The Devastation of Darwin
Friday 14 November 2014
When I was last in Darwin in 1989 my friend Lisa and I managed to get jobs working on a prawn trawler sailing from its harbour. We only had one night in the city before we left consequently I never really got to see the town and only have very patchy memories of it. As a result, Ive spent the last few days trying to get my head around the geography of the area.
Darwin lies on a peninsula shaped like a shepherds crook meaning when you approach from the south the Stuart Highway goes north, then west, then south again before ending in the city centre. If you havent looked carefully at a map beforehand, this can be a little disorientating. Add to that the fact that there are beaches on three out of the four sides of the peninsula and you have a very confusing town layout. Even though Jenny had given me a guided tour of the city the day I arrived, it took several days for me to relocate everything she had shown me and figure out where it was in relation to everything else.
Having sussed out the lie of the land, I turned my attention to the history of the place. Two major events have shaped Darwins history - the bombing of the city in 1942 during World War II, then, Cyclone Tracey in 1974.
On 19 February 1942 the same Japanese air squadron that had bombed Pearl Harbour attacked Darwin. They bombarded the city and 243 people were left dead. Over the next 18 months a further 64 air raids were made. Darwin already had a strong military presence and nine large oil tanks occupied a hill by the Frances Bay harbour. These became targets for the bombers so a plan was hatched to build nine underground oil tunnels to store the oil in instead. In the end the tunnels were never really used and the original oil tanks still exist today but now hold diesel instead of oil.
Cyclone Tracey was the second major disaster to hit the city. On Christmas Eve in 1974 a cyclone warning was issued to the townsfolk. This was the second one in a few days and as the previous one hadnt really come to anything most people ignored it. That night the cyclone hit and for 3 hours 250 mph winds struck. Seventy one people were killed and over 70% of the buildings were destroyed.
Both events devastated the town and called for virtual rebuilds. As such most of the traditional architecture was lost with only four of the famous Burnett style houses surviving along with some of the government buildings in the downtown area. The new Parliament House was added in 1994.
Not to be discouraged, Darwin has fought back and now has four main industries tourism (especially cruise ships for which it has a dedicated terminal), defence (10% of the population work in this), oil and gas and construction to ensure there is enough housing for the oil and gas workers.
There is a huge gas plant in Darwin. Gas is piped over 500 km from the Kimberleys to this plant where it is compressed into liquid gas then loaded onto specially made tankers which take most of it off to Asia for use.
With the city being such a target for military action there are tonnes of old airstrips bordering the Stuart Highway. Additionally, Darwin Airport was originally sited much closer to the town centre and the old runway now forms the very long and straight Ross Smith Avenue. For some reason the Qantas Hanger was not torn down and built on like the rest of the airport and now houses a vintage vehicle museum.
There is also an old jail in an area called Fannie Bay which is a thoroughly depressing testament to mans inhumanity to man. That aside (and the terrible humidity) I like Darwin. It's a big enough place to have all the services you could need, but not so big that it's difficult to get around.