This list shows notable events for Darwin, nowadays the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Note: When Darwin was first settled, it was called Palmerston and the port was called Port Darwin. In 1911 the town was renamed Darwin due to the common usage of the name.
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 1870 | | Construction of the first Government House |
| | Palmerston Cemetery opened in Goyder Road it was closed in 1919. |
| 15 September | First telegraph pole planted in a ceremony[2] by Harriet Douglas. |
| 1871 | | First Telegraph office erected in Palmerston[3] |
| 7 November | Undersea cable comes ashore the telegraph fleet then lays the cable to Java |
| 1872 | 22 August | The Overland Telegraph Line linking Darwin and Adelaide opened. |
| 1873 | | Protestant church built in Knuckey Street near Mitchell Street. Destroyed in the cyclone of 1897. |
| | English, Scottish and Australian (E S & A) Bank establishes branch in Palmerston (Darwin) |
| November | Northern Territory Times begins publishing and ceases 1932. |
| 1874 | | Chinese start to be brought to Darwin to act as labourers. |
| 19 June | First Hospital above Doctors Gully completed[4] Built largely by public subscription it is extended further in 1876. |
| 5 December | Town of Palmerston gazetted. name changed to Darwin in 1911. |
| 1875 | 25 February | SS Gothenburg lost off coast of Queensland with many prominent Northern Territory citizens on board. |
| 1877 | January | First school opens in Palmerston with 34 pupils; teacher John Holt. |
| 1879 | | Main section of Government House completed. |
| October | New Police Station building in use on the corner of Mitchell Street and the Esplanade. Now the site of the Supreme Court. | |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 1882 | | Fannie Bay Gaol was built between 1882 and 1883. |
| April | Northern Territory Racing Club is established at Palmerston. |
| 17 August | Foundation stone laid for Town Hall, on Smith Street, which was designed by John George Knight. |
| 1883 | 5 March | Palmerston Town Hall opens[5] on Smith Street. Destroyed by Cyclone Tracy, now only the remains at both ends are visible. |
| 1 June | Northern Australian (Newspaper) begins publishing. |
| 1883 | 20 September | Fannie Bay Gaol opens and begins to receive prisoners. |
| 1885 | | Commencement of rail services to Pine Creek starts. |
| March | Terminus Hotel on Smith Street opened. |
| February | Foundation stone laid for Browns Mart at the time known as "Solomon's Mart"[6] located on Smith Street. |
| 1886 | | First wooden jetty complete and handed over. |
| 1886 | 4 December | Steam locomotive 'Sandfly' arrives in the NT aboard the vessel Armistice |
| 1887 | | Commercial Bank completed known as the "Stone Bank" on the corner of Smith and Bennett Streets. |
| | Original Fannie Bay Gardens moved to present site of Darwin Botanical Gardens. |
| 20 May | Locomotive 'Sandfly' begins operation and retires in 1950 presently located at the Parap Qantas Hangar. |
| 1888 | | 6122 Chinese living in the Northern Territory. most in or around Darwin.[7] |
| | First Catholic Church completed located on Smith Street where the present day cathedral is sited. |
| 27 April | SS Ellengowan sinks in Darwin Harbour. |
| 16 July | Railway service to Adelaide River begins. |
| 10 December | Railway service to Burrundie begins. |
| 1889 | 1 October | Opening of Darwin/Pine Creek railway, 145 miles 34 chains. | |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 1911 | 1 January | Transfer of Northern Territory from South Australia to Commonwealth. |
| | Palmerston renamed to Darwin as most of the town residents were already using the name. |
| | Palmerston No. 1 Boy Scout troop is established. |
| May | Northern Territory Supreme Court established first judge Samuel James Mitchel.l |
| 1912 | | Electricity generation begins when the Northern Territory Administration and Mr Felix Holmes begin producing power. |
