European discovery and the colonisation of Australia | australia.gov.au European discovery and the colonisation of Australia European discovery and the colonisation of Australia European mariners Francesco Bartolozzi (1727-1815), Captn. James Cook, F.R.S, 1784, print: stipple engraving. Image courtesy of the National Library of Australia. The first records of European mariners sailing into 'Australian' waters occurs around 1606, and includes their observations of the land known as Terra Australis Incognita (unknown southern land). The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutchman, Willem Janszoon. Between 1606 and 1770, an estimated 54 European ships from a range of nations made contact. Many of these were merchant ships from the Dutch East Indies Company and included the ships of Abel Tasman. Tasman charted parts of the north, west and south coasts of Australia which was then known as New Holland. In 1770, Englishman Lieutenant James Cook charted the Australian east coast in his ship HM Barque Endeavour.

Cook claimed the east coast under instruction from King George III of England on 22 August 1770 at Possession Island, naming eastern Australia 'New South Wales'. The coast of Australia, featuring Tasmania as a separate island, was mapped in detail by the English mariners and navigators Bass and Flinders, and the French mariner, Baudin. This period of European exploration is reflected in the names of landmarks such as the Torres Strait, Arnhem Land, Dampier Sound, Tasmania, the Furneaux Islands, Cape Frecinyet and La Perouse. Expeditions between 1790 and the 1830s, led by D'Entrecasteaux, Baudin, and Furneaux, were recorded by the naturalists Labillardire and Pron. The First Fleet and a British colony John Allcot (1888-1973), The First Fleet in Sydney Cove, January 27, 1788, 1938, art reproduction. Image courtesy of the National Library of Australia.

Captain Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet, comprising 11 ships and around 1,350 people, arrived at Botany Bay between 18 and 20 January 1788. However, this area was deemed to be unsuitable for settlement and they moved north to Port Jackson on 26 January 1788, landing at Camp Cove, known as 'cadi' to the Cadigal people. Governor Phillip carried instructions to establish the first British Colony in Australia. The First Fleet was under prepared for the task, and the soil around Sydney Cove was poor. The young colony relied upon both the development of farms around Parramatta, 25 kilometres upstream to the west, and also trading food with local Aboriginal clans. The Second Fleet's arrival in 1790 provided badly needed food and supplies; however the newly arrived convicts were too ill, with many near to death, to be useful to the colony. The Second Fleet became known as the 'Death Fleet' - 278 of the convicts and crew died on the voyage to Australia, compared to only 48 on the First Fleet.

The colony experienced many other difficulties, including the fact that there were many more men than women - around four men for every woman - which caused problems in the settlement for many years. Contacts and colonisation Augustus Earle, Bungaree, 1826, lithograph. Image courtesy of the State Library of New South Wales. In the winter of 1791, the process of British colonisation of Western Australia began when George Vancouver claimed the Albany region in the name of King George III. In the summer of 1801, Matthew Flinders was welcomed by Nyungar upon his arrival aboard the Investigator and various items were exchanged. On the 1802 voyage from Sydney, Flinders recruited two Aboriginal people, Bungaree, who had sailed with him on the Norfolk, and Nanbaree. The visit of Flinders and other mariners to the coast of Arnhem Land is recorded in the paintings of 'praus' and European ships at rock art sites. Initially, relations between the explorers and the Aboriginal inhabitants were generally hospitable and based on understanding the terms of trading for food, water, axes, cloth and artefacts, a relationship encouraged by Governor Phillip.

These relations became hostile as Aborigines realised that the land and resources upon which they depended and the order of their life were seriously disrupted by the on-going presence of the colonisers. Between 1790 and 1810, clans people of the Eora group in the Sydney area, led by Pemulwuy of the Bidjigal clan, undertook a campaign of resistance against the English colonisers in a series of attacks. In 1821 Bundle/Bundell sailed on board H.M. Brig Bathurst, under the command of Phillip Parker King, on a surveying voyage to the northern coast of Australia. Bundle replaced, at short notice, Bungaree, who had sailed with Flinders. After surveying the northern and north-western coastline of Australia, Bundle accompanied King on his survey work of the western coast of Australia between 1821-22, travelling to Mauritius for repairs. Bundle, an Eora man who ranged from Port Jackson to Parramatta, in the company of Tedbury, the son of Pemulwuy, was renowned for his tracking skills.

Bundle had accompanied the Surveyor George William Evans on board the Lady Nelson in the party sent to explore Jervis Bay in 1812 and, with another Aboriginal named 'Broughton', accompanied Charles Throsby on his exploratory expedition into the southern region in 1818. Law and land in New South Wales From 1788 until 1823, the Colony of New South Wales was a penal colony. This meant that there were mainly convicts, marines and the wives of the marines although free settlers started to arrive in 1793. In 1823, the British government established a New South Wales parliament by setting up a Legislative Council as well as a Supreme Court under the New South Wales Act 1823 (UK) . This Act is now seen as a first step towards a 'responsible' Parliament in Australia. It was also intended to establish English law in the colony with the establishment of NSW criminal and civil courts. However, there were significant departures from English law when the first cases were heard in the courts. The first civil case heard in Australia, in July 1788, was brought by a convict couple.

The convicts successfully sued the captain of the ship in which they had been transported for the loss of a parcel. In Britain, as convicts, they would have had no rights to bring this case forward. The question of land ownership by Indigenous people was not dealt with by the colonisers until the mid-1830s. In 1835, John Batman signed two 'treaties' with Kulin people to 'purchase' 600,000 acres of land between what is now Melbourne and the Bellarine Peninsula. In response to these treaties and other arrangements between free settlers and Indigenous inhabitants, such as around Camden, the NSW Governor, Sir Richard Bourke issued a proclamation. Bourke's proclamation established the notion that the land belonged to no-one prior to the British crown taking possession. To effectively over-ride the legitimacy of the 'Batman treaty' the British Colonial Office felt the need to issue another Proclamation. The Colonial Office proclamation stated that people found in possession of land without the authority of the government would be considered trespassers. This was despite and because many other people, including a report to the House of Commons in 1837, recognised that Aboriginal occupants had rights in land.

Nevertheless, the law in New South Wales variously applied the principles expressed in Bourke's proclamation. This would not change until the Australian High Court's decision in the Mabo Case in 1992. unknown, Pioneer Squatters, 1880-1890. A group of squatters, making tea in a billy over a camp fire in the bush with cattle in the background. Image courtesy of the John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. In 1861, the NSW government opened up the free selection of Crown land. The Crown Lands Acts 1861 permitted any person to select up to 320 acres on the condition of paying a deposit and living on the land for three years. The Acts also limited the use of Crown lands by Aboriginal people as until this time, pastoral lands were still able to be legitimately used by them. As a result of Crown Land being available for selection, great conflicts between squatters and the selectors ensued. Scheming in selecting and acquiring land became widespread. The Acts had a powerful impact on the ownership of land. The Acts also affected the use of bush land across vast regions of the colony.

