Darwin has continually fought to exist.
Traditionally owned by the Larrakia people, its site first encountered white settlement when Lieutenant John Lort Stokes and Captain JC Wickham sailed the HMS Beagle into a natural harbour in 1839. Wickham bestowed the name Port Darwin after former shipmate and British evolutionist Charles Darwin.
The area languished without further intervention until 1869, when it was chosen for yet another attempt to establish an outpost in Australia’s north. Named Palmerston, it only survived its first two years because of the construction of the Overland Telegraph.
In 1871, gold fever hit nearby Pine Creek and soon after a local South Sea pearling industry began. For the next 30 years the town boomed, with waves of Asian migrants building a vivacious multicultural community. But disaster struck — in 1897, a cyclone (hurricane) brutalised the settlement.
In the 20th century, Palmerston was renamed Darwin, and tragedy continued. It endured the first recorded enemy attack on Australian soil when Japanese planes barraged the city with more than 60 bombing raids in World War II.
Darwin’s greatest challenge came with Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Day 1974. Australia’s worst natural disaster damaged 90% of buildings and led to the evacuation of 75% of the population. Once again, the city started rebuilding.
Modern Darwin is a relaxed seaside city with a sophistication that comes from over 135 years of multiculturalism. With its history of perseverance and continual rejuvenation, there’s a sense of potential — people can reinvent themselves and anything can be achieved.