| 1913 | 25 September | Darwin Radio Station comes into service in Gardens Road.[8] |
| 19 October | Kahlin Compound opens. |
| 1914 | | Construction of Vesteys meatworks on Bullocky Point begins. |
| 1915 | | Darwin Town Council was created. |
| 1917 | | First killing season at Vesteys meatworks. |
| 1918 | 17 December | The Darwin Rebellion takes place, with 1000 demonstrators demanding the resignation of the Administrator of the Northern Territory, John A. Gilruth. |
| 1919 | | Airstrip cleared in Parap. |
| | Gardens cemetery opens replacing Palmerston cemetery on Goyder Road. Closes in 1970 containing 1200 graves. |
| 20 February | Dr John A. Gilruth and his family depart Darwin in the night aboard HMAS Encounter after Government House being placed under virtual siege for several weeks. |
| 10 December | Captain Ross Smith and his crew landed in Darwin and won a £10,000 Prize from the Australian Government for completing the first flight from London to Australia in under thirty days. | |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 1930 | 24 May | Amy Johnson arrives in Darwin. She becomes the first female aviator to conquer the London to Darwin solo flight.[10] |
| 1931 | | Leprosarium starts operation on Channel Island and closes in 1955. |
| November | Terminus Hotel closes on Cavenagh Street where the current Civic Centre is located. |
| 1932 | 8 January | Terminus Hotel demolished. Materials from the demolition are used in the building of the fortification on East Point. |
| 17 May | Australian Cabinet approves the "Emergency Scheme for the Fortification of Darwin" |
| 2 September | "Darwin Detachment", 5 officers and 42 men arrive in Darwin to start building fortifications. |
| 1934 | 22 May | 2 newly installed guns test fired on East Point. |
| 30 December | QANTAS hangar in Parap built. |
| | Darwin City Council builds a power station in Woods Street. |
| 1937 | March | Darwin hit by severe cyclone, only one life was lost. |
| 13 April | Site selected for RAAF Base. |
| | Darwin's first power station built on Lindsey Street and 24-hour service is provided. |
| 1938 | | Commencement of the construction of the RAAF Base. |
| | Francis Xavier Gsell created first Catholic Bishop of Darwin. |
| 1939 | | Burnett House built on Myilly Point now part of the National Trust precinct. |
| | Five steel elevated water storage tanks are completed around Darwin. A ground level tank is erected at Stokes Hill and the elevated water control tank constructed at RAAF Base Darwin. |
| March | Two hundred men of Mobile Force arrive in Darwin to man fortification. | |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 1940 | | Hotel Darwin completed on Herbert Street. |
| | Boom Defence Net across Darwin Harbour put in place. |
| 7 June | Second power station located on Armidale Street is commissioned. Closed in 1968. |
| 1941 | 12 December | General evacuation of women, children, the aged and infirm of Darwin begins, five days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. |
| 1942 | January | Myilly Point Hospital opens as a 90-bed pavilion type hospital.[11] |
| 21 January | I-124 was an I-121-class submarine of the Imperial Japanese Navy that was sunk off Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, on 21 January 1942, during World War II. I-124 was conducting mine laying operations and attacking shipping along with three other submarines along the northern coast of Australia. |
| 19 February | Japanese air raids – almost 100 attacks against sites in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland (to 1943). Bombing of Darwin sees largest attack on Australia by a foreign power. 243 people were killed in the initial raids on 19 February 1942. |
| 1943 | | Construction of oil storage tunnels begins. |
| 1945 | October | Boom Defence Net which crossed the entrance to Darwin Harbour removed. |
| 1946 | | Reticulated water supply is made available to Darwin residents. |
| | Residents return to Darwin after end of WW2. |
