Northern Territory

File:Thomas Baines, Thomas Baines with Aborigines near the mouth of the Victoria River, N.T, 1857.jpg with Aboriginal Australians near the mouth of the Victoria River.]]

{{main|History of the Northern Territory}}

{{further|Prehistory of Australia|History of Indigenous Australians|Makassan contact with Australia}}

Humans have lived in the present area of the Northern Territory since at least 48,400 to 68,700 years ago.{{cite journal | last1=Clarkson | first1=Chris | last2=Jacobs | first2=Zenobia | last3=Marwick | first3=Ben | last4=Fullagar | first4=Richard | last5=Wallis | first5=Lynley | last6=Smith | first6=Mike | last7=Roberts | first7=Richard G. | last8=Hayes | first8=Elspeth | last9=Lowe | first9=Kelsey | last10=Carah | first10=Xavier | last11=Florin | first11=S. Anna | last12=McNeil | first12=Jessica | last13=Cox | first13=Delyth | last14=Arnold | first14=Lee J. | last15=Hua | first15=Quan | last16=Huntley | first16=Jillian | last17=Brand | first17=Helen E. A. | last18=Manne | first18=Tiina | last19=Fairbairn | first19=Andrew | last20=Shulmeister | first20=James | last21=Lyle | first21=Lindsey | last22=Salinas | first22=Makiah | last23=Page | first23=Mara | last24=Connell | first24=Kate | last25=Park | first25=Gayoung | last26=Norman | first26=Kasih | last27=Murphy | first27=Tessa | last28=Pardoe | first28=Colin | title=Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago | journal=Nature | publisher=Springer Nature | volume=547 | issue=7663 | year=2017 | issn=0028-0836 | doi=10.1038/nature22968 | pmid=28726833 | pages=306–310 | bibcode=2017Natur.547..306C | url=https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/107043/2/hdl_107043.pdf | hdl=2440/107043 | s2cid=205257212 | hdl-access=free | access-date=24 September 2019 | archive-date=25 October 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025030937/https://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/bitstream/2440/107043/2/hdl_107043.pdf | url-status=live }}

From the 17th or 18th century AD onwards, traders from Sulawesi established extensive seasonal trade links with the Indigenous peoples of Kimberley region, the modern-day Northern Territory, and Arnhem Land.{{cite journal | title = The view from Marege': Australian knowledge of Makassar and the impact of the trepangindustry across two centuries

| last = Macknight | first = Charles Campbell

| journal = Aboriginal History

| year = 2011 | volume = 35 | pages = 121–143

| jstor = 24046930

| doi = 10.22459/AH.35.2011.06

| doi-access = free}} They collected trepang (sea cucumber) for Chinese markets and introduced several goods and technologies to the Indigenous peoples. There is significant evidence of contact with Makassan fishers in examples of Indigenous Australian rock art and bark painting of northern Australia, with the Makassan perahu a prominent feature.{{sfn|Taçon|May|Fallon|Travers|2010}}{{cite news |last=Woodford |first=J. |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=20 September 2008 |title=The Rock Art That Redraws Our History |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/the-rock-art-that-redraws-our-history/2008/09/19/1221331206960.html |access-date=6 April 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920040854/http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/the-rock-art-that-redraws-our-history/2008/09/19/1221331206960.html |archive-date=20 September 2008}}

With the coming of the British, there were four early attempts to settle the harsh environment of the northern coast, of which three failed in starvation and despair. The land now occupied by the Northern Territory was part of colonial New South Wales from 1825 to 1863, except for a brief time from February to December 1846, when it was part of the short-lived colony of North Australia. The Northern Territory was part of South Australia from 1863 to 1911, and under its administration the Overland Telegraph Line was constructed between 1870 and 1872.{{cite web |author=National Museum of Australia |author-link=National Museum of Australia |date=2022-09-28 |title=National Museum of Australia – Overland telegraph |publisher=National Museum of Australia |url=https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/overland-telegraph |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330000552/https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/overland-telegraph |archive-date=30 March 2020 |access-date=2025-04-28 }}

From its establishment in 1869, the Port of Darwin was the major supply point for the Territory for many decades.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

A railway was built between Palmerston and Pine Creek between 1883 and 1889 as part of the North Australia Railway. The economic pattern of cattle raising and mining was established so that by 1911 there were 513,000 cattle. Victoria River Downs Station, {{Convert|686|km|mi}} west of Darwin,{{Cite web |title=Distance from Darwin to Victoria River Downs (DRW – VCD) |url=https://www.airmilescalculator.com/distance/drw-to-vcd/ |access-date=2024-09-17 |website=Air Miles Calculator |language=en}} was at one time the largest cattle station in the world.

Gold was found at Grove Hill in 1872 and at Pine Creek (in 1871), Brocks Creek, Burundi, and copper was found at Daly River.{{Cite report|last=Otterman|first=D.|date=2004|title=Daly River Project, Annual report for EL 22495, EL 22496, EL 22498 and EL 23595, for the period 6 September 2003 to 5 September 2004|url=https://geoscience.nt.gov.au/gemis/ntgsjspui/handle/1/83631|access-date=21 July 2021|archive-date=21 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721183556/https://geoscience.nt.gov.au/gemis/ntgsjspui/handle/1/83631|url-status=live}}

On 1 January 1911, a decade after Federation, the Northern Territory was separated from South Australia, alongside the Australian Capital Territory from NSW, and transferred to federal control. Alfred Deakin opined at this time "[t]o me the question has been not so much commercial as national, first, second, third and last. Either we must accomplish the peopling of the northern territory or submit to its transfer to some other nation."{{cite book|last=Walker|first=David|title=Anxious Nation: Australia and the Rise of Asia, 1850–1939|year=1999|publisher=University of Queensland Press|isbn=978-0702231315|page=122|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=spS6AAAAIAAJ}}

File:Letters Patent Northern Territory.jpg

In late 1912 there was growing sentiment that the name "Northern Territory" was unsatisfactory.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5351157|title=The Territory: Federal Policy Criticised|newspaper=The Advertiser|location=Adelaide|date=14 November 1912}}{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15375411|title=House of Representatives|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=14 November 1912}} The names "Kingsland" (after King George V and to correspond with Queensland), "Centralia" and "Territoria" were proposed with Kingsland becoming the preferred choice in 1913. However, the name change never went ahead.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59253861|title=Territoria or Kingsland!|newspaper=The Register|date=16 April 1914}}{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5396815|title=Kingsland: New name for the Northern Territory|newspaper=The Advertiser|date=22 April 1913|access-date=1 May 2017|archive-date=10 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191210053040/http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5396815|url-status=live}}

{{See also|List of massacres of Indigenous Australians}}

For a brief time between 1927 and 1931 the Northern Territory was divided into North Australia and Central Australia at the 20th parallel south. Soon after this time, parts of the Northern Territory were considered in the Kimberley Plan as a possible site for the establishment of a Jewish Homeland, understandably considered the "Unpromised Land".{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18097828 |title=Wasted Years |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |issue=34,577 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=16 October 1948 |access-date=20 July 2019 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article43802260 |title=Immigration Scheme That Failed |newspaper=The Advertiser (Adelaide) |volume=91 |issue=28178 |location=South Australia |date=29 January 1949 |access-date=20 July 2019 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia}}

During the early 20th century, the southern part of the Territory was considered the "last frontier" of Australian settlement, where 'sympathetic whites' hoped that Aboriginal traditions would continue to be practised.{{cite journal |date=2015 |title=Hunger and the humanitarian frontier |last=O'Brien |first=Anne |url=http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p332783/html/article05.xhtml?referer=1790&page=11 |journal=Aboriginal History |publisher=Aboriginal History Inc. ANU Press |volume=39 |access-date=30 May 2023 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604131320/https://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p332783/html/article05.xhtml?referer=1790&page=11 |url-status=live }} Conflicts arose due to the resource scarcity and the fragility of the cattle industry and the area was rife with Indigenous 'bush bandits' who speared cattle for food for want of employment by ranchers. This was exacerbated by a drought between 1925 and 1929 that led to the deaths of 85 per cent of the children at the Hermannsburg Mission in Central Australia. In the meantime, white attitudes towards Aboriginal people were paternalistic, torn between the desire to help them in times of hunger and the fear of "pauperizing" them and reducing their incentives to work.

