Plan Book Travel Australia

Darwin, the Territory's capital, is perched on a picturesque harbour and lies closer to Jakarta and Singapore than to Sydney and Melbourne. First settled by Europeans in 1869, when South Australian Surveyor-General Goyder arrived to establish a city in the Top End. Palmerston, as it was then known, became the terminus for the Overland Telegraph link to England, which began in 1872.

Darwin now serves primarily as an administration centre for government and the mining and agricultural industries.

Its isolation and steamy tropical climate gives Darwin a relaxed, easygoing atmosphere and lifestyle for its residents. On Christmas Day 1974, however, this peace was dramatically shattered, when Cyclone Tracy struck, making Darwin the site of Australia's worst natural disaster. During WWII, Darwin was attacked and heavily bombed by the Japanese. Today, few historic buildings remain making it one of Australia's most modern cities.

Almost half the Northern Territory population live within 50km of Australia's only tropical capital city. The population, which consists of more than 50 different cultures, has an average age younger than the rest of Australia.