Northern Territory
There were four early attempts to settle the harsh
environment of the northern coast, of which three failed in
starvation and despair. The
Northern Territory was part of
New South Wales from 1825 to 1863 and part of South
Australia from 1863 to 1911. On 1 January 1911, a decade
after federation, the Northern Territory was separated from
South Australia and transferred to Commonwealth control.
For a brief time between 1926 and 1931 the Northern
Territory was divided into North Australia and Central
Australia at the 20th parallel of South latitude. See A
Brief History of the Administration in the Northern
Territory Soon after this time, parts of the Northern
Territory were considered in the Kimberley Scheme as a
possible site for the establishment of a Jewish Homeland,
understandably considered the "Unpromised Land".
Alice Springs
Darwin
Katherine
During World War II, most of the Top End was placed under
military government. This is the only time since Federation
that an Australian state or territory has been under
military control. After the war, control for the entire area
was handed back to the Commonwealth.
Indigenous Australians had struggled for rights to fair
wages and land. An important event in this struggle was the
strike and walk off by the Gurindji people at Wave Hill,
cattle station in 1966. The Commonwealth Government of Gough
Whitlam set up the Woodward Royal Commission in February
1973 set to inquire into how land rights might be achieved
in the Northern Territory. Justice Woodward's first report
in July 1973 recommended that a Central Land Council and a
Northern Land Council be established in order to present to
him the views of Aboriginal people. In response to the
report of the Royal Commission a Land Rights Bill was
drafted, but the Whitlam Government was dismissed before it
was passed.
The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 was
eventually passed by the Fraser Government on 16 December
1976 and began operation on Australia Day, that is 26
January 1977.
In 1978 the Territory was granted responsible government,
with a Legislative Assembly headed by a Chief Minister.
The Northern Territory was briefly one of the few places in
the world with legal voluntary euthanasia, until the Federal
Parliament overturned the legislation. Before the overriding
legislation was enacted, three people had been voluntarily
euthanasised by Dr Philip Nitschke
Indigenous Australians
More than one quarter of the population of the Northern
Territory are Indigenous Australians, a far greater
proportion than in any other state or territory in
Australia. There are Aboriginal communities in many parts of
the territory, the largest ones being the Pitjantjatjara
near Uluru, the Arrente near Alice Springs, the Luritja
between those two, the Warlpiri further north, and the
Yolngu in eastern Arnhem Land.
Geography
There are many very small settlements scattered across the
Territory but the larger population centres are located on
the single sealed road that links Darwin to southern
Australia, the Stuart Highway, known to locals simply as
"the track".
The Northern Territory is also home to two spectacular
natural rock formations, Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta
(The Olgas), which are sacred to the local Aborigines and
which have become major tourist attractions.
In the northern part of the territory lies Kakadu National
Park, which features breathtaking wetlands and native
wildlife. To the north of that lies the Arafura Sea, and to
the east lies Arnhem Land, whose regional centre is
Maningrida on the Liverpool River delta.
Rivers include:
Alligator River
Daly River
Finke River
McArthur River
Roper River
Todd River
Victoria River, which flows for 560 km until it enters
Joseph Bonaparte Gulf in the Timor Sea
National Parks
- Arnhem Land
(Restricted Area)
- Arltunga
Historical Reserve
- Barranyi Nth.
Island National Park
- Berry Springs
Nature Park
- Butterfly
Gorge Nature Park
- Cape Hotham
Conservation Reserve
- Casuarina
Coastal Reserve
- Connells
Lagoon Conservation Park
- Cutta Cutta
Caves Nature Park
- Daly River
Nature Park
- Devil's
Marbles Conservation Reserve
- Djukbinj
National Park
- Douglas Hot
Springs Nature Park
- East Point
Reserve
- Elsey
National Park
|
- Finke Gorge
National Park
- Fish River
Forestry Reserve
- Fogg Dam
Conservation Reserve
- Gregory
National Park
- Gurig
National Park
- Howard
Springs Conservation Reserve
- Kakadu
National Park
- Keep River
National Park
- Watarrka
National Park (including Kings
Canyon)
- Leaning Tree
Lagoon Nature Park
- Litchfield
National Park
- Manton Dam
Park
- Marrakai
Conservation Reserve
- Mary River
Crossing Conservation Reserve
and proposed National Park
- Mataranka
Thermal Springs
|
- Nitmiluk
National Park
- Palm Valley
- Robin Falls
- Ruby Gap
Nature Park
- Simpsons Gap
National Park
- Tanami Desert
- Trephina
Gorge Nature Park
- Uluru
National Park
- Umbrawarra
Gorge Nature Park
- Watarrka
National Park
- West
MacDonnell National Park
|
Australia
is massive, and very sparsely peopled:
in size it rivals the USA, yet its population is just over
eighteen million - little more than that of the Netherlands.
This is an ancient land, and often looks it: in places, it's
the most eroded, denuded and driest of continents, with much
of central and western Australia - the bulk of the country -
overwhelmingly arid and flat. In contrast, its cities - most
of which were founded as recently as the mid-nineteenth
century - express a youthful energy.
The most memorable scenery is in the Outback, the vast
desert in the interior of the country west of the Great
Dividing Range. Here, vivid blue skies, cinnamon-red earth,
deserted gorges and other striking geological features as
well as bizarre wildlife comprise a unique ecology - one
that has played host to the oldest surviving human culture
for at least fifty thousand years.
The harshness of the interior has forced modern Australia to
become a coastal country. Most of the population lives
within 20km of the ocean, occupying a suburban, southeastern
arc extending from southern Queensland to Adelaide. These
urban Australians celebrate the typical New World values of
material self-improvement through hard work and hard play,
with an easy-going vitality that visitors, especially
Europeans, often find refreshingly hedonistic. A sunny
climate also contributes to this exuberance, with an outdoor
life in which a thriving beach culture and the congenial
backyard "barbie" are central.
While visitors might eventually find this Home and Away
lifestyle rather prosaic, there are opportunities -
particularly in the Northern Territory - to gain some
experience of Australia's indigenous peoples and their
culture, through visiting ancient art sites, taking tours
and, less easily, making personal contact. Many Aboriginal
people - especially in central Australia - have managed to
maintain their traditional way of life (albeit with some
modern accoutrements), speaking their own languages and
living according to their law (the tjukurpa). Conversely,
most Aboriginal people you'll come across in country towns
and cities are victims of what is scathingly referred to as
"welfare colonialism" - a disempowering system in which,
supported by dole cheques and other subsidies, they often
fall prey to a destructive cycle of poverty, ill-health and
alcoholism. There's still a long way to go before black and
white people in Australia can exist on genuinely equal
terms.