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On 9 September 1839, Lieutenant John Stokes sailed
into the harbour on the HMS Beagle and named it
"Port Darwin" in honour of his friend
Charles Darwin.
The Port of Darwin was first used for modern
commerce in 1869 when it was used to supply the
new settlement of Palmerston.
In those early days, and indeed before the advent
of modern rail, road and air travel, the port
was the communication link with the outside world.
All stores, mail, passengers and exports were
shipped through the port.
Initially, the passengers and goods aboard vessels
were ferried to and from the port area in small
boats, often a difficult feat in Darwin's 8 metre
tidal range and strong tidal currents.
In any case it was an expensive method of transport
and from the first settlement there was an urgent
demand for a wharf for easier access to vessels.
The first wharf, actually a causeway, was built
in 1874 on the site of a wrecked ship the "Gulnare",
and was named Gulnare Wharf.
In 1885-86 the Railway Jetty was built of timber
construction in the same general position as today's
Stokes Hill Wharf but considerably smaller in
size. As the railway (Palmerston to Pine Creek)
ran onto the wharf it enabled direct transhipment
from ship to rail.
In 1886 the first freezer ship the "Changsha"
carried a sample cargo of N.T. beef to Melbourne.
The steam railway locomotive "Sandfly"
arrived in the port in 1886 on the vessel "Armistice",
for operations in the port and saw service from
1887 to 1950.
In 1891 the first live cattle were exported through
the port, the start of a trade which is still
operating today with the majority of Australia's
live cattle shipped out of Darwin.
The original railway wharf of 1885 didn't last
long, since the timbers were eaten by termites.
Consequently it was replaced, on virtually the
same Stokes Hill site in 1904, by a new wharf
which became known as Town Wharf.
Its poor design, allowing only five railway wagons
on the wharf at one time and no access for a locomotive,
was criticised continually throughout its life,
and much of the high cost of goods in Darwin was
attributed to it. Nevertheless it gave the Port
of Darwin good service until it was severely damaged
in the Japanese bombing raids of 1942. During
this period 1903-1942 it was Darwin's only wharf,
and handled all cargo and passengers.
Some repairs and reconstruction were carried
out during World War II but the sunken wrecks
were not finally removed until 1961.
To replace the damaged Town Wharf a new timber
wharf was built at Fort Hill during World War
II. Originally 900 feet long, it fell victim of
the teredo-worm and some 600 feet of it collapsed.
The remainder was partially reconstructed with
steel piles and became what we know today as Old
Fort Hill Wharf.
Another two wharves, the Navy Boom Wharf and
Navy Repair Wharf, were built in 1941 to handle
the boom defence net for Darwin Harbour, and repairs
to navy vessels. They were situated at Fort Hill
and parts of the Boom Wharf construction are still
visible in the approaches to the Iron Ore Wharf
and adjacent to the western approach of New Fort
Hill Wharf. The Boom Shed which accompanied it
is still in service.
Stokes Hill Wharf, as we know it today, was commenced
in 1953, completed in 1956 and continually modified
until 1972. Up until the commissioning of the
New Fort Hill Wharf in 1981, it was the main general
cargo wharf for the port.
In 1967 the Iron Ore Wharf was completed and
saw continuous service exporting iron ore until
1974 when Cyclone Tracy played a role in the cessation
of this trade.
Subsequently, after serving as the home for the
emergency accommodation vessel "Patris",
the Iron Ore Wharf has been put to many uses and
regularly handles oil, gas and acid imports, and
until 1990 had a livestock race for exporting
cattle and buffalo. More recently it has been
used as a berth for some vessels using the ro/ro
facility, and has accommodated many visiting naval
craft.
The ore loading equipment was refurbished in
1985 to accommodate exports of lead and zinc concentrates.
The port's most recently built wharf, New Fort
Hill Wharf, is the nucleus of Darwin's move into
the container age.
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