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Darwin is the capital city of the Northern
Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea,
Darwin has a population of 120,652, making it by far
the largest and most populated city in the sparsely
populated Northern Territory, but the least populous
of all Australia's capital cities. It is the
smallest and most northerly of the Australian
capital cities, and acts as the Top End's regional
centre.
Over time Darwin has grown from a pioneer outpost
and small port into one of Australia's most modern
and multicultural cities. Its proximity to Asia
makes it an important Australian gateway to
countries such as Indonesia and East Timor. The
Stuart Highway begins in Darwin, ending at Port
Augusta in South Australia.
The city itself is built on a low bluff overlooking
the harbour. Its suburbs spread out over some area,
beginning at Lee Point in the north and stretching
to Berrimah in the east — past Berrimah, the Stuart
Highway goes on to Darwin's satellite city,
Palmerston, and its suburbs.
The region, like the rest of the Top End, has a
tropical climate, with a wet season and a dry
season. It receives heavy rainfall during the Wet,
and is well-known for its spectacular lightning.
The original inhabitants of the greater Darwin area
are the Larrakia people. On 9 September 1839, HMS
Beagle sailed into Darwin harbour during its
surveying of the area. John Clements Wickham named
the region "Port Darwin" in honour of former
shipmate and famed scientist Charles Darwin.
Although, it should be noted that it was not
Darwin's scientific achievements that earned him
this honor. Wickham was merely assigned to name the
previously unnamed Australian ports and did so by
going through a list of former shipmates. Darwin's
name happened to come up when naming this particular
port.
Having been almost entirely rebuilt twice, once due
to Japanese air raids during World War II and again
after being devastated by Cyclone Tracy in 1974, the
city is one of Australia's most modern capitals.
Geography
Darwin is situated in the Northern Territory, on the
Timor Sea. The town proper is built on a low bluff
overlooking Darwin harbour, flanked by Frances Bay
to the east and Cullen Bay to the west. The
remainder of the city is flat and low-lying, and
coastal areas are home to recreational reserves,
extensive beaches, and excellent fishing.
Darwin is closer to the capitals of five other
countries than to the capital of Australia: Darwin
is 3,969 kilometres (2,466 mi) away from Canberra.
Dili (East Timor) is 656 kilometres (408 mi) from
Darwin, Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) is 1,818
kilometres (1,130 mi), Jakarta (Indonesia) is 2,700
kilometres (1,678 mi) from Darwin, Bandar Seri
Begawan (Brunei) is 2,607 kilometres (1,620 mi) from
Darwin, and Melekeok (Palau) is 2,247 kilometres
(1,396 mi) from Darwin.
Even Singapore is only slightly farther away at
3,350 kilometres (2,082 mi), as is Manila
(Philippines) at 3,206 kilometres (1,992 mi), and
Honiara (Solomon Islands) at 3,198 kilometres (1,987
mi).[12] Ambon, Indonesia is only 881 kilometres
(547 mi) away from Darwin.
Along with its importance as a gateway to Asia,
Darwin also acts as an access point for the Kakadu
National Park, Arnhem Land, and northerly islands
such as Groote Eylandt and the Tiwi Islands. The
city is the largest in the area, and provides
services for these remote settlements.
City and suburbs
Darwin and its suburbs spread in an approximately
triangular shape, with the older southwestern
suburbs - and the city itself - forming one corner,
the newer northern suburbs in another, and the
eastern suburbs, progressing towards Palmerston,
forming the third.
The older part of Darwin is separated from the newer
northern suburbs by Darwin International Airport and
Royal Australian Air Force Base. Palmerston is a
satellite city 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Darwin
that was established in the 1980s and is one of the
fastest growing municipalities in Australia. The
rural areas of Darwin including Howard Springs,
Humpty Doo and Berry Springs are experiencing strong
growth.
Darwin's central business district is bounded by
Daly Street in the north-west, McMinn Street in the
north-east, Mitchell Street on the south-west and
Bennett Street on the south-east. The CBD has been
the focus of a number of major projects, including
the billion dollar redevelopment of the Stokes Hill
wharf waterfront area including a convention centre
with seating for 1500 people and approximately 4,000
square metres (43,000 sq ft) of exhibition space.
The development will also include hotels,
residential apartments and public space.
The city's main industrial areas are along the
Stuart Highway going towards Palmerston. The largest
shopping precinct in the area is Casuarina Square.
The most expensive residential areas are located
along the coast in suburbs such as Larrakeyah and
Brinkin, despite the slight risk these low-lying
regions face during cyclones and higher tides.
Inner, eastern suburbs such as Malak and Karama are
home to lower-income households.
Climate
Wet Season storm at nightDarwin has a tropical
savanna climate (Köppen Aw) with distinct wet and
dry seasons and the average maximum temperature is
similar all year round. The dry season runs from
April/May to October (the southern hemisphere
winter), during which nearly every day is warm and
sunny, and afternoon humidity averages around 30%.
There is very little rainfall between May and
September. In the coolest months of June and July,
the daily minimum temperature may dip as low as 14
°C (57 °F), but very rarely lower, and frost has
never been recorded.
The wet season is associated with tropical cyclones
and monsoon rains. The majority of rainfall occurs
between December and March (the southern hemisphere
summer), when thunderstorms are common and afternoon
relative humidity averages over 70% during the
wettest months.[20] It does not rain every day
during the wet season, but most days are warm to hot
with plentiful cloud cover; January averages under 6
hours of bright sunshine daily.
The hottest month is November, just before the onset
of the main rainy season. Due to its long dry
season, Darwin has the most daily average sunshine
hours (8.4) of any Australian capital with the most
sunshine from April to November. The sun passes
directly overhead in mid October and mid February.
Climatically Darwin has more in common with
Singapore than Sydney as it sits well inside the
tropical zone.
Darwin is located in one of the most lightning prone
areas in the world. In 2002 a single thunderstorm
produced 1,634 lightning strikes in Darwin in just a
few hours, which is the same amount that Perth,
Western Australia, experiences in an entire year.
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