Tortilla Flats is a rural locality in the

Coomalie Shire The Coomalie Community Government Council is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Australia's Northern Territory, situated south of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The counc ...

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 ...

. It is located approximately south east of the Territory capital Darwin. The locality is named after a farm established in 1958 by the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

to conduct agricultural experiments.NT Place Names Registe
Tortilla Flats

Northern Territory Government The Northern Territory Government is the executive branch of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory was formed in 1978 with the granting of self-government to the Territory. The Northern Territory is a territory of the Co ...

It was also the site of an artillery and weapons range used by Australian and US forces during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The land surrounding the locality is sparsely populated and mainly set aside for pastoral uses.

History

During World War 2 an artillery and aerial weapons range was established to the south of the Coomalie Creek Airfield in the area now known as Tortilla Flats.Department of Lands, Planning and Environmen
Coomalie Planning Concepts and Land Use Objectives
,

, 2000 The Tortilla Flats Research Farm, originally known as the Upper Adelaide River Experiment Station operated from 1958-90 when the land was sold off to private owners. Experiments conducted here focussed on rice as a potential export crop, as well as cattle rotation techniques. Estimates based on this research in 1981 found that a land area of in 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 branc ...

region was suited to irrigated rice production, and a potential crop yield in excess of could be harvested annually from such activities.

Present day

Trials involving the growing of rice crops are once again being conducted in the on private farms in the vicinity. These trials are supported by the NT Department of Resources and are investigating the potential of higher crop yields gained by growing the different varieties of rice during the dry season.Curtain,
"Rice Trialled Again at Tortilla Flats"

ABC Rural ABC Rural was a department of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that produced news, business, and entertainment programs targeted at audiences in regional Australia. The department employed 70 staff and reporters around the country. In 2015, ...

, 28 March 2011

References

{{Coomalie Shire Localities and Settlements populated places in the Northern Territory

History

Present day

See also

References