Adelaide River, Northern Territory

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Adelaide River Northern Territory

Population:	190 (2006 census)
Established:	1892
Postcode:	0846
Location:	113 km (70 mi) from Darwin 205 km (127 mi) from Katherine
LGA:	Coomalie
State District:	Daly
Federal Division:	Lingiari

Adelaide River (13°14′S, 131°06′E) is a town where the Stuart Highway crosses the Adelaide River in the Northern Territory of Australia. At the 2006 census, Adelaide River had a population of 190.^[1] It is renowned for the fresh barramundi served at the hotel on the banks of the river.

[edit] History

Adelaide Rriver was settled by the telegraph workers who arrived in the area to construct the Overland Telegraph Line. The discovery of gold at Pine Creek in 1892 had a major impact on the settlement.

In 1886 a contract was signed to build a railway between Palmerston (Darwin) and the goldfields at Pine Creek, Northern Territory. By April 1888 the railway had reached Adelaide River.

During World War II, there were up to 30,000 Australian Army and United States soldiers based near the town. There is a war cemetery near the town in which many of those who died during the Japanese bombing of Darwin in WW2 are buried. The 107th Australian General Hospital and 119th Australian General Hospital were set up around Adelaide River.