Northern Territory occupies almost a sixth of the Australian continent. It covers a huge area of the country’s north and center. It is bordered by the Arafura and Timor seas to the north, Queensland to the east, South Australia to the south, and Western Australia to the west. The territory, along with most of isolated, inland Australia, is sometimes called Outback Australia. The Northern Territory is known for its scenery and its mineral wealth.
The Northern Territory is roughly divided into two parts. The northernmost part, known as the Top End, receives heavy rainfall for three to five months of the year. The rest of the territory, known as the Centre, has low rainfall and no permanent rivers.
People
The people in the Northern Territory, and particularly in Darwin, make up one of the most diverse populations in Australia. Darwin’s population includes people from Germany, Greece, Italy, the United Kingdom, and other parts of Europe. Darwin’s Asian population includes people from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, the Philippines, and Vietnam. New Zealand Māori and other people from the South Pacific, as well as people from Africa, are also represented.
About half the people in the territory live in Darwin, the administrative center and capital. About a third of the people in Darwin are directly employed by the Northern Territory government, the federal government, and branches of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Education.
The Northern Territory requires education for all children age 6 to 17, or through their 10th year in school. Students leaving school before age 17 must enroll in vocational education or training, or work full time. Schools in the territory range greatly in size, from urban high schools of up to 1,000 students to one-teacher schools on isolated properties and in small Aboriginal communities.
The Northern Territory education system has special features designed to meet the unusual needs of a population widely scattered over a huge area. For example, two schools of the air, at Katherine and at Alice Springs, provide lessons by two-way radio, correspondence, and the Internet for children living in outback locations in the Northern Territory. These students are brought to the schools of the air from time to time for direct contact with their teachers and other students.
Nearly a third of the Northern Territory’s students are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. A bilingual education program allows these children to be instructed primarily in their own languages during the early years of schooling. As the students progress through school, English gradually becomes the main language of instruction.
The Northern Territory has several institutions that provide technical training, further education, and advanced education courses. Charles Darwin University has campuses at Alice Springs, Darwin, Katherine, and Palmerston. Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (formerly Batchelor College) specializes in providing professional and vocational education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. It has campuses or study centers in many towns. 
Land and climate
Location and size.
The Northern Territory measures 520,502 square miles (1,348,094 square kilometers) in area. Its greatest east-west distance is about 600 miles (966 kilometers), and its greatest north-south distance is about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers).
Major islands off the coast are Groote Eylandt, in the Gulf of Carpentaria, and Bathurst and Melville islands, just north of Darwin. Groote Eylandt is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) long and 30 miles (48 kilometers) wide. The island has extensive deposits of manganese. The ore of this metal is mined for export. Bathurst Island is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) long and 35 miles (56 kilometers) wide. Most of its inhabitants are Tiwi, an Aboriginal people. There are also dozens of other smaller islands, some of which are inhabited by Aboriginal people.
Land regions.
The Northern Territory includes six distinct land regions. They are (1) the Darwin Region, to the northwest; (2) the Victoria River Basin, south and west of the Darwin Region; (3) Arnhem Land, in the north; (4) the Gulf Country, to the northeast; (5) the Barkly Tableland, just south and west of the Gulf Country; and (6) the Central Desert Area, which covers the entire southern part of the territory.
The Darwin Region
is important mainly because it includes Darwin, the territory’s capital. Rivers, billabongs (pools and small lakes), and lush semiforest lands lie within easy reach of Darwin’s inhabitants.
The Victoria River Basin
is a subtropical area. The Victoria River flows north and west into the Timor Sea. Its basin includes some of the finest cattle properties in the Northern Territory. Many Aboriginal people live in the area, but there are no major towns.
Arnhem Land
is bordered on the north by the Arafura Sea << ah ruh FOO ruh see >> and on the east by the Gulf of Carpentaria. This region has a tropical climate. Like the Darwin Region, it remains green most of the year. It contains some of the richest mineral deposits in the world. Arnhem Land is an Aboriginal reserve.