In the view of some observers, these disputes over access to land also encouraged bushranging. Despite its problems, the colony of New South Wales grew, and the Port Jackson settlement is now the site of Australia's largest city - Sydney. Establishment of other British colonies Van Diemen's Land The first British settlement on the island was made at Risdon in 1803 when Lieutenant John Bowen landed with about 50 settlers, crew, soldiers and convicts. The site was abandoned and in 1804 Lieutenant David Collins established a settlement at Hobart in February 1804. The colony of Van Diemen's Land was established in its own right in 1825 and officially became known as Tasmania in 1856. Western Australia Western Australia was established in 1827. Major Edmund Lockyer established a small British settlement at King Georges Sound (Albany) and in 1829 the new Swan River Colony was officially proclaimed. Captain James Stirling was its first Governor. The colony was proclaimed a British penal settlement in 1849 and the first convicts arrived in 1850.

South Australia The British province of South Australia was established in 1836, and in 1842 it became a crown colony. South Australia was never a British convict colony, although a number of ex-convicts settled there from other colonies. Around 38,000 immigrants had arrived and settled in the area by 1850. Victoria The first attempt at settlement was made in 1803 by Lieutenant David Collins but the harsh conditions forced him to move on to Tasmania where he eventually settled Hobart in February 1804. It was not until the Henty brothers landed in Portland Bay in 1834, and John Batman settled on the site of Melbourne, that the Port Phillip District was officially sanctioned (1837). The first immigrant ships arrived at Port Phillip in 1839. In 1851 Victoria (Port Phillip District) separated from New South Wales Queensland In 1824, the penal colony at Redcliffe was established by Lieutenant John Oxley. Known as the Moreton Bay Settlement, it later moved to the site now called Brisbane.

Around 2,280 convicts were sent to the settlement between 1824 and 1839. The first free European settlers moved to the district in 1838 and others followed in 1840. In 1859 Queensland separated from New South Wales. Northern Territory In 1825 the area occupied today by the Northern Territory was part of the colony of New South Wales. It was first settled by Europeans in 1824 at Fort Dundas, Port Essington. In 1863 control of the area was given to South Australia. Its capital city, Darwin, was established in 1869, and was originally known as Palmerston. On 1 January 1911, the Northern Territory was separated from South Australia and became part of the Commonwealth of Australia. Recognition of Australia The name 'Australia' was first suggested by Matthew Flinders and supported by Governor Macquarie (1810 - 1821). At a meeting in 1899, the Premiers of the other Colonies agreed to locate the new federal capital of Australia in New South Wales, and added this section to the Australian Constitution.

In 1909, the state of New South Wales surrendered a portion of this territory to the Commonwealth of Australia, the site of present day Canberra. Australia Day Anniversary Bern Emmerichs, Who Are You?, 2003, earthenware with underglaze. Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Australia. While formal dinners and informal celebrations to mark the landing of the First Fleet at Camp Cove were held on 26 January each year, the first official celebration of English colonisation was held in 1818. During the colonial period, 26 January was called Foundation Day in New South Wales. Other colonies celebrated with their own dates of significance relating to the founding of their colonies. Since 1901, when Australia became a federation of the six colonies, the landing of the First Fleet at Camp Cove has evolved from a small commemorative New South Wales holiday into a major national celebration, recognised as Australia Day. From 1994 all states and territories agreed to celebrate Australia Day on the actual day. For many Indigenous Australians however, 26 January is not a day of celebration but one of mourning and protest.

On the morning of the 26 January for the 1938 sesquicentennial (150th) celebrations, Aboriginal activists met to hold a 'Day of Mourning' conference aimed at securing national citizenship and equal status for Aborigines. Citizenship rights for all Aborigines were recognised following a referendum on the issue in 1967. In an attempt to heal some of the pain of Australia's past, there is now an advanced Reconciliation movement. Useful links Northern Territory For Everyone: Palmerston Destinations Palmerston Palmerston is a planned satellite city of Darwin, the capital and largest city in Australia's Northern Territory. Situated near Darwin Harbour, Palmerston had a population of 27,618 at the 2011 census, making it the smaller of the two cities in the sparsely populated Northern Territory. Palmerston is currently the fastest growing locality in the Northern Territory and has briefly in the past held the title of the fastest growing city in Australia. Where is it?: Palmerston is situated between the outer industrial areas of Darwin and the rural areas of Howard Springs.

The city is located between the outer industrial areas of Darwin and the rural areas of Howard Springs, 21 kilometres south-east of Darwin. Transport: The city has a network of approximately 32 km of bicycle paths, most of which are lit for night-time usage. There is also a public bus service operated by Darwinbus that offers transportation around Palmerston, into Darwin City and out to Darwin's Northern Suburbs. Darwin City Airport is the closest air terminal. The airport is located in the Darwin suburb of Marrara, approximately 20 minutes away from Palmerston. There are eighteen suburbs in Palmerston, ten of which are close to the Palmerston city centre. Palmerston is mostly residential with two light industrial areas in the north of the city. Like the rest of the Top End, Palmerston has a tropical climate, with a wet season and a dry season. It receives heavy rainfall during the Wet, and is well known for its spectacular lightning. Palmerston was the name chosen in 1864 for the capital of the Northern Territory by the South Australian Government (which was then responsible for its administration) in recognition of Lord Palmerston, who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1855.

The first site, as chosen by Boyle Travers Finniss at Escape Cliffs near the mouth of the Adelaide River, on the coast of Adam Bay on the western side of the Cape Hotham peninsula in 1864, was abandoned in 1867 and a second laid out by Surveyor-General George Goyder near Port Darwin in 1869. The town was officially renamed Darwin in April 1911 after responsibility for the Northern Territory passed to the Commonwealth of Australia. Darwin - Northern Territory - Australia - Travel - smh.com.au Darwin A classic tropical sea port and the capital of the Northern Territory. Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory. Located between Beagle Gulf and Port Darwin and situated on Fannie Bay, Darwin is a thriving centre of over 110 000 people. Port Darwin was discovered by Lieutenant John Lort Stokes and named by Captain J.C. Wickham when, travelling in the HMS Beagle, they passed the harbour area in 1839. Wickham named the area after Charles Darwin who had once sailed in the HMS Beagle.

