Darwin, city, capital of the Northern
Territory, N Australia, on Port Darwin, an inlet of the Timor Sea. Remotely
situated on the sparsely settled north coast, Darwin had no rail connection
with any of the major Australian cities until 2003, when the line to
Adelaide was completed. Australian military personnel and their dependents
make up a large part of the population. Darwin is multicultural, with large
Chinese and aboriginal populations. In World War II the city was heavily
bombed by the Japanese; later a military airdrome, fuel-oil installations,
and a wharf were built, and Darwin became a key Allied base. Originally
called Palmerston, the town was renamed (1911) for Charles Darwin because its site had been a stop
(1839) during a voyage of Darwin's ship, the Beagle. The
city was almost completely destroyed by a cyclone in Dec., 1974. It was
rebuilt and now attracts large numbers of tourists who visit nearby Kakadu
National Park.
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