Commonwealth heritage places in the Northern Territory
RAAF Base precinct
Covering almost 45 hectares south-west of Darwin Airport, RAAF Base Darwin was pivotal in the build up of Defence Forces in the period to the start of World War II. The base contains one of the oldest surviving groups of houses in Darwin, as well as individual structures and groups of buildings that stand as fine examples of military architecture and the adaptation of buildings to suit tropical climates. The precinct has additional significance for the local community as it survived the onslaught of Cyclone Tracey in 1974.
The establishment of the base, which created a major military presence in the north of Australia, demonstrated a shift in Australian defence policy. Darwin's own development was greatly accelerated as a result of the military development.
The plan for the base is though to have been influenced by Walter Burley Griffin's Canberra plan and focuses on precise areas for separate functions, recognition of landscape and the use of symmetry and axes.
Water Tower 129
A significant landmark at RAAF Base Darwin, Water Tower 129 attracts considerable interest for its dual water storage and air traffic control functions.
Throughout its history, the tower has been associated with the military build-up in Darwin prior to the outbreak of fighting in the Pacific during World War II and the construction of improved town water supplies.
RAAF Base commanding officer's residence (Banksian House)
The former residence of numerous senior RAAF officers, Banksian House with its cross ventilation, elevated floor and wide eaves is an excellent example of government architect B.C.G. Burnett's design adapted for the tropical climate.
Located on Darwin's RAAF Base and historically significant for its association with the development of military installations in Darwin, the building is part of one of the oldest surviving groups of housing in Darwin.
RAAF Base tropical housing type 2 (married officers' quarters)
RAAF Base tropical housing type 3 (married NCOs quarters MO17-MO28)
Helping to form the western boundary of RAAF Base Darwin, the three tropical type 2 and 12 tropical type 3 houses were built in 1940-41 as married officers' and married non-commissioned officers' quarters. An integral part of the base's late 1930s and early 1940s design, the buildings are architecturally and historically significant for their association with government architect B.C.G. Burnett and the establishment of a military presence in northern Australia.
Each of the structures incorporates a range of design features adapted to Darwin's tropical climate.
Larrakeyah Barracks precinct
Forming part of the greater Larrakeyah Base, which commenced operation in 1932, the Barracks precinct played a major role in the concentration of military in the north of Australia prior to World War II and the defence of Australia's northern shores during the war years.
Architecturally, the buildings within the precinct are significant - the Sergeant's Mess was the first example of the Moderne style in Darwin - and highlight the work of notable government architect B.C.G. Burnett. The interpretation of this Moderne style for a tropical climate represented a creative and technical achievement.
Larrakeyah Barracks headquarters building and sergeants' mess
Constructed in 1940, the Larrakeyah Barracks headquarters and sergeants' mess are rare examples of public buildings designed in response to the tropical conditions of Darwin. Associated with prominent government architect, B.C.G. Burnett, who made an important contribution to Darwin's architectural landscape during the period, the structures played a vital role during the build-up of defence infrastructure in the area during World War II.
Mines House
Burnett House
Built to house executive level public servants in 1939, Mines and Burnett houses at Myilly Point, Darwin, are two of a group of four houses that serve as the best surviving example of work by government architect B.C.G. Burnett. One of the oldest surviving groups of housing in Darwin, the structures represent a major development in architecture that influenced the design of tropical housing in Darwin and the north of Australia.
Associated with the Australian Women's Army Service occupation of the Darwin area in the latter stages of, and immediately following, World War II, the houses hold historical and aesthetic value for the local community who campaigned in the 1980s with the National Trust to have the buildings retained.
Mount Bundey Military Training Area
Home to the nationally endangered Gouldian finch, Mount Bundey Military Training Area (MBTA) is a valuable early wet season feeding and breeding habitat for waterbirds, crocodiles and amphibians.
MBTA has a high diversity of the significant fauna habitats including the seasonal Melaleuca and grassland floodplains and the permanent waterholes of the Mary and Wildman rivers, which are valuable dry season refuges.
Ecologically and botanically significant vine thicket (monsoon rainforests) patches, which comprise less than 0.2 percent of the vegetation cover in the Northern Territory, are found in the MBTA.
Pockets of rainforest in the MBTA provide important seasonal and short-term refuge for species such as the rufous owl.
Adelaide River War Cemetery
A highly valued community memorial, Adelaide River War Cemetery serves as a symbol of the scale, intensity and human sacrifice of Australian and Commonwealth personnel in northern Australian during World War II.
Established in 1942, the cemetery is the last resting place for service men and women who lost their lives in northern Australia during the war.
Adjoining the war cemetery is a Civil Cemetery that houses the graves of 63 civilians who lost their lives as a result of war service, including nine postal workers killed in the initial Japanese bombing of Darwin.
Bradshaw Defence Area
A vast and rugged habitat home to a diverse range of plants and animals, Bradshaw Defence Area is second only to Kakadu National Park for its rich vertebrate fauna.
The complex topography of Bradshaw includes lowland woodlands, heaths and grasslands, sandstone escarpments, monsoon rainforest patches and wetlands. This landscape supports a number of species - Gouldian finch, Northern quoll and pale field rat - whose numbers have declined in other areas of northern Australia.
The abundance of frog, reptile and mammal life in the area is recognised nationally as significant.
Arid 'A' type residence
Located in Alice Springs, the building is an example of the transportable housing type developed by the Northern Territory Administration following World War II.
The Arid Type 'A' House was designed specifically to cope with the arid climate and was constructed at a time when materials and skilled labour were scarce in remote communities.
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park
An internationally recognised cultural landscape, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park holds important spiritual and cultural significance to Anangua people.
The park was first listed as a World Heritage area for its natural significance in 1987 and in 1994 became only the second property in the world to be listed as a cultural landscape, recognising its powerful religious, artistic and cultural associations.
Formation of the distinctive monoliths that characterises Uluru and Kata Tjuta began more than 400 million years ago. For Anangu, the landscape was formed by Tjukuritja (ancestral beings) as they travelled across the country.
Rock paintings in the park reflect aspects of the Anangu life and help to educate and tell the story of their history.
Uluru-Kata Tjuta boasts a diverse array of flora and fauna and attracts more than 350,000 visitors each year.
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For more detailed information about each place, search the Australian Heritage Database.
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