Darwin, Australia

capital cities for its relaxed lifestyle and unique multiculturalism, where people from over 50 different cultures live and work side by side. The regular Asian-style markets that form an instrinsic part of the everyday Darwin landscape for local residents see food, music, language, and culture from just about every Asian nation, alongside crocodile hunters, local Aboriginal artists, musicians of every genre, sports fishing operators, sunset sails, and families with children playing on the beach. Darwin's unique cosmopolitan makeup has beenrecognised as an multicultural icon of national significance by the Australian National Tust. Darwin's tropical climate has two major seasons, the 'dry', from about May to October, and the 'wet', from November to April. Major cyclones have occurred approximately once every three decades. Much of the city was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. Darwin is also the only Australian capital city to have come under substantial attack during a war. On 19 February, 1942, Japanese planes made two major air raids on Darwin from the aircraft carrier fleet that had attacked Pearl Harbor less than 3 months earlier. These were the first of 64 air attacks experienced by the city during World War II, the last being on 12 November, 1943. (Other areas in northern Queensland and northern Western Australia were also bombed by Japanese aircraft.) A Quick History - Darwin was first named in 1839 by John Lort Stokes, who named it Port Darwin after former shipmate Charles Darwin. Darwin's development was accelerated by the discovery of gold at Pine Creek, about 200 km south of the city in 1871. After the gold rush Darwin's growth slowed mainly due to the harsh, tropical climate, distance and poor communications with other Australian cities. The Second World War put Darwin back on the map when the town became an important base for Allied action against the Japanese in the Pacific. The road south to the railhead at Alice Springs was surfaced, putting the city in direct contact with the rest of the country. Modern Darwin is one of Australia's most cosmopolitan cities, more open to Asia than perhaps any other Australian city. It plays an important role as the door to Australia's northern region. Natural wonders such as Kakadu, Katherine Gorge, and Litchfield are all within driving distance from the city and still contain near pre-colonial populations of crocodiles, goannas, snakes and wallabies. Today Darwin is a fast growing regional centre that has unique history, culture and adventure.show less...