Down Under: The Top End

Well, this was a first for me. Not once, in all of my previous trips to Australia had I visited Northern Territory, colloquially, The Top End.

Its capital, Darwin, was, of course, also a first. To be quite honest, it is miles from anywhere and had never appealed. Boy, am I glad I have been there now? You bet I am!

The only knowledge of the Top End I have is what I got from the Crocodile Dundee films, quite often shot in Kakadu National Park.

During this visit we were restricted to Darwin and surrounding areas only. There is plenty more to see and, if the truth be known, I think I need to start writing a second bucket list. If I don’t get back there this time around I will have to wait until my reincarnation.

I still have Kakadu to see, then there is Katherine Gorge, Arnhem Land and, last but certainly not least, Alice Springs; Many of my acquaintances say that Uluru (used to be Ayer’s Rock) is a must. I am not convinced that it will be worth much to me as a blind bloke, maybe this one will have to be put into my second coming!

It reminds me of the book, later film and subsequent TV mini-series, “A Town Like Alice,” which is based on events surrounding Japanese prisoners of war. I have never read or watched this, but am going to get the audio book as my next read. It really couldn’t be more apt for what I am discussing this week.

We opted for an excursion entitled “Darwin at War,” and thanks to our well-informed guide, an ex-Darwin copper named Alan, we learned much of the city’s troubles at the hands of the Japanese during the Second World War.

Incredibly, this is my interpretation in any case, the national government in Canberra seemed resigned to sacrificing the Northern Territory’s largest city to the invading Japs.

A couple of things point to this: firstly, many of the country’s more elite military had been shipped off to the European theatre, many of them based in and around the village where I live, most famously the future Australian cricketer, and scourge of English batters, Keith Miller.

His Majesty’s Australian Government, in their wisdom and in a bid to show goodwill, sent a force of underwhelming expertise to the region. These much maligned corps were, rather offensively, christened the Chocolate Soldiers. Why? Well, it was thought that as soon as they experienced the heat of battle they would melt away.

Secondly, it was soon realised that the intention was to concentrate defences well inland, miles from Darwin, where the armchair strategists in the South believed that the Japanese army would have run low on supplies, morale and stamina. This theory was never tested. Stay with me.

Australia sent many good people across to Britain to help the mother country in its hour of need. Luckily, for a pretty defenceless nation, the war did not impede everyday life too much. Most famous of all incursions into Australian sovereign space was by a small flotilla of three mini-submarines that penetrated the guard to Sydney harbour. In the end, they were all sunk or lost. Of all the cities and regions there is no doubting that Darwin suffered most at the hands of Japanese bombing.

Following a brief drive around the city centre, Alan pointing out many of the more prestigious landmarks in and around the CBD, we headed out to our first stop. Alan reminded us of why the city looks so modern. I guess, to be candid here, you will need to be at least as old as me to remember the devastation delivered unto Darwin by Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Day 1974.

As dreadful as Debbie was to Airlie Beach, detailed in an earlier episode, Darwin was absolutely flattened by the relentless Tracy. 66 residents lost their lives as winds were recorded at 217km per hour. The winds may well have exceeded the recorded level as the anemometer that was used broke at that speed.

One of the reconstructed buildings was the interesting NT Parliament, known locally as the wedding cake. Yes, that’s right, because it looks like a wedding cake! Wynyard, the driver… do you know anyone else so named? No, nor do I. The only Wynyard I know is the railway station in the middle of Sydney. Anyway, Wynyard said to a few of us as we were lurking by the bus door, waiting to reboard, “That’s not the real reason it is called the wedding cake.”

“It’s not?” I enquired.

“Na, mate. The real reason is that it is full of alcohol infused fruits and nuts!”

“Good one,” I said. “I bet they love you lot for that.”

“They’re usually at the bottle so much they don’t even know!”

A little note here about the Northern Territory constitution. I am not quite sure that I have this right so it might be worth checking it out yourself. Whilst the NT is large it is very sparsely populated. As a state it doesn’t have the same power as in the main six states. In effect, it is ruled from Canberra, bizarrely another area not granted full statehood.

A prime example of this is, when the Darwin government voted through an assisted dying bill, the federal government said, “Not on your Nellie,” and overturned it. Back in 1998 there was a referendum where the Territorians had their say. They voted by a very narrow margin, 51.9% to 48.1% to remain a territory. I don’t really understand why? Certainly, as a fully fledged state they would be able to exercise autonomy over their own destination and, as I understand it, Canberra could not have meddled in their assisted dying legislation. Oh well. Maybe they will have another go soon.

