Photographer: Lillicrapp, W.
Citation address: https://hdl.handle.net/10070/786978
Peg Tunstall Collection ;

Description:
"Darwin in all its glory". Flight of 8 Hudsons of 13th Squadron flying over East Point. Panoramic view of Darwin, the harbour and Cox Peninsula, Fannie Bay and the airstrip at Parap.

Posted 7-January-2023

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Image Source: https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+742/5/99
Approximately 1870 Photographer: Sweet, Samuel White

Palmerston beach, Darwin, looking at the established camp. Photograph is marked with the anchor symbol and numbered '123' [also at B 9748].

Posted 12-January-2023

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Image Source and Description: Robert Porter

Another old bus, a Pioneer Clipper outside the Hotel Darwin with Ansett-ANA sign on the outside of Hotel Darwin. 1960s

Posted 15-January-2023

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Image Source: https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/PRG+280/1/2/376
Part of Searcy Collection

S.A.R. railway trucks at a standstill on a railway bridge link over water to land; Port Darwin Jetty, also known as Stokes Hill Wharf.

Posted 17-January-2023

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Photographer: Bradshaw, Walter Herbert
Citation address: https://hdl.handle.net/10070/591266
Collection: Bradshaw Collection ;

Description:
Train pulls into ParaParap station, for Vestey's meat works.

Notes:
Donor's Grandfather, Walter Herbert Bradshaw, sent album back to his parents in Sydney in September 1917. He moved to NT mid 1910s and left after 1920. He was married in Darwin in 1919 and worked at Vesteys for some of the time. Letter accompanying donor form gives additional family history.

Posted 6-January-2023

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Citation address: https://hdl.handle.net/10070/324106

Commercial Bank on the corner of Smith and Bennett Streets around 1910s. Vic Hotel to the right further down Smith Street.

Posted 19-January-2022

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https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+4652
Photographer Sweet, Samuel White

Stables of the Goyder Survey Expedition party Palmerston - Port Darwin. 1870

Don:
The Goyder Survey Expedition party was led by George Goyder, who was appointed as the Surveyor-General of South Australia in 1869. The expedition was sent to the Northern Territory to survey land in the region and to assess its suitability for agriculture. The party left Palmerston (now Darwin) in May 1870 and traveled to Port Darwin, where they established a base camp and began their survey work. They also built stables for their horses and other animals during their journey. The expedition was successful in identifying large areas of land that were suitable for agriculture, and their findings were used to establish the first settlements in the Northern Territory.

Jeffrey Fong 21-Jan-2023
Don, Goyder’s leather bound diary used to be in the NT Lands and Surveys plan room when I worked there in 60’s/70’s. Interesting read. I think it ended up at the NT Archives near the corner of Trower Rd/Nightcliff Rd stop lights.

Posted 21-January-2023

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Photographer: Drysdale, Fred
Citation address: https://hdl.handle.net/10070/332521
Joy Davis Collection ;

Description:
Stuart Drysdale standing next to his truck, goods are being unloaded off the train unto the truck, Railway Yards, Darwin, NT, 1940.

Don:
The Railway Yards in Darwin in 1940 was a significant transportation hub for the city and the surrounding region. The yards were used for the maintenance and repair of trains and railway equipment, and were also a major transfer point for goods and passengers.

During 1940, the city of Darwin and its surroundings were under military control due to World War II. The railway yards were used as a base of operation for the military and were heavily guarded and patrolled. The transportation of troops and supplies was a critical part of the war effort and the railway yards played a crucial role in this.

The Darwin Railway yards were also a target for bombing during the war. On February 19, 1942, the city of Darwin was attacked by Japanese forces in the largest air raid on Australia during World War II. The railway yards were among the many targets that were damaged or destroyed in the attack.

Posted 23-January-2023

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Image Source:
Citation address: Https://hdl.handle.net/10070/591281
Bradshaw Collection ;

Description:
Terminus Hotel in Cavanagh Street. Old cars parked out front. Tree of Knowledge to the right.

Donor's Grandfather, Walter Herbert Bradshaw, sent album back to his parents in Sydney in September 1917. He moved to NT mid 1910s and left after 1920. He was married in Darwin in 1919 and worked at Vesteys for some of the time. Letter accompanying donor form gives additional family history.

Don:
The Terminus Hotel, built in 1885 and supervised by Mr Harry Ruthven, featured amenities such as two bars, six bedrooms, parlours, baths, a large dining room, and billiard tables. It was a popular spot for tournaments and events, but by the 1920s had become dilapidated and was eventually demolished in 1931. The "Tree of Knowledge" (Galamarrma), a banyan tree believed to be a remnant of the original rainforest and culturally significant to the Larrakia people, was well-established by 1898 and served as a community gathering spot and postal address. In 1969, plans for a Civic centre were altered to preserve the tree.

