City of Darwin

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City of Darwin Northern Territory
Population	84,613 (2018)[1]
• Density	762/km2 (1,974/sq mi)
Established	1869
Area	111 km2 (42.9 sq mi)[1]
Mayor	Kon Vatskalis (Labor)
Council seat	Darwin City
Region	Metropolitan Darwin
Territory electorate(s)	Casuarina, Fannie Bay, Fong Lim, Johnston, Karama, Nightcliff, Port Darwin, Sanderson, Spillett, Wanguri
Federal division(s)	Solomon
Website	City of Darwin
LGAs around City of Darwin: Unincorporated Top End Region Unincorporated Top End Region Unincorporated Top End Region Unincorporated Top End Region City of Darwin Litchfield Unincorporated Top End Region Unincorporated Top End Region Unincorporated Top End Region
Footnotes	Adjoining LGAs[2]

The City of Darwin is a local government area of the Northern Territory, Australia. It includes the central business district of the capital, Darwin City, and represents two-thirds of its metropolitan population. Located on the traditional land and waterways of the Larrakia people,^[3] the city now covers an area of 111 square kilometres (43 sq mi) and, in June 2018, had a population of 84,613 people.^[1]

The Larrakia people are the traditional owners of the lands and waters in and surrounding the Darwin local government area. Darwin is known as Garramilla in Gulumirrgin, one of the languages of the Larrakia people, but there are many place names within the area.^[4]

The first Town and District Council was formed in 1874. The Darwin Town Council was created in 1915. From 1921 the five member Council had been elected on a ratepayer's franchise. In 1930 the Mayor and councillors resigned in protest against the re-introduction of adult suffrage. A caretaker Council was appointed until 1937, when it was abolished at the council's own request.

In 1955 a statement added to the Local Government Ordinance provided for the Constitution of the Municipality of Darwin. In 1957 the council was increased to twelve members and a Mayor.

An annual election providing for the Mayor and half of the Council members to be retired at each election, was also introduced at this time. The first council elections were held on 29 June 1957 and the first elected mayor of Darwin was Lucius (Bill) Richardson.^[5] In 1959 an Ordinance provided that the Municipality of Darwin be constituted a city and named 'City of Darwin'.

The first female Mayor of Darwin was Dr Ella Stack, who served as the mayor of Darwin from May 1975 to November 1979, and as Darwin's first Lord Mayor from November 1979.^[5]

City of Darwin is divided into four wards, governed by 12 Councillors across those wards, as well as one directly elected Lord Mayor. Councillors from each ward are elected using a Single Transferable Vote (STV) proportional system.^[6]

^[10]

Chan Ward (west)	Lyons Ward (south)	Richardson Ward (north)	Waters Ward (east)	Suburb Map
Coconut Grove Jingili Ludmilla (with Bagot) Millner Moil Nightcliff Rapid Creek	Bayview Charles Darwin (part) Darwin City (part) East Point Fannie Bay Hidden Valley (part) Larrakeyah Parap Stuart Park The Gardens Woolner	Alawa Brinkin Buffalo Creek Casuarina Holmes Leanyer Lee Point Lyons Muirhead Nakara Tiwi Wagaman Wanguri	Anula (with Northlakes) Berrimah (part) Coonawarra Eaton Karama Malak (with Sanderson) Marrara The Narrows Winnellie Wulagi

Most of the suburb of Charles Darwin which is largely occupied by the Charles Darwin National Park reaches outside of the boundaries of the City of Darwin into unincorporated area, as do large parts of Berrimah and Hidden Valley. The last two suburbs, Buffalo Creek and Holmes, were approved in 2007. They are still largely undeveloped, especially Buffalo Creek.

Selected historical census data for City of Darwin local government area
Census year			2001[11]	2006[12]	2011[13]	2016[14]
Population		Estimated residents on census night	69,455	66,291	72,930	78,804
		LGA rank in terms of size within Northern Territory		1st	1st	1st
		% of Northern Territory population	34.26%	34.36%	34.41%	34.44%
		% of Australian population	0.37%	0.33%	0.34%	0.34%
Cultural and language diversity
Ancestry, top responses		Australian			24.1%	21.2%
		English			20.7%	19.8%
		Irish			7.2%	7.4%
		Scottish			5.7%	5.6%
		Chinese			3.6%	4.1%
Language, top responses (other than English)		Greek	3.5%	3.3%	3.4%	3.5%
		Tagalog	1.0%		1.6%	2.2%
		Cantonese	1.0%	0.9%
		Italian	0.8%	0.7%
		Hakka	0.8%	0.8%
		Indonesian		0.9%	1.0%
		Mandarin			1.3%	2.0%
		Filipino			1.0%	1.5%
		Nepali				1.2%
Religious affiliation
Religious affiliation, top responses		Catholic	25.4%	24.7%	24.1%	22.3%
		No religion	20.5%	24.0%	25.0%	31.2%
		Anglican	14.5%	12.2%	10.6%	7.6%
		Uniting	6.5%	5.6%	4.5%
		Eastern Orthodox	4.3%	4.1%	4.3%	4.4%
Median weekly incomes
Personal income		Median weekly personal income		A$687	A$899	A$1039
		% of Australian median income		147.4%	155.8%	157.0%
Family income		Median weekly family income		A$1524	A$2063	A$2385
		% of Australian median income		130.2%	139.2%	137.5%
Household income		Median weekly household income		A$1286	A$1809	A$2164
		% of Australian median income		125.2%	146.6%	150.5%
Dwelling structure
Dwelling type		Separate house	55.3%	54.9%	54.7%	52.6%
		Semi-detached, terrace or townhouse	13.2%	11.9%	15.8%	13.3%
		Flat or apartment	23.8%	27.2%	26.7%	31.8%

The city of Darwin has seven sister cities.^[15]

• City of Darwin website

12°24′55″S 130°53′29″E / 12.4152°S 130.8914°E / -12.4152; 130.8914