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Published: July 26th 2011
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Monday 18th would be our last full day in the Darwin area so we felt we should spend as much of it as we could in the heart of the city. Even though it was a Monday morning it took us very little time to reach the centre and we were able to park under cover (desirable because of the heat) just a few meters from the Information Centre. Before we even got inside to collect some info we spotted a touring “duck/croc”! I had seen this special tour bus advertised and it was straight in front of us and seemingly ready to go. So we rushed and bought a couple of the last remaining tickets and made our way on board. The vehicle was amphibious and had been cleverly converted from a troop landing vessel with comfortable seats, partially enclosing windows and a commentary system. We were to find out later how the amphibious nature played a part, but first we passed through the old centre of the city and many significant buildings were pointed out with a bit of their history and contributions to the city. Just out of the centre we passed through Mindil where we had been
at the markets the previous night. The route then followed the coastline for a while until it turned left and headed for the sea and, in fact, went into the water! And it wasn’t a gentle entry either but a full-blast rush down the boat ramp. Consequently most of the passengers (including us) got a bit of a soaking but everyone seemed to take it in good part. The bus then cruised around the bay as a boat for the next 40 minutes or so with a sailor’s view of a few landmarks. There were many yachts and catamarans in the bay and more would gather over the next few days in preparation for a large yacht race that would take place the following weekend from Darwin to somewhere in Indonesia. Some youngsters on board were encouraged to steer the boat but they had to don a captain’s cap and an eye-patch before they could. Back on dry land we passed by many more old buildings, parks and places of interest. The most striking buildings were Parliament House, Governor’s Mansion (where the queen stayed in 1982) and a modern Lagoon complex. The trip came to an end all too soon
Just about to enter the sea
and with a roar and a huge splash we were in (fortunately the camera was safely in its bag!) but had proved very enjoyable, had given us a good insight of Darwin and, although it was a little “gimmicky”, it was well worth the fees.
The underground car park we had used had a ‘pay and display’ system and for a city centre car park it wasn’t too expensive but as we hadn’t paid a single car parking fee since we had been in Adelaide it still came as a bit of a shock! We had purchased a four hour ticket which, at the end of our duck” tour, left us about two and a half hours. We strolled down towards the newly completed ‘Water Front Precinct’ which has a mixture of parks, smart apartments, a safe swimming lagoon and the very impressive ‘wave’ lagoon. It is also home to Darwin Conference Centre which was opened in 2008. To get to this area we went across a footbridge and down in a lift. We had lunch overlooking the park and beach lagoon and then strolled around to the wave lagoon. To use this facility you have to pay but there were lots of people having a great time amongst the waves, some of which were really big. The
waves seemed relentless but eventually they were turned off for a ten minute break when the morning session finished and the afternoon one started. This area is wonderful for the residents of Darwin as it is never safe to swim in the sea because of the risk of stingers and also salt water crocodiles. It would have been nice to experience the waves but we didn’t come prepared unfortunately.
We wandered out of the complex and down the hill to a lookout from where we could see some of the harbour area. In the lookout were some very interesting information boards detailing the early history of the city. It had been named by Lieutenant Stokes of the British Navy, in 1839, in honour of his friend, Charles Darwin. The entry of Japan into WWII had a great effect on Australia and put Darwin in great danger. Much of the city’s civilian population was evacuated and this was completed on the 18th February 1942 - on the 19th February the Japanese attacked Darwin. The harbour was full of Navy ships and 21 of them were sunk or disabled and 292 lives lost. Much of the city was destroyed.
On
Christmas Day 1974 Darwin was hit by Cyclone Tracy - 71 people were killed and over 70% of the city’s buildings were destroyed. After that disaster 30,000 people were evacuated – the biggest evacuation in Australian history. The city was rebuilt with its commercial centres further inland at Palmerston and Casuarina.
We strolled on past what is now known as ‘Government House’. It was originally built in 1871 and although damage occurred, has survived the numerous disasters that have overcome Darwin. It’s a fine looking house and the gardens that we could see were beautiful – it’s occasionally open to the public but not today.
We also walked by Parliament House which was opened in 1994. After Cyclone Tracy, for 20 years, the administrative offices of the Northern Territory were housed in numerous temporary buildings until they could come together again in the new centre. Although a pleasant looking building it had a robustness about it - presumably it was built in such a way as to withstand future cyclones that will almost certainly hit Darwin. On the way back to the car park we passed by a few of the oldest buildings in the city – the
old Court House and Police Station were rebuilt after Cyclone Tracy but Palmerston Town Hall did not survive and the ruins are there as a reminder of the devastation.
Driving back along the highway we passed plumes of smoke and later heard that some bush fires had been started deliberately. Here in northern Australia it is the height of the bush fire season with high temperatures and no rain day after day. It is incredible that anyone could be so stupid. Fortunately no damage was done this time. We popped into Palmerston Post Office to collect any mail but there was still none for us. Back at the caravan park we had a quick dip in the pool to cool off and spent the remainder of the day preparing for our departure in the morning.
We had enjoyed our stay in Darwin but would be pleased if we were in a less hot and humid place soon!
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