The Darwin skyline across Fannie Bay

Darwin
A classic tropical sea port and the capital of the Northern Territory.
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory. Located between Beagle Gulf and Port Darwin and situated on Fannie Bay, Darwin is a thriving centre of over 110 000 people.

Port Darwin was discovered by Lieutenant John Lort Stokes and named by Captain J.C. Wickham when, travelling in the HMS Beagle, they passed the harbour area in 1839. Wickham named the area after Charles Darwin who had once sailed in the HMS Beagle. In 1869 it was renamed Palmerston but in 1911 it reverted to Darwin.

The settlement of Darwin is a vital part of the interminable saga of trying to establish an outpost of the northern coast of Australia. The various settlements at Escape Cliffs, Port Essington and Fort Dundas (see Melville Island) had all been miserable failures. The South Australian government were determined to make the settlement at Port Darwin work. Consequently they were far more systematic and thorough. The Surveyor-General was sent to the area and by 1869 he had surveyed the town and had drawn up plans for leases. In spite of these preparations the new town of Palmerston was hardly a boom place for real estate. The town would almost certainly have been as short-lived as the previous attempts at settlement had it not coincided with the construction of the Overland Telegraph. Thus the outpost had an instant raison d'etre.

Government House, Darwin

In 1870 the first pole at the northern end of the Overland Telegraph was placed in the ground. Two years later Government House, a remarkably beautiful old seven-gabled house which overlooks Darwin Harbour, was built. It was pulled down and rebuilt in the 1880s and that building, known as the 'House of Seven Gables', still stands today surrounded by a white fence and magnificent tropical gardens. Its domination of the harbour foreshore is a combination of good luck and superb architecture. The town/city has been seriously damaged by cyclones three times and during World War II it was bombed over 60 times.

The period from 1870 to 1900 saw successive waves of settlers. The Chinese who had worked on the Overland Telegraph now turned their attentions to market gardening and established a thriving Chinatown in the centre.

By 1881 the town had a population of 3451. The sudden increase in the population saw the construction of the Fannie Bay Gaol in 1882–3. The gaol was closed in 1979 and in 1982 it became the Fannie Bay Museum. The gaol is located on East Point Road and has a number of interesting displays including the gallows which were erected in the infirmary for the Territory's last execution in 1952. Other interesting displays include the women's section and the mess. The laundry was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy and it is appropriate that the gaol now houses a Cyclone Tracy display which includes an excellent photographic display and a continuous 30 minute video of the devastation.

The story of the disaster which was Cyclone Tracy is one which is widely known in Australia. At the time, Christmas Day, 1974, it received massive media coverage.

It was, quite simply, Australia's worst natural disaster. At 3 am the anemometer at Darwin Airport recorded winds of 217 km/h before it stopped working; winds of up to 250 km/h were estimated to have hit the city; total damage exceeded $1000 million and 65 people were killed; about 26 000 people had to be evaluated and over 1000 people needed medical attention; 16 people were lost at sea, their bodies never recovered; the ABC radio station, 8DR, was off the air for 34 hours; over 90 per cent of all buildings in the city were seriously damaged.

Some of the buildings which were devastated were the Old Police Station, the Court House and Cell Block all on The Esplanade which runs along Lameroo Beach. The buildings were constructed in 1884 under the guidance of the architect John George Knight who was at the time, the Government Resident for the Northern Territory.

The Police Station, Court House and Cell Block had all been used as the headquarters for the Northern Territory Mounted Police until World War II when the Royal Australian Navy took over the buildings and the area became known as HMAS Melville. They remained in under Navy control until Cyclone Tracy damaged them. It was a comment of the building techniques of the nineteenth century that even after Cyclone Tracy had wiped out most of Darwin the buildings were still standing, albeit somewhat damaged. Their importance was such that in 1978 the government decided to have them reconstructed and they are now used as offices by the Northern Territory Administration.

The 1890s saw the discovery of gold at Pine Creek and the development of a pearling industry in the seas to the north. The result was that by 1891 the population of Darwin had grown to 4 898.

There are two free publications Top of Australia - Visitors Magazine and Visitors' Guide to Darwin - Australia's North both of which are published by the Darwin Tourist Promotion Association and are available from all Tourist Information Offices in the Darwin area. They both contain good maps of the city and plenty of up–to–date information.

Things to see:  

Chinese Temple
The Chinese have left their mark upon the city and visitors can go to the Chinese Temple on Woods Street about 1.5 km from the city centre where the local Buddhists, Taoists and Confucianists still worship. The building has a very chequered history having been destroyed by the 1937 cyclone, Japanese bombing raids in 1942 and Cyclone Tracy in 1974. Open from 8am-4pm daily the temple is an interesting example of the rich racial mixture which is such an important part of the history of Darwin.

