Australia. The MAGNT also manages theDefence of Darwin Experience, a multi-media installation that tells the story of the Japanese air raids on Darwin during World War II.
TheNT Dance Company is led by choreographer Gary Lang, who has beenartistic director since 2012. Lang previously taught at many leading dance companies, includingBangarra Dance Theatre, after studying dance atNAISDA inSydney and working as a dancer for years.[120] The company has a strong focus on culture, and also works with disadvantaged young Indigenous people.[121]
Darwin's only casino opened in 1979 as the Don Casino, operating out of the Don Hotel on Cavenagh Street. The present site of the hotel and casino on Darwin's Mindil Beach opened in 1983, at which point gambling operations ceased at the Don Hotel and resumed at the newly built facilities. The new hotel and casino was named Mindil Beach Casino until 1985, when the name changed to the Diamond Beach Hotel Casino. Upon its acquisition byMGM Grand the hotel was rebranded as theMGM Grand Darwin, before it changed toSkycity Darwin afterSkycity Entertainment Group purchased the hotel in 2004.[125]
Mitchell Street in the central business district is lined with nightclubs, takeaways, and restaurants. This is the city's entertainment hub. There are several smaller theatres, two cinema complexes (Casuarina, and Palmerston), and the Deckchair Cinema.[126] An open-air cinema operates through the dry season, from April to October, screeningindependent andarthouse films.
During the months of October–May the sea contains deadlybox jellyfish, known locally as stingers or sea wasps.Saltwater crocodiles are common in all waterways surrounding Darwin and are occasionally found in Darwin Harbour and on local beaches. An active trapping program is carried out by the NT Government to limit numbers of crocodiles within the Darwin urban waterway area.[127]
The city has many kilometres of beaches, including the Casuarina Beach and renownedMindil Beach, home of the Mindil Beach markets. Darwin City Council has designated an area of Casuarina Beach as a free beach, which has been designated as a nudist beach area since 1976.[128]
Bundilla Beach was formerly named Vesteys Beach,[129] as it was one of the beaches overlooked byVestey's Meatworks, which existed from 1914 to 1920 and was involved in theDarwin rebellion.[130][131] In March 2021, the beach was formally renamed Bundilla Beach, the name by which it had long been known to thetraditional owners, theLarrakia people.[129]
Darwin is a popular bird-watching site, with locations such as the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens, East Point Reserve, Buffalo Creek, Leanyer Ponds, and Knuckey Lagoon. Slightly further from the city is one of the best birding sites in the country,Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve.
Some species of native mammals are more abundant in Darwin than in the surrounding native forest and woodland ecosystems of the region,[141] including thecommon brushtail possum andblack-footed tree-rat. This is likely due to the presence of well-watered gardens and parks, the absence of frequent fires, and the availability of denning sites (e.g. the roofs of houses).
Darwin is also home to many species of frogs and reptiles. There are more species of snake in Darwin than any other Australian capital city, with 34 non-marine snake species found in the region, of which 23 have been recorded by professional snake catchers in Darwin itself.[142] Fortunately for the citizens of Darwin, a far smaller proportion of these snakes are highly venomous than is typically found in other cities, due to the low numbers of front-fanged elapid species and dominance of relatively harmless pythons and colubrid species. Of the 23 more regularly encountered snake species in Darwin, it seems that species with broader habitat and dietary preferences, as well as a penchant for arboreality, are associated with more frequent human–snake interactions.[143] Shifts in snake behaviour or movement also occur throughout the year,[144] with species specific differences in abundance and occurrence in certain months.
Australian rules is played all year round and the Territory's premier league competition, theNorthern Territory Football League is based in Darwin.Australian Football League clubs generally sell a handful of games to the Northern Territory each year, some of which are played atMarrara Oval. Darwin is part of a bid for a Northern Territory AFL license for proposed entry into the competition by 2028 at the earliest.[145][146] The Darwin-basedIndigenous All-Stars have participated in theAFL pre-season competition. In 2003, a record crowd of 17,500 attended a pre-season game between the All-Stars andCarlton Football Club at Marrara.[147]
Rugby League andRugby Union club competitions are played in Darwin each year, organised by the NTRL and NTRU respectively. TheDarwin Hottest Sevens in the World tournament is hosted in Darwin each January, withRugby Sevens club teams from countries including Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, and Singapore competing. Darwin's Hottest 7s is the richest Rugby 7s tournament in the Southern Hemisphere.[148]
The Darwin Cup culminating on the first Monday of August is a popular horse race event for Darwin and draws large crowds every year to Fannie Bay Racecourse. While it is not as popular as theMelbourne 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).
There is onegreyhound racing track in Darwin at Winnellie Park on Hook Road. It is the only track in the Northern Territory.[149]
In 2022, theDarwin Salties basketball club will debut in theQueensland-basedNBL1 North competition, making theNBL1 the first Australian sport league to have clubs based in and playing out of every state and territory in Australia.[150]
Five free-to-air channels service Darwin. Commercial television channels are provided bySeven Darwin (Seven Network affiliate),Nine Darwin (formerly branded as Channel 8) andTen Darwin (Network Ten relay), which launched on 28 April 2008. The two government-owned national broadcast services in Darwin are theABC andSBS. Subscription television servicesFoxtel viaCable andFetch TV viaIPTV are available in the Darwin/Palmerston/Litchfield areas.