Posted 25-January-2023

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Citation address: https://hdl.handle.net/10070/732529
Peter Spillett Collection ;

Description:
Dr Clyde Fenton's aircraft DH60 Gipsy Moth VH-UOI in the Qantas hangar. Fenton, the Northern Territory's famed 'Flying Doctor' re-named the aircraft 'IOU' partly in recognition of the mortgage held over both this and previous aircraft. VH-UOI had been rolled into the Qantas hangar for an overhaul, originally to take 48 hours, however there was another machine, VH-UJN 'The Magic Carpet' available and accordingly the engineers suggested to Fenton that they carry out further work. VH-UOI was signed over as collateral on VH-UJN on 12 May 1935 to Jim Fawcett, agent for the mining company that had sold VH-UJN to Fenton for $450.

Don:
The aircraft was registered to Qantas in June 1930 and at that time the airline was serving as the agents for D.H. This Moth was soon sold (in September 1930) to R.H.G. Brand of 'Huxley' via Childers, Queensland. It was then bought by famed Flying Doctor Clyde Fenton at Katherine, NT in July 1934 although its CofA lapsed a year later.

Laurie Feehan
My father worked in the Hangar for many yours in the 60s and 70s... it still serves as an asset to the Darwin tourist industry as a museum run by the Motor Vehicle Enthusiast Club displaying a range of transport history...

Phil Maynard
The aircraft is on display at the Katherine Museum now located at the Old Katherine airport opposite the Katherine Hospital. Worth a visit if you haven't been there.

Posted 27-January-2023

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Image Source: N/A

Robert Porter
Probably the next day after cyclone Tracy showing two cars that ended up in the pool of the old Travelodge Hotel.

Brett Mitchell
I saw those cars in the pool with my own eyes. Our elevated house in Mitchell St had suddenly been turned into not much more than an elevated floor. We went and stayed in the (infamous) Cherry Blossom "Motel" on the Esplanade.

Leanne Hildreth
We lived directly behind the Travelodge in Mitchell St, we ended up with a drum kit and cutlery among many other things, compliments of the restaurant, in our house after CT.

Fiona Blair Letts
I worked at the Travelodge in the early 90's as sales and marketing manager. For the 20th Anniversary of CT, the bar downstairs was renamed 'Tracy's'. I organised memorabilia to be framed on the walls, and I remember one of the photos having the back of the car hanging out the side of the building. It was for this reason, the back of an old Holden was put inside the bar, against the wall, depicting a similar scene. Think it was the wall on the left of this picture.

Posted 20-December-2022

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Image Source and Description: Jill Kinang

Don:
The same building can be seen in the current Google Street View shots.
Many steel electricity light poles were bent over with the force of the cyclone.

Posted 21-December-2022

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Image Source: RAAF Official via Air Commodore David Hitchins Collection.

Dakota A65-104 in the garden of the residence of the Officer Commanding RAAF Darwin. Because there was no crew to fly the aircraft out, it was chained to tie-down rings set in the concrete floor of Hangar 124. So strong were the winds that the aircraft was blown out of the hangar, coming to rest 200 yards away.
 
Gouge marks left in the ground indicated that the props had been turning in the wind. Deemed a write-off, the aircraft was subsequently cut up and sections dispersed to various locations. The tail section, wing centre section and both wings are held by the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre in Darwin. The nose section was last sighted at East Sale, VIC and the fuselage was last sighted at Sydenham, NSW. The AAHC are hoping to restore A65-104 to static display standard so any leads on the existence/location of the fuselage and nose section would be welcome.

Humour In Adversity.
This "Parking Ticket" appeared on the fuselage of Dakota A65-104 after it came to rest in the garden of the Officer Commanding RAAF Darwin. It reads: "This vehicle is illegally parked - the owner is to remove it from the Base immediately and report to the SP's at 0800".

Don:
When I look at this image, the map of Cyclone Tracy's path through Darwin always comes to mind. Even with this aircraft being anchored in a hanger on chains embedded into concrete, it was ripped out, and landed 200 yards away, as it was right in the eye of Tracy.

Tony Simons: Just an update …
 The AAHC is now called the Darwin Aviation Museum and I think the wings are with the chap at Coomalie Creek

Posted 22-December-2022

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Image Source: Northern Territory Library (PH0244/0016)
This image or other work is of Australian origin and is now in the public domain
because its term of copyright has expired. According to the Australian Copyright
Council

Posted 23-December-2022

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Image Source: Darwin's Town Hall was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. (Supplied: NT Library)

Don.
I wanted to see what the Darwin Town Hall looked like after Cyclone Tracy, but there is very little in the way of good photos to be found. As it turns out, all of the rubble was sent to a government depot for storage. Nearly 40 years later, the Town Hall was partially restored and secured as best it could be by a team of eager workers, and has become a major tourist attraction for the city.