In 1869 it was renamed Palmerston but in 1911 it reverted to Darwin. The settlement of Darwin is a vital part of the interminable saga of trying to establish an outpost of the northern coast of Australia. The various settlements at Escape Cliffs , Port Essington and Fort Dundas (see Melville Island) had all been miserable failures. The South Australian government were determined to make the settlement at Port Darwin work. Consequently they were far more systematic and thorough. The Surveyor-General was sent to the area and by 1869 he had surveyed the town and had drawn up plans for leases. In spite of these preparations the new town of Palmerston was hardly a boom place for real estate. The town would almost certainly have been as short-lived as the previous attempts at settlement had it not coincided with the construction of the Overland Telegraph. Thus the outpost had an instant raison d'etre. In 1870 the first pole at the northern end of the Overland Telegraph was placed in the ground. Two years later Government House, a remarkably beautiful old seven-gabled house which overlooks Darwin Harbour, was built.

It was pulled down and rebuilt in the 1880s and that building, known as the 'House of Seven Gables', still stands today surrounded by a white fence and magnificent tropical gardens. Its domination of the harbour foreshore is a combination of good luck and superb architecture. The town/city has been seriously damaged by cyclones three times and during World War II it was bombed over 60 times. The period from 1870 to 1900 saw successive waves of settlers. The Chinese who had worked on the Overland Telegraph now turned their attentions to market gardening and established a thriving Chinatown in the centre. By 1881 the town had a population of 3451. The sudden increase in the population saw the construction of the Fannie Bay Gaol in 18823. The gaol was closed in 1979 and in 1982 it became the Fannie Bay Museum. The gaol is located on East Point Road and has a number of interesting displays including the gallows which were erected in the infirmary for the Territory's last execution in 1952.

Other interesting displays include the women's section and the mess. The laundry was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy and it is appropriate that the gaol now houses a Cyclone Tracy display which includes an excellent photographic display and a continuous 30 minute video of the devastation. The story of the disaster which was Cyclone Tracy is one which is widely known in Australia. At the time, Christmas Day, 1974, it received massive media coverage. It was, quite simply, Australia's worst natural disaster. At 3 am the anemometer at Darwin Airport recorded winds of 217 km/h before it stopped working; winds of up to 250 km/h were estimated to have hit the city; total damage exceeded $1000 million and 65 people were killed; about 26 000 people had to be evaluated and over 1000 people needed medical attention; 16 people were lost at sea, their bodies never recovered; the ABC radio station, 8DR, was off the air for 34 hours; over 90 per cent of all buildings in the city were seriously damaged.

Some of the buildings which were devastated were the Old Police Station, the Court House and Cell Block all on The Esplanade which runs along Lameroo Beach. The buildings were constructed in 1884 under the guidance of the architect John George Knight who was at the time, the Government Resident for the Northern Territory. The Police Station, Court House and Cell Block had all been used as the headquarters for the Northern Territory Mounted Police until World War II when the Royal Australian Navy took over the buildings and the area became known as HMAS Melville. They remained in under Navy control until Cyclone Tracy damaged them. It was a comment of the building techniques of the nineteenth century that even after Cyclone Tracy had wiped out most of Darwin the buildings were still standing, albeit somewhat damaged. Their importance was such that in 1978 the government decided to have them reconstructed and they are now used as offices by the Northern Territory Administration. The 1890s saw the discovery of gold at Pine Creek and the development of a pearling industry in the seas to the north. The result was that by 1891 the population of Darwin had grown to 4 898.

There are two free publications Top of Australia - Visitors Magazine and Visitors' Guide to Darwin - Australia's North both of which are published by the Darwin Tourist Promotion Association and are available from all Tourist Information Offices in the Darwin area. They both contain good maps of the city and plenty of uptodate information. Things to see: Chinese Temple The Chinese have left their mark upon the city and visitors can go to the Chinese Temple on Woods Street about 1.5 km from the city centre where the local Buddhists, Taoists and Confucianists still worship. The building has a very chequered history having been destroyed by the 1937 cyclone, Japanese bombing raids in 1942 and Cyclone Tracy in 1974. Open from 8am-4pm daily the temple is an interesting example of the rich racial mixture which is such an important part of the history of Darwin. Esplanade Gallery One building which survived Cyclone Tracy virtually unscathed is the Esplanade Gallery which was built out of cypress pine and 10 cm nails in 1937 and moved to its present location on The Esplanade in 1951.

It is a superb example of tropical architecture with every design feature, and the garden, designed to maximise the benefit of the breezes off the harbour. Fannie Bay Gaol By 1881 the town had a population of 3451. The sudden increase in the population saw the construction of the Fannie Bay Gaol in 1882-3. The gaol was closed in 1979 and in 1982 it became the Fannie Bay Museum. The gaol is located on East Point Road and has a number of interesting displays including the gallows which were erected in the infirmary for the Territory's last execution in 1952. Other interesting displays include the women's section and the mess. The laundry was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy and it is appropriate that the gaol now houses a Cyclone Tracy display which includes an excellent photographic display and a continuous 30 minute video of the devastation. British Australian Telegraph Residence Museum A superb display chronicling the pearl diving era exists in the BAT building otherwise known as Lyons Cottage.

Located on The Esplanade opposite the Esplanade Gallery the building, which was completed in 1925, originally housed the British-Australian Telegraph Company. It was seriously damaged by Japanese bombing during the war and in 1948 it was bought by the Lyons family and consequently became known as Lyons Cottage. Now known as the British Australian Telegraph Residence Museum, Lyons House has an excellent display with each room concentrating on aspects of early Territory history. There's a room on the history of pearling, another on Palmerston and Essington, another on the maritime history of the area dating back to the first explorers and the Macassans, a room on the early police force, and a room on the Telegraph system. Stuart Memorial Another place to recall Darwin's early history is the Stuart Memorial on the corner of Mitchell Street and Knuckley Street. It is entirely appropriate that Darwin should have a memorial celebrating the remarkable achievements of John McDouall Stuart.

Although he was not the first person to cross Australia from south to north (that 'honour' belongs to the rather inglorious adventures of Burke and Wills who reached the mangrove swamps of the Gulf of Carpentaria on 11 February 1861) Stuart was the first to make the journey successfully. He started his journey on 26 October 1861 from Adelaide and reached the coast 65 km east of the Adelaide River - close to the site of modern day Darwin. Stuart's route was more than just a piece of daring exploration. Within a decade the route had become the means by which the whole of the Northern Territory was opened up because it was used as the basis for the construction of the Overland Telegraph which established communities around the repeater stations at Darwin, Yam Creek, Katherine, Daly Waters, Powell Creek, Tennant Creek, Barrow Creek, Alice Springs and Charlotte Waters. Today, with minor variations, Stuart's route is still the major artery for transport through the Territory. It is appropriately known as the Stuart Highway. Botanical Gardens It is easy for southerners to forget that Darwin is both geographically and temperamentally a 'city in the tropics'.