In the 1928 Coniston massacre, punitive expeditions were carried out by white colonists led by Northern Territory Police constable William George Murray in response to the murder of a dingo hunter, resulting in the deaths of dozens to hundreds of people of the Warlpiri, Anmatyerre, and Kaytetye groups.{{cite book |last1=Bradley |first1=Michael |title=Coniston |date=2019 |publisher=UWA Press |location=Perth|isbn=9781760801045}} This was one of many massacres of Aboriginal people in the region.{{Cite web |last= |title=Some Known Frontier Conflicts in the Northern Territory |url=https://australianfrontierconflicts.com.au/timelines/some-known-frontier-conflicts-in-the-northern-territory/ |access-date=2024-09-17 |website=Australian Frontier Conflicts |language=en-AU |archive-date=17 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240917230217/https://australianfrontierconflicts.com.au/timelines/some-known-frontier-conflicts-in-the-northern-territory/ |url-status=live }}

During World War II, most of the Top End was placed under military government. This is the only time since Federation that part of an Australian state or territory has been under military control. After the war, control for the entire area was handed back to the Commonwealth. The Bombing of Darwin occurred on 19 February 1942. It was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. Evidence of Darwin's World War II history is found at a variety of preserved sites in and around the city, including ammunition bunkers, airstrips, oil tunnels and museums. The port was damaged in the 1942 Japanese air raids. It was subsequently restored.{{cite web |last1=Thiem |first1=David |title=Semaphore: 75 Years After the Bombing of Darwin a Story of Reconciliation Hope and Peace |url=https://seapower.navy.gov.au/media-room/publications/semaphore-04-17 |website=Semaphore |publisher=Royal Australian Navy |access-date=14 June 2024 |archive-date=14 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614125410/https://seapower.navy.gov.au/media-room/publications/semaphore-04-17 |url-status=live }}

In the late 1960s improved roads in adjoining States linking with the territory, port delays and rapid economic development led to uncertainty in port and regional infrastructure development. As a result of the Commission of Enquiry established by the Administrator,[http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Records/a590549]{{Dead link|date=July 2012}} port working arrangements were changed, berth investment deferred and a port masterplan prepared.{{cite book|url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2794315|title=Darwin and Northern Territory freight transport study|editor-last=Australia|date=30 April 1977|publisher=Australian Government Publishing Service|isbn=9780642033512|access-date=30 April 2019|via=National Library of Australia (new catalog)|archive-date=30 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430152242/https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2794315|url-status=live}} Extension of rail transport was then not considered because of low freight volumes.

Indigenous Australians had struggled for rights to fair wages and land. An important event in this struggle was the strike and walk off by the Gurindji people at Wave Hill Cattle Station in 1966. The Northern Territory Council for Aboriginal Rights (NTCAR) supported the strikers and provided publicity.{{cite web | title=Northern Territory Council for Aboriginal Rights | publisher=National Museum of Australia | date=26 November 2018 | url=https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/features/indigenous-rights/organisations/expansion-folder/northern-territory-council-aboriginal-rights#! | access-date=30 November 2020 | archive-date=14 May 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514125342/https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/features/indigenous-rights/organisations/expansion-folder/northern-territory-council-aboriginal-rights#! | url-status=dead }} The Federal government of Gough Whitlam set up the Woodward Royal Commission in February 1973, to enquire into how land rights might be achieved in the Northern Territory. Justice Woodward's first report in July 1973 recommended that a Central Land Council and a Northern Land Council be established to present to him the views of Aboriginal people. A Land Rights Bill was drafted, and the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 was passed by the Fraser government on 16 December 1976 and began operation on 26 January 1977).{{Cite web |title=Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00111/Html/Text |access-date=2022-03-01 |website=legislation.gov.au|archive-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117074252/https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2016C00111/Html/Text |url-status=live }} The Northern Territory Council for Aboriginal Rights was disestablished in 1976.

In 1974, from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, Darwin was devastated by tropical Cyclone Tracy. Cyclone Tracy killed 71 people, caused A$837 million in damage (approximately A$6.85 billion {{As of|2018|lc=on}}){{cite web|url=https://www.rba.gov.au/calculator/annualDecimal.html|title=Inflation Calculator|access-date=19 July 2019|author=Reserve Bank of Australia|date=30 October 2015|archive-date=25 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625131710/https://www.rba.gov.au/calculator/annualDecimal.html|url-status=live}} and destroyed more than 70 per cent of Darwin's buildings, including 80 per cent of houses. Tracy left more than 41,000 out of the 47,000 inhabitants of the city homeless. The city was rebuilt with much-improved construction codes and is a modern, landscaped metropolis today.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}

In 1978 the Territory was granted Self Government with a Legislative Assembly headed by a Chief Minister.{{Cite web |date=2024-09-17 |title=Northern Territory - Indigenous, Autonomy, Self-Government {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Northern-Territory/Government-and-society |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918022125/https://www.britannica.com/place/Northern-Territory/Government-and-society |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2020-05-13 |title=History of Self Government |url=https://territoryday.nt.gov.au/history-of-self-government/ |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=Territory Day |language=en-AU |archive-date=9 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909023053/https://territoryday.nt.gov.au/history-of-self-government/ |url-status=live }} The Administrator of the Northern Territory is another important position in the government and they act as the King's representative in the Territory and a part of their role is appointing the Chief Minister.{{Cite web |last=Government |first=Northern Territory |date=2023-09-22 |title=Role of the Administrator |url=https://govhouse.nt.gov.au/the-administrator/role-of-the-administrator |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=govhouse.nt.gov.au |language=en}} The Territory also publishes official notices in its own Government Gazette.{{Cite web |last=Government |first=Northern Territory |date=2024-07-18 |title=Government Gazettes |url=https://nt.gov.au/about-government/gazettes |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=nt.gov.au |language=en |archive-date=30 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240930205148/https://nt.gov.au/about-government/gazettes |url-status=live }}

In the 1980s, conservation-oriented areas in the Northern Territory such as Kakadu National Park and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their mix of natural heritage and Aboriginal culture.

During 1995–96 the Northern Territory was briefly one of the few places in the world with legal voluntary euthanasia, until the Federal Parliament overturned the legislation.{{cite web|url=http://www.nt.gov.au/lant/parliament/committees/rotti/parldebate.shtml|title=Select Committee on Euthanasia|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302220134/http://nt.gov.au/lant/parliament/committees/rotti/parldebate.shtml|archive-date=2 March 2011|date=13 September 2007|publisher=Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory}} Before the over-riding legislation was enacted, four people used the law supported by Dr Philip Nitschke.{{Cite web |last=Fedele |first=Robert |date=2024-02-11 |title=How the Northern Territory trailblazed Australia's voluntary assisted dying laws |url=https://anmj.org.au/how-the-northern-territory-trailblazed-australias-voluntary-assisted-dying-laws/ |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=Australian Nursing & Midwifery Journal |language=en-AU |archive-date=7 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240907121453/https://anmj.org.au/how-the-northern-territory-trailblazed-australias-voluntary-assisted-dying-laws/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Maitland-Newcastle |first=Catholic Diocese of |title=Philip Nitschke and 'rational suicide' {{!}} Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle |url=https://www.mn.catholic.org.au/news-events/news/philip-nitschke-and-rational-suicide/ |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=www.mn.catholic.org.au |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918002224/https://www.mn.catholic.org.au/news-events/news/philip-nitschke-and-rational-suicide/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Davey |first=Melissa |date=2016-04-22 |title=Philip Nitschke, the man who thinks we should all choose when to die |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/apr/22/philip-nitschke-choose-when-to-die-euthanasia-advocate |access-date=2024-09-18 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=8 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008060404/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/apr/22/philip-nitschke-choose-when-to-die-euthanasia-advocate |url-status=live }}

File:Northern Territory 0216.svg.]]

