The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regions of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The Northern Territory shares its borders with

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

to the west ( 129th meridian east),

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

to the south ( 26th parallel south), and

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

to the east ( 138th meridian east). To the north, the Northern Territory looks out to the

Timor Sea The Timor Sea (, , or ) is a relatively shallow sea in the Indian Ocean bounded to the north by the island of Timor with Timor-Leste to the north, Indonesia to the northwest, Arafura Sea to the east, and to the south by Australia. The Sunda Tr ...

, the

Arafura Sea The Arafura Sea (or Arafuru Sea) lies west of the Pacific Ocean, overlying the continental shelf between Australia and Western New Guinea (also called Papua), which is the Indonesian part of the Island of New Guinea. Geography The Arafura Sea is ...

, and the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria is a sea off the northern coast of Australia. It is enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea, which separates Australia and New Guinea. The northern boundary ...

, including

Western New Guinea Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, and Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the island of New Guinea, formerly Dutch and granted to Indonesia in 1962. Given the island is alternatively named Papua, the region ...

and various other islands of the

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

n archipelago. The NT covers , making it the third-largest Australian federal division, and the 11th-largest country subdivision in the world. It is sparsely populated, with a population of only 249,000 – fewer than half the population of

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. The largest population centre is the capital city of Darwin, having about 52.6% of the Territory's population. The largest inland settlement is

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

with a population of about 25,000 people. The archaeological history of the Northern Territory may have begun more than 60,000 years ago when

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

s first settled this region of the

Sahul __NOTOC__ Sahul (), also called Sahul-land, Meganesia, Papualand and Greater Australia, was a paleocontinent that encompassed the modern-day landmasses of mainland Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and the Aru Islands. Sahul was in the south- ...

Continent. From at least the 18th century,

Makassan Makassar ( ), formerly Ujung Pandang ( ), is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, and Ba ...

traders began a relationship with the indigenous people of the Northern Territory around the trading of trepang. The coast of the Territory was first seen by Europeans in the 17th century. The British were the first Europeans to attempt to settle the coastal regions. After three failed attempts to establish a settlement (1824–1828, 1838–1849, and 1864–1866), success was achieved in 1869 with the establishment of a settlement at

Port Darwin Port Darwin is the port in Darwin, Northern Territory, and is the most northerly port in Australia. The port has operated in a number of locations, including Stokes Hill Wharf, Cullen Bay, and East Arm Wharf. Since 2015, the port has bee ...

. The economy is based largely on mining and petroleum, which during 2018–2019 contributed 23% of the

gross state product Gross regional domestic product (GRDP), gross domestic product of region (GDPR), or gross state product (GSP) is a statistic that measures the size of a region's economy. It is the aggregate of gross value added (GVA) of all resident producer unit ...

, or $5.68 billion, accounting for 92.4% of exports. The Territory's population is concentrated in coastal regions and along the

Stuart Highway Stuart Highway is a major Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; it has a distance of . Its northern and souther ...

. Besides the capital of Darwin, the major settlements are (in order of size) Palmerston,

Katherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

Nhulunbuy Nhulunbuy () is a town and locality in the far north of the Northern Territory of Australia. Founded on the Gove Peninsula in north-east Arnhem Land when a bauxite mine and deep water port were established in the late 1960s, the town's econ ...

and

Tennant Creek Tennant Creek () is a town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the Northern Territory#Cities and towns, seventh largest town in the Northern Territory, and is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with ...

. Residents of the Northern Territory are often known as "Territorians".

History

Pre-colonial

Humans have lived in the present area of the Northern Territory since at least 48,400 to 68,700 years ago. From the 17th or 18th century AD onwards, traders from

Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...

established extensive seasonal trade links with the

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

peoples of

Kimberley region The Kimberley is the northernmost of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy Desert, Great Sandy and Tanami Desert, Tanami deserts in t ...

, the modern-day Northern Territory, and

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...

. They collected ''trepang'' (

sea cucumber Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class (biology), class Holothuroidea ( ). They are benthic marine animals found on the sea floor worldwide, and the number of known holothuroid species worldwide is about 1,786, with the greatest number be ...

) for Chinese markets and introduced several goods and technologies to the Indigenous peoples. There is significant evidence of contact with

fishers in examples of

Indigenous Australian rock art Indigenous Australian art includes art made by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, including collaborations with others. It includes works in a wide range of media including painting on leaves, bark painting, wood carving, ro ...

and bark painting of northern Australia, with the Makassan ''

perahu The ProA is the second-tier league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 16 teams. Officially the ProA is part of the '' 2. Basketball Bundesliga'', which consists of the two hierarchical leagues ''ProA'' and ''ProB'' ...

'' a prominent feature.

Colonial administration

With the coming of the British, there were four early attempts to settle the harsh environment of the northern coast, of which three failed in starvation and despair. The land now occupied by the Northern Territory was part of colonial

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

from 1825 to 1863, except for a brief time from February to December 1846, when it was part of the short-lived colony of

North Australia North Australia was (1) the name of a briefly proclaimed but never established British colony and (2) a former part of the Northern Territory of Australia administered as "North Australian". Colony (1846–1847) A colony of North Australia wa ...

. The Northern Territory was part of South Australia from 1863 to 1911, and under its administration the

Overland Telegraph Line The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was an electrical telegraph system for sending messages the between Darwin, in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia, and Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. Completed in 1872 (with a li ...

was constructed between 1870 and 1872. From its establishment in 1869, the Port of Darwin was the major supply point for the Territory for many decades. A railway was built between Palmerston and Pine Creek between 1883 and 1889 as part of the

North Australia Railway The North Australia Railway was a narrow gauge railway in the Northern Territory of Australia which ran from the territory capital of Darwin, once known as Palmerston, to Birdum, just south of Larrimah. Initially its name was the ''Palmerst ...

. The economic pattern of cattle raising and mining was established so that by 1911 there were 513,000 cattle.

Victoria River Downs Station Victoria River Downs Station, also known as Victoria Downs and in the past sometimes referred to as The Big Run, is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in the Northern Territory of Australia, established in 1883. It is south of ...

, west of Darwin, was at one time the largest

cattle station In Australia and New Zealand, a cattle station is a large farm ( station is equivalent to the American ranch), the main activity of which is the rearing of cattle. The owner of a cattle station is called a '' grazier''. The largest cattle stati ...

in the world. Gold was found at Grove Hill in 1872 and at Pine Creek (in 1871), Brocks Creek, Burundi, and copper was found at Daly River.

