Palmerston, Northern Territory

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Palmerston Northern Territory
Location of Palmerston in Australia
Population:	23,614 (2006) [1]
• Density:	9.1/km² (23.6/sq mi)
Established:	1981
Postcode:	0830
Area:	52.9 km² (20.4 sq mi)
Time zone:	ACST (UTC+9:30)
Location:	21 km (13 mi) from Darwin
LGA:	City of Palmerston
County:	County of Palmerston
State District:	Blain Brennan Drysdale Nelson
Federal Division:	Solomon

Palmerston is a satellite city in the Northern Territory, Australia. Palmerston is the third largest city in the territory, with an urban population of 23,614 people.^[1] Palmerston is currently the fastest growing city in the Northern Territory and was once the fastest growing city in Australia for a short while.

Contents 1 Overview 2 History 2.1 Landmarks 3 Geography 3.1 Regions and suburbs 3.2 Climate 4 Demographics 5 Government 6 Media 7 Education 8 Infrastructure 8.1 Transport 9 Sport and recreation 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Overview

The city is located between the outer industrial areas of Darwin and the rural areas of Howard Springs, 21 kilometres (13 mi) south - east of territories capital Darwin, and is situated in the local government area of the City of Palmerston.

The urban area of Palmerston extends from the Stuart Highway in the north and in the eastern parts to the Cty of Palmerston borders. The city itself is located in the centre, with the outer rural area proposed for development as the population grows^[2].

Palmerston like Darwin has a tropical climate, with a wet season and a dry season. The city receives heavy rainfall in the wet season, this occurs between December and March. Thunderstorms are common and humidity is regularly over 70 per cent.

Palmerston was named after Lord Palmerston, a British Prime Minister^[3]. Palmerston was the name given in 1855 to Darwin itself. Darwin assumed its current name in 1911. The development of Palmerston began during the ealry 1980s as the main urban growth centre, because of the growth in the Darwin area. Palmerston was declared a city on August 2, 2000.

[edit] History

Palmerston was the name given in 1855 to Darwin itself. Darwin assumed its current name in 1911. The name first applied to the capital city by the South Australian Government in rememberance of Lord Palmerston, who became Prime Minister of Britain in 1855.^[4]

The land for modern Palmerston was acquired in 1971 by the Australian government after concerns of under-supply of residential land in Darwin. Development of Palmerston began during the early 1980s. Suburbs of Palmerston were built in stages. The first suburbs built were Gray and Driver, followed by Moulden, then Woodroffe and Marlow Lagoon. Suburbs then continued to grow during the 1990s, the suburbs were Bakewell, Rosebery and Durack. The population of Palmerston continues to be the highest in the Northern Territory, from the population increasing nearly 8,000 people between 1991 and 2001 to 21,000 people. Palmerston's population is expected to continue growing, and reach over 40,000 people in the next 10 - 15 years^[5].

In 2000 the Palmerston Town Council sought and obtained a change in the name of the municipality to City of Palmerston.

Palmerston is approximately a 15 minute drive away from Darwin's CBD, 15-18 minutes from Darwin's Northern suburbs and 10 - 20 minutes from Howard Springs and the rural area.

[edit] Landmarks

The major land-mark in Palmerston is the Power and Water Corporation's water storage tank, which supplies the city with fresh potable water. The City also has a natural escarpment on its eastern side, which has extensive walking paths.

[edit] Geography

Palmerston is situated between the outer industrial areas of Darwin and the rural areas of Howard Springs.

[edit] Regions and suburbs

Main article: List of Palmerston suburbs

The City of Palmerston initially consisted of the Palmerston Town (CBD), Driver and Gray. These were followed by Moulden and Woodroffe after development in those areas commenced in 1983. Also included in the City of Palmerston are the semi-rural suburb of Marlow Lagoon, the suburb of Archer and the industrial zones of Yarrawonga and Pinelands. Due to the explosive growth of Palmerston further developments have occurred leading to the creation of the suburbs of Rosebery, Bakewell, Gunn, Durack and more recently Farrar.

The suburbs of Durack and Gunn also have colloquial names as assigned to them by the developers of the area, being "Fairway Waters" (due to the man-made lakes and golf course) and "The Chase" respectively.

Future areas of land for expansion are the proposed suburbs of Johnson, Zuccoli and Mitchell and are located on the south-east side of the existing city. These plots of expansion are expected to allow an increase of up to 14,000 additional residents in the city of Palmerston.

[edit] Climate

Palmerston has a tropical climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. The dry season runs from May to September. In the coolest months of June and July, daily temperature range is 19 to 30°C. The Wet season is associated with tropical cyclones and monsoon rains. The majority of rainfall occurs between December and March when thunderstorms are common and humidity is regularly over 70 per cent.

