Portal:Northern Territory

Introduction

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the center of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions. It shares borders with Western Australia to the west, South Australia to the south, and Queensland to the east. To the north, the territory is bordered by the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria. Despite its large area, over 1,349,129 square kilometres (520,902 sq mi) – making it the third largest Australian federal division – it is sparsely populated. With a population of 215,000, it is the least populous division in the country.

The history of the Northern Territory began over 40,000 years ago when Indigenous Australians settled the region. Makassan traders began trading with the indigenous people of the Northern Territory for trepang from at least the 18th century onwards, and possibly for 300 years prior to that, while the coast of the Territory was first seen by Europeans in the 17th century. The British were the first to attempt to settle the coastal regions of the Territory in the 19th century; however no attempt was successful until the establishment of a settlement at Port Darwin in 1869. Today the economy is based on tourism, especially Kakadu National Park in the Top End and the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in central Australia, and mining.

The capital city is Darwin. Perhaps unusually for Australian states, the population is not concentrated in coastal regions, but rather along the Stuart Highway. The other major settlements are Katherine, Alice Springs, Tennant Creek and Nhulunbuy in the state's north-east.