Darwin

Australia is divided into six states and two territories, each of which has its own capital city and parliament.

The states and their capital cities are:

• Victoria - Melbourne;  
• Tasmania (our island state) - Hobart;
• South Australia - Adelaide;
• Western Australia - Perth;
• Queensland - Brisbane; and
• New South Wales - Sydney. 

The territories and their capital cities are: 

• the Northern Territory - Darwin; and 
• the Australian Capital Territory (which is like an island in rural New South Wales) - Canberra (our national capital).

The territories only have small populations, even though the Northern Territory occupies a large area of land. This is because most of the Northern Territory is remote, with very rugged terrain that is very hot and dry in the Dry Season and subject to severe flooding in the Wet Season. This is part of our Australian ‘Outback’. However, there are regions in which there are vast cattle stations, which have to be vast because the grasses are so sparse and can support very few cattle per hectare, and regions where there is some agriculture, including growing mangos.  

I caught the Ghan from Adelaide, in the south, to Darwin in the north. I only had a short time to spend in Darwin before catching my ship for a ten-day cruise along the Kimberley coast, the most stunning, fascinating land I have ever seen. I will start to show you that in my next post. 

Darwin, which is built along the shores of a natural harbour, is our gateway in the north. What first struck me about Darwin was how new all the buildings were, many of them high rise and very modern. This is because the entire city was flattened in 1974 by the tropical cyclone ‘Cyclone Tracy’ and had to be rebuilt, this time with cyclone-proof buildings. The link to the original newsreel of that cyclone is given below. On one of my later visits to Darwin, I went to a museum where they had a room in which you could hear a sound recording of the cyclone. It was just so loud and terrifying! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B89wBGydSvs 

Anyhow, whilst I was in Darwin on that occasion, I went on a tour visiting significant World War 2 sites.  For those of you who don't know, Darwin and right along our northern coastline were heavily bombed by the Japanese. It is only thanks to our American allies that we were eventually saved.  First we visited the Charles Darwin National Park, where we saw old World War 2 weapons bunkers, that would have been well camouflaged by all the trees - and learned what it is to be ‘eaten alive’ by small microscopic insects that proliferate in some parts of this region. (The nasty little ‘beasts even took themselves below my neckline, so I ended up with little blisters over much of my body, despite having put on tropical insect repellant.)  

We saw some war memorials along the coastline then went on a small boat on the Darwin Harbour across to the Darwin Military Museum, where we had an incredible interactive, multimedia experience. There I learned so much of what had actually occurred, which none of the Australian public knew until fifty years after the war ended. I was deeply shocked! This was all the more meaningful to me because when I was born my father was away with his hospital unit in the Australian Army heading to the islands around New Guinea where we were fighting the Japanese.

Some of you may have seen the 2008 Baz Luhrmann movie starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman - ’Australia’ - in which there are graphic scenes of the bombing of Darwin, as well as some great scenes of some of the remote regions of the Northern Territory. 

As well, I went on a tour to see ‘Jumping Crocodiles’ at the Adelaide River and nearby wetlands, which are along the way towards the famous Kakadu National Park. The water in the river was very milky, so until the boat operators dangled some raw meat above the water, you would never have known the river was full of crocodiles. But goodness, they were so fast I could not get a photo of one leaping in the air. But it made me realise how careful you have to be on and near rivers up in this region. 

The following photos give you a small glimpse of some of the things I saw on this first visit to Darwin. 

Darwin and Darwin Harbour from my hotel balcony.

Coming down to our boat along the Adelaide River. 

This crocodile only came to the surface when the meat was dangled. You can tell from the shadow that the meat was hanging about three metres above the water. 

The crocodile leaped and then fought like mad in the water to pull the meat off the rope.  

Model of a crocodile at this tourist spot. 

Part of the nearby wetlands. We had to remain in our small coach because there were crocodiles lurking in the water. 

Entering the Charles Darwin National Park.

Inside one of the bunkers where weapons had been hidden.

Cruising across Darwin Harbour. At that time there were at least 1000 crocodiles swimming about the harbour. On top of the cliffs here big cannons had been placed to ward off a possible Japanese attack, but it was expected they would arrive by sea. So the cannons were unable to defend Darwin. The Japanese war planes were over them before the the soldiers could change the angle at which the cannons were set. 

Part of the outdoors display at the War Museum.