Darwinism

I altered it to make it clearer, but I swear I found this sign
outside a construction sight in Darwin

The biggest city in the Northern Territory is Darwin. It is not only the territory's capital city, but also one of its most shocking cities. After experiencing Alice Springs, I suppose I was not expecting much from Darwin, but I found myself mistaken. In fact, Darwin is almost an awe-inspiring site after having spent so long among the desolation of the Outback. It is a modern bustling metropolis with a thriving shipping industry and a vibrant tropical vacation feel. In short, I was expecting Smallville, Kansas and I got Honolulu, Hawaii.
I did not think of the irony, of Darwin until after I was walking around its small, but well stocked CBD (Central Business District). In a country that has some of the most atheists per capita, I suppose it is not surprising to find a city named Darwin. However, it was not named as some political statement made against religion, but it was named by Commander John Clements Wickham of the HMS Beagle, who named it after his friend Charles Darwin. Even more surprisingly, Darwin did not spring up spontaneous as a settlement, even though it sits in an idyllic harbor on a nearly tropical coast that offers easy ship access to Asia. No, the city was in fact founded for three reasons. First, it is the last and northern most link in the Overland Telegraph Line (I am telling you this country loves that thing like the Swiss love cheese,) and from Darwin, the line was then run all the way back up to England. That meant getting and receiving messages would take only a few days as opposed to several months. The next two reasons were for defense, not only from foreign attack but from foreign settlement. The Dutch were the first to map the northern shores of where Darwin sits, and this made the British rather nervous. So determined not to make the same mistake they did with the Americas, and allow other countries like France, Spain, or Holland to get any piece of the Aussie Pie, Britain became determined that a settlement needed to be created on the Northern Ocean as quickly as possible lest someone else claim it for themselves.

Thus, Darwin is the newest city in Australia, and is also one of the most modern. It is small by comparison and any well meaning traveler (such as yours truly) can explore it in a day. It has a few beaches, most of which are rocky, but the real danger of the water is that the coasts are teaming with Saltwater Crocodiles and Box Jelly Fish. In other words, I was somewhat put off of swimming. However the Darwin wharf area did provide a few alternatives to the beach as they offered a man-made wave pool, and a small protected lagoon complete with nets to ward off crocs (though they could not guarantee that there were no jellyfish.) On my last night of stay I checked out the Mendil Markets at Mendil Beach. The beach was beautiful and I was present to witness a truly spectacular sunset over the water, but as for the market themselves I found them to be not as impressive as I had been originally led to believe. My Lonely Planet travel guide listed the Mendil Markets as one of the "must see" attractions of Australia, what I found was an atmosphere more akin to the St. Phillip's Carnival, filled with slow moving people, greasy food, and merchants intent on selling me as much useless stuff as they possibly could. I am not saying it was on overall bad experience and certainly the variety and sheer size of the offerings was impressive, but I guess I was expecting something more than stalls selling cheep jewelery and stuffed kangaroos. However, I did finally indulge in an Australian favorite, Dutch Pancakes (because down under, pancakes are considered desert.) It was 19 mini-pancakes with a scoop of ice cream and a choice of syrups. I was happy to select chocolate.

Memorial Gun salvaged from the USS Peary. The barrel is
pointed to the exact resting place of the American Destroyer.

What really interested me the most in Darwin was its history during the war. Darwin was the only Australian city that came under direct attack by the Japanese during World War II and I spent the better part of my first day exploring the historical significance of such an event. On February 19, 1941 Darwin was bombed by 188 Japanese bombers and fighters. The event basically culminates in the Australian "Pearl Harbor," as the psychological damage it did to the Australian populace is typically considered greater than any actual military loss that was suffered. The real problem arose because a formation of ten P-40's and ten B-17E's had just departed Darwin 20 minutes earlier bound for Timor, but were forced to turn back due to bad weather. When the Japanese formation was first detected it was mistaken for the returning allied craft and no one acted on the warning. Thus, the Japanese had almost free reign to attack and bomb. The returning flight of American P-40's were almost immediately overwhelmed and shot down. In the aftermath 8 ships laid at the bottom of Darwin Harbor with others left burning and crippled. Among the sunk ships were the HMAS (His Majesty's Australian Ship) Maive, the US Armored Transport Meigs, the US Merchant ship Mauna Loa, and the USS Peary. According to the plaques I poured over the USS Peary was given special honor, not only because it was one of the largest ships that was sunk on that day, but because the destroyer fought to the end. Even as the bow of the ship started sinking into the sea the American gunners kept up their anti-aircraft fire in defense of the harbor. The city itself was almost completely leveled as the majority of the civilian population hid underground in deep shaft that was originally built for housing the major oil, gas, and water piping that ran under the city. Among the memorials I found most moving were the ones dedicated to the American servicemen that fought and died defending Australian waters. The Memorial erected to the USS Peary and the more than 90 sailors that went down with the destroyer inspired in me a particular awe as I looked out to the spot in the harbor where the ship still sat to this day. It all seemed to me as a reminder on how close America and Australia truly are to one another.

Darwin Harbor... It's even more tropical than it looks.

Another interesting note I took of the city was the lack of Aboriginals. I am not saying that they did not have a presence in Darwin, but not to the extent I would have expected. Ever since Alice Springs, I have found myself taking more and more note of the native population. Their numbers are greatest in the Northern Territories because it was one of the last areas of the country to be settled, and thus, by default it was the last place left where most of the Aboriginals had not been killed, relocated, or generally harassed away by the white settlers. However, Darwin did not have anywhere near the number of Aboriginals that I would have expected, especially after visiting Alice Springs and towns like Katherine. I can only wonder if that is because Darwin and its residents do a better job of taking care of their native population, or if they were more thorough in pushing them out of the almost picturesque city. I fear, perhaps, that it is the later to be more true than the former.

All in all, I found myself being rather impressed with Darwin. Maybe it was because I entered into the city with low expectations, or maybe it is because it is a truly impressive beach-front city. The tropical heat combined with the swaying palm trees and miles of blue ocean made it seem as if I was no longer in the Australia I had assumed I knew. Darwin is a surprising world apart even in the world apart that is the rest of Australia. It just goes to show that this country has plenty of more surprises to offer, and I look forward to discovering them all.