Federal territory

On 1 January 1911, a decade after

Federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

, the Northern Territory was separated from South Australia, alongside the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

from NSW, and transferred to federal control.

Alfred Deakin Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1903 to 1904, 1905 to 1908, and 1909 to 1910. He held office as the leader of th ...

opined at this time ''" me the question has been not so much commercial as national, first, second, third and last. Either we must accomplish the peopling of the northern territory or submit to its transfer to some other nation."'' Letters Patent Northern Territory

In late 1912 there was growing sentiment that the name "Northern Territory" was unsatisfactory. The names "Kingsland" (after King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

and to correspond with

), "Centralia" and "Territoria" were proposed with Kingsland becoming the preferred choice in 1913. However, the name change never went ahead.

Division into North Australia and Central Australia

For a brief time between 1927 and 1931 the Northern Territory was divided into

and

Central Australia Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and ...

at the

20th parallel south Following are circles of latitude between the 15th parallel south and the 20th parallel south: 16th parallel south The 16th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 16 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlant ...

. Soon after this time, parts of the Northern Territory were considered in the Kimberley Plan as a possible site for the establishment of a Jewish Homeland, understandably considered the " Unpromised Land". During the early 20th century, the southern part of the Territory was considered the "last frontier" of Australian settlement, where 'sympathetic whites' hoped that Aboriginal traditions would continue to be practised. Conflicts arose due to the resource scarcity and the fragility of the cattle industry and the area was rife with Indigenous 'bush bandits' who speared cattle for food for want of employment by ranchers. This was exacerbated by a drought between 1925 and 1929 that led to the deaths of 85 per cent of the children at the

Hermannsburg Mission The Hermannsburg Mission () was founded as the Hermannsburg Mission Centre (''Missionsanstalt Hermannsburg'') in 1849 in Hermannsburg, near Celle, North Germany, by Louis Harms. In 1977, the independent mission society was merged into the work ...

in Central Australia. In the meantime, white attitudes towards Aboriginal people were paternalistic, torn between the desire to help them in times of hunger and the fear of "pauperizing" them and reducing their incentives to work. In the 1928

Coniston massacre The Coniston massacre, which took place in the region around the Coniston (Northern Territory), Coniston cattle station in the territory of Central Australia (territory), Central Australia (now the Northern Territory) from 14 August to 18 Octo ...

, punitive expeditions were carried out by white colonists led by

Northern Territory Police The Northern Territory Police Force is the police body that has legal jurisdiction over the Northern Territory of Australia. This police service has 1,607 police members (2021-22 financial year) made up of 83 senior sergeants, 228 sergeants, 912 ...

constable William George Murray in response to the murder of a

dingo The dingo (either included in the species ''Canis familiaris'', or considered one of the following independent taxa: ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage ...

hunter, resulting in the deaths of dozens to hundreds of people of the Warlpiri,

Anmatyerre The Anmatyerr (also spelt Anmatyerre, Anmatjera, Anmatjirra, Amatjere and other variations) are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory, who speak one of the Upper Arrernte languages. Language Anmatyerr is divided into Eas ...

, and Kaytetye groups. This was one of many massacres of Aboriginal people in the region.

Post-World War II

During World War II, most of the Top End was placed under military government. This is the only time since Federation that part of an Australian state or territory has been under military control. After the war, control for the entire area was handed back to the Commonwealth. The

Bombing of Darwin The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On that day, 242 Empire of Japan, Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked the ...

occurred on 19 February 1942. It was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. Evidence of Darwin's World War II history is found at a variety of preserved sites in and around the city, including ammunition bunkers, airstrips, oil tunnels and museums. The port was damaged in the 1942 Japanese air raids. It was subsequently restored. In the late 1960s improved roads in adjoining States linking with the territory, port delays and rapid economic development led to uncertainty in port and regional infrastructure development. As a result of the Commission of Enquiry established by the Administrator, port working arrangements were changed, berth investment deferred and a port masterplan prepared. Extension of rail transport was then not considered because of low freight volumes.

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

had struggled for rights to fair wages and land. An important event in this struggle was the strike and walk off by the

Gurindji people The Gurindji () are an Aboriginal Australian people of northern Australia, southwest of Katherine in the Northern Territory's Victoria River region. Country The Gurindji people live on an estimated of land. The land is situated on the headw ...

at Wave Hill Cattle Station in 1966. The Northern Territory Council for Aboriginal Rights (NTCAR) supported the strikers and provided publicity. The Federal government of

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from December 1972 to November 1975. To date the longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was notable for being ...

set up the Woodward Royal Commission in February 1973, to enquire into how land rights might be achieved in the Northern Territory. Justice Woodward's first report in July 1973 recommended that a

Central Land Council The Central Land Council (CLC) is a land council that represents the Aboriginal peoples of the southern half of the Northern Territory of Australia (NT), predominantly with regard to land issues. it is one of four land councils in the Northern ...

and a

Northern Land Council The Northern Land Council (NLC) is a land council representing the Aboriginal peoples of the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia, with its head office in Darwin. While the NLC was established in 1974, its origins began in the strug ...

be established to present to him the views of Aboriginal people. A Land Rights Bill was drafted, and the ''

Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 The ''Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976'' (ALRA) is Australian federal government legislation that provides the basis upon which Aboriginal Australian people in the Northern Territory can claim rights to land based on traditi ...

'' was passed by the

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal ...

government on 16 December 1976 and began operation on 26 January 1977). The Northern Territory Council for Aboriginal Rights was disestablished in 1976. In 1974, from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, Darwin was devastated by tropical

Cyclone Tracy Severe Tropical Cyclone Tracy was a small but destructive tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia, in December 1974. The small but developing easterly storm was or ...

. Cyclone Tracy killed 71 people, caused A$837 million in damage (approximately A$6.85 billion ) and destroyed more than 70 per cent of Darwin's buildings, including 80 per cent of houses. Tracy left more than 41,000 out of the 47,000 inhabitants of the city homeless. The city was rebuilt with much-improved construction codes and is a modern, landscaped metropolis today. In 1978 the Territory was granted Self Government with a Legislative Assembly headed by a

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

. The

Administrator of the Northern Territory The administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the governor-general of Australia to represent the Crown in right of the Northern Territory. They perform functions similar to those of a state governor. Strictly speaking ...

is another important position in the government and they act as the King's representative in the Territory and a part of their role is appointing the Chief Minister. The Territory also publishes official notices in its own ''

Government Gazette A government gazette (also known as an official gazette, official journal, official newspaper, official monitor or official bulletin) is a periodical publication that has been authorised to publish public or legal notices. It is usually establish ...