The Story:
On Christmas Eve 1974, after almost a century enduring tropical conditions and 64 air raids during World War II, Darwin's Town Hall literally started crumbling during Cyclone Tracy.

The heritage building erected 14 years after European settlers arrived in the region in 1869, was damaged beyond repair by the natural disaster along with much of the city.

Yet some hoped to rebuild the Town Hall and the building's rubble was fortuitously sent to a government depot for storage. An old colour photo of a destroyed town hall Darwin's Town Hall was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy in 1974.(Supplied: NT Library)

More than 40 years later:
That salvaged rubble is finally making its way back home for conservation works on Darwin's old Town Hall ruins, which are today a popular tourist attraction. The three-month conservation project is being led by Central Australia's Paul Nitschke, a gap-grinned tradesman from a long line of stonemasons.

Posted 26-December-2022

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Image Source:
Creator: Bleeser, Florenz A. K., 1871-1942
Title: Township showing cyclone damage, Palmerston [i.e. Darwin], 1897 [picture] / Florenz Bleeser Call Number: PIC/9981/32 LOC Cold store PIC BLE Created/Published: 1897

Description:
View from the corner of Knuckey and Cavanagh Street looking toward the North
Australian Hotel (now the Vic Hotel). The Commercial Bank can be seen in the
middle and the Town hall on the left.

Source Images: NAA
Title Natural disasters - Cyclones - Boy flying kite, following Cyclone Tracy, Darwin, 1975
Item IDs: 11854728, 11494279, 11854868

Don:
We still don't know who the boy is, or the suburb. Any help appreciated.

This post is presented as three images.

The B&W image was initially provided by Steve Johns, and as it was all I had, I upscaled and colourised it with the assistance of my friend Mick Gulovsen.

Then Steve Andrews came up with two additional NAA colour images, so I decided to do them all as a group in one post, with A, B, and C IDs.

All of them started at 420 to 480 pixels wide, and I have enlarged them to 4000 pixels wide.

Posted 24-December-2022

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Image Source and Description: Steve Andrews

What I wouldn't give to find the original source of this photo and obtain a copy in high res! Probably my favourite pre-cyclone photo. RAAF Base Darwin c1971.

Kirrily Welsh
Is that on RAAF base?

Steve Andrews
Kirrily Welsh yep. Taken from a pedestrian overpass looking northeast across RAAF Base Darwin

Don:
In 1938, the construction of RAAF Station Darwin began, leading to its official establishment in June 1940. Charles Eaton was the first Commanding Officer of the base, and soon after, both No. 12 and No. 13 Squadron RAAF relocated to the airfield. World War II saw the base host a large number of RAAF and USAAF units, and it was the subject of multiple Japanese air raids beginning in February
1942. Recognizing its historical significance, parts of the 45-hectare (110-acre) site were added to the Commonwealth Heritage List in 2004, as it demonstrated Australia's commitment to an independent strategic policy, accelerated Darwin's development as a major northern centre, and evidenced the perceived threat at the time.

Posted 29-January-2023

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Image Source : Jill Jinang

Jill Jinang:
Police Station on the right in Bennett Street

Don:
In 1946, the NT Police required a new Headquarters, and the government responded by leasing, and then purchasing, the pre-war Mendes Building in Bennett Street. This structure served as the Headquarters and Police Station, as well as housing other government units. During the early 1960s, Darwin residents would remember the Bennett Street Police Station as a bustling hub. Unfortunately, the building was damaged beyond repair during Cyclone Tracy, and was eventually demolished in
1975.

Posted 1-February-2023

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Image Source: https://rocksitters.com/gallery/archive-photos/

Milestones
May 1974 where it all started
October 1977 the first challenge to the world is thrown down with a 5 day marathon sit
November 1977 Parua Bay Sitters answer the challenge with a new 6 day world record sit
October 1978 Darwin smashes the world rocksit record with an 8 day sit

Don:
The Darwin Rocksitters Club is a community of people who gather every Saturday to appreciate the sunset and tell stories at East Point Reserve in Darwin, Australia. The club was founded in 1974, and it has since grown in popularity and become a beloved cultural tradition. The club is known for its commitment to community, relaxation, and friendship.

Posted 2-February-2023

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Image Source:
Creator: Bleeser, Florenz A. K., 1871-1942
Title: Township showing cyclone damage, Palmerston [i.e. Darwin], 1897 [picture] / Florenz Bleeser

Description:
The English Scottish and Australian Bank (tin bank) on Smith Street just south of where Browns Mart is now. Became the NT News office and then was demolished.

