Larrakeyah is an inner suburb of Darwin, the capital city of Australia's

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

. It was one of the first parts of the city to be developed, and borders the Darwin Central Business District. At the 2016 Census, there were 3,729 people in Larrakeyah. 54.9% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 4.3%, Philippines 4.0% and New Zealand 2.7%. 66.0% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 31.8% and Catholic 23.5%. The suburb is located within the federal electorate of Solomon and the territory electorate of

Port Darwin Port Darwin is the port in Darwin, Northern Territory, in northern Australia. The port has operated in a number of locations, including Stokes Hill Wharf, Cullen Bay and East Arm Wharf. In 2015, a 99-year lease was granted to the Chinese-owned ...

History

Larrakeyah is named after the

Larrakia people The Larrakia people are a group of Aboriginal Australian people in and around Darwin in the Northern Territory. The Larrakia, who refer to themselves as "Saltwater People", had a vibrant traditional society based on a close relationship with ...

, who inhabited the area for thousands of years prior to European settlement, and who are the traditional custodians of the land where the city of Darwin was built. Development of the suburb began shortly after the settlement of Palmerston was established and began to expand with the construction of the

Overland Telegraph The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was a telegraphy system to send messages over long distances using cables and electric signals. It spanned between Darwin, in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia, and Adelaide, the capital o ...

and discovery of gold at Pine Creek. The colony's first hospital was built on Packard Street, Larrakeyah in 1874, funded privately by English philanthropist Louisa Da Costa who had spent some time in the colony of

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 ...

, and other members of the community. in Further development occurred when the Myilly Point precinct was established as a residential area for senior public servants in 1911. In 1913, the Kahlin Compound was established as a segregated camp where Aboriginal families removed from their communities were forced to live in rudimentary structures while receiving a western education, or providing cheap labour for white residents. From 1924, children from the compound were removed from their families to the nearby Myilly Point Half-Caste Home where an inquiry on behalf of the

Administrator of the Northern Territory The Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to represent the government of the Commonwealth in the Northern Territory, Australia. They perform functions similar to those of a state gov ...

, Frederic Urquhart suggested they could be disciplined and integrated with white society. These events have come to be associated with the

Stolen Generations The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church mis ...

. On 19 February 1942, bombs fell on the

Darwin Hospital The Darwin Hospital was a former hospital that was located at Myilly Point in Larrakeyah, an inner suburb of Darwin, Northern Territory in Australia. It was the second public hospital to be built in the city, replacing a facility that had origin ...

and public service residences in Larrakeyah during the

Bombing of Darwin The Bombing of Darwin, also known as the Battle of Darwin, on 19 February 1942 was the largest single attack ever mounted by a foreign power on Australia. On that day, 242 Japanese aircraft, in two separate raids, attacked the town, ships in ...

. The two air-raids left 250 people dead and another 300 injured. The Hospital itself had been built on the site of the Kahlin Compound and opened just a few days before the attack. It would be significantly expanded following the war and following its closure in the early 1980s, became the first campus of the

Northern Territory University Charles Darwin University (CDU) is an Australian public university with a main campus in Darwin and eight satellite campuses in some metropolitan and regional areas. It was established in 2003 after the merger of Northern Territory University, ...

. In 1993, the Cullen Bay marina and housing development was built on reclaimed land between Emery Point and Myilly Point at the northern end of the suburb.

Present day

The eastern portion of Larrakeyah, towards Emery Point is occupied by

Larrakeyah Barracks Larrakeyah Barracks, incorporating , is the main base for the Australian Defence Force in the Northern Territory of Australia, and occupies the headland west of the suburb of Larrakeyah in the capital, Darwin. It was established in 1932–33, ...

, a large Australian Defence Force base that incorporates HMAS ''Coonawarra'', headquarters of the Navy's Patrol Boat Group. The rest of the suburb is predominantly residential, with some high-rise development in the Cullen Bay area, on the fringe of the Darwin CBD and overlooking The Gardens. It has a diverse and somewhat transient population. There are a number of

serviced apartment Short-term rental describes furnished self-contained apartments that are rented for short periods of time, usually by the month as opposed to annual rentals in the unfurnished apartment rental market. They are seen as an alternative to hotels. "Sh ...

developments and accommodation businesses in the suburb, owing to its proximity to the city and tourist attractions including

Mindil Beach Mindil Beach is a beach in the Northern Territory of Australia, located in the suburb of The Gardens, near Darwin's central business district. Mindil Beach holds the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets, which runs during the dry season (from May unti ...

and the

Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

, the

George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens The George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens is a botanical garden located 2 km north of the CBD of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. History The gardens were established on their present site in 1886; this was the third attempt by Euro ...

, Doctor's Gully and bars and restaurants at Cullen Bay. The Myilly Point heritage precinct contains a number of public service residences built for high ranking Commonwealth officials during the 1930s. These are rare examples of tropical architecture from the period that relied on natural ventilation for cooling, surviving both the Japanese bombing raids and

Cyclone Tracy Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from 24 to 26 December 1974. The small, developing easterly storm had been observed passing clear of the city i ...

that devastated many older buildings in the city.

Facilities

The suburb has one school, Larrakeyah Primary School, catering for students in Transition to year 6. There are several public parks in Larrakeyah, including Da Costa Park on Larrakeyah Terrace, a popular place for picnics and walks, offering excellent views of the harbour and city skyline. Other parks include the Kahlin Oval and Myilly Point park. An adventure playground and skate park opened on the old Darwin Hospital site in 2021. The Sealink ferry terminal is located at the end of Marina Boulevard in Cullen Bay, providing connections to Mandorah and the

Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Islands ( tiw, Ratuati Irara meaning "two islands") are part of the Northern Territory, Australia, to the north of Darwin adjoining the Timor Sea. They comprise Melville Island, Bathurst Island, and nine smaller uninhabited islands, w ...

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20110629040718/http://www.nt.gov.au/lands/lis/placenames/origins/greaterdarwin.shtml#l#l *http://www.id.com.au/nt/commprofile/default.asp?id=251&gid=3080&pg=1 {{City of Darwin suburbs Suburbs of Darwin, Northern Territory