Darwin: RFDS to Parliament House

Knowing that the heat and humidity grows worse as the day progresses, we had an early breakfast poolside at the hotel. Mui took a dip. Then we set out on a walk to Stokes Hill Wharf … via the Damoe-Ra Pathway.

Commemorating Northern Territory Women, the pathway starts out with a series of stairs — the railings painted a brilliant aqua — and goes through grounds filled with tropical plants. It wasn’t a long walk … or a difficult one. But the humidity was already such that we were soaked to the skin with sweat by the time we got to our destination at Stokes Hill Wharf … the RFDS Tourist Facility. A/C! Yay!

RFDS = Royal Flying Doctor Service. As one of the largest aeromedical organizations in the world, it provides emergency, primary care, and preventive health services for Australians living in rural and remote areas of the country. When it was founded by Reverend John Flynn back in 1928, it didn’t have the “royal” designation. That status was granted to the service by Queen Elizabeth II during her royal visit to Australia in 1954.

The RFDS Tourist Facility also has exhibits about the bombing of Darwin by Japanese aircraft on 19 February 1942. In fact, I’d say there was more about that infamous day than about the RFDS. Nonetheless, we enjoyed visiting the facility, watching two holographic documentaries in the theater before wandering around the exhibits.

From Stokes Hill Wharf, we Ubered back up into the city to visit the Northern Territory Parliament House. It is built on the site of the Palmerston Post Office, which was reduced to rubble during the aerial attack of Darwin. The materials used to construct the building were all sourced from within Australia.

After going through the security check point, we were handed a brochure and encouraged to explore at our own pace. Any of the rooms with open doors were available for us to visit, including the gallery from which we were able to view the unicameral parliamentary chamber.

We wrapped up our visit at the Speaker’s Corner, a café overlooking the terrace that has an expansive view of Darwin Harbor. It was uncomfortably warm and humid, so we sat inside for a simple but very tasty lunch.

We should have Ubered back to the hotel after lunch. But we went in search of ice cream instead. The highly-rated shop was an easy walk from Parliament House. Unfortunately, despite Google indicating it was open, the shop had a sign to the contrary. Darn. So, we continued on foot to the hotel. A mistake. We were both drained by the time we got back to our room.

Time to rest up. Tomorrow, we depart Darwin for another train journey.Read more