Palmerston

History

Palmerston was the name chosen in 1864 for the capital of the Northern Territory by the Government of South Australia, which was then responsible for its administration, in recognition of the 3rd Viscount Palmerston, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1855. The first site, as chosen by Boyle Travers Finniss at Escape Cliffs near the mouth of the Adelaide River, on the coast of Adam Bay on the western side of the Cape Hotham peninsula in 1864, was abandoned in 1867 and a second laid out by Surveyor-General George Goyder near Port Darwin in 1869. The town was officially renamed Darwin in April 1911, after responsibility for the Northern Territory passed to the Commonwealth of Australia and it was officially gazetted as the City of Darwin in 1959. The land for a new satellite city of Darwin was acquired in 1971 by the Federal Government after concerns of under-supply of residential land in Darwin. The site was selected as the land was adjacent to existing transportation corridors. The decision to proceed with the development was made in 1980 and for the third time, the name of Palmerston was selected for the new city. Planning and development was managed by the Palmerston Development Authority. Development of Palmerston began during the early 1980s. Suburbs of Palmerston were built in stages. The first suburbs built were Gray and Driver, followed by Moulden, then Woodroffe and Marlow Lagoon. The urban area continued to grow throughout the 1990s, with the new suburbs of Bakewell, Rosebery and Durack. The population growth of Palmerston continues to be the highest in the Northern Territory. The population increased by almost 8,000 people between 1991 and 2001 to a total of 21,000 people. Palmerston's population growth is…

Geography

Palmerston is located between the outer industrial areas of Darwin and the rural areas of Howard Springs, 20 kilometres (13 mi) southeast of Darwin, and is situated in the local government area of the City of Palmerston. The urban area of Palmerston extends from the Stuart Highway in the north and east and the East Arm inlet to the west and south. The City of Palmerston initially consisted of the Palmerston Town (CBD), as well as suburbs of Driver and Gray. These were followed by Moulden and Woodroffe after development in those areas commenced in 1983. Also included in the City of Palmerston are the semi-rural suburb of Marlow Lagoon, the suburb of Archer and the industrial zones of Yarrawonga and Pinelands. Further developments have occurred leading to the creation of the suburbs of Rosebery, Bakewell, Gunn, Durack and more recently Farrar, Bellamack, Johnston, Zuccoli and Mitchell. The newer suburbs are located on the south-east side of the existing city. Palmerston has a tropical savannah climate (Aw) like Darwin with distinct wet and dry seasons. The dry season runs from May to September. In the coolest months of June and July, daily temperature range is 19 to 35 °C. The wet season is associated with tropical cyclones and monsoon rains. The majority of rainfall occurs between December and March when thunderstorms are common and humidity is regularly over 80 per cent. {| class="wikitable" style="clear:both; margin:1em auto; text-align:right; font-size:smaller;" |+ align="bottom" style="padding:0; margin:0;"| Source: [http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_014015_All.shtml Averages for Darwin Airport, 1941–2007], Bureau of Meteorology |- ! Month || Jan || Feb || Mar || Apr || May || Jun || Jul || Aug || Sep || Oct || Nov || Dec || Year |- |-…

Most-observed species

• Bar-shouldered Dove

  Geopelia humeralis (Temminck, 1821) · Aves
  21,016
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  17,215
• White-gaped Honeyeater

  Stomiopera unicolor (Gould, 1843) · Aves
  16,270
• Brown Honeyeater

  Lichmera indistincta (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) · Aves
  15,918
• Masked Lapwing

  Vanellus miles (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  15,246
• Peaceful Dove

  Geopelia placida Gould, 1844 · Aves
  14,472
• Red-collared Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus rubritorquis Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 · Aves
  13,611
• Rainbow Bee-eater

  Merops ornatus Latham, 1801 · Aves
  13,256