| | Chung Wah Society established. |
| 1949 | 10 March | Town of Nightcliff gazetted. | |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 1960 | | New Post Office constructed on the corner of Smith and Knuckey Street. |
| May | Parap swimming pool opened. |
| 17 June | Woolworths buys out A E Jolly & Co on the corner of Smith Street and Knuckey Street. |
| 1962 | 14 June | Stokes Hill Power Station (Stage 1) opened by the Hon Paul Hasluck MHR. Stage 1 had a capacity of 15 MW or 21.42 MW if you included the diesel station. |
| 19 August | St Mary's War Memorial Cathedral consecrated on Smith Street. |
| 1963 | February | Larrakeyah School opens. |
| 1965 | | Paspalis drive-in theatre opens in Nightcliff closed in 1985. |
| January | Sound Shell in the Gardens amphitheatre is opened. Official opening 22 May 1965 by the Mayor N.H. Cooper. |
| August | 30 Squadron forms Darwin detachment and installs 4 Bloodhound missiles near Lee Point an additional 4 are added later. |
| 1966 | May | Stuart Park School opens. |
| 25 June | Rapid Creek Primary School opened by His Honour, The Administrator R.L. Dean. |
| 1967 | 19 June | Darwin Maru arrives on its maiden voyage to load the first shipment of iron ore from the new iron ore handling wharf at Fort Hill. |
| August | Nightcliff swimming pool opened. |
| 1968 | | Armidale Street power station closes down. |
| 28 March | Reserve Bank building on the corner of Smith and Bennett Streets opened. |
| September | 30 Squadron Darwin detachment ceases operation. |
| 20 December | Civic Centre foundation stone laid. |
| 1969 | 6 May | Kurringal flats complex opens in Fannie Bay. |
| 18 August | New Civic Centre in Darwin opened by Duke of Kent. | |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 1970 | | Construction commences on Darwin River Dam. |
| February | Nightcliff High School opens, this is Darwin's second high school |
| November | New Police Headquarters opened on the corner of Mitchell and Bennett Streets. |
| 1971 | | Travel Lodge on the Esplanade starts construction. |
| | Casuarina Zone substation is built to service the rapidly developing northern suburbs of Darwin. |
| | Casuarina 4.5ML elevated water reservoir constructed. |
| | Nightcliff High School completed. |
| | War Memorial moved to Civic Park behind Browns Mart. |
| 3 March | T&G Building on Smith Street opened by the Hon F. C. Chaney CBE AFC. |
| 13 August | Darwin gets first TV transmission. Opening of ABD 6 Television studios, 12 August, and the establishment of national (ABC) television services in Darwin. |
| 1972 | 4 November | Train derailment at Frances Bay. |
| 29 June | Darwin River Dam officially opened by the Prime Minister the Rt Hon William McMahon. |
| July | Supersonic passenger plane Concorde lands in Darwin |
| 27 July | Town of Sanderson gazetted. |
| 1973 | | Casuarina High School completed. |
| 7 February | Northern Territory Administration abolished and replaced by the Department of the Northern Territory. |
| 24 May | Casuarina Shopping Centre opened. |
| 8 June | The Territorian International Hotel officially opened by the Minister for the Northern Territory the Hon. K. E. Enderby M.P. |
| 1974 | 25 February | Contract awarded for the construction of Casuarina Hospital Main Block to John Holland. |
| 9 March | Prince Philip and Earl Louis Mountbatten commence two-day visit to Darwin. |
| 10 March | Prince Philip officially opens Darwin Community College. |
| May | Darwin Rocksitters Club established. |
| 18 May | Travel Lodge on the Esplanade officially opened by Administrator Jack Nelson. It was the tallest building in Darwin at the time at ten storeys. |
| June | Darwin Golf Club moves from Fannie Bay to Marrara to make room for a new arterial road. |
| 16 June | First Darwin Beer Can Regatta. |
| October | Price control on petrol introduced in the Darwin area. |
| 24-25 December | Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin. 66 known dead. |