''. In the 1980s, conservation-oriented areas in the Northern Territory such as

Kakadu National Park Kakadu National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia, southeast of Darwin. It is a World Heritage Site. Kakadu is also gazetted as a locality, covering the same area as the national park, with 313 people recorded l ...

and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park were inscribed on the

UNESCO World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

for their mix of natural heritage and Aboriginal culture. During 1995–96 the Northern Territory was briefly one of the few places in the world with legal voluntary euthanasia, until the Federal Parliament overturned the legislation. Before the over-riding legislation was enacted, four people used the law supported by Dr

Philip Nitschke Philip Haig Nitschke (; born 8 August 1947) is an Australian humanist, author, former physician, and founder and director of the pro-euthanasia group Exit International. He campaigned successfully to have a legal euthanasia law passed in Austral ...

Geography

There are many very small settlements scattered across the Territory, but the larger population centres are located on the single paved road that links Darwin to southern Australia, the

, known to locals simply as "the track". The Territory is home to many spectacular natural rock formations, including Uluru / Ayers Rock and Kata Tjuta / The Olgas in the Central Australian region and

in the north. Each of these sites are sacred to the local Aboriginal people and which have become major International tourist attractions and recognised

UNESCO World Heritage sites World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

. The northern portion of the Territory is principally tropical savannas, composed of several distinct

ecoregions An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecology, ecological and Geography, geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of la ...

–

Arnhem Land tropical savanna The Arnhem Land tropical savanna is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion in Australia's Northern Territory. Geography The ecoregion occupies the peninsula of Arnhem Land and its offshore islands, includin ...

, Carpentaria tropical savanna,

Kimberley tropical savanna The Kimberley tropical savanna is a tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion in northwestern Australia, covering portions of Western Australia and the Northern Territory south of the Timor Sea. Geography The ecore ...

, Victoria Plains tropical savanna, and Mitchell Grass Downs. The southern portion of the Territory is covered in

deserts and xeric shrublands Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (Ancient Greek 'dry') shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this habitat ...

, including the Great Sandy-Tanami desert,

Simpson Desert The Simpson Desert is a large area of dry, red sandy plain and dunes in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland in central Australia. It is the fourth-largest Deserts of Australia, Australian desert, with an area of . The Wangka ...

, and Central Ranges xeric scrub. There are also an extensive series of river systems in the Territory. These rivers include: the

Alligator Rivers Alligator Rivers is the name of an area in an Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory of Australia, containing three rivers, the East, West, and South Alligator Rivers. It is regarded as one of the richest biological regions in Australia, ...

, Daly River,

Finke River The Finke River, or Larapinta in the Indigenous Arrernte language, is a river in central Australia, whose bed courses through the Northern Territory and the state of South Australia. It is one of the four main rivers of Lake Eyre Basin and is th ...

McArthur River The McArthur River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia which flows into the Gulf of Carpentaria at Port McArthur, opposite the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands. The river was named by Ludwig Leichhardt while he explored the a ...

Roper River The Roper River is a large perennial river located in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory of Australia. Location and features Formed by the confluence of the Waterhouse River and Roper Creek, the Roper River rises east of Mataranka ...

Todd River The Todd River (Arrernte language, Arrernte: ''Lhere Mparntwe / Lhere Imatukua / Artepe Ulpaye'') is an Ephemeral, ephemeral river in the southern Northern Territory, central Australia. The origins of the Todd River are in the MacDonnell Ranges ...

and Victoria River. The Hay River is a river south-west of Alice Springs, with the Marshall River, Arthur Creek, Camel Creek and Bore Creek flowing into it.

National parks

Barranyi (North Island) National Park Barranyi (North Island) National Park is in the Gulf of Carpentaria in the Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and ...

* Casuarina Coastal Reserve * Daly River Nature Park * Djukbinj National Park *

Dulcie Range National Park Dulcie Range is a national park in the Northern Territory of Australia, 220 km north-east of Alice Springs and 1235 km southeast of territorial capital of Darwin. The park lies along the south-western edge of Dulcie Range. It was first ...

* Elsey National Park *

Finke Gorge National Park Finke Gorge National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia located about south of the territory capital of Darwin City, Northern Territory, Darwin. The national park covers an area of , and includes the desert oasis Pal ...

* Garig Gunak Barlu National Park * Howard Springs Nature Park * Iytwelepenty / Davenport Ranges National Park * Judbarra / Gregory National Park *

Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia located in the locality of Warumungu about south of Tennant Creek, and north of Alice Springs. The nearest settlement is the small to ...

Keep River National Park Keep River National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 418 km southwest of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and 468 km west of Katherine, Northern Territory, Katherine. The nearest town is Kununurra, Western Australia, Ku ...

Litchfield National Park Litchfield National Park, covering approximately 1500 km2, is near the township of Batchelor, Northern Territory, Batchelor, 100 km south-west of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia. Each year the ...

Mary River National Park Mary River National Park is an Australian national park located about east and stretching to the southeast of Darwin in the Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Austr ...

Nitmiluk National Park Nitmiluk National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 244 km southeast of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, and 23 km northeast of the town of Katherine, Northern Territory, Katherine, around a series of gorges on the Kat ...

* Tjoritja / West MacDonnell National Park *

Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia. The park is home to both Uluru and Kata Tjuta. It is located south of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin by road and south-west of Alice Springs al ...

* Watarrka National Park File:Mount Sonder.JPG,

Mount Sonder Mount Sonder, or ''Rwetyepme'', its Aboriginal name, is the fourth highest mountain in the Northern Territory, Australia at . Mount Zeil is the highest at , to the west. Location and features Mt Sonder is west of Alice Springs along the Ma ...

, the fourth-highest mountain in the Northern Territory after nearby

Mount Zeil Mount Zeil ( Western Arrernte: ''Urlatherrke'') () is a mountain in the Northern Territory of Australia located in the locality of Mount Zeil in the western MacDonnell Ranges. It is the highest peak in the Northern Territory, and the highest p ...