Therefore the city's Botanical Gardens (enter via Gardens Road) are something worth visiting. Started in the late 1870s by the German botanist Dr. Maurice Holtze they contain over 400 species of tropical plant. Holtze was one of those remarkable and urbane Europeans who find their way to Australia by strange means. He had worked in the Royal Gardens in Hanover and the Imperial Gardens in St Petersburg before migrating to Australia where, from 1878-1891, he was government gardener at the Palmerston Botanic Gardens. The government officials, being typical philistines in terms of horticulture, put him in charge of the production of fruit and vegetables for their tables but Holtze rebelled saying that the 'raising of cabbage heads was not the greatest ambition of the true botanist'. With his son, Nicholas (who became curator of the Gardens in 1891) Holtze began a series of experiments to see whether the climate of the 'top end' was suitable for the growing of tropical crops. He experimented with rice, rubber, coffee, tobacco, peanuts, sugar and other less well known crops and advocated that the Northern Territory could become a rice bowl.

In 1891 he left the Territory and became director and secretary of the Adelaide Botanical Gardens. Christchurch Cathedral One building which is a reminder of the devastation of Cyclone Tracy is Christchurch Cathedral in Smith Street near the harbour. The original building was completed in 1902. It was 'enhanced' by the armed forces in 1944. Using stones taken from the old Post Office they built a porch as a memorial to the people who had died in World War II. Significantly when Christmas morning 1974 dawned the only part of the Cathedral left intact was the porch. The cathedral was subsequently rebuilt incorporating the porch into the new design. Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Natural Sciences Established in 1969 by Dr Colin Hinton, the Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Natural Sciences is one of the best museums in Australia. Where many museums tend to be stuffy, rather lifeless places, this museum focuses on South-East Asia and Australasia and has enough fascinating exhibitions to keep even the most bored visitor interested.

The museum's show pieces include an excellent exhibition of Aboriginal bark paintings, a collection of stone axes some of which are estimated to be 22 000 years old, and the Melville Island Pukamani Burial Poles. Indo Pacific Marine The Indo Pacific Marine in Lambell Terrace near the northern end of Smith Street is worth a visit. It is one of the few aquariums in the world which has an exhibit of living coral formations. East Port Fortifications The East Port Fortifications at East Point at the northern end of Fannie Bay is a reminder of how close Darwin was to the front line during World War II. These military fortifications were built between 1936 and 1943. Not surprisingly East Port was the site of the first air attack on Australian shore. On 19 February 1942 the Japanese bombed the headland. Today the headland has remnants of bunkers, command posts, gun emplacements and munitions facilities. Browns Mart Browns Mart is the oldest commercial building still standing in Darwin. Located at 12 Smith Street the building was originally erected in 1883.

It was seriously damaged by the cyclones of both 1897 and 1974 but after both disasters it was restored so that today its simple stone construction and casement windows with their galvanised hoods it is a reminder of nineteenth century Darwin. Giese Residence The devastation which occurred with Cyclone Tracy has left only rare examples of earlier forms of architecture. The Giese Residence at the corner of Myilly Terrace and Kahlin Avenue is an example of the kind of larger timber house which was built in Darwin in the 1920s. It was designed for the tropical climate with timber shutters, a beautiful tropical garden and an open floor plan to allow the breezes to cool the house. Take Advantage of Western Australia Online For assistance in planning your holiday in Darwin and Western Australia visit Western Australia Online which is a fascinating site offering Darwin visitors planning a trip to Western Australia a comprehensive travel service. All you have to do, to have your most detailed travel questions answered, is fill out a very simple form. Western Australia Online pride themselves in their ability to answer all queries within 48 hours. So, if Walkabout is not answering your questions about Western Australia, try Western Australia Online.

The Urban Fringe Beyond the city centre and the points of interest Darwin sprawls with that kind of scrappy urban fringe which is all too common at the edges of Australian cities. This is a zone of market gardens, the occasional house, industry, sports areas, HMAS Coonawarra - Naval Communications Station, the Darwin Airport, and endless service stations. If it wasn't for the temperature and the vegetation it would be possible to mistake this area for the outskirts of Melbourne or Sydney. Tourist Information Darwin, Australia - Travel Photos by Galen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 124,800, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities. It is the smallest and most northerly of the Australian capital cities, and acts as the Top End's regional center. Darwin has grown from a pioneer outpost and small port into one of Australia's most modern and multicultural cities. Its proximity to Asia makes it an important Australian gateway to countries such as Indonesia and East Timor.

The Stuart Highway begins in Darwin, ending at Port Augusta in South Australia. The city itself is built on a low bluff overlooking the harbor. Its suburbs spread out over some area, beginning at Lee Point in the north and stretching to Berrimah in the east ï¿½ past Berrimah, the Stuart Highway goes on to Darwin's satellite city, Palmerston, and its suburbs. The region, like the rest of the Top End, has a tropical climate, with a wet season and a dry season. It receives heavy rainfall during the Wet, and is well-known for its spectacular lightning. The original inhabitants of the greater Darwin area are the Larrakia people. On 9 September 1839, HMS Beagle sailed into Darwin harbor during its surveying of the area. John Clements Wickham named the region "Port Darwin" in honour of former shipmate Charles Darwin (although this was not because of Darwin's scientific achievements, since those achievements were decades in the future; rather, Wickham was simply naming locations from a list of former shipmates.) The Aboriginal people of the Larrakia language group are the first inhabitants of the greater Darwin area.

They had trading routes with Southeast Asia (see Macassan contact with Australia), and imported goods from as far afield as South and Western Australia. Established songlines penetrated throughout the country, allowing stories and histories to be told and retold along the routes. The Dutch visited Australia's northern coastline in the 1600s, and created the first European maps of the area. This accounts for the Dutch names in the area, such as Arnhem Land and Groote Eylandt. Lyons Cottage The first British person to see Darwin harbor appears to have been Lieutenant John Lort Stokes of HMS Beagle on 9 September 1839. The ship's captain, Commander John Clements Wickham, named the port after Charles Darwin, the British naturalist who had sailed with them both on the earlier second expedition of the Beagle. In the early 1870s, Darwin felt the effects of a gold rush at Pine Creek after employees of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line found gold while digging holes for telegraph poles. In early 1875, Darwin's European population had grown to approximately 300 because of the gold rush.