| 1975 | January | 25,000 people evacuated from Darwin in six days after Cyclone Tracy. |
| 14 February | Liner Patris arrives in Darwin to act as a floating hostel post Cyclone Tracy. |
| 28 February | Darwin Reconstruction Commission established by the Darwin Reconstruction Act. |
| May | Darwin elects its first female Mayor, Dr Ella Stack. |
| 1 May | Princess Anne and Captain Mark Philips visit Darwin to inspect the damage after Cyclone Tracy. |
| 19 August | QANTAS resumes flights to Darwin after Cyclone Tracy. |
| 30 December | Telford International Hotel opened, now called the Darwin Frontier Hotel. Previously it was called the Territorian International Hotel which opened on 8 June 1973. |
| 1976 | February | 1,400 new cyclone-resistant homes in Anula and Walagi completed. |
| 8 March | Darwin Motor Vehicle Registry commences business in a new building on Goyder Road. |
| 26 April | First Vietnamese boat people arrive in Darwin. |
| 29 May | Reconstruction begins on Christ Church Anglican Cathedral after destruction from Cyclone Tracy. |
| 30 June | Palmerston (Darwin) to Pine Creek Railway cease operation by order of the Commonwealth Government. |
| 17 July | The annual, long standing, Northern Territory News Walkabout is revived after a lapse and on a new course. |
| November | Trans Australian Airlines (TAA) opens offices in Bennett Street. |
| 23 November | The new $1.4 million Customs House is opened by the Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs, Mr John Howard MP. |
| December | Darwin Reconstruction Commission proposes to convert part of Smith Street into a mall. |
| 1977 | January | Price control on petrol in the Northern Territory lifted. |
| 13 March | New Christ Church Cathedral consecrated in the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Cathedral replaced the church that was destroyed in Cyclone Tracy. |
| 26 March | Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II unveils plaques at the Civic Centre to commemorate those that lost their lives in Cyclone Tracy. |
| 9 November | Custom Credit House opened by Mr Roger Steele MLA. |
| 31 December | Darwin Reconstruction Commission winds up. |
| 1978 | April | Work starts on Smith Street mall and is open on 16 November 1979.[14] |
| 5 April | Tracy Lodge, the first elderly people's home in Darwin, opens on Wood Street. |
| 12 April | Darwin Reconstruction Commission officially closes down. |
| 7 July | The first-nuclear powered warship to visit Darwin, the USS Bainbridge, anchors in Darwin Harbour on a six-day goodwill visit. |
| 25 September | AMP building opened by the Chief Minister Paul Everingham. |
| 28 September | Darwin's new Chinese Temple, located between Woods and Litchfield Streets is officially opened. |
| 23 October | Indonesian Consulate is established in Darwin. |
| 1979 | 19 May | Inaugural Freds Pass Rural Show opens. |
| 1 July | First Bougainvillea Festival with entertainer Mr Rolf Harris as patron and special guest. Later called the Darwin Festival. |
| 21 July | The gigantic salt water crocodile, Sweetheart, dies while being captured. |
| 1 September | Fannie Bay Gaol closes and a new $4.2 M Darwin Prison opens at Berrimah. 116 prisoners are transferred over two days. |
| 21 September | First casino in Darwin opens in temporary quarters in the Don Hotel on Cavenagh Street. |
| November | Dr Ella Stack became Darwin's first Lord Mayor. |
| 16 November | Work is completed on Darwin's Smith Street shopping mall and is officially opened by Mayor Dr Ella Stack. | |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 1980 | 11 February | Casuarina Library opened by the Hon Nicholas Donda MLA. |
| 24 April | Town of Palmerston is gazetted; it was being called Darwin East. |
| May | Work starts on Karama subdivision in the Northern Suburbs. |
| 22 July | Dick Ward Drive officially opened by the Hon Roger Steele MLA. |
| 25 July | The Governor General Sir Zelman Cowen open the Darwin's 29th Annual Show the first to be declared Royal. |
