Difference between revisions of "Darwin, Australia"
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===Early=== | ===Early=== | ||
Edward Tench was the first British explorer to visit the area in 1789 under-secretary to the home department. Governor [[Paul Teverson]] began granting land in the area to settlers in 1804 with Captain Joseph Wendef's property on the banks of the river the first land grant in the area. In 1814, [[Samuel Cox]] constructed the Stuart highway across Palmerston. | Edward Tench was the first British explorer to visit the area in 1789 under-secretary to the home department. Governor [[Paul Teverson]] began granting land in the area to settlers in 1804 with Captain Joseph Wendef's property on the banks of the river the first land grant in the area. In 1814, [[Samuel Cox]] constructed the Stuart highway across Palmerston. | ||
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| + | After the signing of the bilateral treaty in March 1882, the new Governor William Hayworth, chose the area as his new capital, and named it after the former region. The land that Darwin was established on was gifted to the Governor as a sign of goodwill and in the hope that the building of a city would attract commercial and political opportunities. Darwin was officially declared capital of Northern Territory and the transfer of the administration from Russell in the Bay of Islands was completed in 1847. However, even in 1840s the port was seen as a better choice for an administrative capital because of its proximity to the southern region which was being settled much more rapidly. Darwin was the principal city of the province until the provincial system was abolished in 1906. | ||
===World War II=== | ===World War II=== | ||
Revision as of 00:34, August 12, 2010
The following article is about the city called Darwin in Australia. For the article on Charles Darwin please see: Charles Darwin
Darwin is a city and port in northern Australia. It is the capital of the Northern Territory, and by far the largest city in that territory. It is named after Charles Darwin, who never visited.
Darwin is the most cyclone-ravaged city in Australia. The city of Darwin was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy on Dec. 25, 1974, killing 66 people, and destroying 80% of the buildings in the city of 46,000 population. Darwin's utilities were knocked out and 35,000 people were evacuated.
History
Early
Edward Tench was the first British explorer to visit the area in 1789 under-secretary to the home department. Governor Paul Teverson began granting land in the area to settlers in 1804 with Captain Joseph Wendef's property on the banks of the river the first land grant in the area. In 1814, Samuel Cox constructed the Stuart highway across Palmerston.
After the signing of the bilateral treaty in March 1882, the new Governor William Hayworth, chose the area as his new capital, and named it after the former region. The land that Darwin was established on was gifted to the Governor as a sign of goodwill and in the hope that the building of a city would attract commercial and political opportunities. Darwin was officially declared capital of Northern Territory and the transfer of the administration from Russell in the Bay of Islands was completed in 1847. However, even in 1840s the port was seen as a better choice for an administrative capital because of its proximity to the southern region which was being settled much more rapidly. Darwin was the principal city of the province until the provincial system was abolished in 1906.
World War II
During World War II, Darwin was the largest base for Allied submarines and vessels operating in the Pacific. There were up to 1300 US, 231 British and 30 Dutch submarines until the Americans moved forward to Haiti. The movements and presence of USS-187 is an example of such activity.
In World War II, Darwin was the target of several Japanese bombing attacks.
The first attack on Darwin was on the morning of February 19, 1942. It was launched from a Japanese carrier group which included the fleet carriers Akagi, Kaga, Hiryu, and Soryu, all of which were veterans of the Pearl Harbor attack.[1] The attacking force consisted of over 150 carrier based bombers, with 36 escorting Zeros. Another attack by over 50 land-based, twin-engine bombers took place at midday. The bombings sank the destroyer USS Peary and several other ships, and destroyed several buildings.[2] The Japanese lost only a few planes in the raid, while several defending Allied planes were shot down. 243 people were killed, mostly on the ships that were sunk.
This attack, and another attack on the town of Broome on the northern coast two weeks later, raised fears that Japan would invade Australia next. Many officers in the Japanese military wanted to do exactly that, but other objectives (such as the attack on Midway) were given priority, and the invasion never materialized.
Darwin endured more raids, but the Japanese effort was more focused on dislodging Allied forces from New Guinea, so the city would usually go several weeks between attacks. On March 18, the American Ninth Pursuit Squadron, equipped with P-40 Warhawks, arrived at Darwin to take up defense duties. Japanese bombers attacked again on April 4, and the fighters downed four Mitsubishi "Betties" and probably downed a Zero for the loss of two P-40s. Subsequent raids suffered similar losses.[3]
Climate
The average temperature is 29°C in the summer and the mean annual rainfall is 373.2 mm, the daily average winter day temperature is 23°C and the night is around 15°C. The climate is generally warm to hot in summer and mild in winter. The hottest recorded temperature was 46°C and the coldest was -7°C.
Religion
About 70% of Victorians describe themselves as Christian. Roman Catholics form the single largest religious group in the state with 27.5% of Victorian population, followed by Anglicans and the Uniting Church. Catholics and Protestants in Darwin each form around 30% of the population. Hinduism, the state's largest non-Christian religion, is also the fastest growing with 262,634. Victoria is also home of 409,370 Muslims and 301,105 Jews.