1897 Cyclone and Florenz Bleeser Photographs. Info provided by Andrew King

Posted 3-January-2023

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Image Source:
Creator: Bleeser, Florenz A. K., 1871-1942
Title: Township showing cyclone damage, Palmerston [i.e. Darwin], 1897 [picture] / Florenz Bleeser

Bennett Street looking East towards Smith Street after the 1897 Cyclone. Palmerston - Port Darwin

Description:
Bennett Street looking East towards Smith Street intersection. Roof of Commercial Bank (Stone bank) can be seen lifted on the left. Two goats and chickens can be seen to the left of the man in the middle of the street.

1897 Cyclone and Florenz Bleeser Photographs. Info provided by Andrew King

Posted 5-January-2023

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Image Source:
Creator: Bleeser, Florenz A. K., 1871-1942
Title: Township showing cyclone damage, Palmerston [i.e. Darwin], 1897 [picture] / Florenz Bleeser

Remains of the Catholic Church on Smith Street where St Mary's Cathedral is today.
Photo is after the 1897 Cyclone. Palmerston - Port Darwin

Description:
Title: Bell tower of church left standing after cyclone, Palmerston, former name of Darwin, 1897

1897 Cyclone and Florenz Bleeser Photographs. Info provided by Andrew King

Greg Coonan
I believe the exact position of the destroyed church was on the site of the
second St Mary's, which was not on the corner of Smith & McLachlan Streets but
on the allotment further to the right of the photo.

Andrew King
The were close, but not on the same site, as this aerial photo from 1969 shows.

Posted 8-January-2023

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Image Source:
Creator: Bleeser, Florenz A. K., 1871-1942
Title: Township showing cyclone damage, Palmerston [i.e. Darwin], 1897 [picture] / Florenz Bleeser

Description:
Chinatown looking South from the intersection of Bennett and Cavenagh Street at the West side of the Street.

1897 Cyclone and Florenz Bleeser Photographs. Info provided by Andrew King

Bob Woodward 14-Jan-2023
I believe this actually looking towards that intersection, not from that intersection. As in the one third left of the photo, I believe one can sight the original three gable roof of the Chin building.

Posted 13-January-2023

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Image Source:
Creator: Bleeser, Florenz A. K., 1871-1942
Title: Township showing cyclone damage, Palmerston [i.e. Darwin], 1897 [picture] / Florenz Bleeser

1897 Cyclone and Florenz Bleeser Photographs. Info provided by Andrew King

Posted 16-January-2023

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Image Source:
Creator: Bleeser, Florenz A. K., 1871-1942
Title: Township showing cyclone damage, Palmerston [i.e. Darwin], 1897 [picture] / Florenz Bleeser

1897 Cyclone and Florenz Bleeser Photographs. Info provided by Andrew King

Don:
Brown's Mart is a historic building located in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. It was built in 1885 as a department store and has since been used for a variety of purposes, including as a performance venue. The building is an important example of Darwin's architectural heritage and is listed on the Northern Territory Heritage Register.

Posted 18-January-2023

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Image Source:
Creator: Bleeser, Florenz A. K., 1871-1942.
Title: Township showing cyclone damage, Palmerston [i.e. Darwin], 1897 [picture] / Florenz Bleeser

Description:
The Mining Exchange Building (became Browns Mart) on Smith Street with two goats near the fence.

1897 Cyclone and Florenz Bleeser Photographs. Info provided by Andrew King

Don:
As Brown's Mart and the Old Town Hall are very similar buildings and construction, I needed a way to easily identify one from the other.Of course, in many photos, the side walls are not visible or missing, but when they are intact, this is how it works:

Brown's Mart (the Old Mining Exchange) has six windows along the side walls. and the Town Hall has seven.

Posted 11-January-2023

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Image Source:
Creator: Bleeser, Florenz A. K., 1871-1942.
Title: Township showing cyclone damage, Palmerston [i.e. Darwin], 1897 [picture] / Florenz Bleeser

Description:
View from Mitchell Street of Bennett Street with the roof of the North Australian Hotel on the left and the Commercial Bank (stone bank) on the right.

1897 Cyclone and Florenz Bleeser Photographs. Info provided by Andrew King

Don:
The 1897 Cyclone in Darwin, Australia, was a powerful tropical cyclone that struck the city on January 25th, 1897. It caused significant damage to the city, with strong winds and heavy rainfall causing widespread flooding. Many homes and buildings were destroyed, and several ships were sunk in the harbor. The storm also caused several deaths, with the exact number of fatalities unclear. The storm is considered one of the worst natural disasters in the history of Darwin.

Posted 20-January-2023

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