{{main|Geography of the Northern Territory}}

File:ISS036-E-029323 lrg.jpg

There are many very small settlements scattered across the Territory, but the larger population centres are located on the single paved road that links Darwin to southern Australia, the Stuart Highway, known to locals simply as "the track".

The Territory is home to many spectacular natural rock formations, including Uluru / Ayers Rock and Kata Tjuta / The Olgas in the Central Australian region and Kakadu National Park in the north. Each of these sites are sacred to the local Aboriginal people and which have become major International tourist attractions and recognised UNESCO World Heritage sites.{{Cite web |title=World Heritage: Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park |url=https://parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/discover/highlights/world-heritage/#:~:text=Uluru-Kata%20Tjuta%20National%20Park%20is%20included%20on%20the%20UNESCO,animals,%20and%20outstanding%20natural%20beauty. |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=parksaustralia.gov.au |language=en-au}}{{Cite web |title=World Heritage: Kakadu |url=https://parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu/discover/world-heritage/ |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=parksaustralia.gov.au |language=en-au |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918022631/https://parksaustralia.gov.au/kakadu/discover/world-heritage/ |url-status=live }}

The northern portion of the Territory is principally tropical savannas, composed of several distinct ecoregions – Arnhem Land tropical savanna, Carpentaria tropical savanna, Kimberley tropical savanna, Victoria Plains tropical savanna, and Mitchell Grass Downs. The southern portion of the Territory is covered in deserts and xeric shrublands, including the Great Sandy-Tanami desert, Simpson Desert, and Central Ranges xeric scrub.{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}

There are also an extensive series of river systems in the Territory. These rivers include: the Alligator Rivers, Daly River, Finke River, McArthur River, Roper River, Todd River and Victoria River.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} The Hay River is a river south-west of Alice Springs, with the Marshall River, Arthur Creek, Camel Creek and Bore Creek flowing into it.{{cite web|url=http://www.bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&p=212462&cmd=sp|title=Hay River|website=Bonzle.com|access-date=10 June 2019|archive-date=26 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726193944/http://www.bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&p=212462&cmd=sp|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Protected areas of the Northern Territory}}

{{see also|National parks of the Northern Territory}}

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}

• Barranyi (North Island) National Park
• Casuarina Coastal Reserve
• Daly River Nature Park
• Djukbinj National Park
• Dulcie Range National Park
• Elsey National Park
• Finke Gorge National Park
• Garig Gunak Barlu National Park
• Howard Springs Nature Park
• Iytwelepenty / Davenport Ranges National Park
• Judbarra / Gregory National Park
• Kakadu National Park
• Karlu Karlu / Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve
• Keep River National Park
• Litchfield National Park
• Mary River National Park
• Nitmiluk National Park
• Tjoritja / West MacDonnell National Park
• Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park
• Watarrka National Park

{{div col end}}

File:Mount Sonder.JPG|Mount Sonder, the fourth-highest mountain in the Northern Territory after nearby Mount Zeil, in West MacDonnell National Park

File:Kakadu 2488.jpg|Nourlangie Rock in Kakadu National Park

File:Jim jim falls.jpg|Jim Jim Falls, Kakadu National Park

File:Uluru NT Australia.JPG|Uluru / Ayers Rock, one of the best-known images of the Northern Territory

File:Uluru, helicopter view, cropped.jpg|Aerial view of Uluru / Ayers Rock

File:Kata Tjuta pan.jpg

File:Northern Territory Köppen.svg in the Northern Territory]]

File:Fires in Northern Territory, Australia.jpg

The Northern Territory has two distinctive climate zones.

The northern end, including Darwin, has a tropical climate with high humidity and two seasons, the wet (October to April) and dry season (May to September). During the dry season nearly every day is warm and sunny, and afternoon humidity averages around 30%. There is very little rainfall between May and September. In the coolest months of June and July, the daily minimum temperature may dip as low as {{convert|14|C}}, but very rarely lower, and frost has never been recorded.

The wet season is associated with tropical cyclones and monsoon rains. The majority of rainfall occurs between December and March (the southern hemisphere summer), when thunderstorms are common and afternoon relative humidity averages over 70% during the wettest months. On average more than {{convert|1570|mm|abbr=on}} of rain falls in the north. Rainfall is highest in north-west coastal areas, where rainfall averages from {{convert|1800|to|2100|mm|abbr=on}}.

The central region is the desert centre of the country, which includes Alice Springs and Uluru (Ayers Rock), and is semi-arid with little rain usually falling during the hottest months from October to March. Seasons are more distinct in central Australia, with very hot summers and cool winters. Frost is recorded a few times a year. The region receives less than {{convert|250|mm|abbr=on}} of rain per year.

The highest temperature recorded in the territory was {{convert|48.3|C}} at Finke on 1 and 2 January 1960. The lowest temperature was {{convert|-7.5|C}} at Alice Springs on 17 July 1976.{{cite web |title=Rainfall and Temperature Records: National |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/extreme/records/national.pdf |publisher=Bureau of Meteorology |access-date=17 November 2009 |archive-date=21 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321174915/http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/extreme/records/national.pdf |url-status=live }}

{{Weather box

|metric first = y

|single line = y

|location = Northern Territory

|Jan record high C = 48.3

|Feb record high C = 46.4

|Mar record high C = 45.0

|Apr record high C = 41.5

|May record high C = 40.2

|Jun record high C = 37.9

|Jul record high C = 37.5

|Aug record high C = 39.7

|Sep record high C = 42.0

|Oct record high C = 45.0

|Nov record high C = 46.1

|Dec record high C = 47.2

|Jan record low C = 6.7

|Feb record low C = 8.5

|Mar record low C = 4.7

|Apr record low C = 1.0

|May record low C = -4.2

|Jun record low C = -6.0

|Jul record low C = -7.5

|Aug record low C = -5.4

|Sep record low C = -2.8

|Oct record low C = 0.0

|Nov record low C = 3.5

|Dec record low C = 7.5

|source=Bureau of Meteorology{{cite web |title=Daily Extremes |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climate/extremes/monthly_extremes.cgi?area=nt |website=Bureau of Meteorology |access-date=5 December 2020 |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408191051/http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climate/extremes/monthly_extremes.cgi?area=nt |url-status=live }}

|date=November 2019}}

{{main|Government of the Northern Territory}}

File:Darwin (AU), Parliament House -- 2019 -- 4336-8.jpg building in Darwin]]

{{main|Northern Territory Parliament|Northern Territory Legislative Assembly|Proposed Northern Territory statehood}}

The Northern Territory Parliament is one of the three unicameral parliaments in the country. Based on the Westminster System, it consists of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly which was created in 1974, replacing the Northern Territory Legislative Council. It also produces the Northern Territory of Australia Government Gazette.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

The Northern Territory Legislative Council was the partly elected governing body from 1947 until its replacement by the fully elected Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in 1974. The total enrolment for the 1947 election was 4,443. The Northern Territory was split into five electorates: Darwin, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Batchelor, and Stuart.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

