Daly River

History

The traditional owners of the area are the Mulluk-Mulluk people who live both in Nauiyu and at Wooliana downstream from the community. European settlement of Daly River began in 1865 with the arrival of Boyle Travers Finniss, the first Premier of South Australia and the first Government Resident of the Northern Territory. Finniss named the river after Sir Dominick Daly, the Governor of South Australia, since the Northern Territory was at that time part of South Australia. The region lay untouched by Europeans until 1882 when copper was discovered. Daly River town was the scene of some particularly bloody exchanges between the local Aborigines and the miners. In 1884 three miners were killed. The miners in the town wreaked vengeance on the local Aborigines out of proportion to the perceived crime. A year later, probably aware of the tensions in the area, the Society of Jesus order of the Roman Catholic Church established a mission in the town, introducing Christianity and farming techniques to the local Aboriginal population. The original mission endured until 1899, when following a significant flood the missionaries were withdrawn. In 1954, contact between traditional Malak Malak elders and the then bishop of Darwin led to the mission being reestablished. In 1955, the church purchased of land and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart helped to establish a school and a clinic for the community. The mission was later renamed Nauiyu and with the exception of the church, convent, school and associated residences transferred to community ownership. Due to the influence of the mission in the town, 75% percent of the population identify as Roman Catholics. Through the twentieth century there were a number of attempts to settle the town without real success. In 1911…

Most-observed species

• Bluestem

  Andropogon gayanus Kunth · Liliopsida
  551
• saltwater crocodile

  Crocodylus porosus Schneider, 1801 · Crocodylia
  349
• Freshwater crocodile

  Crocodylus johnsoni Krefft, 1873 · Crocodylia
  232
• Bar-shouldered Dove

  Geopelia humeralis (Temminck, 1821) · Aves
  85
• Whistling Kite

  Haliastur sphenurus (Vieillot, 1818) · Aves
  76
• Green Oriole

  Oriolus flavocinctus (King, 1826) · Aves
  72
• Spangled Drongo

  Dicrurus bracteatus Gould, 1843 · Aves
  70
• White-gaped Honeyeater

  Stomiopera unicolor (Gould, 1843) · Aves
  66