Waterfront Darwin NT

On Saturday we set off to explore The Darwin Waterfront Precinct, located on Wharf One and Two on the southern end of Darwin City. It is built on reclaimed land from Kitchener Bay between Stokes Hill and Fort Hill. It was less than a 20min drive and there was hardly any traffic. We arrived just before 9am and there was plenty of parking to choose from. It was even better that parking is free and weekends. 

We began with a walk along the breakwater. The strong breeze making the bay very choppy but pleasant for us walking.

We checked out the wave pool and free man made beach, made safe from crocodiles and other nasty sea creatures as it is land locked by the sea wall.

We bumped into Gavin and Robyn and had a chat over coffee before heading into the CBD. There were a few historical buildings to look at. Some have been restored and others left in ruins after either the WWII bombings (1942) or Cyclone Tracy (1974).

We walked through the mall and then to the Cenotaph/War Memorial found in park land along the Esplanade. We read some stories of those who lost their lives during the WWII bombings.

We returned back to the waterfront and went to visit a unique part of WWII history -the Oil Storage Tunnels ($10pp).

Oil was crucial to the war effort so when almost every above-ground storage tank was destroyed during the bombing raid, the Allied forces commissioned eight underground oil storage tunnels. Construction began in 1943 but progress was slow. Only five of the eight tunnels were completed. The project ran over time and over budget and was cancelled after the war ended. It would have ended up costing more than £1,000,000 and was an engineering disaster as none of the tunnels could be used. Water began seeping between the tunnels’ steel lining and concrete walls almost immediately after they were built. Two of them were initially used to store jet aircraft fuel but the water made it unusable. Only two of the five tunnels are open to the public but the rest of them remain deep beneath the city streets. We strolled down the length of the longest tunnel, pausing to look at the historic information on display as well as a short film on the bombings.

We then joined Gavin and Robyn for lunch at the Precinct Tavern. 

Before we drove off there was one more spot to look at the ‘Survivors Lookout’.

On our way back to camp we filled up on fuel $1.70.

Mark watched the Bombers loose another game and then fixed the draw runners. (Get rid of some of the frustration!).

And so another day ends…