While this assembly exercises powers similar to those of the parliaments of the states of Australia, it does so by legislated devolution of powers from the Commonwealth Government, rather than by any constitutional right. As such, the Commonwealth Government retains the right to legislate for the territory, including the power to override legislation passed by the Legislative Assembly. The Monarch is represented by the Administrator of the Northern Territory, who performs a role similar to that of a state governor.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

Twenty-five members of the Legislative Assembly are elected to four-year terms from single-member electorates.{{Cite web |last=Government |first=Northern Territory |date=2017-06-16 |title=Members |url=https://parliament.nt.gov.au/members |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=parliament.nt.gov.au |language=en |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918023750/https://parliament.nt.gov.au/members |url-status=live }}

Numerous times since self government was granted there has been agitation for full statehood within the region.{{Cite news |date=2022-08-13 |title=The Northern Territory worked for decades to become a state. Could it ever happen? |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-14/northern-territory-statehood-future/101292860 |access-date=2024-09-18 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918023749/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-14/northern-territory-statehood-future/101292860 |url-status=live }} A referendum of voters in the Northern Territory was held on the issue in 1998, which resulted in a 'no' vote.{{Cite web |last=House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs |date=2007-05-01 |title=The long road to statehood: Report of the inquiry into the federal implications of statehood for the Northern Territory |url=https://www.aph.gov.au/binaries/house/committee/laca/ntstatehood/report/fullreport.pdf |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=Parliament of Australia}} This was a shock to both the Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments, as opinion polls showed most Territorians supported statehood. But under the Australian Constitution, the federal government may set the terms of entry to full statehood. The Northern Territory was offered three senators, rather than the twelve guaranteed to original states (because of the difference in populations, equal numbers of Senate seats would mean a Territorian's vote for a senator would have been worth more than 30 such votes in New South Wales or Victoria). Alongside what was cited as an arrogant approach adopted by then chief minister Shane Stone, it is believed that most Territorians, regardless of their general views on statehood, were reluctant to adopt the particular offer that was made.{{cite video |title=ABC Lateline Discussion |url=http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s13445.htm |url-status=dead |medium=Current Affairs |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |location=Australia |date=15 October 1998 |access-date=10 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060519013129/http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s13445.htm |archive-date=19 May 2006}}

The chief minister is the head of government of a self-governing territory (the head of a state government is a premier). The chief minister is appointed by the administrator, who in normal circumstances appoints the leader of whichever party holds the majority of seats in the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly. The current chief minister is Lia Finocchiaro of the Country Liberal Party. The CLP defeated Territory Labor to win office on 24 August 2024.{{Cite news |date=2024-08-26 |title='The important work has begun': NT chief minister-elect outlines new government's first steps |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-26/lia-finocchiaro-outlines-new-nt-governments-first-steps/104254328 |access-date=2024-09-18 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}{{Cite news |date=2024-08-24 |title=Who is Lia Finocchiaro, the woman who will become the NT's next chief minister? |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-25/lia-finocchiaro-clp-leader-chief-minister-nt-election/104266424 |access-date=2024-09-18 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918023929/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-25/lia-finocchiaro-clp-leader-chief-minister-nt-election/104266424 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Boecker |first=Brianna |date=2024-08-26 |title=First female Country Liberal Party chief minister of the Northern Territory. Who is Lia Finocchiaro? |url=https://womensagenda.com.au/politics/local/first-female-country-liberal-party-chief-minister-of-the-northern-territory-who-is-lia-finocchiaro/ |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=Women's Agenda |language=en-AU |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918023929/https://womensagenda.com.au/politics/local/first-female-country-liberal-party-chief-minister-of-the-northern-territory-who-is-lia-finocchiaro/ |url-status=live }}

The Northern Territory became self-governing on 1 July 1978 under its own administrator appointed by the Governor-General of Australia. The federal government, not the NT government, advises the governor-general on the appointment of the administrator, but by convention consults first with the Territory government. The current administrator is Hugh Heggie who commenced his three-year term on 31 January 2023; he had previously served as the Northern Territory’s Chief Health Officer.{{Cite web |last=McBain |first=Kirsty |date=2022-12-08 |title=Media Release: Dr Hugh Heggie PSM Appointed as Northern Territory Administrator |url=https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/mcbain/media-release/dr-hugh-heggie-psm-appointed-northern-territory-administrator |access-date=2024-09-18 |archive-date=17 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241217055903/https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/mcbain/media-release/dr-hugh-heggie-psm-appointed-northern-territory-administrator |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Government |first=Northern Territory |date=2024-02-05 |title=About the Administrator |url=https://govhouse.nt.gov.au/the-administrator/about-the-administrator |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=govhouse.nt.gov.au |language=en |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918024550/https://govhouse.nt.gov.au/the-administrator/about-the-administrator |url-status=live }}

File:Children wave Australian flags during an Anzac Day parade in Palmerston, Australia, April 25, 2013, as U.S. Marines with the 1st Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational 130425-M-AL626-014.jpg parade in Palmerston]]

The Northern Territory is represented in the federal parliament by two members in the House of Representatives and two members in the Senate. As of May 2022, resulting from the 2022 federal election, Marion Scrymgour from the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in Lingiari and Luke Gosling from the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in Solomon serve in the House of Representatives, and Malarndirri McCarthy from the ALP and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price from the Country Liberal Party serve in the Senate.

The Northern Territory is divided into seventeen local government areas: two cities, three municipalities, nine regions, and three shires. Shire, city and town councils are responsible for functions delegated by the Northern Territory parliament, such as road infrastructure and waste management. Council revenue comes mostly from property taxes and government grants.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-07-10 |title=Find your council |url=https://nt.gov.au/community/local-councils-remote-communities-and-homelands/find-your-council |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=Northern Territory Government |language=en |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918025244/https://nt.gov.au/community/local-councils-remote-communities-and-homelands/find-your-council |url-status=live }}

File:Australia Aboriginal Culture 011.jpg

{{Further|Aboriginal land councils in the Northern Territory}}

Aboriginal land councils in the Northern Territory are groups of Aboriginal landowners, set up under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976.{{Cite web |title=The Aboriginal Land Rights Act |url=https://www.clc.org.au/the-alra/#:~:text=The%20Land%20Rights%20Act%20mandated,form%20a%20new%20land%20council. |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=Central Land Council |language=en-AU}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Aboriginal Land Rights Act |url=https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/aboriginal-land-rights-act |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=National Museum of Australia |language=en |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918024900/https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/aboriginal-land-rights-act |url-status=live }}

The two historically dominant political parties in the Northern Territory are the conservative Country Liberal Party which governed the Territory from 1974 to 2001, from 2012 to 2016 and since 2024, and the social-democratic Australian Labor Party which governed the Territory from 2001 to 2012 and from 2016 to 2024. Minor parties that are also active in the NT include the Northern Territory Greens, the Shooters and Fishers Party and various others. It is common for independent politicians to win elections.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

The CLP's rule was once so tight, that a former minister once said the CLP had a "'rightful inheritance of being the party that runs this place'".{{cite news | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-09/nt-election-clp-seeking-return-after-two-terms-in-opposition/104185102 | title=After eight years in the political wilderness, the CLP hopes it can return to power in the NT | newspaper=ABC News | date=8 August 2024 | archive-date=26 August 2024 | access-date=27 August 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240826124139/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-09/nt-election-clp-seeking-return-after-two-terms-in-opposition/104185102 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=https://territorystories.nt.gov.au/10070/462324/0/89 | title=Arcadian populism. The Country Liberal Party and Self-Government in the Northern Territory | access-date=27 August 2024 | archive-date=27 August 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240827092455/https://territorystories.nt.gov.au/10070/462324/0/89 | url-status=live }}

