The City of Darwin is a local government area of the Northern Territory, Australia. It includes the central business district of the capital, Darwin City, and represents two-thirds of its metropolitan population. Located on the traditional land and waterways of the Larrakia people, the city covers an area of and in the 2021 census had a population of 80,530 people.
History The Larrakia people are the traditional owners of the lands and waters in and surrounding the Darwin local government area. Darwin is known as Garramilla in Gulumirrgin, one of the languages of the Larrakia people, but there are many place names within the area.
The first Town and District Council was formed in 1874. The Darwin Town Council was created in 1915. From 1921 the five member Council had been elected on a ratepayer's franchise. In 1930 the Mayor and councillors resigned in protest against the re-introduction of adult suffrage. A caretaker Council was appointed until 1937, when it was abolished at the council's own request.
In 1955 a statement added to the Local Government Ordinance provided for the Constitution of the Municipality of Darwin. In 1957 the council was increased to twelve members and a Mayor.
An annual election providing for the Mayor and half of the Council members to be retired at each election, was also introduced at this time. The first council elections were held on 29 June 1957 and the first elected mayor of Darwin was Lucius (Bill) Richardson. In 1959 an Ordinance provided that the Municipality of Darwin be constituted a city and named "City of Darwin".
The first female Mayor of Darwin was Dr Ella Stack, who served as the mayor of Darwin from May 1975 to November 1979, and as Darwin's first Lord Mayor from November 1979.
Governance and demographics The city, which lies on the northern coast in the Northern Territory of Australia, covers an area of , and in the 2021 census had a population of 80,530 people.
The city falls across the following territory government electorates: Casuarina, Fannie Bay, Fong Lim, Johnston, Karama, Nightcliff, Port Darwin, Sanderson, Spillett, and Wanguri.
The Lord Mayor of Darwin is Peter Styles, who belongs to the Country Liberal Party.
City of Darwin is divided into four wards: Chan, Lyons, Richardson, and Waters (after former Lord Mayors of Darwin, Harry Chan, John "Tiger" Lyons, Lucius (Bill) Richardson, and Ken Waters). These wards are governed by 12 councillors, as well as one directly elected Lord Mayor. Councillors from each ward are elected using a Single Transferable Vote (STV) proportional system.
Wards and councillors Ward Councillor Party Notes Chan Clarence McCarthy-Grogan Julie Fraser Peter Pangquee Lyons Sam Weston Mick Palmer Independent CLPNicole Brown Richardson Independent Labor Shani Carson Edwin Joseph Waters Sylvia Klonaris Patrik Ralph Kim Farrar
Suburbs
Chan Ward(west) Lyons Ward(south) Richardson Ward(north) Waters Ward(east) Suburb Map Coconut Grove Jingili Ludmilla (with Bagot) Millner Moil Nightcliff Rapid Creek Bayview Charles Darwin (part) Darwin City (part) East Point Fannie Bay Hidden Valley (part) Larrakeyah Parap Stuart Park The Gardens Woolner Alawa Brinkin Buffalo Creek Casuarina Holmes Leanyer Lee Point Lyons Muirhead Nakara Tiwi Wagaman Wanguri Anula (with Northlakes) Berrimah (part) Coonawarra Eaton Karama Malak (with Sanderson) Marrara The Narrows Winnellie Wulagi Most of the suburb of Charles Darwin which is largely occupied by the Charles Darwin National Park reaches outside of the boundaries of the City of Darwin into unincorporated area, as do large parts of Berrimah and Hidden Valley. The last two suburbs, Buffalo Creek and Holmes, were approved in 2007. They are still largely undeveloped, especially Buffalo Creek.
Demographics Selected historical census data for City of Darwin local government areaCensus year 20012006201120162021Population Estimated residents on census night 80,530LGA rank in terms of size within Northern Territory 1 1 1 1% of Northern Territory population 34.26% 34.36% 34.41% 34.44% 34.48%% of Australian population 0.37% 0.33% 0.34% 0.34% 0.32%Cultural and language diversity Ancestry,top responses Australian 24.1% 21.2% 24.1%English 20.7% 19.8% 25.1%Irish 7.2% 7.4% 8.7%Australian Aboriginal7.9%Scottish 5.7% 5.6% 7.1%Chinese 3.6% 4.1% 6.0%Language,top responses(other than English) Greek3.5% 3.3% 3.4% 3.5% 3.3%Tagalog1.0% 1.6% 2.2% 2.0%Cantonese1.0% 0.9% -Italian0.8% 0.7% -Hakka0.8% 0.8% -Indonesian 0.9% 1.0% -Mandarin 1.3% 2.0% 2.2%Filipino 1.0% 1.5% 1.4%Nepali 1.2% 3.0%Religious affiliation Religious affiliation,top responses Catholic25.4% 24.7% 24.1% 22.3% 19.0%No religion20.5% 24.0% 25.0% 31.2% 38.9%Anglican14.5% 12.2% 10.6% 7.6% 5.1%Uniting6.5% 5.6% 4.5% -Eastern Orthodox4.3% 4.1% 4.3% 4.4% -Median weekly incomes Personal income Median weekly personal income 687 899 1039A$1111% of Australian median income 147.4% 155.8% 157.0%138.0%Family income Median weekly family income 1524 2063 2385A$2463% of Australian median income 130.2% 139.2% 137.5%116.18%Household income Median weekly household income 1286 1809 2164A$2188% of Australian median income 125.2% 146.6% 150.5%125.32%Dwelling structure Dwelling type Separate house55.3% 54.9% 54.7% 52.6% 51.8%Semi-detached, terrace or townhouse13.2% 11.9% 15.8% 13.3% 12.9%Flat or apartment23.8% 27.2% 26.7% 31.8% 34.3%
Sister and friendship cities The city of Darwin has seven sister cities and four friendship cities. It also has a strategic partnership with Shenzhen, China. City State Country Year Kalymnos South Aegean region Greece April 1982 Anchorage Alaska United States July 1982 Ambon Maluku Indonesia October 1988 Haikou Hainan China September 1990 Milikapiti Northern Territory Australia July 1999 Dili Dili District East Timor September 2003DenpasarBaliIndonesiaJune 2022
City State Country Year Honolulu Hawaii United States March 2004 Santa Cruz Island Galápagos Islands Ecuador March 2010 Qingdao Shandong China October 2019 Guangzhou Guangdong China October 2019
References
External links City of Darwin website