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'The Outback State'
Northern Territory has the grandeur of a timeless land. It has been the traditional
homeland of Aboriginal tribes for several millennia, annotated legend and sanctified in
myth. Far tropical north consists of heavily wooded coastal plains and deeply eroded
scarps in Arnhem Land, while the heartland of the Territory and continent are marked by
the red gorges of the Finke River and the rugged MacDonnell Ranges. The land
consists of mostly desert, making it existence here extremely heated
History
Northern Territory was discovered by Dutch vessel Arnhem in 1623, its first white
settlement was at Melville Island in 1824. A mandate of South Australia was
established over the Territory in 1863, soon after John Stuart's crossing from Adelaide to
Chambers Bay. South Australia continued to administer Northern Territory until
control was transferred to the Commonwealth in 1911. In 1978 it was proclaimed a
self-governing territory, becoming Australia's newest State.
Northern Territory has been isolated from the rest of Australia, mainly due to its great distance from other mainland centres. On 22 August 1872 Australia's first telegraphic system to span from coast to coast was joined at Frews Ponds. Known as the Overland Telegraph Line, the system stretched from Port Augusta in South Australia to Port Darwin. This line thus extended to a British telegraph system via a submarine cable linking Port Darwin with Java. The line cost 480 000 pounds and was conceived by Charles Todd who was head of the Postal and Telegraph Administration in South Australia. The construction took 2 years, line of communication 2000 miles long but helped give Northern Territory a reputation greater than 'desert'.
Economy
The land is rich in gold, uranium ore, bauxite, copper and iron ore. Once Northern
Territory was a tropical outpost, today is is a rich commercial region strategically
placed in the economic sphere of south-east Asia. It also contains manganese
reserves, as well as large and untapped deposits of lead, zinc, oil and gas. Also
the stock of cattle and buffalo meat with fishing waters has attracted international
interest.
Although a wealthy Territory, NT is the most sparsely populated of all Australia, heat, remoteness and high prices are the main cause of its lack of population. Most that populate NT live there by choice. Special education and health services have been developed there and towns are smaller, less crowded and have a more relaxed atmosphere than southern centres.
Mcarthur river
Douglas Hot Springs
Katherine Gorge