Coolalinga is an outer suburban area in Darwin. It is south east of central Darwin, south east of Palmerston and east of the proposed city of Weddell. Its

Local Government Area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

is the

Litchfield Municipality The Litchfield Council is a local government area of 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 territories of ...

. The name was first used by Len Cant for his store and caravan park on 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 ...

. Since Coolalinga Store, the area has become an important commercial centre for the Shire.

Shopping and amenities

Coolalinga is a major service centre for the outer rural Litchfield Shire and is a growing commercial centre. It is home to the Coolalinga Shopping Centre, the largest in the rural area. The shopping centre contains a post office, Woolworths supermarket with liquor and petrol outlets, as well as a pharmacy, cafes and a number of specialty shops. Outside the main shopping centre are a Veterinary Hospital, the office of the Litchfield Times local newspaper, petrol stations, a caravan park and a number of businesses serving rural industries. In addition to the existing Woolworths supermarket complex, Darwin-based developer Gwelo constructed the 20,000 m² Coolalinga Shopping Village, which provided the district with another food store, three major national retailers and up to 60 additional specialty stores. The new complex is located on the eastern side of the

and serves the rural suburbs of Litchfield Shire. As part of the Gwelo development, a 1000 m² block of land has been set aside for the construction of a seven-story office block which it is hoped will lure

Northern Territory Government The Northern Territory Government is the executive branch of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory was formed in 1978 with the granting of self-government to the Territory. The Northern Territory is a territory of the Co ...

departments looking to move away from the Darwin CBD. The office and shopping complex is expected to provide 1760 new public parking spaces. On adjacent land, Gwelo has been granted approval to provide 150 new homes, in a mixture of single occupancy and medium density buildings. When complete, this will bring over 400 new residents to the suburb. The NT Brewing Company Pty Ltd intends to open a tavern and boutique brewery in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Nissen hut A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure originally for military use, especially as barracks, made from a 210° portion of a cylindrical skin of corrugated iron. It was designed during the First World War by the Canadian-American-British e ...

s adjacent to the Stuart Highway at Coolalinga. A liquor licence was granted in 2009, but as of April 2012, the business has not commenced operations.

Infrastructure

Health

There are no public hospitals in Coolalinga, but for non-urgent consultations, the Coolalinga Medical Centre, a private practice is located on Henning Road. it also has a psychological clinic as part of the health services in Coolalinga. An

Amcal Allied Master Chemists of Australia Limited (Amcal) is an Australian pharmacy retailer. It was founded by Major General C. H. Simpson on 13 July 1937, in a move that greatly influenced the pharmacy industry in Australia. The founding group con ...

pharmacy is in the Coolalinga Shopping Centre. The rural area is served by the Palmerston Health Precinct which includes the Palmerston Community Care Centre, public dental service, St Johns' Ambulance and a Medical Specialists Clinic. Many of these services operate 24 hours. The nearest public hospitals are Palmerston Regional Hospital and

Royal Darwin Hospital The Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) is a 360-bed Australian teaching hospital located in Tiwi, Northern Territory, Tiwi, a northern suburb of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, Northern Territory. It is part of the Top End Health Service, which co ...

Education

There are no schools located in Coolalinga, but a public school catering for Transition to year 6 is located in nearby

Bees Creek Bees Creek is an outer rural area of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. It is 33 km southeast of the Darwin central business district. It is the council seat of the local government area of the Litchfield Municipality, although most cou ...

. Bees Creek is also home to the Sattler Christian College (formerly Litchfield Christian School). Taminmin Middle School and Taminmin High School in

Humpty Doo Humpty Doo is a town in Australia's Northern Territory, situated just south of the Arnhem Highway, approximately 40 km from Darwin. At the , Humpty Doo had a population of 4,313 people. Its local government area is Litchfield Municipality ...

cater for years 7–12. Teritiary and Vocational education services are available through

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 ...

, with campuses in both Darwin and Palmerston.

Public transport

In late 2011, the

opened a new $1.8 million bus interchange park and ride facility to provide better public transport services for commuters travelling between the rural area, Darwin and Palmerston. This development includes: *12m x 13.5m shaded bus/drop off terminal *CCTV surveillance *a self-cleaning toilet *water bubbler *irrigated landscaping *secure push bike enclosure *60 car park bays *four motor cycle parking bays The following bus routes operate to the Coolalinga interchange as of April 2012: *Express Route 28 –

to Darwin via Coolalinga and Palmerston Interchange (and reverse) – Monday to Friday *Route 445 –

to Palmerston via Cox Peninsular,

Noonamah Noonamah is an outer rural suburban area of Darwin. it is 45 km southeast of the Darwin CBD. Its Local Government Area is the Litchfield Municipality. The suburb is mostly a rural area, but has been experiencing strong growth in populati ...

and Coolalinga (PM service reversed) – Monday to Saturday In addition to public buses, an asphalt sealed cycle path following the alignment of the closed

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 ...

links the rural area to Palmerston.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20080123190745/http://www.nt.gov.au/lands/lis/placenames/origins/greaterdarwin.shtml#c
Gwelo Developments homepage
{{Litchfield Municipality Suburbs and Towns Suburbs of Darwin, Northern Territory