NTPlanned settlement
Darwin
A northern harbour became an administrative foothold.
1869Palmerston settlement surveyed
WHAT STARTED IT
A South Australian survey expedition established Palmerston at Port Darwin in 1869. The harbour supported an attempt to settle and administer the Northern Territory after earlier unsuccessful ventures elsewhere.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Telegraph connections, migration and defence expanded its role. Wartime bombing and Cyclone Tracy caused major destruction, followed by rebuilding that changed the city repeatedly.
TURNING POINTS
1869The Palmerston townsite is surveyed.
1911The town is renamed Darwin.
1974Cyclone Tracy devastates the city.
2009Stage one of the Darwin Waterfront precinct was completed with the convention centre, lagoons, hotels, parklands and a pedestrian connection to the CBD.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
The Territory’s capital and a northern centre for government, defence, transport, services and tourism. Its harbour and location still shape its purpose.