May 5, Darwin

We had a plan for the day and started early when it wasn't as hot. The Chinese Temple was in the central part of the city. It was rebuilt after the war and again after the cyclone. We walked around Bicentennial Park, lots of WWII memorials there. Down a long set of stairs next to it, we came to the WWII Oil Storage Tunnels. They are long underground tunnels built to store oil to protect it from bombings. One of the tunnels was open and had a display of photos from WWII.

We walked out to Stokes Hill Wharf. On the waterfront was a swimming lagoon and a wave pool. There were apartments and restaurants and shops. We stopped for coffee and croissants. Even though it was getting hot, in the shade, with an ocean breeze, it was lovely. There was an elevator up 5 stories to a walkway up to the main part of the city. Good. Didn't have to go back up all those stairs.

At the top was found the Anglican cathedral. Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin Dec 26, 1974 one hour after midnight mass. One wall of the cathedral was left standing. They incorporated that wall into the new building. The new cathedral is a beautiful soaring structure. We met an Indian gentleman there. He and his wife were there from Sydney. She wanted to shop and he didn't, so she sort of parked him in the church. He was very interested in where were from and he and Samson talked while I took pictures.

In Civic Square was a set of bells in different sizes and each was topped by a bronze bird, except for one. That was a replica of the HMS Beagle's bell with a small sculpture of the ship on top of it. A memorial to Charles Darwin. The bells had different tones and could be played, I guess. Across from that was the Tree of Knowledge, a huge ficus, that the Aborigines knew and that later stood in Chinatown before that was destroyed in WWII. Now it's next to the city offices.

We walked down to the Catholic Cathedral. There was a statue of an angel that had been damaged by shrapnel in a bombing in WWII.

We drove out to East Point and the Darwin Military Museum and the Darwin Experience. There was a military museum there and a couple of years ago they added a multimedia, interactive museum. When we left we knew about the slow buildup of defenses in Darwin and the American troops and ships that were here. February 19, 1942, Darwin was bombed. It was the first attack on Australian soil. The city was greatly damaged, Australian and American planes were destroyed and a ships were lost, including USS Peary. It was a defining moment for the city and the country. Akin to Pearl Harbor. The top part of the country suffered over a hundred bombings during the war. Individual stories made the experience more personal.
Outside there were military vehicles and guns and other building with displays.

There was a Sunday market at Mindil Beach, so we drove there. There were lots of food booths; Indian, Thai, Turkish, Chinese, even a wood fired pizza oven. And people were selling all sorts of things; crocodile teeth necklaces, Aboriginal art, whips, mother of pearl jewelry, photos, water pistols, etc. There was a kids bouncer and other games for kids. And just over the hill was the beach.

We went back to town to try to find a restaurant, but it was mostly bars. So we went back to the campground.

Pictures - Chinese Temple, Jeanne by Stokes Hill Wharf, Christ Church Anglican exterior, Interior, St Mary's Catholic Church, Aborigine Madonna & Child in St Mary's, St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, Willys Jeep, Darwin