On 17 February 1875, the SS Gothenburg left Darwin en route for Adelaide. Amongst the approximately 88 passengers and 34 crew (surviving records vary) were government officials, circuit court judges, Darwin residents taking their first furlough and miners. While travelling south along the north Queensland coast, the Gothenburg encountered a cyclone-strength storm and was wrecked on a section of the Great Barrier Reef. Only 22 men survived, while between 98 and 112 people perished. Many passengers who perished were Darwin residents and news of the tragedy severely affected the small community, reportedly taking several years to recover. Brown's Mart Theatre The Northern Territory was initially settled and administered by South Australia, until its transfer to the Commonwealth in 1911. On 5 February 1869, George Goyder, the Surveyor-General of South Australia, established a small settlement of 135 people at Port Darwin. Goyder named the settlement Palmerston, after the British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston. In 1870, the first poles for the Overland Telegraph were erected in Darwin, connecting Australia to the rest of the world.

The discovery of gold at Pine Creek in the 1880s further boosted the young colony's development. Upon Commonwealth administration in 1911, Darwin became the city's official name. The period between 1911 and 1919 was filled with political turmoil, particularly with trade union unrest, which culminated on 17 December 1918. Led by Harold Nelson, some 1000 demonstrators marched to Government House at Liberty Square in Darwin where they burnt an effigy of the Administrator of the Northern Territory John Gilruth and demanded his resignation. The incident became known as the 'Darwin Rebellion'. Their grievances were against the two main Northern Territory employers; Vesteyï¿½s Meatworks and the Commonwealth of Australia. Both Gilruth and the Vestey company left Darwin soon afterwards. Memorial to the 1942 air raids on the city. Around 10,000 Allied troops arrived in Darwin in the early 1940s at the outset of World War II, in order to defend Australia's northern coastline.

On 19 February 1942 at 0957, 188 Japanese warplanes attacked Darwin in two waves. It was the same fleet that had bombed Pearl Harbor, though a considerably larger number of bombs were dropped on Darwin than on Pearl Harbor. The attack killed at least 243 people and caused immense damage to the town. These were by far the most serious attacks on Australia in time of war, in terms of fatalities and damage. They were the first of many raids on Darwin. Despite this major attack, Darwin's development was furthered considerably during the war, with sealed roads constructed connecting the region to Alice Springs in the south and Mount Isa in the south-east, and Manton Dam built in the south to provide the city with water. On Australia Day (26 January) 1959, Darwin was granted city status. Remains of Palmerston Town Hall, destroyed by Cyclone Tracy On 25 December 1974, Darwin was struck by Cyclone Tracy, which killed 71 people and destroyed over 70% of the town's buildings, including many old stone buildings such as the Palmerston Town Hall, which could not withstand the lateral forces generated by the strong winds.

After the disaster, 30,000 people of a then population of 43,000 were evacuated, in what turned out to be the biggest airlift in Australia's history. The town was subsequently rebuilt with newer materials and techniques during the late 1970s by the Darwin Reconstruction Commission, led by former Brisbane Lord Mayor Clem Jones. A satellite city of Palmerston was built 20 km (12 mi) south of Darwin in the early 1980s. On 17 September 2003, the Adelaide-Darwin railway was completed. Darwin is situated in the Northern Territory, on the Timor Sea. The town proper is built on a low bluff overlooking Darwin harbour, flanked by Frances Bay to the east and Cullen Bay to the west. The remainder of the city is flat and low-lying, and coastal areas are home to recreational reserves, extensive beaches, and excellent fishing. Text from Wikipedia Convicts To Australia ... Research Guide - Timeline About 50,000 British criminals were transported to colonies in America. 1775-1783 AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE - hostilities with Britain brought transportation to a halt.

1783-1787 British prisons and hulks began to over-flow. 1786 The colony of New South Wales was proclaimed by King George III 23/01/1787 British parliament informed that Lord Sydney had agreed to send convicts to New South Wales. 13/05/1787 The 11 ships of the FIRST FLEET left Portsmouth under the command of Capt Arthur Phillip. Different accounts give varying numbers of passengers but the fleet consisted of at least 1,350 souls of whom 780 were convicts and 570 were freemen, women and children and the number included four companies of marines. About 20% of the convicts were women and the oldest convict was 82. About 50% of the convicts had been tried in Middlesex and most of the rest were tried in the county assizes of Devon, Kent and Sussex. 18/01/1788 The fleet arrived in Botany Bay but the landing party was not impressed with the site, and moved the fleet to Port Jackson and settled in Sydney Cove on 26/01/1788.

1790 SECOND FLEET of convicts arrived. 1791 THIRD FLEET of convicts arrived. 1793 First free settlers arrived. 14/06/1825 The colony of VAN DIEMEN'S LAND was established in its own right and its name was officially changed to TASMANIA on 01/01/1856. The first settlement was made at Risdon on 11/09/1803 when Lieut John Bowen landed with about 50 settlers, crew, soldiers and convicts. The site proved unsuitable and was abandoned in August 1804. Lieut-Col David Collins finally established a successful settlement at Hobart in February 1804 with a party of about 260 people, including 178 convicts. (Collins had previously attempted a settlement in Victoria.) Convict ships were sent from England directly to the colony from 1812-1853 and over the 50 years from 1803-1853 around 67,000 convicts were transported to Tasmania.

About 14,492 were Irish but many of them had been sentenced in English and Scottish courts. Some were also tried locally in other Australian colonies. The "Indefatigable" brought the first convicts direct from England on 19/10/1812 and by 1820 there were about 2,500 convicts in the colony. By the end of 1833 the number had increased to 14,900 convicts of whom 1864 were females. About 1,448 held Tickets of Leave, 6,573 were assigned to settlers and 275 were recorded as "absconded or missing". In 1835 there were over 800 convicts working in chain-gangs at the dreaded penal station at Port Arthur which operated from 1830-1877. Convicts were transferred to Van Diemen's Land from Sydney and, in later years, from 1841-1847, from Melbourne.

Between 1826-1840 there were at least 19 ship loads of convicts sent from Van Diemen's Land to Norfolk Island and at other times they were sent from Norfolk Island to Van Diemen's Land. 21/01/1827 WESTERN AUSTRALIA was established when a small British settlement was established at King George's Sound (Albany) by Major Edmund Lockyer who was to provide a deterrent to the French presence in the area. On 18/06/1829 the new Swan River Colony was officially proclaimed with Captain James Stirling as the first Governor. Except for the settlement at King George's Sound, the colony was never really a part of NSW. King George's Sound was handed over in 1831. In 1849 the colony was proclaimed a British penal settlement and the first convicts arrived in 1850. Rottnest Island, off the coast of Perth, became the colony's convict settlement in 1838 and was used for local colonial offenders.

