Darwin

Sister cities

• Anchorage
• Ambon
• Milikapiti
• Dili
• Kalymnos
• Haikou

History

The Aboriginal people of the Larrakia language group are the traditional custodians and earliest known inhabitants of the greater Darwin area. Their name for the area is Garramilla, 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 extent of shared songlines and history of multiple clan groups within this area is contestable. The Dutch visited Australia's northern coastline in the 1600s and landed on the Tiwi Islands only to be attacked by the Tiwi peoples. The Dutch created the first European maps of the area. This accounts for the Dutch names in the area, such as Arnhem Land and Groote Eylandt. During this period, Dutch explorers named the region around Darwin—sometimes including nearby Kimberley—variations of "Van Diemen's Land", after the VOC governor-general Anthony van Diemen. This should not be confused with the more general and prolonged use of the same name for Tasmania. The first Briton to see Darwin harbour appears to have been Lieutenant John Lort Stokes of 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 him when he served as first lieutenant on the earlier second expedition of the Beagle. In 1863, the Northern Territory was transferred from New South Wales to South Australia. In 1864 South Australia sent B. T. Finniss north as Government Resident to survey and found a capital for its new territory. Finniss chose a site at Escape Cliffs, near the entrance to Adelaide River, about northeast of the modern…

Geography

Darwin is a coastal city, situated along the western shoreline of the Northern Territory. The water meets the land from the Beagle Gulf, which extends out into the Timor Sea. The central business district occupies a low bluff overlooking Darwin Harbour to the south, beyond which lie East 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 a sustainable development area that will include plants for industries such as low-emission petrochemicals, renewable hydrogen, and carbon capture storage. 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. The older part of Darwin is separated from the newer northern suburbs by Darwin International Airport and RAAF Base Darwin. Palmerston is a satellite city east of Darwin that was established in the 1980s and is one of Australia's fastest-growing municipalities. Darwin's rural areas, including Howard Springs, Humpty Doo and Berry Springs, are experiencing strong growth. Darwin's central 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,…

Most-observed species

• Bar-shouldered Dove

  Geopelia humeralis (Temminck, 1821) · Aves
  19,291
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  16,137
• Brown Honeyeater

  Lichmera indistincta (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) · Aves
  15,010
• White-gaped Honeyeater

  Stomiopera unicolor (Gould, 1843) · Aves
  14,960
• Masked Lapwing

  Vanellus miles (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  14,308
• Peaceful Dove

  Geopelia placida Gould, 1844 · Aves
  13,519
• Rainbow Bee-eater

  Merops ornatus Latham, 1801 · Aves
  12,455
• Red-collared Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus rubritorquis Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 · Aves
  12,357