Darwin central business district facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Darwin city centre Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin CBD
Darwin city centre Location in Northern Territory
Population	6,464 (2016 census)
Established	1869
Postcode(s)	0800
LGA(s)	City of Darwin Darwin Waterfront Precinct
Territory electorate(s)	Port Darwin
Federal Division(s)	Division of Solomon
Suburbs around Darwin city centre: The Gardens The Gardens Stuart Park Charles Darwin Larrakeyah Darwin city centre Darwin Harbour Darwin Harbour Darwin Harbour Darwin Harbour
Footnotes	Adjoining suburbs

Darwin City is also called the Darwin city centre or The CBD. It is a suburb in metropolitan Darwin. This area includes where the city first started. It also has the main business district, parks, and other buildings.

Darwin City is the oldest part of Darwin. It has many important places. These include Parliament House, Government House, and the Northern Territory Supreme Court. You can also find Bicentennial Park and the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens here. The city centre is part of the City of Darwin and the Darwin Waterfront Precinct.

Even though Darwin City is very developed, not as many people live here. This is because it is mostly for businesses.

History of Darwin City

The first British person to see Darwin harbour was Lieutenant John Lort Stokes. He saw it on September 9, 1839, from his ship, HMS Beagle. The ship's captain, Commander John Clements Wickham, named the port after Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin was a famous British naturalist who had sailed with them before.

In the early 1870s, Darwin saw a gold rush. This happened near Pine Creek. Workers building the Australian Overland Telegraph Line found gold while digging.

On February 5, 1869, George Goyder started a small town at Port Darwin. He was the Surveyor General of South Australia. About 135 people lived there. Goyder named the town Palmerston. He named it after the British Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston.

In 1870, the first poles for the Overland Telegraph were put up in Darwin. This amazing line connected Australia to the rest of the world. The discovery of gold in the 1880s helped the young territory grow even more. In 1911, when Australia became a Commonwealth, the town officially became 'Darwin'.

The Darwin waterfront and city centre.

Where is Darwin City?

The city centre has clear borders. To the north, it is bordered by Daly Street. To the east, it extends to the Stuart Highway and McMinn Street, which is next to Stuart Park.

The border also goes east along Darwin Harbour. It extends south to the Darwin Waterfront and the Darwin Convention Centre. To the west, it follows the Esplanade and Bicentennial Park.

People in Darwin City

The 2016 census counted 6,464 people living in Darwin City.

• About 3.4% of the people were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.
• 41.7% of people were born in Australia.
• Other common birthplaces included England (4.7%), the Philippines (3.3%), Japan (3.3%), India (2.9%), and Taiwan (2.8%).
• Most people (53.6%) spoke only English at home.
• Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin (5.0%), Japanese (3.3%), Nepali (2.2%), Tagalog (1.8%), and Korean (1.6%).
• The most common answer for religion was "No Religion" at 34.9%.

Images for kids

• 

  Darwin central business district

• 

  Manunda Place, opened in 2020