Darwin and the Northern Territory - Information

History

The Aboriginal people's history dates back an amazing 40,000 years and has been handed down from generation to generation in the form of rock art and stories. Alice Springs and much of Central Australia has been the homeland of the Arrernte Aboriginal people. Mparntwe (pronounced mbarn-twa) is the Arrernte word for Alice Springs and was created by the actions of several ancestral figures including the caterpillar beings Ayepe-arenye, Ntyarlke and Utnerrengatye, the MacDonnell Ranges being but one of their creations.

The first recorded sighting of the Northern Territory coastline was by William Jootszoon van Colster aboard the Dutch vessel Arnhem in 1623. Maccassan, and probably many other seamen, had visited the coast long before that time. The Dutch left a few names on the map such as Groote Eylandt, Vanderlin Island, Arnhem land, Cape Arnhem, Cape Keerweer, Van Diemen Gulf and the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Explorer John McDouall Stuart became the first explorer to cross the country from south to north. This paved the way for the Overland Telegraph line, which linked Australia with the rest of the world and helped open the country for development. As arguably Australia’s pre-eminent explorer, the Stuart Highway honours his remarkable feats of exploration and leadership.

Until the early 1930s, Alice Spring’s official name was Stuart. Alice Springs was the name given to the Telegraph Station, the site of original white settlement in Central Australia. However, this dual naming created such confusion for administrators in Adelaide that on 31 August 1933 the township of Stuart was officially gazetted Alice Springs.

The city of Darwin was founded as Australia's most northerly harbour port in 1869, and its population rapidly expanded after the discovery of gold at nearby Pine Creek in 1871. World War II put the city on the map as a major allied military base for troops fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. Today travellers can see evidence of Darwin's World War II history at a variety of preserved sites including ammunition bunkers, airstrips and oil tunnels in and around the city. Darwin again made world news when the city was rebuilt in the wake of Cyclone Tracy in 1974 - an event well documented at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory

Sources: NT Government

Politics

The territory has a legislative assembly. Whilst this assembly exercises roughly the same powers as the governments of the states of Australia, it does so by delegation of powers from the commonwealth government, rather than by any constitutional right.

For several years there has been agitation for full statehood. A referendum was held on the issue in 1998, which failed. This was a shock to both the Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments, for opinion polls showed most Territorians supported statehood. However, under the Australian Constitution, the Federal government may set the terms of entry to full statehood. The Northern Territory was offered three Senators, rather than the twelve guaranteed to original states. (Because of the difference in populations, equal numbers of Senate seats would mean a Territorian's vote for a Senator would have been worth more than 30 votes in New South Wales or Victoria.) Alongside what was cited as an arrogant approach adopted by then Chief Minister Shane Stone, it is believed that most Territorians were reluctant to adopt the offer which was made.

The current head of government is Chief Minister Hon Paul Raymond Henderson MLA, who was first elected for Wanguri in a by-election consequent on the retirement of John Bailey, 31 July 1999. Re-elected 18 August 2001. Re-elected June 2005

The territory is represented in the Commonwealth parliament by two members in the House of Representatives, currently Warren Snowdon for the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Damian Hale for the Country Liberal Party (CLP), and two members in the Senate, currently Trish Crossin for the ALP and Nigel Scullion for the CLP.

The Land

Demographics

Economy