The Department of Natural Resources Environment and the Arts is responsible for managing the Territory's unique cultural and natural heritage. It ensures that the Northern Territory Heritage Conservation Act 1991 is administered effectively. It provides a system for the identification, assessment, recording, conservation and protection of heritage places and objects.
Aboriginal people have occupied the lands of the Northern Territory for upward of 60,000 years and have left many traces of their culture and occupation across the landscape. The Territory contains a rich and diverse range of Aboriginal cultural heritage places, many of which are highly significant to contemporary Aboriginal culture.
Since 1981 when the first jointly managed park, Garig Gunak Barlu National Park, was established the Parks and Wildlife Service has entered into joint management arrangements with indigenous Territorians in several parks and reserves. The aim being to protect the biological diversity of the parks whilst still serving visitor and community needs for education and enjoyment.
The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory's (MAGNT) Maritime Gallery houses the largest museum collection of Southeast Asian historic boats and ethnographic watercraft in Australia. The Gallery has a permanent display of 21 boats and canoes.
Department of Natural Resources Environment and The Arts (NRETA) has the following grants programs: Regional Museums Grant Support Program, Arts Grants Program, NT Film Grants Program, Heritage Grants, Natural Heritage Trust and Environment Grants.
The Northern Territory Heritage Register lists all the places and objects that the Minister has declared under the Heritage Conservation Act 1991. It also includes details of interim conservation orders, conservation management plans and heritage agreements.
The Department of Natural Resources, Environment and The Arts is the lead agency in relation to the Natural Heritage Trust in the Northern Territory, including receipt and distribution of Natural Heritage Trust funding. The community programs branch in the Natural Resource Management Division of this Department administers the Trust in the NT, provides support to community groups, industry and government who receive Natural Heritage Trust funding.
Within the Northern Territory, the allocation of an official name to a place (be it a locality, suburb, town, community, road, residential park, cemetery, building or natural feature) is the responsibility of the Northern Territory Government under the Place Names Act which allows the Place Names Committee for the Northern Territory to make recommendations to the Minister for Planning and Lands for the naming of a place.
Find information on Managing Northern Territory Shipwrecks, Shipwrecks and the law, The Northern Territory Shipwreck Database, Historical Shipwreck Profiles and Diving around NT Shipwrecks.
The World War II Shipwrecks are a direct result of the first Japanese air raid on Australia, which occurred in Darwin on 19 February 1942. The wrecks are memorials to those who lost their lives in the first bombing raid on Australia and for those who defended Darwin. Thirty two years later Darwin was again attacked. On Christmas Day 1974 Cyclone Tracy struck Darwin and caused major havoc.