Esplanade Gallery
One building which survived Cyclone Tracy virtually unscathed is the Esplanade Gallery which was built out of cypress pine and 10 cm nails in 1937 and moved to its present location on The Esplanade in 1951. It is a superb example of tropical architecture with every design feature, and the garden, designed to maximise the benefit of the breezes off the harbour.

Fannie Bay Gaol
By 1881 the town had a population of 3451. The sudden increase in the population saw the construction of the Fannie Bay Gaol in 1882-3. The gaol was closed in 1979 and in 1982 it became the Fannie Bay Museum. The gaol is located on East Point Road and has a number of interesting displays including the gallows which were erected in the infirmary for the Territory's last execution in 1952. Other interesting displays include the women's section and the mess. The laundry was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy and it is appropriate that the gaol now houses a Cyclone Tracy display which includes an excellent photographic display and a continuous 30 minute video of the devastation.

British Australian Telegraph Residence Museum
A superb display chronicling the pearl diving era exists in the BAT building otherwise known as Lyons Cottage. Located on The Esplanade opposite the Esplanade Gallery the building, which was completed in 1925, originally housed the British-Australian Telegraph Company. It was seriously damaged by Japanese bombing during the war and in 1948 it was bought by the Lyons family and consequently became known as Lyons Cottage.

Now known as the British Australian Telegraph Residence Museum, Lyons House has an excellent display with each room concentrating on aspects of early Territory history. There's a room on the history of pearling, another on Palmerston and Essington, another on the maritime history of the area dating back to the first explorers and the Macassans, a room on the early police force, and a room on the Telegraph system.

Stuart Memorial
Another place to recall Darwin's early history is the Stuart Memorial on the corner of Mitchell Street and Knuckley Street.

It is entirely appropriate that Darwin should have a memorial celebrating the remarkable achievements of John McDouall Stuart. Although he was not the first person to cross Australia from south to north (that 'honour' belongs to the rather inglorious adventures of Burke and Wills who reached the mangrove swamps of the Gulf of Carpentaria on 11 February 1861) Stuart was the first to make the journey successfully. He started his journey on 26 October 1861 from Adelaide and reached the coast 65 km east of the Adelaide River - close to the site of modern day Darwin.

Stuart's route was more than just a piece of daring exploration. Within a decade the route had become the means by which the whole of the Northern Territory was opened up because it was used as the basis for the construction of the Overland Telegraph which established communities around the repeater stations at Darwin, Yam Creek, Katherine, Daly Waters, Powell Creek, Tennant Creek, Barrow Creek, Alice Springs and Charlotte Waters.

Today, with minor variations, Stuart's route is still the major artery for transport through the Territory. It is appropriately known as the Stuart Highway.

Botanical Gardens
It is easy for southerners to forget that Darwin is both geographically and temperamentally a 'city in the tropics'. Therefore the city's Botanical Gardens (enter via Gardens Road) are something worth visiting. Started in the late 1870s by the German botanist Dr. Maurice Holtze they contain over 400 species of tropical plant.

Holtze was one of those remarkable and urbane Europeans who find their way to Australia by strange means. He had worked in the Royal Gardens in Hanover and the Imperial Gardens in St Petersburg before migrating to Australia where, from 1878-1891, he was government gardener at the Palmerston Botanic Gardens. The government officials, being typical philistines in terms of horticulture, put him in charge of the production of fruit and vegetables for their tables but Holtze rebelled saying that the 'raising of cabbage heads was not the greatest ambition of the true botanist'. With his son, Nicholas (who became curator of the Gardens in 1891) Holtze began a series of experiments to see whether the climate of the 'top end' was suitable for the growing of tropical crops. He experimented with rice, rubber, coffee, tobacco, peanuts, sugar and other less well known crops and advocated that the Northern Territory could become a rice bowl.

In 1891 he left the Territory and became director and secretary of the Adelaide Botanical Gardens.

Christchurch Cathedral
One building which is a reminder of the devastation of Cyclone Tracy is Christchurch Cathedral in Smith Street near the harbour. The original building was completed in 1902. It was 'enhanced' by the armed forces in 1944. Using stones taken from the old Post Office they built a porch as a memorial to the people who had died in World War II. Significantly when Christmas morning 1974 dawned the only part of the Cathedral left intact was the porch. The cathedral was subsequently rebuilt incorporating the porch into the new design.

Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Natural Sciences
Established in 1969 by Dr Colin Hinton, the Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Natural Sciences is one of the best museums in Australia. Where many museums tend to be stuffy, rather lifeless places, this museum focuses on South-East Asia and Australasia and has enough fascinating exhibitions to keep even the most bored visitor interested. The museum's show pieces include an excellent exhibition of Aboriginal bark paintings, a collection of stone axes some of which are estimated to be 22 000 years old, and the Melville Island Pukamani Burial Poles.

Indo Pacific Marine
The Indo Pacific Marine in Lambell Terrace near the northern end of Smith Street is worth a visit. It is one of the few aquariums in the world which has an exhibit of living coral formations.

East Port Fortifications
The East Port Fortifications at East Point at the northern end of Fannie Bay is a reminder of how close Darwin was to the front line during World War II. These military fortifications were built between 1936 and 1943. Not surprisingly East Port was the site of the first air attack on Australian shore. On 19 February 1942 the Japanese bombed the headland. Today the headland has remnants of bunkers, command posts, gun emplacements and munitions facilities.

Browns Mart
Browns Mart is the oldest commercial building still standing in Darwin. Located at 12 Smith Street the building was originally erected in 1883. It was seriously damaged by the cyclones of both 1897 and 1974 but after both disasters it was restored so that today its simple stone construction and casement windows with their galvanised hoods it is a reminder of nineteenth century Darwin.

Giese Residence
The devastation which occurred with Cyclone Tracy has left only rare examples of earlier forms of architecture. The Giese Residence at the corner of Myilly Terrace and Kahlin Avenue is an example of the kind of larger timber house which was built in Darwin in the 1920s. It was designed for the tropical climate with timber shutters, a beautiful tropical garden and an open floor plan to allow the breezes to cool the house.

The Urban Fringe
Beyond the city centre and the points of interest Darwin sprawls with that kind of scrappy urban fringe which is all too common at the edges of Australian cities. This is a zone of market gardens, the occasional house, industry, sports areas, HMAS Coonawarra - Naval Communications Station, the Darwin Airport, and endless service stations. If it wasn't for the temperature and the vegetation it would be possible to mistake this area for the outskirts of Melbourne or Sydney.

