Darwin, Northern Territory

Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, and is a city of 109,420 people (2001 Australian Census), on Australia's far north-western coastline. Darwin has a tropical climate, and is subjected to tropical thunderstorms and cyclones; the first recorded cyclone to hit Darwin was the 1867 cyclone, and much of the city was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. It is also the only Australian capital city to have come under substantial attack during any war: on February 19, 1942, Japanese planes made two major air raids on Darwin, the first of 63 air attacks experienced by the city during World War II.

Culture and sports

Darwin is known as the "Gateway to Asia", and the city's population is very multicultural. Seventy-five nationalities are represented in Darwin, and nearly a quarter of the population self-identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. Darwin's Mitchell Street is lined with nightclubs, takeaways, and restaurants, many with al fresco-style dining.

Related Topics:
Multicultural - Aboriginal - Torres Strait Islander

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The Darwin Festivalhttp://www.darwinfestival.org.au/ held annually includes comedy, dance, theatre, music, film and visual art and the NT Indigenous Music Awards.

Related Topics:
Darwin Festival - NT Indigenous Music Awards

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The Beer Can Regattahttp://whatsonwhen.com/events/~99620.jml, held in August, celebrates Darwin's love affair with beer and contestants race boats made exclusivly of beer cans. Also in Darwin during the month of August, are the Darwin Cup horse race, and the Rodeo and Mud Crab Tying Competition.

Related Topics:
Regatta - Beer - Rodeo - Mud Crab

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Darwin is also home to Indo-Pacific Marine & Australian Pearling Exhibition which houses an aquarium complete with living coral, and its complementary sea life.

Related Topics:
Pearling - Aquarium - Coral

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Every two years since 1991, (excluding 2003 due to the SARS outbreak), Darwin has played host to the Arafura Games, a major regional sporting event.

Related Topics:
1991 - 2003 - SARS - Arafura Games - Sporting event

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In July 2003 and 2004, Darwin had the first cricket match as part of the 3 Mobile cricket tour. Rugby league and Australian Rules Football are played all year round.

Related Topics:
2003 - 2004 - Cricket - Rugby league - Australian Rules Football

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One of the major events that occurs in Darwin is the V8 Supercars. This event thousands of locals, interstaters and international tourists. This event occurs in the mid year period and lasts 3 days.

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Darwin also has a horse racing cup carnival that starts in the last week of June and goes through to August. While it isn't as popular as the Melbourne Cup, it does draw a crowd and in 2003, Sky Racing began televising most of the races.

Related Topics:
Melbourne Cup - 2003 - Sky Racing

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