Around 9,720 British convicts were sent directly to the colony in 43 ships between1850-1868. The convicts were sought by local settlers because of the shortage of labour needed to develop the region. On January 9, 1868, Australia's last convict ship, the "Hougoumont" brought its final cargo of 269 convicts. Convicts sent to Western Australia were sentenced to terms of 6, 7, 10, 14 and 15 years and some reports suggest that their literacy rate was around 75% as opposed to 50% for those sent to NSW and Tasmania. About a third of the convicts left the Swan River Colony after serving their time. 28/12/1836 The British province of SOUTH AUSTRALIA was established. In 1842 it became a crown colony and on 22/07/1861 its area was extended westwards to its present boundary and more area was taken from New South Wales.

South Australia was never a British convict colony and between 1836-1840 about 13,400 immigrants arrived in the area. 24,900 more arrived between 1841-1850. Some escaped convicts did settle in the area and no doubt a number of ex-convicts moved there from other colonies. There were also South Australian convicts who were convicted of colonial offences. 1841 NEW ZEALAND separated from New South Wales. 1851 VICTORIA separated from New South Wales (formerly known as the Port Phillip District of NSW. Apart from castaways and runaway convicts in the 1790s, the first attempt at settlement was made on 13/10/1803 by Lieut David Collins and his party of soldiers and convicts. Harsh conditions convinced him to abandon the settlement in January 1804.

He moved on to Tasmania and it was not until the Henty brothers landed in Portland Bay on 19/11/1834 and John Batman settled on the site of Melbourne that the Port Phillip District was officially sanctioned on 10/04/1837. The first immigrant ships arrived at Port Phillip in 1839. Apart from those involved in early attempts at settlement in 1803 and 1826, the only convicts sent directly to Victoria from Britain were about 1,750 convicts known as the "Exiles" and they arrived between 1844-1849. They were sometimes called the "Pentonvillians" because most of them came from Pentonville Probationary Prison in England. Many ex-convicts and convicts on Tickets of Leave and Conditional Pardons also moved to Port Phillip from Van Diemen's Land. 10/12/1859 QUEENSLAND separated from New South Wales. In 1824 the explorer Lieut. John Oxley took a party of 30 convicts and established a penal colony at Redcliffe.

Known as the Moreton Bay Settlement, this later moved to the site now called Brisbane. The name Brisbane Town was in use by 1825 and the main inhabitants in the area were the convicts of the Moreton Bay Penal Station until it was closed in 1839. Around 2,280 convicts were sent to the settlement between 1824-1839 and at the end of 1836 the convict population numbered 337. The first free settlers moved to the district in 1838 and others followed in 1840. On 23/12/1862 the area of QUEENSLAND was increased. 1863 In 1825 the area occupied today by the NORTHERN TERRITORY was incorporated into the colony of New South Wales. It was first settled by Europeans in 1824 at Fort Dundas, Port Essington. In 1863 control of the area was given to the Province, and later the State, of South Australia. Its capital city, Darwin, was established in 1869 and was originally known as Palmerston.

On January 1, 1912, the NORTHERN TERRITORY as we know it today, was separated from South Australia and became part of the Commonwealth of Australia. 1901 The FEDERATION of Australian States took place. 1911 Daily Xtra Travel - Your Comprehensive Guide to Gay Travel in Darwin Please enter a search criteria! Daily Xtra Travel Home » Australia » Northern Territory » Darwin Gay Darwin Add Event Darwin On September 9, 1839, the HMS Beagle sailed into this harbour while surveying the area. John Clements Wickham named the region "Port Darwin" in honour of former shipmate Charles Darwin. The settlement was known as Palmerston after 1869, but renamed Darwin in 1911. The capital city of the Nothern Territory, has grown from a pioneer outpost and small port into one of Australia's most modern, multicultural and liveable cities. Damaged by Japanese air raids during World War II, and again by Cyclone Tracy in 1974, the city has been almost entirely rebuilt twice.

Proximity to Indonesia makes it Australia's Asian gateway, and the tropical climate results in Wet Season heavy rainfall, spectacular lightning displays and greening of the landscape. Tourism has grown to be one of the city's largest industries with tours to Kakadu National Park , Litchfield National Park and Katherine Gorge in Nitmiluk National Park high on visitor's list of destinations. Most tourists arrive during the cooler dry season from April to September. The Darwin Symphony Orchestra is among the city's cultural centerpieces, and the Darwin Entertainment Centre is the city's main concert venue with theatre and orchestral performances. The Darwin Convention Centre , opened in July 2008, is part of a $1.1 billion Darwin Waterfront project. Skycity Darwin is the city's one gaming casino. The Indo-Pacific Marine & Australian Pearling Exhibition houses an aquarium with living coral and complementary sea life. The Northern Territory Museum and Art Gallery present the history of the area, including Cyclone Tracy exhibits and boats of the Pacific Islands. The Darwin Military Museum tells the story of the Japanese air raids on Darwin during WWII. Scenes in the movie Australia depict the attack. The Darwin Festival and the Darwin Fringe Festival are annual events.

A range of art galleries include local Aboriginal artworks. Local and visiting musical bands can be heard at venues including the Darwin Entertainment Centre , Happy Yess , and Brown's Mart Theatre . The annual May music festival, Bass in the Grass , is very popular with youth from the surrounding area. Artists such as Jessica Mauboy and The Groovesmiths call Darwin home. Mitchell Street in the central business district is lined with nightclubs, takeaways, and restaurants. This is the city's entertainment hub. There are several small theatres, three cinema complexes (CBD, Casuarina, and Palmerston), and the Deckchair Cinema , an open-air cinema which operates through the dry season, from April to October, screening independent and arthouse films. Getting here, getting around Darwin International Airport , in Marrara, is Darwin's airport, which sharing its runways with the Royal Australian Air Force's RAAF Base Darwin. Darwin can be reached via the Stuart Highway which runs the length of the Northern Territory from Darwin through Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and on to Adelaide. The greater Darwin area is served by Darwinbus and various contracted bus operators, Ferries leave from Port Darwin to island locations, mainly for tourists.

