History of the Northern Territory
British groups made attempts to settle the coastal regions of the Territory from 1824 onwards, but no settlement proved successful until the establishment of Port Darwin in 1869.
Although sparse, the archaeological record of the Northern Territory provides evidence of settlement around 60,000 years ago at Malakunanja and Nauwalabila, although there is controversy surrounding the thermoluminescent dating of these sites.
[2] The dingo was introduced from Asia around 3,500 years ago and quickly became integrated into Aboriginal societies, where they played a role in hunting and provided warmth on cold nights.
Later the people who traded out of Makassar (now Ujung Pandang) came in search of trepang, which was prized for its culinary and medicinal values in Chinese markets.
Following British settlement in New South Wales in 1788, four unsuccessful attempts were made to settle coastal areas of the Northern Territory prior to the establishment of Darwin.
On 30 September 1824, British Captain Gordon Bremer established Fort Dundas on Melville Island as a part of the Colony of New South Wales.
European explorers made their last great, often arduous, and sometimes tragic, expeditions into the interior of Australia during the second half of the 19th century – some with the official sponsorship of the colonial authorities and others commissioned by private investors.
Trailblazers like Edmund Kennedy, and Ludwig Leichhardt, had met tragic ends during the 1840s, attempting to fill in the gaps, but explorers remained ambitious to discover new lands for agriculture or answer scientific questions.
The size of expeditions varied considerably, from small parties of just two or three, to large, well-equipped teams, led by gentlemen explorers assisted by smiths, carpenters, labourers and Aboriginal guides, and accompanied by horses, camels or bullocks.
[7][page needed] Stuart wanted the newly discovered region to be called "Alexandra Land", in honour of the Princess of Wales.
The South Australian government also tried to find sites for additional settlements, sending explorer John McKinlay to search in the region of the Adelaide River, but he had no success.
On 5 February 1869, George Goyder, the Surveyor-General of South Australia, established a small settlement of 135 men and women at Port Darwin.
Uluru and Kata Tjuta were first mapped by Europeans in 1872, during the expeditionary period made possible by the construction of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line.
While exploring the area in 1872, Giles sighted Kata Tjuta from a location near Kings Canyon, naming it Mount Olga for Queen Olga of Württemberg, and in the following year, Gosse observed Uluru and named it Ayers Rock, in honour of the Premier of South Australia Sir Henry Ayers.
[20] Between 1918 and 1921, large areas of the Territory and adjacent states were classified as Aboriginal reserves and sanctuaries for remaining nomadic populations who had hitherto had little contact with Europeans.
Nevertheless, small numbers of non-Aboriginal people continued to visit the area, including missionaries, adventurers, native welfare patrol officers and dingo scalpers.
As the crisis unfolded, national opinion swung behind the Aboriginal people involved, and the first appeal on behalf of an Indigenous Australian to the High Court of Australia was launched.
After the Fall of Singapore, Australian Prime Minister Curtin predicted that the "battle for Australia" would follow and, on 19 February, Darwin suffered a devastating air raid.
The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 was eventually passed by the Fraser government on 16 December 1976 and began operation on Australia Day, that is 26 January 1977.
The territory was placed under the direct control of the federal Minister for External Affairs and the population had no parliamentary representation or voting rights.
[30] Clare Martin won a surprise victory at the 2001 territory election, becoming the first Labor Party, and first female Chief Minister.
The ALP member for Arafura Marion Scrymgour, became the Labor Party Deputy Chief Minister of the Northern Territory from November 2007 until February 2009.
Large swings were achieved in remote Territory electorates (where the indigenous population comprised around two thirds of voters) and a total of five Aboriginal CLP candidates won election to the Assembly.
In her first ministerial statement on the status of Aboriginal communities in the Territory she said the CLP would focus on improving education and on helping create real jobs for indigenous people.
On 27 April 2014 the three MLAs had joined the Palmer United Party, with Anderson serving as parliamentary leader[34] The Northern Territory was briefly in 1995-6 one of the few places in the world with legal voluntary euthanasia, until the Federal Parliament overturned the legislation.
[citation needed] In 2007, the Australian Federal Government implemented the Northern Territory National Emergency Response (also referred to as "the intervention") a controversial policy package that enforced welfare, law enforcement and land provision measures to address allegations of child sexual abuse and neglect in Northern Territory Aboriginal Communities.