The Gulf Country,
a narrow region south of Arnhem Land, lies between the Barkly Tableland and the Gulf of Carpentaria. It has dozens of isolated farming properties. It contains the McArthur River lead-zinc deposits.
The Barkly Tableland
is a major cattle-producing area. This broad plain is subject to extreme seasonal changes in rainfall. The wet season occurs in a hot period from October to March. A long dry period occurs from April to October.
The Central Desert Area
includes two desert regions. The Simpson Desert, which lies on the border of Queensland, South Australia, and the Northern Territory, is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) long and 100 miles (160 kilometers) wide. The Tanami and Gibson deserts, north and west of Alice Springs, extend westward and join the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia. This region contains Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock). To the north, and between these extremely dry areas, graziers (cattle raisers) rear some cattle by taking advantage of underground water sources.
Rivers, lakes, and wells.
The northern third of the territory has many permanent rivers and creeks. But there are no permanent lakes or rivers in the central and southern areas.
In addition to the Roper River, the Rose, Cox, Limmen, Bight, McArthur, Robinson, and Calvert rivers all flow to the east into the Gulf of Carpentaria.
There are no major rivers that flow continuously in the interior, the center, or the south. The waterways marked as major rivers on many maps are actually the flood plains of rivers and creeks that flow only after heavy rains. At all other times, the stream beds become a string of water holes or dry up completely. The Todd River is one of the best known of these rivers in the central area of the territory. Usually the river bed is dry. The Finke River, which vanishes underground into the desert area near the border with South Australia, is a well-known river in the south. The Darwin River Dam forms the territory’s biggest reservoir.
The Northern Territory has large areas of underground water. The Great Artesian Basin extends from Queensland into the Northern Territory, along its eastern boundary. This vast underground rock formation is Australia’s chief source of artesian water—ground water that can be brought to the surface simply by digging wells. Underground water can also be pumped to the surface from other artesian basins. Water from these wells enables farmers to raise cattle in the interior.
Climate.
The northwest monsoon (seasonal wind) greatly influences the climate in most areas of the Northern Territory. The months of December to April are hot and humid in Darwin, and monsoon winds bring almost continuous rain. During these months, Darwin receives almost 90 percent of its annual rainfall of 63 inches (160 centimeters). 
The average rainfall in the Northern Territory varies from about 70 inches (178 centimeters) on the north coast to about 26 inches (66 centimeters) at Daly Waters on the western edge of the territory, 11 inches (28 centimeters) at Alice Springs, and only 7 inches (18 centimeters) around Finke on the border with South Australia. The monsoon effect is most pronounced in the northern third of the territory.
Cyclones form in the Timor and Arafura seas from the months of November to April. Occasionally, one of these cyclones brings storms to the areas around Darwin, Arnhem Land, and the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Temperatures in the monsoon area vary with the wet and dry seasons. The wet season extends from December to March or early April. In the hottest months, the temperatures in the north range from about 79 to 97 °F (26 to 36 °C). Even in the dry season, the temperature in this area rarely falls below 59 °F (15 °C). At Alice Springs, temperatures fall as low as 19 °F (–7 °C) in the winter months. In midsummer, November to March, the temperature can rise as high as 113 °F (45 °C). Frosts often occur south of Tennant Creek.
Economy
Natural resources.
The Northern Territory is rich in some natural resources. The territory has deposits of minerals and natural gas.
Soils
support grassy areas that provide good grazing around the Gulf of Carpentaria in the McArthur River Basin and in the Victoria River area. The Barkly Tablelands and the Alice Springs district also have good grazing land.
Water
is plentiful in the northern third of the territory from permanent rivers and heavy rainfall. The center and desert areas can draw water from underground sources.
