Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory.
The city is in the north of Australia.
About 132 000 people live in the city.
The weather in Darwin is hot.
Darwin, the capital of Australia's Northern Territory
Find Darwin on this map
The city covers an area of 1,660 square kilometres and is built around Darwin Harbour in the Beagle Gulf on the Timor Sea.
The city was officially named in 1839 after Charles Darwin, an explorer, naturalist (a person who studies plants and animals) and writer.
The First Nations people of the area
The first people to live in the area were the Aboriginal, or First Nations, peoples. They had occupied the land for thousands of years before European settlers arrived. The Larrakia (say lara-key-uh) people lived on the land in the area. They lived by hunting and fishing.
European settlement began in 1860s and at first the different groups got on well and sometimes the Aboriginal people worked for Europeans. However as more and more Europeans arrived the Aboriginal camps were destroyed the Aboriginal peoples were moved away from the town.
Darwin Harbour with the city beyond it. ©iStock
Today the city is run by a city council, elected by the people of the city. A Lord Mayor is head of the city council.
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory and so the Parliament House of the Territory is located there.
Modern Darwin
Darwin is a modern city, much of it having been re-built since the disaster of 1974, when Cyclone Tracy destroyed it.
In the city there are modern offices, shops and shopping centres, hotels, hospitals and schools. There are many parks and tropical gardens and there are many fine beaches close to the city.
Wangi Falls, Litchfield National Park ©iStock
Not far from the city is the spectacular Litchfield National Park where people can 4WD, hike, picnic and swim.
The climate of Darwin
The weather in Darwin is tropical, which means it is hot and wet. There are just two seasons, the 'wet' from November to March and the 'dry' from April to November.
During the wet season strong winds called monsoons bring heavy rain and the weather is humid.
Average temperatures are from 24C to 32C. During the dry season the weather is warm and dry with temperatures ranging from 19C to 30C.
Darwin is closer to the cities of many Asian countries than it is to the southern cities of Australia. The population is multi-cultural with people of more than 60 different nationalities living together with Aboriginal peoples and Australian born people.
Thousands of people of the Australian Defence Forces are based in and around the city.
People work in construction, mining, tourist services and for the government.
There are many crocodiles in the sea and rivers in the area. There is a crocodile farm in Darwin. ©iStock
Crocodile farming and fish farming are two more of the city's interesting industries.
Darwin : A short timeline of European settlement and development 1839 - 2008
1839
Statue of Charles Darwin, the explorer after whom the city is named. It stands outside the city library. © iStock
Lieutenant John Lort Stokes of HMS Beagle discovered Darwin Harbour and Captain J.C. Wickham named it Port Darwin after explorer Charles Darwin
1862
Scottish explorer John McDouall Stuart made an overland trek from Adelaide to Chambers Bay (close to Port Darwin) in an attempt to be the first person to cross Australia from south to north.
1863
Northern Territory add to land controlled by South Australia
1864
Explorer John McKinley selects Port Darwin as the site for a settlement
1869
Small settlement begins at Port Darwin and is named Palmerston
1870
Telegraph line links Palmerston (Darwin) and Adelaide
1872
Submarine cables laid from Darwin to link Asia, Europe and Australia
1872
Gold discovered at Pine Creek
1877
First school opened
1879
First plantings in Darwin's Botanical Gardens
1880s
Northern Territory gold rush. Thousands of people come from all over Australia.
1911
Control of Northern Territory passed to Australian Government. Palmerston is renamed Darwin.
1919
Ross and Keith Smith land in Darwin after making the first flight from England to Australia
1942
Darwin bombed 64 times during World War 2.
1950
Darwin rebuilt after the bombings
1974
Cyclone Tracy destroys Darwin
1978
People elect the first Territory government based in Darwin
1995
Parliament House opened
2004
The first train from Alice Springs arrived in Darwin in 2004, connecting Darwin with the rest of Australia by rail.
2008
The Darwin Convention Centre opened
Night markets in Darwin
Mindil beach market, Darwin Photo copyright NT Tourism: http://www.travelnt.com
During the dry months in Darwin there are night markets such as the one on Mindil beach.
Food of many nations is available at the night markets on the beach; Thai, Sri Lankan, Indian, Chinese and Malaysian, Brazilian, Greek, Portuguese and many more are all available for people to enjoy.
Colourful arts and crafts vendors sell handmade jewellery, natural remedies, artistic creations and unique fashion garment.
It’s a good idea to get information from more than one source!
Read more about Darwin and the Northern Territory
https://kids.kiddle.co/Darwin,_Northern_Territory
Watch videos of the Darwin central business district and also of nearby world famous Kakadu National Park
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySBs5FWNkuI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHfZG7TT9yc
Read about devastation of Darwin by Cyclone Tracy
https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/cyclone-tracy