The Top End of Australia: Darwin

 “Alone of all the races on earth, they seem to be free from the 'Grass is Greener on the other side of the fence' syndrome, and roundly proclaim that Australia is, in fact, the other side of that fence.” ~ Douglas Adams

After visiting urbane cities like Sydney and Brisbane, I’d started to wonder if the stereotypical outback Aussie was just a myth.  Then we got to Darwin, Australia’s northernmost city—one set apart from the rest of the country by the vast outback that divides it and the rest of the country. 

Which is not to say it is not a city: though the population is relatively small (about 120,000), it is cosmopolitan and modern.  It is the capital of the Northern Territory, which is comprised primarily of desert and cattle stations, and is very sparsely populated.  The Northern Territory is just that—a territory, not a state—and as such is rather like Washington, DC or Puerto Rico in the U.S.  The people of Darwin seem to take pride in their independent spirit but somewhat resent their relative isolation from the rest of the country.

Before coming to Darwin, I had very little knowledge of its history.  As the gateway to the outback, it is where the massive cattle stations bring their herds for export to Indonesia and southeast Asia.  It is the cows themselves that are exported, not their meat.  This is because, for Indonesia, they must be butchered in a manner that meets halal standards and, for southeast Asia, lack of refrigeration means that the meat must go immediately to market after butchering.


Darwin's skyline

Darwin also is the city that came under Japanese attack in WWII.  In fact, it was bombed 64 times during the course of the war, and was pretty much the only spot in Australia that came under bombing.  The first two attacks occurred on February 19, 1942—just 10 weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  Like Pearl Harbor, the attack came as a surprise, and the city’s defenses were unprepared for it.

The morning attack hit some U.S. navy ships that were in harbor, but most of the targets were civilian.  The noon attack targeted the airport.  Of the casualties that day, most were American sailors, followed by civilians, and then Australian military.  Representative of those killed were the nine people working in the post office, which took a direct hit by a bomb.

The history of Australia in WWII (and Viet Nam) is recorded and commemorated in a very effective and affecting museum.  Interestingly, there is a sign on entry to the museum notifying aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders that the names of the deceased will be given.  Apparently, it is taboo in those cultures to state the names of the departed—they are instead referred to as “no-name.”

Also interestingly, many Australians are unaware of this history, and do not know that Australia came under bombing in WWII.  According to our guide, a retired police officer who now serves on the Darwin city council, it is rarely taught in Australian schools.  There seems no small amount of resentment over this, which seems to feed the culture of separateness from the rest of the country.

It is not just war that has devastated Darwin.  It also is highly subject to cyclones (hurricanes), and has been destroyed three times by that severe weather, most recently in 1975.  On the theme of separateness, we were told that it took a long while to recover, as there were no nearby populations to come to their aid.

Darwin also comes under another threat.  It has only two seasons:  wet and dry.  They are currently in the wet season, which runs October to April.  As there is zero rain during the dry season, the city relies on “the wet” for its water supply.  Unfortunately, this year’s wet season is the driest in memory, and thus there is great concern about the water supply.

Our departure from Darwin also marks our departure from Australia, as our ship is now bound for the “Far East.”

Next up:  Komodo Island, Indonesia