Malak is a Northern suburb of

Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin ( Larrakia: ') is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. The city has nearly 53% of the Northern Territory's population, with 139,902 at the 2021 census. It is the smallest, wettest, and most northerly of the Australi ...

, in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

History

Malak is named after the Aboriginal tribe who came from the Daly River area. Alternative spellings have been ''Mallak'', ''Mulluck Mulluck''. The naming intended in 1965 to have the tribe pronounced ''Mulluck''. The suburb of Malak was under construction when

Cyclone Tracy Severe Tropical Cyclone Tracy was a small but destructive tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia, in December 1974. The small but developing easterly storm was or ...

devastated Darwin in late 1974. Historically, a high proportion of the residential dwellings in Malak and the neighbouring suburb of Marrara have been allocated to

social housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

, however statistics show this demographic to be changing over time. In the , 11.2% of dwellings were under tenure of social housing, compared to 28.8% in 1991. A 2012 proposal saw the Northern Territory Government set aside lands adjacent to Sanderson Middle School in Malak as a site for a future GP Super Clinic to relieve demand for

General practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

services in the area. Despite receiving bi-partisan support from both sides of the Legislative Assembly, as of February 2013, no further commitment had been made on funding the proposal.

Present day

Malak is a

residential A residential area is a land used in which houses, housing predominates, as opposed to industrial district, industrial and Commercial Area, commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include ...

area with extensive

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

lands and community facilities. The development of the suburb primarily occurred during the 1970s and 1980s. Major features of the area include three schools, Darwin Adventist School, Malak Primary School and Sanderson Middle School (formerly Sanderson High School). The suburb is also home to the Northern Territory divisional headquarters of the

Australian Red Cross Australian Red Cross, formally Australian Red Cross Society, is a humanitarian aid and community services charity in Australia. Tracing its history back to 1914 and being incorporated by royal charter in 1941, Australian Red Cross Society is ...

References

External links

City of Darwin – Community Profile
{{City of Darwin suburbs Suburbs of Darwin, Northern Territory