The 2024 Northern Territory general election saw the NT Greens win a seat in the Legislative Assembly, with Kat McNamara defeating former Chief Minister Natasha Fyles in the seat of Nightcliff; this marked the first time the Greens entered the Legislative Assembly in the history of the Northern Territory.{{cite web|url=https://www.tallyroom.com.au/56505|title=Greens win Nightcliff from third place|author=Ben Raue|work=The Tally Room|date=4 September 2024 }}

As fewer parties and candidates contest Northern Territory general elections than they do Australian federal elections in the Northern Territory, the CLP, Labor and independents usually have a higher vote share at territory elections than at federal elections in the Northern Territory due to the absence of right-wing minor parties such as Pauline Hanson's One Nation and the fact that the Greens do not run in every seat at territory elections.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

{{See also|Demographics of Australia}}

File:ABS-3101.0-AustralianDemographicStatistics-EstimatedResidentPopulationStatesTerritories-EstimatedResidentPopulation-Persons-NorthernTerritory-A2060849W.svg

The population of the Northern Territory at the 2011 Australian census was 211,945,[http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/7?opendocument&navpos=220 2011 Census QuickStats: Northern Territory] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313015221/http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/7?opendocument&navpos=220 |date=13 March 2018 }}, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 9 August 2011. a 10 per cent increase from the 2006 census. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated a June 2015 resident population of 244,300, taking into account residents overseas or interstate. The territory's population represents 1% of the total population of Australia.{{cite web| url = http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3101.0| title = 3101.0 – Australian Demographic Statistics, Mar 2016| access-date = 1 November 2016| publisher = Australian Bureau of Statistics| date = 22 September 2016| archive-date = 11 January 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180111105412/http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/3101.0| url-status = live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3218.0Main%20Features502014-15|title=3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2014-15, Northern Territory|date=29 March 2016|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics|access-date=29 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310034527/http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3218.0Main%20Features502014-15|archive-date=10 March 2017|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3101.0Main%20Features1Dec%202011?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=3101.0&issue=Dec%202011&num=&view=|title=3101.0 – Australian Demographic Statistics, Dec 2011|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics|date=25 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829122148/http://abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs%40.nsf/Latestproducts/3101.0Main%20Features1Dec%202011?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=3101.0&issue=Dec%202011&num=&view=|archive-date=29 August 2012|url-status=dead}}

File:Darwin homebanner.jpg is the capital and largest city in the Northern Territory]]

The Northern Territory's population is the youngest in Australia and has the largest proportion (23.2%) under 15 years of age and the smallest proportion (5.7%) aged 65 and over. The median age of residents of the Northern Territory is 31 years, six years younger than the national median age.

File:Alice Springs (2049606825).jpg]]

Indigenous Australians make up 30.3% of population{{Cite web |date=2023-08-31 |title=Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 30 June 2021 {{!}} Australian Bureau of Statistics |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/estimates-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-australians/latest-release |access-date=2024-08-27 |website=www.abs.gov.au |language=en |archive-date=27 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227124201/https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/estimates-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-australians/latest-release |url-status=live }} and own some 49% of the land. The life expectancy of Aboriginal Australians is well below that of non-Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory, a fact that is mirrored elsewhere in Australia. ABS statistics suggest that Indigenous Australians die about 11 years earlier than the average non-Indigenous Australian. There are Aboriginal communities in many parts of the territory, the largest ones being the Pitjantjatjara near Uluru / Ayers Rock, the Arrernte near Alice Springs, the Luritja between those two, the Warlpiri further north, and the Yolngu in eastern Arnhem Land.

In 2019, 147,255{{cite web |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/regional-population/2018-19 |title=Regional population, 2018-19 financial year |website=abs.gov.au |date=25 March 2020 |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |access-date=3 February 2021 |archive-date=8 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408103747/https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/regional-population/2018-19 |url-status=live }} people lived in Darwin, an overwhelming majority of the Territory's population. Despite this, the Northern Territory is the least urbanised jurisdiction in the Commonwealth (followed by Tasmania).{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

{{See also|List of places in the Northern Territory by population}}

At the 2016 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were:{{refn|group="N"|As a percentage of 199,426 persons who nominated their ancestry at the 2016 census.}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=13em|

• Indigenous (30.3%){{refn|group="N"|Of any ancestry. Includes those identifying as Aboriginal Australians or Torres Strait Islanders. Indigenous identification is separate to the ancestry question on the Australian Census and persons identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander may identify any ancestry.}}
• Australian (28.1%){{refn|group="N"|The Australian Bureau of Statistics has stated that most who nominate "Australian" as their ancestry are part of the Anglo-Celtic group.{{cite web|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/49f609c83cf34d69ca2569de0025c182!OpenDocument|title=Feature Article – Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Australia (Feature Article)|website=abs.gov.au|date=January 1995|access-date=23 June 2019|archive-date=20 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420205113/http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs%40.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/49f609c83cf34d69ca2569de0025c182%21OpenDocument|url-status=live}}}}
• English (27.5%)
• Irish (9.3%)
• Scottish (7.5%)
• German (4.4%)
• Filipino (3.5%)
• Chinese (3.1%)
• Indian (2.3%)
• Italian (2.1%)
• Greek (2%)
• Dutch (1.3%)

}}

31.2% of the population was born overseas at the 2016 census. The five largest groups of overseas-born were from the Philippines (2.6%), England (2.4%), New Zealand (2%), India (1.6%) and Greece (0.6%).

25.5% of the population, or 58,248 people, identified as Indigenous Australians (Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders) in 2016.{{refn|group="N"|Of any ancestry. Includes those identifying as Aboriginal Australians or Torres Strait Islanders. Indigenous identification is separate to the ancestry question on the Australian Census and persons identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander may identify any ancestry.}}

File:Glen Namundja.jpg artist Glen Namundja creating art in the style pioneered in Arnhem Land]]

At the 2021 census, 57.3% of the population spoke only English at home. The other languages most commonly spoken at home were Kriol (2.2%), Djambarrpuyngu (1.7%), Greek (1.4%) and Nepali (1.3%).{{cite web|url=https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/snapshot-nt-2021#:~:text=Housing-,Population,the%20Census%20counted%2072%2C000%20people|title=Snapshot Northern Territory, Housing and Population Census 2021|date=28 June 2022|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=21 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721094557/https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/snapshot-nt-2021#:~:text=Housing-,Population,the%20Census%20counted%2072%2C000%20people|url-status=live}}

There are more than 100 Aboriginal languages and dialects spoken in the Northern Territory,{{cite web |url=http://www.dlgcs.nt.gov.au/interpreting/aboriginal_interpreter_service/aboriginal_languages_in_the_NT |title=Department of Local Government and Community Services – Aboriginal Languages in the NT |access-date=23 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130114822/http://www.dlgcs.nt.gov.au/interpreting/aboriginal_interpreter_service/aboriginal_languages_in_the_NT |archive-date=30 January 2016 }} in addition to English which is most common in cities such as Darwin or Alice Springs. Major indigenous languages spoken in the Northern Territory include Murrinh-patha and Ngangikurrungurr in the northwest around Wadeye, Warlpiri and Warumungu in the centre around Tennant Creek, Arrernte around Alice Springs, Pintupi-Luritja to the south east, Pitjantjatjara in the south near Uluru / Ayers Rock, Yolngu Matha to the far north in Arnhem Land (where the dialect Djambarrpuyngu of Dhuwal is considered a lingua franca), and Burarra, Maung, Iwaidja and Kunwinjku in the centre north and on Croker Island and the Goulburn Islands. Tiwi is spoken on Melville Island and Bathurst Island.{{cite web |url=http://www.dlgcs.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/6540/AIS_map_language.pdf |title=Major Aboriginal languages of the Northern Territory |access-date=23 January 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130110726/http://www.dlgcs.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/6540/AIS_map_language.pdf |archive-date=30 January 2016 |website=dlgcs.nt.gov.au }} Literature in many of these languages is available in the Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages.