, in West MacDonnell National Park File:Kakadu 2488.jpg, Nourlangie Rock in

File:Jim jim falls.jpg, Jim Jim Falls, Kakadu National Park File:Uluru NT Australia.JPG, Uluru / Ayers Rock, one of the best-known images of the Northern Territory File:Uluru, helicopter view, cropped.jpg, Aerial view of Uluru / Ayers Rock Kata Tjuta pan

Climate

The Northern Territory has two distinctive climate zones. The northern end, including Darwin, has a tropical climate with high humidity and two seasons, the wet (October to April) and dry season (May to September). During the dry season nearly every day is warm and sunny, and afternoon humidity averages around 30%. There is very little rainfall between May and September. In the coolest months of June and July, the daily minimum temperature may dip as low as , but very rarely lower, and frost has never been recorded. The

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...

is associated with

tropical cyclones A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

and

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

rains. The majority of rainfall occurs between December and March (the southern hemisphere summer), when

thunderstorms A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are som ...

are common and afternoon relative humidity averages over 70% during the wettest months. On average more than of rain falls in the north. Rainfall is highest in north-west coastal areas, where rainfall averages from . The central region is the

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

centre of the country, which includes Alice Springs and

Uluru Uluru (; ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone monolith. It outcrop, crops out near the centre of Australia in the southern part of the Northern Territory, south-west of Alice Spri ...

(Ayers Rock), and is

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...

with little rain usually falling during the hottest months from October to March. Seasons are more distinct in central Australia, with very hot summers and cool winters. Frost is recorded a few times a year. The region receives less than of rain per year. The highest temperature recorded in the territory was at Finke on 1 and 2 January 1960. The lowest temperature was at Alice Springs on 17 July 1976.

Governance

Parliament

The Northern Territory Parliament is one of the three

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

parliaments in the country. Based on the

Westminster System The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary system, parliamentary government that incorporates a series of Parliamentary procedure, procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England. Key aspects of ...

, it consists of the

Northern Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory (also known as the Parliament of the Northern Territory) is the unicameral legislature of Australia’s Northern Territory. The Legislative Assembly has 25 members, each elected in single-member ...

which was created in 1974, replacing the

Northern Territory Legislative Council The Northern Territory Legislative Council was the partly elected governing body of the Northern Territory of Australia from 1947 until its replacement by the fully elected Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1974. Prior to 1947, there h ...

. It also produces the ''

Northern Territory of Australia Government Gazette The ''Northern Territory of Australia Government Gazette'' (1869; 1873–present) is the current name for the government gazette of the Northern Territory. History During the period from 1863 until 1 January 1911, the Northern Territory was a ...

''. The Northern Territory Legislative Council was the partly elected governing body from 1947 until its replacement by the fully elected Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1974. The total enrolment for the 1947 election was 4,443. The Northern Territory was split into five electorates: Darwin, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Batchelor, and Stuart. While this assembly exercises powers similar to those of the parliaments of the states of Australia, it does so by legislated

devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...

of powers from the

Commonwealth Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the prime ...

, rather than by any constitutional right. As such, the Commonwealth Government retains the right to legislate for the territory, including the power to override legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly. The

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

is represented by the

, who performs a role similar to that of a

state governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

. Twenty-five members of the Legislative Assembly are elected to four-year terms from single-member electorates. Numerous times since self government was granted there has been agitation for full statehood within the region. A

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

of voters in the Northern Territory was held on the issue in 1998, which resulted in a 'no' vote. This was a shock to both the Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments, as opinion polls showed most Territorians supported statehood. But under the Australian Constitution, the federal government may set the terms of entry to full statehood. The Northern Territory was offered three senators, rather than the twelve guaranteed to original states (because of the difference in populations, equal numbers of Senate seats would mean a Territorian's vote for a senator would have been worth more than 30 such votes in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

). Alongside what was cited as an arrogant approach adopted by then chief minister

Shane Stone Shane Leslie Stone (born 25 September 1950) is an Australian political figure. He is a member and former leader of the Country Liberal Party, and was the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory between May 1995 and February 1999. Since Oct ...

, it is believed that most Territorians, regardless of their general views on statehood, were reluctant to adopt the particular offer that was made.

Chief minister and cabinet

The

chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

is the head of government of a self-governing territory (the head of a state government is a ''

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

''). The chief minister is appointed by the

administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

, who in normal circumstances appoints the leader of whichever party holds the majority of seats in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly. The current chief minister is

Lia Finocchiaro Lia Emele Finocchiaro (; born 20 September 1984) is an Australian politician who has served as the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory since August 2024. A member of the Country Liberal Party (CLP), she has represented the seat of Spillet ...

of the

Country Liberal Party The Country Liberal Party of the Northern Territory (CLP), commonly known as the Country Liberals, is a centre-right and conservative political party in Australia's Northern Territory. In territory politics, it operates in a two-party system wi ...

. The CLP defeated Territory Labor to win office on 24 August 2024.

Administrator

The Northern Territory became self-governing on 1 July 1978 under its own

appointed by the Governor-General of Australia. The federal government, not the NT government, advises the governor-general on the appointment of the administrator, but by convention consults first with the Territory government. The current administrator is

Hugh Heggie Hugh Crosbie Heggie (born 1950) is an Australian public servant and physician who is the 23rd and current Administrator of the Northern Territory since 2 February 2023. Career Heggie was born in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria in 19 ...

who commenced his three-year term on 31 January 2023; he had previously served as the Northern Territory’s Chief Health Officer.

Federal government

The Northern Territory is represented in the

federal parliament The Parliament of Australia (officially the Parliament of the Commonwealth and also known as the Federal Parliament) is the federal legislature of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch of Australia (represented by the governor ...

by two members in the House of Representatives and two members in the Senate. As of May 2022, resulting from the 2022 federal election,

Marion Scrymgour Marion Rose Scrymgour (born 13 September 1960) is an Australian politician and the current member of parliament (MP) for the Division of Lingiari, federal seat of Lingiari since 2022. She was a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assem ...

from the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP) in Lingiari and

Luke Gosling Luke John Anthony Gosling, (born 17 September 1971) is an Australian politician and a retired Australian Army officer. Gosling has been the Australian Labor Party member for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Solomon in the Norther ...

from the

(ALP) in

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

serve in the House of Representatives, and Malarndirri McCarthy from the ALP and

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price Jacinta Yangapi Nampijinpa Price (; born 12 May 1981) is an Australian politician from the Northern Territory. She has been a senator for the Northern Territory since the 2022 federal election. She is a member of the Country Liberal Party, a c ...

from the

serve in the Senate.