	Tourist Information
	Northern Territory Visitors Centre GPO Box 2541 Darwin NT 0801 Telephone: (08) 8941 1824 Facsimile: (08) 8941 2815
	Tourism Top End Cnr Knuckey & Mitchell Sts Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8936 2499 Facsimile: (08) 8981 0653 Email: info@tourismtopend.com.au.
	Motels
	All Seasons Frontier Darwin Hotel 3 Buffalo Court Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 5333 Rating: ***
	Asti Motel Cnr Smith St West & Packard Pl. Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 8200 Facsimile: (08) 8981 8038 Rating: **
	Boomerang Motel & Caravan Park Virginia Rd Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8983 1202 Facsimile: (08) 8983 1202 Rating: **
	Cherry Blossom Motel 108 Esplanade Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 6734 Facsimile: (08) 8941 3620 Rating: *
	Darwin Phoenix Motel 63 Progress Dve Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8985 4144 Facsimile: (08) 8948 0425
	Darwin Travelodge 122 The Esplanade Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 5388 Facsimile: (08) 8981 5701 Rating: ***
	Backpackers
	Melaleuca on Mitchell 52 Mitchell St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8941 7800 Facsimile: (08) 8941 7900
	Motels
	Metro Inn Motel 38 Gardens Rd Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 1544 Facsimile: (08) 8941 2541 Rating: **
	Mirambeena Tourist Resort Motel 64 Cavenagh St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8946 0111 Rating: ***
	Novotel Atrium Darwin cnr Peel St & The Esplanade Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8941 0755 Facsimile: (08) 8981 9025 Rating: ****
	Palms Motel 100 McMinn St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 4188 Facsimile: (08) 8981 4415 Rating: **
	Plaza Hotel Darwin 32 Mitchell St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8982 0000 Facsimile: (08) 8981 1765 Rating: ****
	Poinciana Inn Cnr McLachlan & Mitchell Sts Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 8111 Facsimile: (08) 8941 2440 Rating: ***
	Value Inn Darwin 50 Mitchell St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 4733 Facsimile: (08) 8981 4730
	Hotels
	All Seasons Premier Darwin Central Cnr Smith & Knuckey Sts Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8946 8600 Facsimile: (08) 8946 8686
	Beaufort Hotel The Esplanade Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8980 0800 Facsimile: (08) 8980 0888 Rating: ****
	Don Hotel 12 Cavenagh St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 5311 Rating: **
	Hotel Darwin 10 Herbert St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 9211 Facsimile: (08) 8981 9597 Rating: ***
	MGM Grand Hotel/Casino Gilruth Avenue The Gardens Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8943 8888, 1800 891 118 Facsimile: (08) 8943 8999 Rating: ****
	Victoria Hotel 27 Smith St Mall Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 4011
	Top End Hotel Cnr Mitchell & Daly St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 6511 Facsimile: (08) 8941 1253 Rating: ***
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Acacia Homestead Bed & Breakfast Forest Dve Humpty Doo Darwin NT 0836 Telephone: (08) 8988 4000 Facsimile: (08) 8988 4450 Rating: ****
	Melaleuca Homestead Bed & Breakfast Cnr Forest Dve & Stuart Hwy Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8983 2736 Facsimile: (08) 8983 2736
	Apartments
	Alatai Holiday Apartments Cnr McMinn St & Finniss St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 5188 Facsimile: (08) 8981 8887 Rating: ***
	Aurora's Coconut Grove Holiday Apartments 146 Dick Ward Dve Coconut Grove Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8985 0500 Facsimile: (08) 8985 0591 Rating: **
	Botanic Gardens Apartments 17 Geranuim St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8946 0300 Facsimile: (08) 8981 0410 Rating: ***
	Marina View Serviced Apartments 32 Marina Blvde Cullen Bay Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 0001 Facsimile: (08) 8981 0919
	Marrakai Serviced Apartments 93 Smith St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8982 3711 Facsimile: (08) 8981 9283 Rating: ****
	Peninsula Apartments 115 Smith St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 1922 Facsimile: (08) 8941 2547 Rating: **
	Holiday Homes & Units
	City Gardens Holiday Units 93 Woods St Winnellie Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8941 2888 Facsimile: (08) 8981 2934 Rating: ***
	Ti Tree Holiday Units 92 Woods St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8941 0568 Facsimile: (08) 8981 5677 Rating: **
	Caravan Parks
	Darwin Boomerang Motel & Caravan Park Virginia Rd Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8983 1202 Facsimile: (08) 8983 1202 Rating: **
	Point Stuart Wilderness Lodge Point Stuart Rd Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8978 8914
	Restaurants
	All Sorts Cafe BYO Restaurant 130 Smith St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8941 2126
	Barra Bar 15 Knuckey St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8941 0531
	Blue Blazes 60 East Point Rd Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 8433
	Charlie's Restaurant 29 Knuckey St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 3298
	Christo's On The Wharf Stokes Hill Warf Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 8658
	Darwin Plaza Asian Cuisine 41 Smith St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 7225
	Galleria Restaurant Shop 8 Galleria Complex Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 6078
	Hanuman Thai Restaurant 28 Mitchell St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8941 3500
	Hog's Breath Cafe The Mall Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8941 3333
	Indonesian Satee House West Lane Car Park Arc. Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 4307
	Inshore Water Gardens 35 Cavenagh St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 8543
	Knife And Fork Restaurant 28 Mitchell St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 8877
	La Chaumiere 13 Shepherd St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 2879
	Lam Saigon Restaurant 21 Cavenagh St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 7808
	Lindsay Street Cafe Restaurant 2 Lindsay St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 8631
	Magic Wok Restaurant 48 Cavenagh St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 3332
	Mirambeena Pool Side Restaurant, 64 Cavenagh St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8946 0111
	Mississippi Queen Restaurant 6 Gardiner St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 3358
	Nirvana Restaurant 6 Dashwood Cres. Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 2025
	Pancake Palace 28 Cavenagh St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 5307
	Plaza Darwin 32 Mitchell St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8982 0000
	Rock Oyster 110 Mitchell St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 3472
	Roma Bar 30 Cavenagh St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 6729
	Rooftop Restaurant 3 Buffalo Court Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 5333
	Rumpole's Fine Cuisine Mitchell St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8941 1513
	Siam Restaurant Mitchell St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8941 2555
	Siggi's Restaurant The Esplanade Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8980 0800
	Sizzler Steak Seafood Salad Cnr Briggs & Micthell Sts Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8941 2225
	Swiss Restaurant 60 Smith St Harry Chain Arc. Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 5079
	Terrace Restaurant 122 The Esplanade Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 5388
	Thin Lizzies Bar & Bistro 38 Gardens Rd Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 1544
	Tim's Surf & Turf Restaurant 8 Packard St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 9979
	Tuxedo Junction 64 Smith Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8941 0990
	Uncle John's Cabin 6 Gardiner St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 3358
	Cafés
	Cafe Capri 37 Knuckey St Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 0010
	The Beaufort Brasserie The Esplanade Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8980 0800
	Yots Cafe 54 Marina Blv Darwin NT 0800 Telephone: (08) 8981 4433