There was a time when the territory belonged to South Australia and its full title was The Northern Territory of South Australia. The state legislature in Adelaide decided that the NT was an incredible drain on their pocket, in fact, it was loss making so they passed it over to the national government in 1911.

Now fast forward by over a hundred years and I wonder if SA rues its decision? NT now has an almost endless supply of rare earth minerals that drive the modern world. How’s the saying go? “Act in haste and repent at leisure?” Oh well!

After a brief drive through the city we stopped off at some old Anderson shelters. They had been constructed during the war as stores for important consumables, including weapons and fuel. They had been covered in soil and plants in a bid to disguise them from Japanese warplanes.

They were built quite a way from the harbour and residential areas so that, if they were bombed, the impact on the population would not be dangerous. And it worked, they weren’t destroyed by the enemy and, as we were led to believe, the only ones missing from the rows were those dismantled after the war’s end. They really do bring the war to the fore.

Our next location was a lookout which, according to our guide, was a little precarious to reach. I accepted his advice and stayed on the bus. Jane didn’t think it was that bad and I probably would have coped okay.

Next was the Darwin Air Museum. We were given an introductory talk by its curator, a man named Steve, who, when extolling the virtues of its main attraction said “You don’t need to ask where it is when you get inside. If you can’t see it, you really should go to Specsavers!” He even gave us directions to the nearest store. I am sure he thought he was being funny.

I took great delight in wiggling my white cane as we filed past him. I muttered to Jane, just loud enough for Steve to hear, “Maybe if you can’t see the man with the white stick you should go to Specsavers.”

From my slight periphery vision I noted his head jerk round and look at me. I sensed his unease. To be fair, when I was in watching or, in my case, listening to a video about the enemy air raids, he sidled up to me and apologised. Should I have insisted on a public apology? Discuss.

The exhibit that took pride of place was a retired USAF B52 bomber. Guess what, it was pretty dark in the hangar and I couldn’t see it, but I was able to touch and could feel its malevolent contours. It was donated at the end of the Cold War.

One interesting room was dedicated to the first successful Australian flight to land in Darwin from London. The national government had put up a prize of £10,000 for the first Australians to fly from the UK to Australia in under 30 days.

The race set off from Hounslow on 12th November 1919. It was won by pilot and navigator brothers, Ross and Keith Smith, and their two mechanics, Sergeants J M Bennett and Wally Shiers when they touched down in the city 28 days later.

What a feat this was for it was only 16 years after the Wright Brothers first managed to get a powered aircraft in the air. The prize would be worth roughly £660,000 in today’s money. Rather sadly, although understandable, the winning plane is not housed in Darwin. It can now be seen in Adelaide, the home town of most of the crew.

Our final destination was the original Darwin hangar of, what was known then as, the Queensland and Northern Territory Air Service. I wonder whatever happened to that company? The building now houses classic cars and motorbikes.

Some of the enthusiasts were on hand to answer any queries. One thing they had in common, they came from all walks of life, was an unbreakable love for their beautiful old vehicles. By the way, the original occupants of this old building is still going strong; it is better known as Qantas. As a little aside, the airline can now transport you from the Hounslow area of London, better known as Heathrow, to Perth in Western Australia in around 17 hours. That’s progress for you!

Let’s return to the Chocolate Soldiers, Chocos, before we depart Darwin. They were, basically, a band of citizens moulded into a militia, a bit like our Home Guard. The main army derided them as amateurs, which they were of course. Who would have believed that an army made up of corpulent bankers, butchers, funeral directors and wet-behind-the-ears youngsters who were still cuddling their teddies could have defended their homeland from a marauding Japanese army with all the accoutrements of modern warfare?

The Chocos fought with distinction in defending the Australian homeland against the Japanese Imperialist Army. They were also known, rather derisively, as the Koala Bears. It seems that this moniker was given to them by a Member of Parliament who, himself, hadn’t been anywhere near a battleground, when asking a question of the Minister of Defence.

He used the derogatory term because the cuddly looking marsupials were a protected species and, therefore, you were not allowed to shoot at them or export them overseas. As it happens the Chocos did serve with glorious distinction on foreign soil, especially in Malaya. Whoops! Another link to “A Town Like Alice.”

Although it is often omitted from some of the main tours of Australia, I would thoroughly recommend that you include it in your itinerary if you are planning a trip.