Local government

The Northern Territory is divided into seventeen local government areas: two cities, three municipalities, nine regions, and three shires. Shire, city and town councils are responsible for functions delegated by the Northern Territory parliament, such as road infrastructure and waste management. Council revenue comes mostly from property taxes and government grants.

Aboriginal land councils

Aboriginal land council Land councils, also known as Aboriginal land councils, or land and sea councils, are Australian community organisations, generally organised by region, that are commonly formed to represent the Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australians ...

s in the Northern Territory are groups of Aboriginal landowners, set up under the ''

Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 The ''Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976'' (ALRA) is Australian federal government legislation that provides the basis upon which Aboriginal Australian people in the Northern Territory can claim rights to land based on tradi ...

''.

Political parties

The two historically dominant political parties in the Northern Territory are the conservative

which governed the Territory from 1974 to 2001, from 2012 to 2016 and since 2024, and the social-democratic

which governed the Territory from 2001 to 2012 and from 2016 to 2024. Minor parties that are also active in the NT include the Northern Territory Greens, the Shooters and Fishers Party and various others. It is common for

independent politician An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or Bureaucracy, bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicia ...

s to win elections. The CLP's rule was once so tight, that a former minister once said the CLP had a "'rightful inheritance of being the party that runs this place'". The

2024 Northern Territory general election The 2024 Northern Territory general election was held on 24 August 2024 to elect all 25 members of the Legislative Assembly in the unicameral Northern Territory Parliament. Members were elected through full preferential instant-runoff voting ...

saw the NT Greens win a seat in the Legislative Assembly, with Kat McNamara defeating former Chief Minister

Natasha Fyles Natasha Kate Fyles (born 26 May 1978)Natasha Fyles
''Territory Women'', Northern Te ...

in the seat of

Nightcliff Nightcliff is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. It is the traditional country and waterways of the Larrakia people. History Although the origin of the name Nightcliff has alway ...

; this marked the first time the Greens entered the Legislative Assembly in the history of the Northern Territory. As fewer parties and candidates contest Northern Territory general elections than they do Australian federal elections in the Northern Territory, the CLP, Labor and independents usually have a higher vote share at territory elections than at federal elections in the Northern Territory due to the absence of right-wing minor parties such as

Pauline Hanson's One Nation Pauline Hanson's One Nation (PHON), also known as One Nation (ON) or One Nation Party (ONP), is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia. It is led by Pauline Hanson. ...

and the fact that the Greens do not run in every seat at territory elections.

Demographics

The population of the Northern Territory at the 2011 Australian census was 211,945,2011 Census QuickStats: Northern Territory
, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 9 August 2011. a 10 per cent increase from the 2006 census. The

Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is an List of Australian Government entities, Australian Government agency that collects and analyses statistics on economic, population, Natural environment, environmental, and social issues to advi ...

estimated a June 2015 resident population of 244,300, taking into account residents overseas or interstate. The territory's population represents 1% of the total population of Australia. Darwin homebanner

The Northern Territory's population is the youngest in Australia and has the largest proportion (23.2%) under 15 years of age and the smallest proportion (5.7%) aged 65 and over. The

median age A population pyramid (age structure diagram) or "age-sex pyramid" is a graphical illustration of the distribution of a population (typically that of a country or region of the world) by age groups and sex; it typically takes the shape of a pyramid ...

of residents of the Northern Territory is 31 years, six years younger than the national median age. Indigenous Australians make up 30.3% of population and own some 49% of the land. The life expectancy of Aboriginal Australians is well below that of non-Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory, a fact that is mirrored elsewhere in Australia. ABS statistics suggest that Indigenous Australians die about 11 years earlier than the average non-Indigenous Australian. There are Aboriginal communities in many parts of the territory, the largest ones being the

Pitjantjatjara The Pitjantjatjara (; or ) are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all are v ...

near Uluru / Ayers Rock, the

Arrernte Arrernte (also spelt Aranda, etc.) is a descriptor related to a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples from Central Australia. It may refer to: * Arrernte (area), land controlled by the Arrernte Council (?) * Arrernte people, Aboriginal Australi ...

near Alice Springs, the

Luritja The Luritja or Loritja people, also known as Kukatja or Kukatja-Luritja, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory. Their traditional lands are immediately west of the Derwent River, that forms a frontier with the Arrernte p ...

between those two, the Warlpiri further north, and the

Yolngu The Yolngu or Yolŋu ( or ) are an aggregation of Aboriginal Australian people inhabiting north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. ''Yolngu'' means "person" in the Yolŋu languages. The terms Murngin, Wulamba, Yalnuma ...

in eastern

. In 2019, 147,255 people lived in Darwin, an overwhelming majority of the Territory's population. Despite this, the Northern Territory is the least urbanised jurisdiction in the Commonwealth (followed by

Cities and towns

Ancestry and immigration

At the 2016 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were: 31.2% of the population was born overseas at the 2016 census. The five largest groups of overseas-born were from the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

(2.6%),

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

(2.4%),

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

(2%),

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(1.6%) and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

(0.6%). 25.5% of the population, or 58,248 people, identified as

(

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

and

Torres Strait Islanders Torres Strait Islanders ( ) are the Indigenous Melanesians, Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal peoples of the res ...

) in 2016. Glen Namundja

Languages

At the 2021 census, 57.3% of the population spoke only English at home. The other languages most commonly spoken at home were Kriol (2.2%),

Djambarrpuyngu Dhuwal (also Dual, Duala) is one of the Yolŋu languages spoken by Aboriginal Australians in the Northern Territory, Australia. Although all Yolŋu languages are mutually intelligible to some extent, Dhuwal represents a distinct dialect continu ...

(1.7%),

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

(1.4%) and Nepali (1.3%). There are more than 100

Aboriginal languages Aboriginal language may refer to: * Indigenous language * Australian Aboriginal languages * Taiwanese aboriginal languages * Indigenous languages of the Americas The Indigenous languages of the Americas are the languages that were used by the ...

and dialects spoken in the Northern Territory, in addition to English which is most common in cities such as Darwin or Alice Springs. Major indigenous languages spoken in the Northern Territory include Murrinh-patha and Ngangikurrungurr in the northwest around

Wadeye Wadeye ( ) is a town in Australia's Northern Territory (NT). It was formerly known (and is still often referred to) as Port Keats, a name originating from Port Keats Mission, which operated from 1935 (originally at a different location, known as ...