{{Pie chart

|caption = Religious Affiliation (2021)

|label1 = Christianity |value1 = 40.5 |color1 = DodgerBlue

|label2 = No Religion |value2 = 38.5 |color2 = Grey

|label3 = Hinduism |value3 = 2.7 |color3 = Orange|label4 = Buddhism |value4 = 2.4 |color4 = Yellow|label5 = Islam |value5 = 1.4|color5 =Green|label6 = Not Stated & Others |value6 = 14.2 |color6 = Black}}

In the 2021 census, Christianity is the major Religious affiliation in Northern Territory followed by 40.5% of its population. In 1971, Christianity was followed by 70.2% of the population and it has been declining since, while percentage of people who identified as having no religious affiliation has increased from 17.9% in 1971 to 38.5% in 2021.

Hinduism is the territory's largest non-Christian religion (2.7%), followed by Buddhism (2.1%) and Islam (1.4%).{{Cite web|url=https://profile.id.com.au/australia/religion?WebID=160|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709223800/http://profile.id.com.au/australia/religion?WebID=160|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 July 2015|title=Profile .id, Community Profile – Regional NT|website=Profile.id.com.au|access-date=21 June 2018}}

File:Charles Darwin University, NT.jpg]]

A Northern Territory school education consists of six years of primary schooling, including one transition year, three years of middle schooling, and three years of secondary schooling. In the beginning of 2007, the Northern Territory introduced Middle School for Years 7–9 and High School for Years 10–12. Northern Territory children generally begin school at age five. On completing secondary school, students earn the Northern Territory Certificate of Education and Training (NTCET). Students who successfully complete their secondary education also receive a tertiary entrance ranking, or ATAR score, to determine university admittance.

Northern Territory schools are either publicly or privately funded. Public schools, also known as state or government schools, are funded and run directly by the Department of Education.{{cite web|url=http://www.education.nt.gov.au/about-us|title=About us|date=22 December 2023|website=Department of Education|publisher=Northern Territory Government|access-date=23 March 2015|archive-date=27 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150227161242/http://www.education.nt.gov.au/about-us|url-status=live}} Private fee-paying schools include schools run by the Catholic Church and independent schools, some elite ones similar to English public schools. Some Northern Territory Independent schools are affiliated with Protestant, Lutheran, Anglican, Greek Orthodox or Seventh-day Adventist Churches, but include non-church schools and an Indigenous school.

As of 2009, the Northern Territory had 151 public schools, 15 Catholic schools and 21 independent schools. 39,492 students were enrolled in schools around the territory with 29,175 in public schools, and 9,882 in independent schools. The Northern Territory has about 4,000 full-time teachers.

The Northern Territory has one university which opened in 1989 under the name of the Northern Territory University.{{cite web|url=https://www.cdu.edu.au/25th-anniversary|title=Celebrating 25 Years of University Education in the Northern Territory|access-date=24 March 2015|archive-date=17 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717122525/https://www.cdu.edu.au/25th-anniversary|url-status=live}} Now renamed as the Charles Darwin University, it had about 19,000 students enrolled: about 5,500 higher education students and about 13,500 students on vocational education and training (VET) courses. The first tertiary institution in the territory was the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education which was established in the mid-1960s.

Library & Archives NT is the Northern Territory's public research library and archival organisation and it supports the development of library services across the Territory by supporting public libraries.{{Cite web |title=Visit Us {{!}} Library & Archives NT |url=https://lant.nt.gov.au/visit-us |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=lant.nt.gov.au |archive-date=14 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314002259/https://lant.nt.gov.au/visit-us |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Services to Public Libraries {{!}} Library & Archives NT |url=https://lant.nt.gov.au/services-public-libraries |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=lant.nt.gov.au |archive-date=14 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314002259/https://lant.nt.gov.au/services-public-libraries |url-status=live }} Library & Archives NT was formed in 2019 following the merge of the Northern Territory Archives Service and the Northern Territory Library.{{Cite web |last=Find & Connect Web Resource Project |first=The University of Melbourne and Australian Catholic University |title=Library & Archives NT – Organisation – Find & Connect – Northern Territory |url=https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/nt/biogs/ENT0112b.htm |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=findandconnect.gov.au|archive-date=14 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314002259/https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/nt/biogs/ENT0112b.htm |url-status=live }}

The National Archives of Australia also have a repository in Darwin, this is collocated with the Library & Archives NT repository at the Northern Territory Archives Centre.{{Cite web |title=Northern Territory |url=https://www.naa.gov.au/visit-us/northern-territory |access-date=2024-03-14 |website=National Archives of Australia |archive-date=14 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240314002300/https://www.naa.gov.au/visit-us/northern-territory |url-status=live }}

{{See also|Australian economy}}

File:Ranger Uranium Mine in Kakadu National Park.jpeg in the Kakadu National Park]]

The Northern Territory's economy is largely driven by mining, which is concentrated on energy producing minerals, petroleum and energy and contributes around $2.5 billion to the gross state product and employs over 4,600 people. Mining accounts for 14.9% of the gross state product in 2014–15 compared to just 7% nationally.{{cite web |url=http://www.nt.gov.au/d/Minerals_Energy/index.cfm?header=About%20Minerals%20and%20Energy |title=About Minerals and Energy Department of Regional Development, Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources |website=Nt.gov.au |date=16 September 2011 |access-date=23 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523211519/http://www.nt.gov.au/d/Minerals_Energy/index.cfm?header=About%20Minerals%20and%20Energy |archive-date=23 May 2013 |url-status=dead }}

In recent years, largely due to the effect of major infrastructure projects and mine expansions, construction has overtaken mining as the largest single industry in the territory. Construction, mining and manufacturing, and government and community services, combine to account for about half of the territory's gross state product (GSP), compared to about a third of national gross domestic product (GDP).{{cite web|url=https://www.budget.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/277602/2016-17-Economy-Overview.pdf|title=Budget 2016-17 Northern Territory Economy Overview|access-date=16 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224040656/https://budget.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/277602/2016-17-Economy-Overview.pdf|archive-date=24 February 2017|url-status=dead}}

The economy has grown considerably over the past decade, from a value of $15 billion in 2004–05 to over $22 billion in 2014–15. In 2012–13 the territory economy expanded by 5.6%, over twice the level of national growth, and in 2014–15 it grew by 10.5%, four times the national growth rate.

Between 2003 and 2006 the gross state product had risen from $8.67 billion to $11.476 billion, an increase of 32.4%. During the three years to 2006–2007 the Northern Territory gross state product grew by an average annual rate of 5.5%. Gross state product per capita in the Northern Territory ($72,496) is higher than any Australian state or territory and is also higher than the gross domestic product per capita for Australia ($54,606).