Vegetation
patterns follow the rainfall areas. Pandanus trees, coconut palms, mangrove swamps and forests, paperbarks, pines, and eucalyptuses grow in the coastal regions. Some tropical grasses in this area grow as high as 11 feet (3.4 meters) during the wet season. The lushness of the north gives way to grassy plains and woodland. Still farther south, timber thins out into semidesert or growths of spinifex (grasses with. seeds that have elastic spines). In the east, the elevated Barkly Tableland is a huge tract of flat grassland. In the west, the Victoria River district supports grasses, such as kangaroo, Mitchell, and Flinders grass. The hill country is covered with nutwood trees, cabbage gums, bauhinia trees, and bloodwoods, coolibahs, and other eucalypts.
Wildlife
is an important natural resource in the Top End because it attracts a growing number of tourists. Wildlife has continued to flourish in this area largely because of the sparse population and lack of interference from human activities.
Scientists in the Northern Territory have recorded thousands of species of plants, hundreds of species of birds, dozens of species of freshwater fish, and about 150 species of mammals, including many marsupials (mammals that usually carry their young in a pouch). The territory has many insects and more than 100 kinds of butterflies. A conservation program in the territory has saved the saltwater crocodile from extinction caused by overhunting.
Agriculture.
Cattle stations (ranches) are the most important types of farms in the territory. Major roads have been built in the cattle country. Pastoralists (ranchers) have introduced new breeds of cattle and developed pastures for feeding. Buffaloes provide a small but growing income for graziers.
There are a few small farms in the Alice Springs, Adelaide River, and outer Darwin areas. Crops grown in the territory include bananas, grapes, hay, mangoes, melons, other fruits and vegetables, and ornamental flowers.
Fishing.
The Northern Territory’s important fishing catches include barramundi, blacktip sharks, mackerel, mud crabs, prawns, and snapper. The territory’s fisheries agency regulates fishing practices to preserve the basic resources and to ensure the long-term profitability of the industry. The agency also works to develop new fisheries. Recreational fishing in the territory’s waters is a popular activity.
Mining
is the territory’s greatest source of wealth. The territory has large deposits of bauxite, manganese, and uranium. There are also deposits of oil and natural gas, especially in the Timor Sea. Other important mineral deposits include gold, iron ore, and zinc.
The Alligator Rivers Region has large deposits of uranium at Jabiluka, Koongarra, and Ranger, along with stockpiled ore from the completely mined Nabarlek deposit. A mine on the Gove Peninsula in northeastern Arnhem Land supplies a portion of Australia’s bauxite.
One of Australia’s longest gas pipelines extends the length of the Northern Territory, carrying Palm Valley gas to Darwin and other centers for electric power generation. Offshore, huge deposits of gas occur in the Bonaparte Gulf. Oil and natural gas fields lie in the Timor Sea and the Ashmore and Cartier Islands area.
Australia’s largest manganese mine is on Groote Eylandt. Ore from the mine is sent to other parts of Australia and to many other countries. Gold is mined at Pine Creek, Tennant Creek, and The Granites, which is on Aboriginal land.
Much of the land being mined is owned or claimed by Aboriginal peoples. In return for allowing the land to be mined, those Aboriginal peoples receive some payments.
Manufacturing
employs only a small percentage of the workforce in the Northern Territory. Apart from roadbuilding and other government work, the main manufacturing industries include the building industry, food-processing plants, and steelworks.
Some Aboriginal people on Bathurst Island work in a clothing factory. Aboriginal artists produce pottery, bark paintings, and other artifacts.
Transportation
in the Northern Territory is often difficult. Flooding in the wet season can create obstacles to travel. The great distances between population centers make traveling complicated and time-consuming. The Northern Territory and federal government support an extensive roadbuilding program. A transcontinental railway links Darwin with Adelaide in South Australia.
Darwin is the principal Northern Territory port for general and container cargo. Darwin also has an international airport.
Government
The Northern Territory is a territory of the Commonwealth of Australia. In the federal Parliament in Canberra, the territory is represented by two senators and two members of the House of Representatives. All four have full voting and representational rights.
