That's the big city of Darwin. It looks bigger from here than it actually is.
It was getting to be that time again. You know when I become a tourist and check out a few things around time. Deb had already spotted the tour buses around the city for me so I just had to pick one. Top End was a Double Decker bus…….and we all know how I love those…….but it was only a half day tour and not quite what I wanted. Ride the Croc would have taken me in the water of the harbour but is was only a 2 hour tour. Not nearly enough time for me. So I settled on the Tour Tub which is a hop on, hop off daily tour that pretty much takes you everywhere and had some live commentary as well. They were pretty much all the same price so I couldn’t really lose with the Tour Tub.
I think Tour Tub is a good name. It really does look like a tub on wheels.
Apparently they should rename it the Retiree Tour Tub because no one else on the Tub was under the age of 65. I didn’t let that bother me though.
The whole loop takes about 70 minutes so I decided to ride the whole loop and then check back at the things I wanted to see. I think we all know that Darwin is not very big but it has a good little history so there are a few things to see. In particular it has a big World War II history. It’s location made it an important supply point in the pacific (especially after the Pearl Harbour attack) which naturally made it an important target of the Japanese.
Before I get into all that war stuff though, let’s look at Darwin a little bit. With a population just around 73,000, Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory. Named the Northern Territory because unlike Western Australia or New South Wales or even Queensland, NT is not a state. Don’t worry, I will get into the politics of the area another day. Let's get to learn a little about Darwin. The population tends to be very transient. Lots of backpackers and lots of tourists who come and go with the weather. There are more than a few crocs here (none of which I've seen yet). They catch between 180-220 crocs each year in the inner harbour, so don’t swim there. Some of them are sent back to the wild. Some are sent to croc farms and put into breeding stock.....others are turned into handbags and shoes and steak. The city is probably due for a category 5 cyclone in the next few years (let's hope not this year). July is the only month of the year that Darwin hasn't been hit by a cyclone. The city is on Larrakia land, an aboriginal people who have been here for thousands of years.
An interesting little place now on with the tour. Once I rode the loop I decided I would head back out to its farthest point and visit the East Point Military Museum. The Museum is housed in the original command post bunker that The Australia Army used to command the 2 massive 9.2” guns that also sit on the site. Darwin was bombed over 60 times during World War II. Since the attacks were expected they actually evacuated the city of women and children and all non-essential personal. They also set up a 5.6 kilometre sub-net that stretched across from East Point to West Point. And it wasn't just Australian military who were here. The Americans also set up camp and suffered losses here. In fact the USS Peary (a US Navy Destroyer) was sunk in the Darwin harbour in February 1942. I am reading different numbers but apparently 80 to 91 seamen went down with the ship. It still sits in the Darwin harbour and is considered a US War Cemetery.
The Museum is just a little place on a lot of land (complete with some little wallabies) but certainly worth a look. Here are a few things I found inside.
It's big. It's....kind-of shiny. It's a Vickers Machine gun.
So glad I found this or I might have been tempted to head out and find some bombs to handle.
I think this little guy could handle some outback 4 wheel driving don't you agree? This is a Leyland Scout Car often known as a Ferret. It was fast and mobile and as the name suggests....used for scouting.
That's a bullet hole in the window of a mobile workshop. Mounted on a vehicle this workshop was used by Aviation engineers.
This one is a little big but the way Australians drive I'm pretty sure I could run over a few people in this and no one would notice. This is a Bren Gun Carrier, used by Commonwealth troops as a go-anywhere small troop carrier.
A sign with rules for visitors of the past.
A sign for visitors of the present.
Oh no......she's escaping. This is in the Juvenile wing. Just 2 little cells in a separate building off in one corner.
Walking down the hallway of Maximum security.
Separate Confinement......all the way out in the exercise yard. Originally fitted with padded walls in 1955 and held prisoners who were considered a danger to themselves or others. It was also used to house Darwin's mentally unstable because the city had no other facilities.
The Gallows. Francis Bay Gaol was hanging prison. The last executions here were held in 1952 and these gallows were built for that execution.
Once I had wandered around the prison enough and the Tour Tub came back to get me, I headed back into the city and made a stop at Parliament House. No, not to use the free Internet but to check a few things out. I was almost immediately ushered into the gallery to enjoy Question Period and enjoy it I did. Similar to Question Period in Canada, basically this is an hour where politicians get to ask each other questions about things that are going on or things they want done. Of course there are rules such as they have time limits to respond and questions have to be directed to the Minister or person who is actually responsible for the issue. Today however, there were a lot of warnings from Madame Speaker because all the questions seemed to involve the personal life of a Politician who is currently running for a seat in the Federal Parliament. It was funny because the mics are never turned off so you can pick up every little comment and laugh and well I just found it entertaining. Question Period only lasts an hour but I feel like I will be visiting again while I am living here.
Eventually I left the Parliament and made my way back to the centre of town to catch the bus back to my tent. I did see a couple more things along the way though.
A couple of those Navy Ships in the city to plan Navy games.
This is said to be the smallest Chapel in the Southern Hemisphere. You could squeeze one or two people in it. It is dedicated to those who have lost their lives at sea.
And that was my day touring the city. Of course there are more things to see and in the weeks and months to come I hope to see them all, but I had to start somewhere.
Julie
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