The Northern Territory's exports were up 12.9% or $681 million in 2012–13. The largest contributor to the territory's exports was: mineral fuels (largely LNG), crude materials (mainly mineral ores) and food and live animals (primarily live cattle). The main international markets for territory exports are Japan, China, Indonesia, the United States and Korea.{{cite web |title=Northern Territory Economy Overview |year=2014 |url=http://www.treasury.nt.gov.au/_layouts/download.aspx?SourceUrl=/PMS/Publications/BudgetFinance/BudgetPapers/I-BP07-1415.docx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321135743/http://www.treasury.nt.gov.au/_layouts/download.aspx?SourceUrl=%2FPMS%2FPublications%2FBudgetFinance%2FBudgetPapers%2FI-BP07-1415.docx |archive-date=2017-03-21 |access-date=2025-04-28 }}{{page needed |date=April 2025}}

Imports to the Northern Territory totalled $2,887.8 million which consisted of mainly machinery and equipment manufacturing (58.4%) and petroleum, coal, chemical and associated product manufacturing (17.0%).{{cite web | title = Northern Territory Economics | publisher = Australian Bureau of Statistics | url = http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/7d12b0f6763c78caca257061001cc588/9ee724f9094de980ca257384000dbaa1!OpenDocument | date = 31 October 2007 | access-date = 27 July 2008 | archive-date = 10 August 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080810023527/http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/7d12b0f6763c78caca257061001cc588/9ee724f9094de980ca257384000dbaa1!OpenDocument | url-status = live }}

The principal mining operations are bauxite at Gove Peninsula where the production is estimated to increase 52.1% to $254 million in 2007–08, manganese at Groote Eylandt, production is estimated to increase 10.5% to $1.1 billion which will be helped by the newly developed mines include Bootu Creek and Frances Creek, gold which is estimated to increase 21.7 per cent to $672 million at the Union Reefs plant and uranium at Ranger Uranium Mine.{{cite web |url=http://www.budget.nt.gov.au/papers/econ/8_mining_energy.pdf |title=Northern Territory Budget Mining and energy |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720225746/http://www.budget.nt.gov.au/papers/econ/8_mining_energy.pdf |archive-date=20 July 2008 |access-date=29 January 2017 }}

Tourism is an important economic driver for the territory and a significant industry in regional areas.{{cite web|url=https://www.economyprofile.com.au/|title=Australian Economy Profiles – by REMPLAN|website=Economyprofile.com.au|access-date=30 April 2019|archive-date=26 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626155811/https://www.economyprofile.com.au/|url-status=live}} Iconic destinations such as Uluru / Ayers Rock and Kakadu make the Northern Territory a popular destination for domestic and international travellers. Diverse landscapes, waterfalls, wide open spaces, aboriginal culture and wild and untamed wildlife provides the opportunity for visitors to immerse themselves in the natural wonder that the Northern Territory offers. In 2015, the territory received a total of about 1.6 million domestic and international visitors contributing an estimated $2.0 billion to the local economy. Holiday visitors made up the majority of total visitation (about 792,000 visitors).

Tourism has strong links to other sectors in the economy including accommodation and food services, retail trade, recreation and culture, and transport.

Wide Open Space is an annual festival of music, arts and culture{{cite web | title=History | website=Wide Open Space Festival | url=http://wideopenspace.net.au/history/ | access-date=29 August 2021 | archive-date=29 August 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829082117/http://wideopenspace.net.au/history/ | url-status=dead }} that takes place over three days at the Ross River Resort in the McDonnell Ranges, around {{cvt|80|km}} east of Alice Springs.{{cite web | title=Getting to WOS | website=Wide Open Space Festival | date=29 August 2021 | url=http://wideopenspace.net.au/event_info/getting-to-wos/ | access-date=29 August 2021 | archive-date=29 August 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829082110/http://wideopenspace.net.au/event_info/getting-to-wos/ | url-status=dead }} over three days in April/May.{{cite web | title=Event Info | website=Wide Open Space Festival | url=http://wideopenspace.net.au/event_info/ | access-date=29 August 2021 | archive-date=29 August 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829082114/http://wideopenspace.net.au/event_info/ | url-status=dead }}

The Northern Territory announced that it will undertake a project which will benefit its marine industry, including the development of a new Marine Industry Park near Darwin.{{when|date=August 2021}}{{cite web | title=NT's maritime industry to set sail | website=The Australian | url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sponsored/3F6nz0DIWHJLbSwwEtYz/nts-maritime-industry-to-set-sail | access-date=29 August 2021 | archive-date=29 August 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829115121/https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sponsored/3F6nz0DIWHJLbSwwEtYz/nts-maritime-industry-to-set-sail | url-status=live }}

{{See also|Transportation in Australia}}

File:LasseterHighway.JPG connects Uluru (Ayers Rock) to the Stuart Highway]]

File:NR45 + NR10 + Ghan Alice Springs, 2015 (02).JPG]]

The Northern Territory is the most sparsely populated state or territory in Australia.

The NT has a connected network of sealed roads, including two national highways, linking with adjoining states and connecting the major territory population centres, and other important centres such as Uluru (Ayers Rock), Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks. The Stuart Highway, once known as "The Track", runs north to south, connecting Darwin and Alice Springs to Adelaide. Some of the sealed roads are single-lane bitumen. Many unsealed (dirt) roads connect the more remote settlements.

The fatigue resulting from long-distance driving and the hazards inherent in dirt roads, wildlife, water crossings and wild weather have led the Northern Territory Government to pursue road safety campaigns in English and several Aboriginal languages. Persuading people to drive at the right speed for the road conditions has been a key goal.{{cite web |url=https://roadsafety.nt.gov.au/campaigns/drive-to-conditions2 |title=Drive to conditions |author= |date=2021 |website=Towards Zero |publisher=Northern Territory Government |access-date=3 January 2022 |archive-date=3 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103055147/https://roadsafety.nt.gov.au/campaigns/drive-to-conditions2 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://nt.gov.au/driving/safety/fatigue-and-driving |title=Fatigue and driving |author= |date=March 2015 |website=Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics |publisher=Northern Territory Government |access-date=3 January 2022 |archive-date=3 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103055148/https://nt.gov.au/driving/safety/fatigue-and-driving |url-status=live }} {{As of|2021}}, the Northern Territory's road vehicle speed limit in built-up areas was 60 kilometres per hour unless the town had gazetted a lower default speed limit: many had chosen 50 km/h or lower. Outside most built-up areas the default speed limit was 110 km/h unless a speed limit sign stated otherwise. Reflecting the nature of the topography and very low population density, some sections of the Arnhem, Barkly, Stuart and Victoria highways had a maximum speed of 130 km/h.{{cite web |url=https://nt.gov.au/driving/safety/speed-limits |title=Speed limits |author= |date=December 2020 |website=Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics |publisher=Northern Territory Government |access-date=3 January 2022 |archive-date=21 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221040036/https://nt.gov.au/driving/safety/speed-limits |url-status=live }}

In 2004, a standard gauge railway was opened between Alice Springs and Darwin, completing the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor and bringing to fruition the dream of a transcontinental railway initiated in 1878 with the Central Australia Railway from the south and the North Australia Railway from the north – but with a gap of more than 800 km (500 mi) between Alice Springs and Birdum still to be bridged when the antique {{Track gauge|1067mm|comma=off}} narrow-gauge railway was closed in 1976.{{cite book |title=The Ghan: the story of the Alice Springs railway |first=Basil |last=Fuller |date=1975 |location= Adelaide |publisher=Rigby |isbn=0727000160|page=180}} The line carries fast freight trains and one passenger train: The Ghan experiential tourism train that runs between Darwin and Adelaide, stopping in the NT at Katherine, Tennant Creek, Alice Springs and Kulgera.

Darwin International Airport is the major domestic and international airport for the territory. Several smaller airports are also scattered throughout the territory and are served by smaller airlines, including Alice Springs Airport, Ayers Rock Airport, Katherine Airport and Tennant Creek Airport.

The Northern Territory has only one daily tabloid newspaper, News Corporation's Northern Territory News, or NT News. The Sunday Territorian is the sister paper to the NT News and is the only dedicated Sunday tabloid newspaper in the Northern Territory.

The Centralian Advocate is circulated around the Alice Springs region twice a week. There are also five weekly community newspapers. The territory receives the national daily, The Australian, while The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Guardian Weekly are also available in Darwin. Katherine's paper is the Katherine Times.