[edit] Demographics

Palmerston Population by year[6]
1986	5,706
1991	7,804
1996	12,750
2001	20,788
2006	23,614
2011	34,944
2021	> 42,020	(Projected)[7]

As of the 2006 Census, there were 23,614 people residing in 9,000 households. The median age of persons in Palmerston was 28 years. 18.9% of the population of Palmerston were children aged between 5-14 years, and 47.1% were persons aged 25-54 years.^[1] 74.8 per cent of Palmerston's population are Australian born, with the biggest overseas birthplaces were, English (692 or 2.9 per cent), New Zealand (437 or 1.9 per cent), Philippines (278 or 1.2 per cent), Papua New Guinea (144 or 0.6 per cent) and East Timor (116 or 0.5 per cent).^[1]

The 2006 Census found the most common religious affiliations in Palmerston had No Religion (6,106 or 25.9 per cent), Catholicism (5,263 or 22.3 per cent), Anglican (3,561 or 15.1 per cent), Uniting Church (1,205 or 5.1 per cent) and Presbyterian and Reformed (419 or 1.8 per cent).^[1]

Palmerston along with Darwin is one of the fastest growing cities in the Northern Territory and in Australia. Palmerston recorded the fastest increase of population of all the Local Government Areas in the Northern Territory. Palmerston increased by 1,300 people growing by 5 per cent. The fastest growths occurred within Palmerston which includes the suburbs of Farrar Rosebery, Marlow Lagoon and Gunn and Palmerston City.^[8]

[edit] Government

The Palmerston region is covered by the Local Government Area of the City of Palmerston. The council was created in 1985. The council chambers are located in the Palmerston City Centre.

In territory politics, Palmerston is located in the Legislative Assembly districts of Blain, Brennan, Drysdale, Nelson with two seats held by the Australian Labor Party, one by the Country Liberal Party and one by the Independents.

In federal politics, Palmerston is located in one House of Representatives division shared with Darwin - the Division of Solomon.

[edit] Media

A local free tabloid news paper called the Palmerston Sun is published weekly by News Corporation. The Northern Territory News tabloid published daily by News Corporation is also widely available in Palmerston. There is also the Sunday edition of the Northern Territory News The Sunday Territorian also published by News Corporation. Most large state-wide and interstate newspapers are also available from local retailers, albeit with a delay in arrival.

Palmerston also receives Radio and television services sourced from transmitters located in the Darwin region. Which include the three commercial channels Southern Cross Darwin, Channel Nine Darwin and Darwin Digital Television and the two Government owned channels ABC and SBS Television. Pay TV is also available through both satellite and fixed cable from the encumbant provider, Austar.

Palmerston receives most Radio stations from Darwin. Which include ABC Local Radio (105.7FM), Radio National (657AM), ABC Classic FM (107.3FM) and Triple J (103.3FM).

[edit] Education

The Charles Darwin University Palmerston campus is located in the suburb of Durack, surrounded by bushland. The campus hosts the School of Tourism and Hospitality as well as expanding into a mini-School of Conservation and Land Management. There are over 1,287 students enrolled in tertiary and further education courses.^[9]

Palmerston is served by eight primary schools and two secondary schools.^[10] There are over 4,234 primary and secondary students enrolled in Palmerston with 2,942 students attending primary education and 1,292 students attending secondary education.^[11] There are over 3,100 students enrolled in government schools in Palmerston, 509 students enrolled in Catholic schools and 625 students enrolled in independant schools.

[edit] Infrastructure

[edit] Transport

The city has a network of approximately 32 km of bicycle paths, most of which are lit for night-time usage.

There is also a public bus service operated by Darwinbus that offers transportation around Palmerston, into Darwin City and out to Darwin's Northern Suburbs.

The Darwin City Airport is the closest air terminal, being serviced by both Qantas, Jetstar, Tiger Airways and Virgin Blue, with daily flights to and from all major cities in Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, and the Northern Territory. There are no direct flights to Tasmania or the Australian Capital Territory at the current stage. There are also direct flights to East Timor, Indonesia and Singapore. The airport is located in the Darwin suburb of Marrara, approximately 20 minutes away from Palmerston.

Darwin based taxis are also available in Palmerston, as well as a number of local and Darwin based mini-bus operators.

[edit] Sport and recreation

Palmerston is home to the Palmerston Football Club (known as the "Magpies") Northern Territory Football League and is based out of the Archer Sporting Complex.^[12] Palmerston has a strong presence in Australian rules football. The Archer Sporting Complex has an Australian rules football field, a senior Softball diamond and senior Baseball diamond. There are also a number of sporting clubs located at the complex. The complex home to the, Palmerston and Rural Baseball Club, the Palmerston Pirates Softball team, and the Palmerston Raiders Rugby League team.

Palmerston has one football team, the Palmerston SC which plays in the Northern Zone League.

The city has a "skate park" located on University Avenue that is funded by the Palmerston City Council. This park allows locals to perform Skateboarding as well as other related sports, including Inline Skating. There is a local near-Olympic size swimming pool with a gymnasium.

There is also a boat ramp allowing access to the Elizabeth River for small trailable marine craft. Persons utilising the area are cautioned that both Box jellyfish and crocodiles are present in the river.

A branch of the YWCA is located at the CBD.

The Palmerston Scouts are located on University Avenue, adjacent to the Palmerston branch of the RSL.

Palmerston is well served by its many park reserves. Some parks also offer coin-operated public barbecue facilities.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Palmerston at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2006 Census)
• Palmerston City Council site
• Palmerston City Council Library Service
• Northern Territory Government Portal
• Charles Darwin University Site

Coordinates: 12°29′S, 130°59′E

v • d • e Suburbs of the City of Palmerston | Darwin | Northern Territory Archer  · Bakewell  · Bellamack  · Durack  · Driver  · Farrar  · Gray  · Gunn  · Marlow Lagoon  · Mitchell  · Moulden  · Palmerston City  · Pinelands  · Rosebery  · Woodroffe  · Yarrawonga