The Northern Territory was granted self-government on July 1, 1978, by the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act. The territory’s ministers and public servants hold executive and administrative responsibility for most functions performed by state governments in the six states of Australia.
The Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act requires the governor general to appoint an administrator for the territory. The administrator’s role is similar to the role of a state governor. The act also calls for a Legislative Assembly with 25 members elected every four years.
The administrator chooses ministers from the party with the largest number of members elected to the Assembly. The administrator officially appoints these ministers to specific portfolios (duties). The ministers form an Executive Council and advise the administrator on matters in their portfolios. The administrator makes regulations on the advice of the Executive Council. Proposed laws passed by the Legislative Assembly are presented to the administrator for assent. The administrator can return the proposed laws to the Assembly with suggested changes. He or she can also send the proposals to the governor general for his or her assent. The Australian Parliament can veto laws made in the Legislative Assembly within six months of the law’s passage in the Assembly.
Larger cities, such as Alice Springs, Darwin, Jabiru, Katherine, Litchfield Shire, Palmerston, and Tennant Creek, have fully elected local government bodies. Many smaller communities also are governed by local government bodies. On Aboriginal land, local government is usually the responsibility of elected Aboriginal community councils.
History
Archaeological evidence indicates that ancestors of Australia’s modern Aboriginal peoples have lived on the continent for more than 65,000 years. Some of the oldest evidence of their presence in Australia has been found in the Northern Territory. Archaeologists working at Madjedbebe, a rock shelter about 185 miles (300 kilometers) east of Darwin in the country of the Mirarr people, have excavated hundreds of stone tools and pieces of red ocher. Red ocher (also spelled ochre) is a reddish mineral used as a pigment. It has been used for ceremonial purposes, including body decoration and in rock art. In 2017, scientists used sophisticated dating techniques that suggest the site was first occupied around 65,000 years ago.
Aboriginal people remained the only inhabitants of the territory for many thousands of years. They belonged to a number of groups with different cultures and languages. See Australia (The Indigenous peoples of Australia).
In the 1400’s, explorers and traders from islands to the north may have reached Australia’s northern coast. From at least 1700 through the first few years of the 1900’s, Indonesian fishermen from the port of Makassar (also spelled Macassar) sailed to northern Australia to obtain trepang (sea cucumbers), tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, and other goods. The Aboriginal peoples of northern Australia traded with the visitors and were influenced by their customs.
European exploration.
Some historians have suggested that Portuguese navigators may have sighted the coast of Australia in the 1500’s. Other historians disagree with this theory, however. The first recorded visits by Europeans were explorations by Dutch navigators. Between 1606 and 1756, they moved along the coast, charting and naming geographic locations. In 1803, the British navigator Matthew Flinders charted many sections of the northern coast during his voyage around Australia.
Aboriginal people suffered greatly after the arrival of the Europeans. Many died after the settlers deprived them of their hunting grounds and disrupted access to traditional food and water resources. Many Aboriginal people died of diseases, such as measles, smallpox, and tuberculosis, brought in by the Europeans. After they were deprived of their traditional hunting grounds, some Aboriginal people settled on Christian missions, where the missionaries gave them shelter and food. Aboriginal people played an important role in the establishment of the territory’s cattle industry.
From 1824 to 1868, four attempts by Europeans to establish a permanent settlement on Australia’s northern coast failed. In 1869, George Woodroffe Goyder, the British-born surveyor general of South Australia, traveled to the Northern Territory on a survey mission to find suitable land for agriculture and settlement. He succeeded in his attempt to make a permanent settlement in northern Australia. At first the settlement was called Palmerston, but in 1911, it was renamed Darwin.
Exploration of the interior.
In the early and mid-1800’s, European and Australian explorers began to investigate the interior of Australia. In 1844 and 1845, a Prussian explorer, Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, journeyed from Moreton Bay, Brisbane, to Port Essington, near where the city of Darwin now stands. He was the first European explorer to travel through the territory, and he was determined to be the first to cross the continent from east to west. He discovered the Barkly Tableland, which later became a cattle-raising area. This discovery prompted Queensland to move its border further west and incorporate that land.
