Escape Cliffs is a place on the northern coast of the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and the site of the fourth of a series of four failed attempts to establish permanent settlement in Australia's

Top End The Top End of Australia's Northern Territory is a geographical region encompassing the northernmost section of the Northern Territory, which aside from the Cape York Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Australian continent. It covers a ra ...

. The previous attempts were at

Fort Dundas Fort Dundas was a short-lived British settlement on Melville Island between 1824 and 1828 in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia. It was the first of four British settlement attempts in northern Australia before Goyder's survey an ...

Fort Wellington Fort Wellington National Historic Site is a historic Fortification, military fortification located on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River, St. Lawrence River at Prescott, Ontario. The military fortification was used by the British Army, a ...

and

Port Essington Port Essington is an inlet and historic site located on the Cobourg Peninsula in the Garig Gunak Barlu National Park in Australia's Northern Territory. It was the site of an early attempt at British settlement, but now exists only as a remote ...

. Escape Cliffs lies on the western coast of the Cape Hotham peninsula, and the eastern shore of Adam Bay, near the mouth and estuary of the

Adelaide River The Adelaide River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia. Course and features The river rises in the Litchfield National Park and flows generally northwards to Clarence Strait, joined by eight tributaries including the west branch ...

. It lies about 60 km north-east of Darwin and is located in the Cape Hotham sector of the

Djukbinj National Park Djukbinj National Park is a protected area in the Northern Territory of Australia located about east-south-east of the territory capital of Darwin. The national park was proclaimed on 3 April 1997 over land which has previous protected area st ...

. There is no road access, though it is sometimes visited by yachts.

History

In 1864, the year after

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

was granted control over the Northern Territory, the

South Australian government The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

decided that settlement of the area was desirable and sent a surveying and settlement expedition under the command of Lieutenant Colonel

Boyle Travers Finniss Boyle Travers Finniss (18 August 1807 – 24 December 1893) was the first premier of South Australia, serving from 24 October 1856 to 20 August 1857. Early life Finniss was born at sea off the Cape of Good Hope, Southern Africa, and lived in M ...

, a former

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...

. He had been instructed to establish the settlement at Adam Bay and chose the Escape Cliffs site despite disagreements with other members of his party. It was intended to cover settlement costs through sales of land, much of which had already been presold to speculators and intending settlers even before the expedition reached the site and began their survey work. Finniss believed that the site could produce tropical vegetation and would be suitable for wool-growing and cattle farming. After a confused start, following an abortive initial move to another site some 65 km up the Adelaide River, the establishment work at Escape Cliffs began. Problems included incursions by the local Marananggu people (which culminated in the spearing of several horses and men, murder of two Aborigines and one settler), and the unsuitability of the land due to

tidal flooding Tidal flooding, also known as sunny day flooding or nuisance flooding, is the temporary inundation of low-lying areas, especially streets, during exceptionally high tide events, such as at full and new moons. The highest tides of the year may b ...

and poor drainage in the

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...

, exacerbated by personal jealousies, poor leadership and the need for constant vigilance, resulted in ongoing disputes and deteriorating morale. Following complaints and unfavourable reports to the South Australian government, notably by Dr. Goldsmith, Finniss was recalled in 1865, replaced by his second-in-command Manton.

John McKinlay John McKinlay (26 August 1819 – 31 December 1872)
, George Goyder George Woodroffe Goyder (24 June 1826 – 2 November 1898) was a surveyor in the Colony of South Australia during the latter half of the nineteenth century. He rose rapidly in the civil service, becoming Assistant Surveyor-General by 1856 ...

, settlement began at what is now Darwin. On 12 January 2000, a parcel of land at Escape Cliffs was listed on the

Northern Territory Heritage Register The Northern Territory Heritage Register is a heritage register, being a statutory list of places in the Northern Territory of Australia that are protected by the Northern Territory statute, the ''Heritage Act 2011''. The register is maintained b ...

References

{{reflist History of the Northern Territory History of South Australia 1864 establishments in Australia 1867 disestablishments Northern Territory Heritage Register

History

See also

References