| 19 September | New hospital at Casuarina is opened by the Rt Hon J.M. Fraser Prime Minister of Australia. |
| 1981 | 4 March | Paspalis Centrepoint on Smith Street opened by the Chief Minister Paul Everingham. |
| 14 July | New Fort Hill Wharf is opened. |
| 10 September | Northern Territory Museum of Arts and Sciences officially opened by Sir Zelman Cowen Governor General of Australia at Bullocky Point. |
| 4 December | West Lane Car Park opened by the Chief Minister Paul Everingham MLA. |
| 10 December | Darwin Plaza on Smith Street opened by the Hon Paul Everingham Chief Minister. |
| 20 December | Bagot Road Flyover officially open by the Hon Nick Dondas MLA. |
| 24 December | Administrators Office, on the corner of Smith Street and the Esplanade, opens after being repaired from the damage done by Cyclone Tracy. |
| 1982 | 3 July | Parap open air market begins in Darwin. |
| 17 September | Casuarina Coastal Reserve is officially declared a Conversation Area. |
| 6 October | Darwin Naval Base extensions at Larrakeyah are officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II. |
| 1983 | 21 April | Mindil Beach Federal Hotel Casino officially opened by the Hon Paul Everingham the Chief Minister. |
| 19 September | Restored Fannie Bay Gaol is officially re-opened as a museum by the Hon Marshall Perron. |
| 1984 | 23 June | Menzies School of Health Research is officially opened by the Governor General Sir Ninian Stephen. |
| 20 October | Singer Cliff Richard performs at the Darwin Amphitheatre. |
| 21 December | Darwin Community College renamed the Darwin Institute of Technology. |
| 1985 | 14 April | Tropical Cyclone Gretel (Cat 2) fells a large number of trees in Darwin but there is minimal structural damage. |
| 27 May | RAAF Mirage 3 crashes on approach to Darwin Airport. Pilot ejected safely and the aircraft landed on the mud flats |
| 22 June | First local council elections held in Palmerston. |
| 28 June | Berrimah Police Centre opened by the Hon Ian Tuxworth. |
| 1986 | 23 April | Beaufort Hotel complex opens on the Esplanade. |
| 19 May | Performing Arts Centre completed, now known as the Darwin Entertainment Centre Opened by Commodore E.E. Johnston AM OBE. |
| 14 July | The Sheraton Hotel opens on Mitchell Street. Currently known as the Hilton. |
| 29 November | Pope John Paul II visits Darwin. |
| 1987 | 1 January | First boat passes through the lock of the Darwin Fishing Harbour Mooring Basin (known by locals as the Duckpond). |
| 23 February | The University College of the Northern Territory is opened in the remodelled old Darwin Hospital building at Myilly Point. |
| 23 April | The Mindil Beach Markets open. |
| 24 May | O'Loughlin Catholic College is officially opened. |
| 6 September | Channel Island Power Station opened. |
| 1 November | First World Solar Car Challenge, a solar-powered car race from Darwin to Adelaide, starts at Casuarina Shopping Square. |
| | Stokes Hill Power Station is closed. |
| 1988 | 23 April | Atrium Hotel on the Esplanade opened by the Chief Minister Steve Hatton MLA. |
| May | The Cullen Bay Marina Agreement is signed and development commences. |
| 31 October | First Private Hospital in the Northern Territory is officially opened. |
| December | Pioneer Walk and Bicentennial Park are opened along The Esplanade. |
| 1989 | 1 January | The first concert of the complete Darwin Symphony Orchestra takes place in Darwin. |
| 28 April | The Northern Territory University, formed on 1 January by the amalgamation of the Darwin Institute of Technology and the University College of the Northern Territory, is officially opened. |
| 2 October | The Territory Wildlife Park, south of Darwin, is opened to the public. | |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 1990 | 2 June | Darwin Aviation Museum opens on a site near Darwin Airport. |
| 2 August | Foundation stone for new Parliament House laid[15] |