, Warlpiri and

Warumungu The Warumungu (or Warramunga) are a group of Aboriginal Australians of the Northern Territory. Today, Warumungu are mainly concentrated in the region of Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs. Warumungu language call ...

in the centre around

around

Pintupi-Luritja Pintupi () is an Australian Aboriginal language. It is one of the Wati languages of the large Pama–Nyungan family. It is one of the varieties of the Western Desert Language (WDL). Pintupi is a variety of the Western Desert Language spoken b ...

to the south east,

in the south near Uluru / Ayers Rock, Yolngu Matha to the far north in

(where the dialect Djambarrpuyngu of Dhuwal is considered a lingua franca), and Burarra, Maung, Iwaidja and

Kunwinjku The Kunwinjku (formerly written Gunwinggu) people are an Australian Aboriginal people, one of several groups within the Bininj people, who live around West Arnhem Land to the east of Darwin, Northern Territory. Kunwinjku people generally refer ...

in the centre north and on

Croker Island Croker Island is an island in the Arafura Sea off the coast of the Northern Territory, Australia, northeast of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. It was the site of the Croker Island Mission between 1940 and 1968. Indigenous peoples At the ...

and the Goulburn Islands. Tiwi is spoken on Melville Island and Bathurst Island. Literature in many of these languages is available in the

Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages The Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages (LAAL) is a digital archive of literature in endangered languages of Australia, containing works in over forty Australian Aboriginal languages from the Northern Territory, Australia. The project to bu ...

Religion

In the 2021 census, Christianity is the major Religious affiliation in Northern Territory followed by 40.5% of its population. In 1971, Christianity was followed by 70.2% of the population and it has been declining since, while percentage of people who identified as having no religious affiliation has increased from 17.9% in 1971 to 38.5% in 2021.

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

is the territory's largest non-Christian religion (2.7%), followed by

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

(2.1%) and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

(1.4%).

Education

Primary and secondary

A Northern Territory school education consists of six years of primary schooling, including one transition year, three years of middle schooling, and three years of secondary schooling. In the beginning of 2007, the Northern Territory introduced Middle School for Years 7–9 and High School for Years 10–12. Northern Territory children generally begin school at age five. On completing secondary school, students earn the Northern Territory Certificate of Education and Training (NTCET). Students who successfully complete their secondary education also receive a tertiary entrance ranking, or ATAR score, to determine university admittance. Northern Territory schools are either publicly or privately funded. Public schools, also known as state or government schools, are funded and run directly by the Department of Education. Private fee-paying schools include schools run by the Catholic Church and independent schools, some elite ones similar to English public schools. Some Northern Territory Independent schools are affiliated with

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...

es, but include non-church schools and an Indigenous school. As of 2009, the Northern Territory had 151 public schools, 15 Catholic schools and 21 independent schools. 39,492 students were enrolled in schools around the territory with 29,175 in public schools, and 9,882 in independent schools. The Northern Territory has about 4,000 full-time teachers.

Tertiary

The Northern Territory has one university which opened in 1989 under the name of the Northern Territory University. Now renamed as the

Charles Darwin University Charles Darwin University (CDU) is an Australian public university with two campuses in Darwin and six satellite campuses in metropolitan and regional areas of the Northern Territory. It was established in 2003 after the merger of Northern Ter ...

, it had about 19,000 students enrolled: about 5,500 higher education students and about 13,500 students on vocational education and training (VET) courses. The first tertiary institution in the territory was the

Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (BIITE, generally known as Batchelor Institute and formerly known as Batchelor College) provides training and further education, and higher education for Aboriginal Australians and Torres Str ...

which was established in the mid-1960s.

Libraries and archives

Library & Archives NT Library & Archives NT is the "state" library and archives for the Northern Territory of Australia. It has three venues located in Darwin (on the ancestral lands of the Larrakia people) and Alice Springs (on the land of the Arrernte people). It ...

is the Northern Territory's public research library and archival organisation and it supports the development of library services across the Territory by supporting public libraries. Library & Archives NT was formed in 2019 following the merge of the Northern Territory Archives Service and the Northern Territory Library. The

National Archives of Australia The National Archives of Australia (NAA), formerly known as the Commonwealth Archives Office and Australian Archives, is an Australian Government agency that is the National archives, official repository for all federal government documents. It ...

also have a repository in Darwin, this is collocated with the Library & Archives NT repository at the Northern Territory Archives Centre.

Economy

Mining

Ranger Uranium Mine in Kakadu National Park

The Northern Territory's economy is largely driven by

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

, which is concentrated on energy producing

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

s, petroleum and energy and contributes around $2.5 billion to the

and employs over 4,600 people. Mining accounts for 14.9% of the gross state product in 2014–15 compared to just 7% nationally. In recent years, largely due to the effect of major infrastructure projects and mine expansions, construction has overtaken mining as the largest single industry in the territory. Construction, mining and manufacturing, and government and community services, combine to account for about half of the territory's gross state product (GSP), compared to about a third of national gross domestic product (GDP). The economy has grown considerably over the past decade, from a value of $15 billion in 2004–05 to over $22 billion in 2014–15. In 2012–13 the territory economy expanded by 5.6%, over twice the level of national growth, and in 2014–15 it grew by 10.5%, four times the national growth rate. Between 2003 and 2006 the gross state product had risen from $8.67 billion to $11.476 billion, an increase of 32.4%. During the three years to 2006–2007 the Northern Territory gross state product grew by an average annual rate of 5.5%. Gross state product per capita in the Northern Territory ($72,496) is higher than any Australian state or territory and is also higher than the gross domestic product per capita for Australia ($54,606). The Northern Territory's exports were up 12.9% or $681 million in 2012–13. The largest contributor to the territory's exports was: mineral fuels (largely LNG), crude materials (mainly mineral ores) and food and live animals (primarily live cattle). The main international markets for territory exports are Japan, China, Indonesia, the United States and Korea. Imports to the Northern Territory totalled $2,887.8 million which consisted of mainly machinery and equipment manufacturing (58.4%) and petroleum, coal, chemical and associated product manufacturing (17.0%). The principal mining operations are bauxite at Gove Peninsula where the production is estimated to increase 52.1% to $254 million in 2007–08, manganese at Groote Eylandt, production is estimated to increase 10.5% to $1.1 billion which will be helped by the newly developed mines include Bootu Creek and Frances Creek, gold which is estimated to increase 21.7 per cent to $672 million at the Union Reefs plant and uranium at Ranger Uranium Mine.

Tourism

Tourism is an important economic driver for the territory and a significant industry in regional areas. Iconic destinations such as Uluru / Ayers Rock and Kakadu make the Northern Territory a popular destination for domestic and international travellers. Diverse

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

waterfalls A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...

