MAP: INFORMATION: AUSTRALIA: TERRITORY: NORTHERN TERRITORY

AREA: 1,335,742 sq. km., POPULATION: 182,000 (1996) CAPITAL: Darwin (100,000) Darwin was first settled in 1839 after 2 previous attempts. On Christmas Eve, 1974 it was flattened by Cyclone “Tracy”. (A monster category 5 cyclone - aka hurricane) It was completely rebuilt over the ensuing years with cyclone proof houses and is now Australia's most modern city. In the south, Alice Springs began as a repeater station for the overland telegraph line between Adelaide and Darwin and grew slowly as people congregated around the tiny settlement. It was not until the railway line reached Alice e in 1929 that the town began to prosper. A long overdue rail extension connecting Alice Springs to Darwin (The “Ghan”) was completed in 2004 and is now one of the most booked train journeys in the world. The main industry in the Northern Territory is cattle and massive stations measured in thousands of square miles comprise around half of it. The other half is held by aboriginal groups and a permit is needed to access much of this land. Uranium is mined in the mid-north and Tennant Creek has copper mines. The Northern Territory contains two of Australia's best known attractions. Kakadu in the north, and Ayers Rock (Uluru) in the south.