Darwin

Closer to South-East Asia than it is to much of the rest of Australia, Darwin is a very multicultural community with an Asian flavour.

The first Chinese arrived in 1874, looking for gold. In the 1880s pearling attracted devil-may-care divers from Japan and the Philippines.

The Greek community sprung up in the 1950s and, more recently, refugees arrived from Vietnam and East Timor. Today there are some 70 cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Top Five

1. Bicentennial Park
2. Crocodylus Park
3. Mindil Beach Sunset Market
4. Cullen Bay Marina
5. Deckchair Cinema (April to October)

Suggestions

The Darwin area is the traditional home of the Aboriginal Larrakeyah people. Their culture and history is vividly represented at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (on the cliff top overlooking Fannie Bay) and in the Aboriginal plant walks at the Botanic Gardens. One of their most important sites is Old Man Rock (Dariba Nunngalinya), visible at low tide off the Casuarina Coastal Reserve.

The Smith Street Mall is a focal point for locals and a good place to start exploring. Along the mall on the corner of Harry Chan Avenue is Brown’s Mart, the city’s oldest commercial structure (1883) and home to the Darwin Theatre Company. Opposite, the ruins of the Palmerston (Darwin) Town Hall are a reminder of Cyclone Tracy. Christ Church Cathedral (down Smith Street towards the harbour) has a memorial to the victims of the cyclone. In the courtyard behind the church is an ancient banyan tree, the Tree of Knowledge that has long been a meeting place for ‘travellers, wise old-timers and free-thinking young people’. Back towards the city is the Chinese Temple, which traces the history of the Chinese in the Territory. Heading west is State Square, dominated by the impressive extravagance of Parliament House. Nearby the Supreme Court has an amazing Aboriginal-designed floor mosaic. Enter from Mitchell Street, which is the city’s eating and entertainment heart. Friday’s Northern Territory News has a Gig Guide.

Off the square are the Old Police Station and Courthouse, the Overland Telegraph Memorial and Government House. The Esplanade runs along the western foreshore of the city and Bicentennial Park. The park has walking trails, memorial sites, lookouts and views that can include spectacular sunsets. At the southern end is the Anzac War Memorial, at the northern end is Aquascene, where you can hand-feed a variety of fish species at high tide.

Stokes Hill Wharf, stretching out into the harbour at the southern end of the central city, has a bar, restaurant, a pearl store and is screaming out for further development.

The entrance to the Wharf Precinct has the Australian Pearling Exhibition and the Indo Pacific Marine, a living coral reef eco-tourism experience.

The harbour has plenty of tropical marine life and World War II wrecks that have become popular dive sites.

North of the central city, there are great views from the Cullen Bay Marina at sunset and sunrise, and plenty of good places to eat. Heading north on Gilruth Avenue, the Gardens Park Golf Course and Botanic Gardens are on your right, and on the left takes is Mindil Beach. It’s a lovely white sand beach where you don’t swim between September and April because of the box jellyfish (stingers). The locals have a saying, ‘Don’t swim in months with an “R” in it’. A lot of them also have a saying, ‘Only drink on days with a "Y” in it’. The Mindil Beach Sunset Market is a must for an eclectic mix of cuisine, craft, entertainment, beach fireworks and mixing with the locals. (Thursdays, May to October, Sundays, June to September). For more entertainment, the MGM Grand’s casino is just off the beach.

Fannie Bay is popular with sailors, windsurfers and water skiers. The Fannie Bay Gaol was one of Australia's toughest from 1883 to 1979 as the old cells and gallows attest. The Fannie Bay shopping centre is the heart of Darwin's cafe society. The Parap Market, held Saturday morning in the Parap Shopping Village, are a year-round institution.

The northern suburbs around Darwin Airport are centred on Casuarina, which boasts the city's biggest shopping centre and, at the end of McMillans Road is Crocodylus Park for a close-up, safe look at crocs. There’s also the odd saltwater crocodile in the harbour and around the foreshores, but no one seems to mind. It’s just part of living in the ‘last frontier’. For a croc-free swim in a natural, spring-fed pool, head out to Howard Springs.

More Information

For more information about the Northern Territory:

• Events And Festivals
• Accommodation
• To See And Do
• The Top End
• Alice Springs
• The Centre
• From Adelaide River To Wauchope

Northern Territory Tours With Tours To Go