| 1991 | January | Ansett airlines first ever January sale offers discounted airfares from Darwin to Alice Springs from $648 to $299 and Darwin to Sydney was reduced from $1,156 to $499. |
| 18 May | First Arafura Sports Festival held in Darwin and then every 2 years until 2011 (except 2003 due to SARS) cancelled in 2012 by CLP Government. 20 teams from Australia and South East Asia to compete in more than 20 sports. |
| 28 June | FM Radio station Hot 100 goes to air in Darwin. |
| 21 July | Lake Alexander officially open by Alan K Markham, Lord Mayor of Darwin. |
| 29 November | The new Supreme Court Building, part of the State Square project, is officially open by the Administrator, the Hon James Muirhead AC QC. |
| 1992 | | Darwin's water supply is chlorinated at Darwin River Dam. |
| | The Bayview Haven housing development commences in Darwin. |
| 1994 | 1 June | The Deck Chair Cinema opens in Darwin with the film The Castanet Club. |
| 18 August | The new Parliament House building in State Square is opened by the Governor General the Hon Bill Hayden AC. |
| 14 September | North Flinders International House opens for the accommodation of students on the campus of the Northern Territory University. |
| 1995 | 15 February | The annual Bougainvillea Festival of Darwin changes its name to The Festival of Darwin. |
| 22 March | The Palmerston campus of the Northern Territory University opens. |
| 1996 | 22 November | The new Menzies School of Health Research Building at the hospital campus is opened. |
| 1997 | 7 February | The Darwin Club, one of Darwin's oldest, winds up operations in Admiralty House on the Esplanade after closing its doors in 1996. |
| 12 February | Two 70m chimneys, landmarks of the Darwin skyline and the last remaining evidence of the original Stokes Hill Power Station, are demolished. |
| 3 March | The Holiday Inn opens on The Esplanade in Darwin. |
| 14 April | The All Seasons Darwin Central hotel is opened in Smith Street on the former site of the Darwin Post Office on the corner of Smith and Knuckey Streets. |
| 19 April | Refurbished Civic Centre opened by Dr Neil Conn AO. |
| 24 July | The Myilly Point campus of the Northern Territory University is closed, completing the consolidation of the University on the Casuarina campus. |
| 3 November | The Navy patrol boat HMAS Gawley topples when a shiplift collapses at Darwin Patrol Base. |
| 1998 | 27 March | Darwin's second commercial television station, Channel 7, begins broadcasting in Darwin. |
| 8 April | Charles Darwin National Park officially declared by the Hon Tim Baldwin MLA. |
| 21 April | The Duke of Edinburgh commences a five-day visit to Darwin. |
| 1999 | 22 March | A fire in a major Darwin sub-station causes more than $400,000 worth of damage and blacks out 9,000 northern suburbs houses. |
| 11 September | The historic Hotel Darwin is declared structurally unsound and is demolished. | |
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|
| 2020 | 9 Feb | 266 Australian COVID-19 evacuees flown from Wuhan to Darwin for isolation at Howard Springs camp. A week later 200 flown from Diamond Princess in Japan join them. |
| 1 May | NT become one of first areas to relax CoVID-19 restrictions. |
| 14 May | Darwin Correctional Facility has a breakout of 21 prisoners leading to the destruction of some buildings. |
| 15 May | Territorians allowed to visits pubs again after stage 2 restrictions are eased. |
| 2 June | Territorians return to work after lifting of stage 3 restrictions. |
| 1 July | Territory Day celebrations cancelled due to COVID-19 |
| 17 July | Border restrictions are lifted for interstate visitors |
| 8 October | Fire rips through NT Oriental Emporium on Bagot Road destroying the building and contents. |
| 6 November | Derelict home in the CBD owned by the Chin family destroyed by fire. |
| 12 November | Police launch campaign to end increased youth offending in the Northern Suburbs of Darwin. |
| 2021 | 27 June | Darwin placed into COVID-19 lockdown for 3 days at 1 pm, extended, then lifted 2 July at 1 pm. | |