There is an LGBT community publication, QNews Magazine,{{cite web|url=https://qnews.com.au/about-us/|title=About Us|website=Qnews.com.au|access-date=30 April 2019|archive-date=29 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429103551/https://qnews.com.au/about-us/|url-status=live}} which is published in Darwin and Alice Springs.

Metropolitan Darwin has had five broadcast television stations:

• ABC Northern Territory – (ABD)
• SBS Northern Territory – (SBS)
• Southern Cross Seven – (TND) – Seven Network Affiliate
• Nine Network Darwin – (NTD)
• Ten Darwin (or Darwin Digital Television) – (DTD) – Network Ten Affiliate

Darwin also has four open-narrowcast stations:

• First Nations TV
• Darwin TV
• First Nations Tourism TV
• Business TV

Regional Northern Territory has a similar availability of stations:

• ABC Northern Territory – (ABD)
• SBS Northern Territory – (SBS)
• Seven Central – (QQQ) – Seven Network Affiliate
• Imparja – (IMP) – Nine Network Affiliate
• Ten Central (or Central Digital Television) – (CDT) – Network Ten Affiliate

Remote areas are generally required to receive television via the Viewer Access Satellite Television service, which carries the same channels as the regional areas, as well as some extra open-narrowcast services, including Indigenous Community Television and Westlink.

Darwin has radio stations on both AM and FM frequencies. ABC stations include ABC Radio Darwin (105.7FM), ABC Radio National (657AM), ABC News Radio (102.5FM), ABC Classic FM (107.3FM) and Triple J (103.3FM). The two commercial stations are Hot 100 FM (8HOT) and Mix 104.9 (8MIX). The leading community stations are 104.1 Territory FM (8TOP) and 94.5 Radio Larrakia (8KNB).

The radio stations in Alice Springs are also broadcast on the AM and FM frequencies. ABC stations include Triple J (94.9FM), ABC Classic FM (97.9FM), 783 ABC Alice Springs (783AM), ABC News Radio (104.1FM) and ABC Radio National (99.7FM). There are two community stations in the town—CAAMA (100.5FM) and 8CCC (102.1FM). The commercial stations, which are both owned by the same company are Sun 96.9 (96.9FM) and 8HA (900AM). Christian radio station Vision Christian Radio (88.0FM). Two additional stations, Territory FM (98.7FM) and Radio TAB (95.9FM) are syndicated from Darwin and Brisbane, respectively.

{{main|Sport in the Northern Territory}}

Australian rules football in the Northern Territory is widely popular, particularly with Indigenous Australian communities in Darwin, Alice Springs and the Tiwi Islands. The governing body for football in the territory is the AFL Northern Territory.

The Northern Territory is home to a number of cultural institutions of importance to the nation.

These include:

• Araluen Art Centre and the Museum of Central Australia; within the Araluen Cultural Precinct
• The Darwin Symphony Orchestra{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://dso.org.au/ |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=Darwin Symphony Orchestra |language=en-US |archive-date=18 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918025738/https://dso.org.au/ |url-status=live }}
• The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory{{Cite web |title=MAGNT {{!}} Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory |url=https://www.magnt.net.au/ |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=MAGNT |language=en |archive-date=31 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331192808/https://www.magnt.net.au/ |url-status=live }}
• Library & Archives NT{{Cite web |title=Homepage {{!}} Library & Archives NT |url=https://lant.nt.gov.au/ |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=lant.nt.gov.au |archive-date=13 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240313020602/https://lant.nt.gov.au/ |url-status=live }}
• The Strehlow Research Centre{{Cite web |title=The Strehlow Research Centre {{!}} Araluen Arts Centre |url=https://araluenartscentre.nt.gov.au/strehlow-research-centre |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=araluenartscentre.nt.gov.au |archive-date=8 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240908054918/https://www.araluenartscentre.nt.gov.au/strehlow-research-centre |url-status=live }}

{{portal|border=no|Australia}}

• Australian Aboriginal prehistoric sites
• Crime in the Northern Territory
• Index of Australia-related articles
• Juvenile detention in the Northern Territory
• Northern Territory Police
• List of highways in the Northern Territory
• :Category:Cities in the Northern Territory
• :Category:Towns in the Northern Territory

{{reflist|group=N}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist |30em}}

{{Refbegin |30em |indent=yes}}

• Hill, Ernestine. 1951. The Territory: The classic saga of Australia's far north. Angus & Robertson. Reprint: 1995. {{ISBN|0-207-18821-1}}
• Govan, A. (2007) Broadband debate key to NT's future. N.T. Business Review, vol. N/A, no. N/A, p. 7
• Morrison, P. (2000) a pilot implementation of internet access for remote aboriginal communities in the "Top end" Of Australia. Urban Studies, Vol. 37, No.10, pp. 1781–1792.
• {{cite book |last1=Taçon |last2=May |last3=Fallon |last4=Travers |year=2010 |title=((n.t.)) }}{{full citation needed |date=April 2025}}
• Toyne, P. (2002) Northern Territory Government's Response to the House of Representatives Communications, Information Technology & the Arts Committee inquiry into Wireless Broadband Communications. In N.T. GOVERNMENT (Ed.) (pp. 3). Darwin: Northern Territory Government.
• Toyne, P. (2003) Remote Areas Telecommunications Strategy 2003–2008. In N. T. GOVERNMENT (Ed.) (pp. 1– 32). Darwin N.T. viewed 6 February 2008, <[https://web.archive.org/web/20080815000000*/http://www.nt.gov.au/dcis/it/docs/ntg_remote_telec_strat.pdf Wayback Machine]>

{{Refend}}

• [http://www.nt.gov.au/ Northern Territory Government of Australia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100814144421/http://www.det.nt.gov.au/ |date=14 August 2010 }}
• [http://www.travelnt.com/ Northern Territory Visitor's Guide] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060407100150/http://www.travelnt.com/ |date=7 April 2006 }}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/1304.72007?OpenDocument |title=Northern Territory at a Glance, 2007 |last=Australian Bureau of Statistics |date=27 April 2007 |format=PDF 855 kB |ref=none |access-date=30 April 2007 |archive-date=21 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070921064329/http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/1304.72007?OpenDocument |url-status=live }}
• {{osmrelation|2316594}}
• [http://www.bom.gov.au/nt/ Northern Territory Weather and Warnings Summary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102070854/http://www.bom.gov.au/nt/ |date=2 January 2011 }} from the Bureau of Meteorology
• [https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-43512/ Northern-Territory Northern Territory Climate] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060320211903/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-43512 |date=20 March 2006 }}
• [http://www.nt.gov.au/dpifm/Minerals_Energy/index.cfm?header=About%20Minerals%20and%20Energy/ Northern Territory economy/mining]{{Dead link|date=January 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070831063036/http://www.cdu.edu.au/visiting/abouthistory.html Northern Territory Universities]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100618212829/http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs%40.nsf/mf/3101.0?opendocument Northern Territory Population estimates June 2007]
• [http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/26E2ADC6E07B7A12CA2573A6001351D2/$File/31010_jun%202007.pdf June 2007 NT population estimates] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227052305/http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/26E2ADC6E07B7A12CA2573A6001351D2/$File/31010_jun%202007.pdf |date=27 February 2008 }}
• [http://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/placenames/index.jsp NT Street and Place Names search] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312222244/http://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/placenames/index.jsp |date=12 March 2018 }}

{{Subject bar |auto=y |portal1=Australia |portal2= }}

{{Northern Territory}}

{{Energy in the Northern Territory}}

{{States and territories of Australia}}

{{Australia topics}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:States and territories established in 1911

Category:States and territories of Australia

Category:1911 establishments in Australia