Darwin City

We spent the morning in Darwin, the northernmost town in Australia. Named for Charles Darwin, who studied the local animal life on a voyage here, Darwin was our last English speaking port for a while. The temperature here today was in the 90’s, it was as humid as a Columbus County picnic, and the UV index was in the low teens. It’s hot here, children. Darwin has been rebuilt 4 times because of cyclone damage, most recently after Cyclone Tracy leveled the town in 1974. The Northern Territory is interesting. According to Bill Bryson, the NT has never ratified the federal constitution of Australia. It is a territory, not a state like Victoria or Queensland. NT sends observers, not delegates, to the national capital in Canberra. Federal Australian police must obtain permission from the NT government to pursue an investigation here. Sometimes permission is given; sometimes it isn’t. Add to all of this the fact that outside of Darwin there is nothing but a desert full of lethal creepie crawlies between here and the center of the continent, and you can see why Darwin and the NT still have something of the character of America’s wild, wild West. Except for the people, everything in Australia is trying hard to kill you. The local territorial police may choose to enforce Australian federal law, but they are free not to. In small towns local custom is the law. In the outback you can find folks who contend that the NT is not, technically and legally, part of the nation of Australia. There is the most complete outdoor store I’ve ever seen here—even bigger than the one in Alaska’s Tongass National Park. But you need such a store here. Once you get outside of town you’re on your own for about 800 miles to Alice Springs. You get the idea. Still, we found the people here to be very kind. They are quite nice and very helpful to visitors. One does not last long in this harsh environment without depending upon one’s “mates” for mutual aid. Quite traditional, they are no-nonsense, practical, conservative Anglicans who believe in God and in helping one’s neighbor. Just don’t cross ‘em. They are kind, but they are also very tough and independent.Read more