The earliest European efforts to settle the Top End were mainly due to British fears that other European powers might get a toehold on the Australian continent. The harbour had been discovered back in 1839 by John Lort Stokes on the Beagle and named it Port Darwin after Charles Darwin.
Ludwig Leichardt reached Port Essington overland from Brisbane in 1845. In 1863 the region was under the control of the administration in South Australia. A settlement was established in 1864 at Escape Cliffs on the mouth of the Adelaide River but abandoned in 1866. Between 1824 and 1829 Fort Dundas on Melville Island and Fort Wellington on the Cobourg Peninsula, 200 km northeast of Darwin, were settled and then abandoned.
Darwin came into being in 1869. The city was originally named Palmerston after the British Prime Minister and changed to Darwin in 1911.
Darwin developed when gold was discovered at Pine Creek, about 200 km south of the city in 1871. When the gold rush ended growth in Darwin slowed.
Darwin gained prominence during World War II. Darwin was base for action against the Japanese in the Pacific. The road to Alice Springs was surfaced and made contact with the rest of Australia easier. Darwin was bombed many times and nearly 250 lives were lost.
By 1974, Darwin was a growing settlement. This changed dramatically early on Christmas morning of that year when Cyclone Tracy passed over Darwin, killing 69 people in six hours and flattening over 70% of the city.
Darwin in 2008 is an important city as the entry point for the Northern Territories, a centre for administration and mining. New port facilities and railway line to Alice Springs are likely to make Darwin a transport hub with Southeast Asia.
Darwin tourism has grow over the years and now visitors from all over the world spend some time in Darwin and use as a base before exploring the Kakadu. Litchfield and other parts of the Australian Outback.
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