, wide open spaces, aboriginal culture and wild and untamed

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

provides the opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in the natural wonder that the Northern Territory offers. In 2015, the territory received a total of about 1.6 million domestic and international visitors contributing an estimated $2.0 billion to the local economy. Holiday visitors made up the majority of total visitation (about 792,000 visitors). Tourism has strong links to other sectors in the economy including accommodation and food services, retail trade, recreation and culture, and transport. Wide Open Space is an annual festival of music, arts and culture that takes place over three days at the

Ross River Resort Ross may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ross (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan Places Antarctica * Ross Sea ...

in the

McDonnell Ranges The MacDonnell Ranges, or Tjoritja in Arrernte, is a mountain range located in southern Northern Territory. MacDonnell Ranges is also the name given to an interim Australian bioregion broadly encompassing the mountain range, with an area of . ...

, around east of Alice Springs. over three days in April/May.

Other industries

The Northern Territory announced that it will undertake a project which will benefit its marine industry, including the development of a new Marine Industry Park near Darwin.

Transport

The Northern Territory is the most sparsely populated state or territory in Australia. The NT has a connected network of sealed roads, including two national highways, linking with adjoining states and connecting the major territory population centres, and other important centres such as Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks. The Stuart Highway, once known as "The Track", runs north to south, connecting Darwin and

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. Some of the sealed roads are single-lane bitumen. Many unsealed (dirt) roads connect the more remote settlements. The fatigue resulting from long-distance driving and the hazards inherent in dirt roads, wildlife, water crossings and wild weather have led the Northern Territory Government to pursue road safety campaigns in English and several Aboriginal languages. Persuading people to drive at the right speed for the road conditions has been a key goal. , the Northern Territory's road vehicle speed limit in built-up areas was 60 kilometres per hour unless the town had gazetted a lower default speed limit: many had chosen 50 km/h or lower. Outside most built-up areas the default speed limit was 110 km/h unless a speed limit sign stated otherwise. Reflecting the nature of the topography and very low population density, some sections of the Arnhem, Barkly, Stuart and Victoria highways had a maximum speed of 130 km/h. In 2004, a

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

railway was opened between Alice Springs and Darwin, completing the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor and bringing to fruition the dream of a transcontinental railway initiated in 1878 with the

Central Australia Railway The former Central Australia Railway, which was built between 1878 and 1929 and dismantled in 1980, was a Narrow-gauge railway, 1067 mm narrow gauge railway between Port Augusta railway station, Port Augusta and Alice Springs. A standard gau ...

from the south and the

from the north – but with a gap of more than 800 km (500 mi) between Alice Springs and Birdum still to be bridged when the antique narrow-gauge railway was closed in 1976. The line carries fast freight trains and one passenger train:

The Ghan ''The Ghan'' () is an experiential tourism-oriented passenger train service that operates between the northern and southern coasts of Australia, through the cities of Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin on the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor ...

experiential tourism train that runs between Darwin and Adelaide, stopping in the NT at

and Kulgera.

Darwin International Airport Darwin International Airport is a domestic and international airport serving Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. It is the eleventh busiest airport in Australia measured by passenger movements, with almost 2 million passengers travelli ...

is the major domestic and international airport for the territory. Several smaller airports are also scattered throughout the territory and are served by smaller airlines, including

Alice Springs Airport Alice Springs Airport is an Australian regional airport south of Alice Springs, Northern Territory. The airport was notably involved in Australia's second domestic airline hijacking, and later a suicide attack by a former airline employee w ...

, Ayers Rock Airport, Katherine Airport and Tennant Creek Airport.

Media

Print

The Northern Territory has only one daily tabloid newspaper,

News Corporation The original incarnation of News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp. and also variously known as News Corporation Limited) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media corporation founded and controlled by media mogul Ru ...

's ''

Northern Territory News The ''Northern Territory News'' (also known and branded as the ''NT News'') is a morning Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper based in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published every week from ...

,'' or ''NT News''. ''

The Sunday Territorian The ''Northern Territory News'' (also known and branded as the ''NT News'') is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published every week from Monday to Saturday. It pri ...

'' is the sister paper to the ''NT News'' and is the only dedicated Sunday tabloid newspaper in the Northern Territory. The ''

Centralian Advocate The ''Centralian Advocate'' was an Australian regional online newspaper based at Alice Springs, Northern Territory. The ''Centralian Advocate'' is part of News Corp Australia, and serves under the ''Northern Territory News'' banner, containing ...

'' is circulated around the

region twice a week. There are also five weekly community newspapers. The territory receives the national daily, ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'', while ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' and the ''Guardian Weekly'' are also available in Darwin. Katherine's paper is the '' Katherine Times''. There is an LGBT community publication, QNews Magazine, which is published in Darwin and Alice Springs.

Television

Metropolitan Darwin has had five broadcast television stations: *

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

Northern Territory – ( ABD) * SBS Northern Territory – ( SBS) * Southern Cross Seven – ( TND) – ''

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

Affiliate'' *

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

Darwin – ( NTD) * Ten Darwin (or Darwin Digital Television) – ( DTD) – ''

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

Affiliate'' Darwin also has four open-narrowcast stations: * First Nations TV * Darwin TV * First Nations Tourism TV * Business TV Regional Northern Territory has a similar availability of stations: *

Northern Territory – ( ABD) * SBS Northern Territory – ( SBS) *

Seven Central QQQ is an Australian television station broadcasting in remote central and eastern areas of Australia, owned by Southern Cross Austereo. The station is available via satellite and terrestrial platforms – mostly through community retransmissio ...

– (

QQQ QQQ is an Australian television station broadcasting in remote central and eastern areas of Australia, owned by Southern Cross Austereo. The station is available via satellite and terrestrial platforms – mostly through community retransmissio ...

) – ''

Affiliate'' *

Imparja Imparja Television (IMP) is an independent Australian television station servicing over , across six states and territories of Australia, states and territories: Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Aust ...

– (

IMP IMP or imp may refer to: * Imp, a fantasy creature Arts and entertainment Music * IMP (band) a Japanese boy band Fictional characters * Imp (She-Ra), a character in ''She-Ra: Princess of Power'' * Imp a character in '' Artemis Fowl: The L ...