The Scottish-born explorer John McDouall Stuart crossed the continent from south to north in 1862. Between 1870 and 1872, the British-born government official Charles Todd supervised the building of the Overland Telegraph along Stuart’s route. The telegraph stretched about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) in length. 
Prospectors found small amounts of gold in the territory in 1865, but those discoveries attracted little interest. Mining became the Northern Territory’s greatest source of wealth after the first commercially profitable gold deposits were discovered in 1870. A gold rush to the Pine Creek area followed, beginning in 1872.
The Northern Territory was part of New South Wales until 1863, when South Australia annexed the land. The Australian federal government took over the administration of the territory in 1911.
The 1900’s.
World War II (1939-1945) brought more than 60 Japanese air raids against Darwin, beginning on Feb. 19, 1942. Bombs destroyed half of Darwin’s buildings, killed hundreds of citizens, and gave the north a special place in Australian history. Darwin became an important military base for Allied forces fighting against the Japanese in the Pacific. The war years also saw construction of the Stuart and Barkly highways and improved power and water supplies in the north.
An Australian prospector, John Michael White, discovered uranium at Rum Jungle, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) south of Darwin, in 1949. In 1952, a joint British-American purchasing agency agreed to provide funds to develop the deposits. Government aid and private investment in the mining industry in the Northern Territory increased in the 1960’s. A manganese mine opened at Groote Eylandt in the mid-1960’s. It was followed by one of Australia’s main bauxite-alumina projects at Gove.
In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, large deposits of uranium were discovered at Jabiluka, Koongarra, Nabarlek, and Ranger. Mining of the Nabarlek deposits began in 1979, and mining of the Ranger deposits began in 1980. Important oil and gas discoveries were made in the late 1970’s and 1980’s.
During the 1900’s, Aboriginal peoples in the Northern Territory played an important role in the efforts to gain recognition of Indigenous land rights in Australia. In 1963, the Yolngu people of Yirrkala sought recognition of their claim to land rights in the Northern Territory by presenting a petition to the Australian Parliament. In 1966, Aboriginal workers on outback stations (ranches in the back country) in the Northern Territory went on strike. They called for better working conditions, equal pay for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal workers, and the right to own land.
In 1973, Australia’s federal government appointed a commission to investigate the issue of land rights in the Northern Territory. In response to the commission’s report, Parliament passed the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act in 1976. The act applies only to the Northern Territory. It has led to the return of large amounts of land to Aboriginal ownership. Nearly 50 percent of the land in the Northern Territory is now owned and managed by Aboriginal people.
Cyclone Tracy destroyed most of Darwin on Dec. 24 and 25, 1974. By early 1978, the city had been rebuilt and had regained the population it had before the storm. On July 1, 1978, the Australian federal government transferred power to the Northern Territory’s Legislative Assembly, granting it self-government.
Recent developments.
In 1998, the Northern Territory held a referendum (public vote) on whether or not to become a state. Although the Northern Territory is self-governing, it has less representation at the federal level than the states do. Supporters of the referendum argued that statehood would give Northern Territory residents more equal representation. The referendum was defeated, with just over 48 percent of voters supporting statehood.
In 2003, a north-south transcontinental railway was completed. The line links Darwin with the city of Adelaide in South Australia.
In 2015, territory, state, and federal officials, including Prime Minister Tony Abbott, supported a motion to grant statehood to the Northern Territory by mid-2018. However, the motion failed to gain enough support for the territory to be granted statehood.
Beginning in early 2020, the Northern Territory faced the health care and economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic (worldwide epidemic), as did other regions of Australia and the world. Australia’s federal, state, and territorial governments took action to limit the spread of the disease and to ease the financial hardships caused by it.