The SeaLink Northern Territory ferry has service to Mandorah and the Tiwi Islands from Cullen Bay. Darwin has no commuter rail system, but The Ghan passenger rail service links Darwin to Adelaide by way of Alice Springs two to three times per week depending on the season. Neighborhoods Throb Nightclub and the gay-friendly venues are located in the area on and around Mitchell, Smith and Knucky Streets in downtown Darwin City, the city's busiest commercial strip. Currency and Money The local currency is the Australian dollar. You shouldn’t have trouble finding ATMs in most urban areas. Darwin | Northern Territory, Australia | Britannica.com Northern Territory, Australia Brisbane Darwin, capital and chief port of Northern Territory , Australia . It is situated on a low peninsula northeast of the entrance to its harbour, Port Darwin, a deep inlet of Beagle Gulf of the Timor Sea . The harbour was found in 1839 by John Stokes, surveyor aboard the ship HMS Beagle and was named for the British naturalist Charles Darwin . Parliament House, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

Brian Voon Yee Yap The site was not settled until 1869 and was known as Palmerston until it was renamed for the harbour in 1911. In that year the Northern Territory went from South Australian to Australian Commonwealth administration. Darwin received a stimulus from the development of air services during the 1930s and from its use as a fueling and military base in World War II . It was severely bombed by the Japanese in 1942 but was extensively rebuilt. Darwin was gazetted a city in 1959. In December 1974 a cyclone damaged or destroyed nearly all of the city; two-thirds of the residents were evacuated. With government assistance Darwin was rebuilt a second time, making it one of the most-modern cities in Australia. A house on the outskirts of Darwin, Northern Territory, Austl., that was severely damaged by a … Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images History of Darwin | City of Darwin History of Darwin Home » Educational Resources » History of Darwin History of Darwin Darwin was founded in 1869 and was originally called Palmerston.

The port of the city was always known as Port Darwin and the city was eventually renamed to Darwin in 1911. The harbour was discovered in 1839 by Lt. John Lort Stokes, who named it after a former shipmate British evolutionist Charles Darwin. The town's growth was accelerated when gold was discovered at Pine Creek, 200 km south, in 1871. Prior to 1937 when Local Government functions were taken over by the Commonwealth, there were attempts at introducing Local Government to Darwin but none were successful. In 1939 a Darwin Town Management Board was formed comprising three Commonwealth Government officers and a Citizens’ Advisory Committee. However it did not exist for long as World War II soon intervened with Darwin bombed heavily by the Japanese in 1942. Darwin was the scene of the first enemy attack on Australian soil during WWII. At 0958 hours on 19 February 1942, a strike force of 188 carrier-borne Japanese aircraft dropped the first bombs on Darwin, killing more than 243 people.

That first air raid destroyed many public buildings, including the post office (where 9 people perished after a direct hit on the bomb shelter). Eight allied ships were sunk in Darwin Harbour and 24 allied aircraft were destroyed. A second enemy air raid at noon that day targeted the Darwin RAAF base. Between February 1942 and October 1943, the Japanese launched more than 60 air raids over Darwin. When Darwin returned to civilian control after the war, a new Town Management Board was formed comprising officials and a representative group of residents. In September 1953, the Local Government Bill was introduced into the NT Legislative Council. Its progress was delayed by extended debate and an election. The Bill was finally passed in November 1954 and the Local Government Ordinance was given assent in November 1955 providing for a Darwin Municipal Council. A Northern Territory News street poll on 18 November 1954 concluded most Darwin residents were in favour of Local Government. On 1 July 1957 the people of Darwin elected for the first time a Mayor and 12 Councillors.

There was much enthusiasm at the time for granting of self-governance with a voter turnout of more than 85 per cent on Election Day, 29 June 1957. Council’s first elected Mayor was Lucius (Bill) Richardson. On Australia Day, 26 January 1959 Darwin was granted city status due to an extensive increase in population and economic growth. Darwin was the scene of the biggest airlift in Australian history after Cyclone Tracy devastated the city in the early hours of Christmas Day 1974. Cyclone Tracy killed 66 people and injured thousands more. Many of those who died or were injured were struck by flying debris. More than 30,000 of the city's then 43,000 people were evacuated to cities and towns all over Australia immediately after the devastation of Tracy. But for many Darwin was a hard place to stay away from and many people returned to resume their lives here. After the cyclone the Darwin Reconstruction Commission (DRC), comprising Federal, Territory and Local Government representatives, was involved with the running and rebuilding of the city which gradually turned Darwin into the most modern capital city in the nation.

In May 1975, Darwin elected its first female Mayor, Dr Ella Stack, who also played a strong role in the Darwin Reconstruction Committee. In 1978 the Commonwealth passed The Northern Territory (Self Government) Act 1978 establishing the Northern Territory as a distinct political entity under the Crown, with limited state-like powers, effective on 1 July 1978. Each year on this date Territory Day, 1 July, marks the celebration of the Northern Territory gaining self-governance with firework displays held at various locations around the city. In November 1979 Dr Stack became Darwin’s first Lord Mayor. On 1 July 2007, Darwin City Council commemorated its 50th anniversary since self-governance with birthday celebrations and the placing of a time capsule in Darwin’s Civic Park. Pioneer Cemetery | City of Darwin Home » Cemeteries » Pioneer Cemetery Pioneer Cemetery The Pioneer/Goyder Road Cemetery was originally called "Palmerston Cemetery" and is Darwin's first "official" cemetery. Among the gravestones and unmarked graves, lie buried the stories of hundreds of the Territory's pioneer men, women and children.

There are stories of tragedy and triumph, hope and heartbreak. Here, in this final resting place, the 'occupants' sleep on oblivious to the modern homes and businesses established nearby and the thousands of vehicles that pass by. The Pioneer Cemetery is situated on Goyder Road and is also known as the Goyder Road Cemetery or Palmerston Cemetery. The Pioneer Cemetery was opened in 1865 and closed in 1919. A number of burials have been carried out at Palmerston Cemetery since its closure and others associated with the pioneering families and individuals buried there may continue. The cemetery has been controlled by the City of Darwin since 1958. The first burial took place around 1872 or 1873. In all, 1,230 burials took place at this cemetery, however 450 of these were not recorded by Births, Deaths and Marriages. Today, about 90 graves are still visible, within the new fenced area of what remains of the old cemetery. In February 1869 the South Australian Government sent George Woodroffe Goyder, the Surveyor General and a group of survey teams north to Port Darwin aboard the Moonta.

