Darwin, Australia

 

DARWIN, AUSTRALIA

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

We arrived in Darwin early today. Darwin is the cultural hub and tropical capital of the continent’s thinly populated Northern Territory.  This city is a modern tropical capital set on a harbor twice the size of Sydney’s. 

Darwin boasts a rich and lively arts and culture scene, much of it centered in the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory which showcases the collection of art and artifacts of the region and its indigenous people and wildlife where we visited today.  

Many of the artifacts and movies centered around the role the town played during World War II and the devastating Cyclone Tracy that struck and totally destroyed Darwin in 1972.

The beautiful displays included Coral Bleaching, Reef Zones, Sawfish (known as “The Slasher”) Whaler Sharks, Spinner Dolphins, Black-footed tree rats, Thorny Devils, Central blue-tongue Lizards and Bearded dragons.  

There was a beautiful display of a  Floating Nest or platform built by male and female Magpie Geese where their chicks are hatched.  AND There were large displays of Water birds, Raptors (Australia has 18 hawk and eagle species and 6 falcons)  and Parrots (53 species).  

THEN THERE IS SWEETHEART, a 16 ft. crocodile that lived to be between 50 and 80 years old and known for his attacks on boats.  The story goes that his stomach contained “crunched human bones and two motorboat engines”!!!!!