) – ''

Affiliate'' * Ten Central (or Central Digital Television) – ( CDT) – ''

Affiliate'' Remote areas are generally required to receive television via the

Viewer Access Satellite Television The Viewer Access Satellite Television service, or VAST, is a satellite television platform in Australia, providing digital television and radio services to remote and rural areas, as well as viewers in terrestrial black spots. The service uses ...

service, which carries the same channels as the regional areas, as well as some extra open-narrowcast services, including

Indigenous Community Television Indigenous Community Television (ICTV) is an Australian free-to-view digital television channel on the Viewer Access Satellite Television service. It broadcasts television programs produced by, and for, Indigenous Australians in remote communi ...

and Westlink.

Radio

Darwin has radio stations on both AM and FM frequencies. ABC stations include

ABC Radio Darwin ABC Radio Darwin (call sign: 8DDD) is an ABC radio station which is located in Darwin, Northern Territory. It is one of the stations in the ABC Local Radio network and broadcasts on 105.7MHz on the FM dial. It is an Australian Government sponso ...

(105.7FM),

ABC Radio National ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. ...

(657AM),

ABC News Radio ABC News Radio is the news radio service of ABC Audio, a division of ABC News (United States), ABC News in the United States. Formerly known as ABC Radio News, ABC News Radio feeds, through Skyview Networks, five-minute newscasts on the hour ...

(102.5FM),

ABC Classic FM ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. I ...

(107.3FM) and

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

(103.3FM). The two commercial stations are Hot 100 FM (8HOT) and Mix 104.9 (8MIX). The leading community stations are 104.1 Territory FM (8TOP) and 94.5 Radio Larrakia (8KNB). The radio stations in Alice Springs are also broadcast on the AM and FM frequencies. ABC stations include Triple J (94.9FM), ABC Classic FM (97.9FM),

783 ABC Alice Springs ABC Alice Springs (call sign: 8AL) is the ABC Local Radio station in Alice Springs, Northern Territory. It broadcasts on 783 kHz on the AM band, with low-powered relay stations across the Northern Territory Outback. The station was officially ...

(783AM), ABC News Radio (104.1FM) and ABC Radio National (99.7FM). There are two community stations in the town—

CAAMA The Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association (CAAMA) is an organisation founded in 1980 to expose Aboriginal music and culture to the rest of Australia. It started with 8KIN-FM, the first Aboriginal radio station in the country. Based in ...

(100.5FM) and 8CCC (102.1FM). The commercial stations, which are both owned by the same company are

Sun 96.9 Sun 969 is Alice Springs' only local commercial radio station on the FM band. The station broadcasts from its premises on the Stuart Highway just outside Alice Springs with nightly, syndicated broadcasts from a local pub, Bojangles. Networked ...

(96.9FM) and

8HA 8HA is a radio station based in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. It broadcasts on the medium wave radio band, at a frequency of 900 kHz. It also broadcasts on radio channel 42 on the Optus Aurora Optus Aurora was a free-to-vie ...

(900AM). Christian radio station Vision Christian Radio (88.0FM). Two additional stations, Territory FM (98.7FM) and

Radio TAB RadioTAB is a radio station primarily covering horse and greyhound racing in Australia and internationally, operated by Tabcorp, which operates the Totalisator Agency Boards based in Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Northern Territo ...

(95.9FM) are syndicated from Darwin and Brisbane, respectively.

Sport

Australian rules football in the Northern Territory is widely popular, particularly with

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

communities in Darwin,

and the

Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Islands ( meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island, Bathurst I ...

. The governing body for football in the territory is the

AFL Northern Territory AFL Northern Territory Limited (AFL NT) is a subsidiary company of the Australian Football League (AFL) which operates some Australian rules football competitions and teams in Northern Territory (NT) of Australia (see also Australian rules f ...

Culture

The Northern Territory is home to a number of cultural institutions of importance to the nation. These include: * Araluen Art Centre and the Museum of Central Australia; within the

Araluen Cultural Precinct The Araluen Cultural Precinct, formerly the Araluen Centre for Arts & Entertainment, in Alice Springs (Mparntwe) in the Northern Territory of Australia, is a cultural precinct which includes the Araluen Arts Centre, the Museum of Central Austr ...

* The

Darwin Symphony Orchestra The Darwin Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an orchestra based in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, founded by Martin Jarvis. The DSO gave its first concert in 1989. The Orchestra receives funding from the Northern Territory Government and su ...

* The

Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) is the main museum in the Northern Territory. The headquarters of the museum is located in the inner Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin suburb of The Gardens, Northern Territory, The ...

* The Strehlow Research Centre

Notes

References

Sources

* Hill, Ernestine. 1951. ''The Territory: The classic saga of Australia's far north''. Angus & Robertson. Reprint: 1995. * Govan, A. (2007) Broadband debate key to NT's future. N.T. Business Review, vol. N/A, no. N/A, p. 7 * Morrison, P. (2000) a pilot implementation of internet access for remote aboriginal communities in the "Top end" Of Australia. Urban Studies, Vol. 37, No.10, pp. 1781–1792. * * Toyne, P. (2002) Northern Territory Government's Response to the House of Representatives Communications, Information Technology & the Arts Committee inquiry into Wireless Broadband Communications. In N.T. GOVERNMENT (Ed.) (pp. 3). Darwin: Northern Territory Government. * Toyne, P. (2003) Remote Areas Telecommunications Strategy 2003–2008. In N. T. GOVERNMENT (Ed.) (pp. 1– 32). Darwin N.T. viewed 6 February 2008,
Wayback Machine

External links

Northern Territory Government of Australia

Northern Territory Visitor's Guide
* *
Northern Territory Weather and Warnings Summary
from the

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Government of Australia, Australian Government that is responsible for providing Weather forecasting, weather forecasts and Meteorology, meteorological services to Australia a ...

Northern-Territory Northern Territory Climate

Northern Territory economy/mining

Northern Territory Population estimates June 2007

June 2007 NT population estimates

NT Street and Place Names search
{{Authority control States and territories established in 1911 States and territories of Australia 1911 establishments in Australia

History

Pre-colonial

Colonial administration

Federal territory

Division into North Australia and Central Australia

Post-World War II

Geography

National parks

Climate

Governance

Parliament

Chief minister and cabinet

Administrator

Federal government

Local government

Aboriginal land councils

Political parties

Demographics

Cities and towns

Ancestry and immigration

Languages

Religion

Education

Primary and secondary

Tertiary

Libraries and archives

Economy

Mining

Tourism

Other industries

Transport

Media

Print

Television

Radio

Sport

Culture

See also

Notes

References

Sources

External links