One of the first tasks of George Goyder surveyors when they designed the new town of Palmerston (not officially called Darwin until after 1911) was to lay out the future town across the peninsula and extending a mile or two from the site. In the plan, Goyder also made a provision for the first cemetery for Palmerston. The 48 acres they selected for this purpose stretched across from where Graham Street in Stuart Park runs today, straddling what became the Stuart Highway and running from around Nylander Street to include what remains of the cemetery today, near the Motor Vehicles Registry. Decisions regarding development of the surrounding area, particularly Parap as both a suburb and the site of Darwin's aerodrome, and the main road south, saw a number of closures of sections of the cemetery and the size of the site decreased considerably. At the time of it's final closure the cemetery occupied only a small part of the original 48 acres surveyed. Throughout it's history, the cemetery was the subject of inadequate record keeping, lack of documentation and at varying times, neglect by the authorities.

The site for the cemetery was recorded in the 1869 field book of Surveyor AT Woods, referring to "Prince's Creek' which was in the vicinity of Graham or Nudl streets of today's Stuart Park. Indeed, the present Stuart Highway bisects the site of the old cemetery which provided for a road reserve two chains wide leading from town as "Freds Pass Road". It is thought that the first burials were around 1873. Charles Harvey, a carpenter, died on 4 October 1872, James Honan on 26 October and police trooper William Davies was taken by a crocodile off Lameroo whilst swimming on 26 November 1872. Two miners, Robert McCracken and JW Smith died in early 1873. Take the monument to Edward (Ned) Tuckwell, who was buried in 1882. Ned and Eliza Tuckwell - whose pioneering efforts go back to the pre-Darwin settlement at Escape Cliffs - came to the Territory in 1864 with the settlers who tried to build the first Palmerston at Escape Cliffs on the mouth of the Adelaide River.

In 1866 he built the raft which floated explorer McKinlay's party back to Escape Cliffs, from desperate straits in the East Alligator. Ned returned to Adelaide when Escape Cliffs failed, but came back to the Territory with Goyder's men in 1869. He had a hand in the building of most early Darwin buildings, including the first Government House until he was struck down by dysentery in 1882. Ned and his wife Eliza founded a dynasty which several of today's most prominent Territory families proudly claim membership. Many of their children are buried at the cemetery as are members of some of Darwin's most prominent families, such as Spain, Brown and Bell families. There are also graves of many less known but equally interesting citizens of many cultures - including those of scores of children who died in 'epidemics' or at childbirth. 1,200 people are recorded as being buried in the cemetery, but only 146 headstones can be seen today. Another strange addition to the cemetery was a school teacher whose death was described in the records as "visitation from God".

The Cemetery had become "less' important after the Gardens Cemetery was opened in 1919. For a long time, few cared that vehicles were driven over the graves, or that memorials were often desecrated. In 1961, the NT news said that the cemetery presented a scene of "desolation and neglect". The News urged that a fence should be erected immediately, to prevent traffic, littering and vandalism. City of Darwin sought control and eventually won back the freehold of the cemetery. Management was low key until an upgrade program in 1983. One outcome of this was the installation of a plan which showed the locations of graves and the names of their occupants. The cemetery is now fenced. One of the most significant occupants is John George Knight, the architect who designed many of our early buildings, the colourful warden of the Pine Creek gold fields who was famous for his 'solar' bath, and finally the Government Resident who died in office and whose funeral was attended by the entire town.

Another famous occupant is Tom Crush, the Territory's first Labor member of Parliament in South Australia, and who, along with his flamboyant wife Fannie (later Haynes) built in famous Federation Hotel at Brocks Creek. The cemetery's most impressive headstone, complete with a 1m marble angel and long inscription belongs to Tom Crush. Paul Foelsche, Darwin's first Inspector of Police from 1870 and one of Darwin's finest photographers, and his wife Charlotte, who died just before the turn of the century, lie nearby their graves marked by matching monuments. Contributions like those of J G Knight (died 1892), architect extraordinaire and Government Resident or George McLachlan (1873) one of Goyder's senior surveyors, explorer, overland telegraph builder and finder of the first commercial goldfield near Pine Creek. J.A.G Little (1906) was another who helped build the overland telegraph, and then stayed on as a faithful servant of the Territory for 35 years. Paul Foelsche (1914) came north in January 1870, arriving on the same ship as Eliza Tuckwell.

Foelsche led the NT Mounted Police and became a noted recorder of the Territory through his writings and photographs. A nephew of George Goyder, McLachlan was the Senior Surveyor until his death from a lung disease on 19 March 1873. He had contributed a great deal to the initial survey of Palmerston and particularly in the area around Virginia. He had also been involved in the exploration of a route for the proposed Overland Telegraph Line between Katherine and Palmerston (later Darwin). In the case of deaths in Palmerston, these were recorded in Palmerston and burials would have been at the cemetery, although many never registered. Whilst there are 90 graves evident in the cemetery today, some 500 graves are recorded in the area - unfortunately the available records fail to provide the layout of the cemetery and locations of graves. Some graves markers have disappeared over the years and some records list the grave numbers that were allocated at the time.

The cemetery is also the resting place of Captain Joe Bradshaw who lost over four hundred thousand pounds in his ventures in the Territory but never his faith, he died of gangrene on 23 July 1916 - while Yusumatsu Tokayama a lowly pearl diver followed two months later, probably of the bends and for a pittance in wages. One of the saddest stories in the cemetery is that of 18 year old Edith, the daughter of the Territory's first Judge, Timothy K Pater, who died of an incurable illness and who lies near the grave of 27 year old Anna, wife of Surveyor GR McMinn, and their young son William. Here too lies Sarah and Lee Hang Gong, pioneers of the mining industry and the Chinese and European community. Sarah was a London born woman who met and married Hang Gong on the Victorian goldfields before venturing to the Territory which became their home and final resting place. Following the Commonwealth taking control of the Territory on 1 January 1991, legislative amendments saw some portions of the cemetery closed in 1919.

In 1920 negotiations between the Government and Acting Administrator Staniforth Smith and the Town Clerk, Harold Whittle, took place a new cemetery near the Botanic Gardens was opened. The Palmerston Cemetery was gazetted as closed on 24 January 1922. A glance at the headstones reveals that Darwin's cultural diversity emerged early in the town's history. Memorials reflect that Chinese, Japanese and Malay people were among our first and most enduring settlers. Typical was the Spain family, with it's antecedents in the Philippines and Thursday Island before patriarch Antonio Spain arrived here in the 1880's. The family is still here, though it has moved on from trepang fishing, pearling and hairdressing. The headstones also show us just how far from home and family many of our early settlers were. So many memorials were erected by workmates or friends, or by the general community, at a time when the community accepted such obligations. That has changed, as have religious affiliations, and the tastes in memorials and the words on them.

The Cemetery is maintained by City of Darwin and any enquiries in relation to the cemetery or burial records can be obtained by phoning 08 8980 3655.

Question: Which Australian city was known as Palmerston between 1869 and 1911?
Answer: Darwin