The Territory's public transport services are managed by the Department of Lands and Planning, Public Transport Division. Darwin has a bus network serviced by a range of contracted bus operators,[153] which provides transport to the main suburbs of Darwin.[154]
Darwin has no commuter rail system, but long-distance passenger rail services do operate out of the city. TheAlice Springs-Darwin railway line was completed in 2003, linking Darwin toAdelaide. The first service ran in 2004.The Ghan passenger train service between Adelaide andDarwin railway station viaAlice Springs andKatherine runs once per week in each direction, with some exceptions.[155]
Historically, theNorth Australia Railway carried passengers and freight from Darwin into the interior, reachingPine Creek in 1889, Katherine in 1917, andBirdum in 1929. It was closed due to declining traffic in 1976.
Darwin can be reached via theStuart 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 includeTiger Brennan Drive,Amy Johnson Avenue, Dick Ward Drive,Bagot Road, Trower Road, and McMillans Road. Bus service in the greater Darwin area is provided byDarwinbus.
Ferries leave from Port Darwin to island locations, mainly for tourists. A ferry service to theTiwi Islands, theArafura Pearl, operates from Cullen Bay.
Darwin has a deepwater port, East Arm Wharf, which opened in 2000. It has 754 metres (2,474 ft) of wharf line and is capable of handlingPanamax-sized ships of a maximum length of 274 metres (899 ft) and aDWT of up to 80,000tonnes (88,000 short tons).[156]
TheGovernment of the Northern Territory Department of Health and Families oversees one public hospital in the Darwin metropolitan region. TheRoyal Darwin Hospital, inTiwi, is the city's major teaching and referral hospital, and the largest in the Northern Territory.[157]
There is one major private hospital, Darwin Private Hospital, inTiwi, adjacent to the Royal Darwin Hospital. Darwin Private Hospital is operated and owned byHealthscope Ltd, a private hospital corporation.
A new hospital called Palmerston Regional Hospital was opened in August 2018 to help ease the pressure of patient numbers at the Royal Darwin Hospital.[158]
Water storage, supply and power for Darwin is managed byPowerWater. The corporation is also responsible for management of sewage and the major water catchments in the region. Water is mainly stored in the largest dam, TheDarwin River Dam, which holds up to 90% of Darwin's water supply. For many years, Darwin's principal water supply came fromManton Dam.
Darwin once had Australia's only international connection to the outside world in the form of an overseas telegraph cable, connecting Darwin to Java. The southern section of the cable connected Darwin with Adelaide and was known as theoverland telegraph line. In 2022, the Northern Territory Government announced that an international undersea cable system would land into Darwin, directly connecting it to Indonesia, Singapore, the United States and Timor Leste.[160] The new cable system, representing an investment of $700 million, is expected to create a new digital economy as it is coupled with recent announcements on Data Centre Investment into Darwin.[161] The plans for Darwin for Data Centres and International cables are outlined in the Northern Territory's Digital Strategy the Terabit Territory.[162]
^The story around the pole holes is commonly perpetuated, though no first hand accounts have been uncovered to authenticate this
^In 1872 it was reported that "A great many statements have been made about gold being found in holes of the telegraph post, and other unimaginable places. Such statements are incorrect, and given out by interested parties."[20]
^The nearest first hand account is of linesmen finding gold near the telegraph line.
^In accordance with the Australian Bureau of Statistics source,England,Scotland,Mainland China and the Special Administrative Regions ofHong Kong andMacau are listed separately. Wales and Northern Ireland are also listed separately but number fewer than 1000, so are omitted here.
^As a percentage of 119,944 persons who nominated their ancestry at the 2016 census.
^The Australian Bureau of Statistics has stated that most who nominate "Australian" as their ancestry are part of theAnglo-Celtic group.[64]
^Of any ancestry. Includes those identifying asAboriginal Australians orTorres Strait Islanders. Indigenous identification is separate to the ancestry question on the Australian Census and persons identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander may identify any ancestry.
^Of any ancestry. Includes those identifying asAboriginal Australians orTorres Strait Islanders. Indigenous identification is separate to the ancestry question on the Australian Census and persons identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander may identify any ancestry.
^"Gold at Port Darwin".The Queenslander. Vol. VII, no. 358. Queensland, Australia. 14 December 1872. p. 6. Retrieved23 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
^Tapper, Andrew; Tapper, Nigel (1996). Gray, Kathleen (ed.).The weather and climate of Australia and New Zealand (First ed.). Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press. p. 300.ISBN0-19-553393-3.
^abcd"Census Data: Greater Darwin".2016 Census of Population and Housing. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2016. Archived fromthe original on 28 October 2022. Retrieved6 June 2023.
^von Takach, Brenton; Scheele, Ben C.; Moore, Harry; Murphy, Brett P.; Banks, Sam C. (November 2020). "Patterns of niche contraction identify vital refuge areas for declining mammals".Diversity and Distributions.26 (11):1467–1482.Bibcode:2020DivDi..26.1467V.doi:10.1111/ddi.13145.hdl:1885/286535.
^Parkin, Tom; Jolly, Chris J.; de Laive, Alana; von Takach, Brenton (May 2021). "Snakes on an urban plain: Temporal patterns of snake activity and human–snake conflict in Darwin, Australia".Austral Ecology.46 (3):449–462.Bibcode:2021AusEc..46..449P.doi:10.1111/aec.12990.
^von Takach, Brenton; Lettoof, Damian Christopher; Parkin, Tom; de Laive, Alana; Allen, Luke; Jolly, Chris J. (January 2024). "Analysing spatiotemporal patterns of snake occurrence in an Australian city to help manage human-wildlife conflict".Biodiversity and Conservation.33 (1):347–360.Bibcode:2024BiCon..33..347V.doi:10.1007/s10531-023-02752-2.
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