The best city hikes and walks in Northern Territory

This is a lovely, shaded bench set beneath a flowering canopy supported by a simple trellis. The seating area sits just back from the waterfront path, and is a great place to pause under the dense seasonal blooms and tropical shade. It sits along the harbour-facing walkway, with beautiful views across Darwin Harbour.

Bicentennial Park runs along the Darwin waterfront on The Esplanade, stretching from the Northern Territory Parliament House to Doctor’s Gully and overlooking Darwin Harbour. Shaded by tropical trees and lined with shared paths, the park is known for its harbour views, open lawns, and memorials connected to the Bombing of Darwin, including the Cenotaph and USS Peary Memorial. Large public events often take place here, but the long waterfront setting also makes it a popular place for walking, cycling, and stopping to watch the harbour, especially at sunset when ships, tidal flats, and changing light become part of the beautiful scenery.

The Darwin Cenotaph War Memorial is a respectful tribute to those who served and sacrificed in times of war. The memorial stands as a solemn reminder of the courage and sacrifice of the servicemen.

Shaded path with elevators to access downtown Darwin.

Ficus Benjamina (Weeping Fig) This fig is considered a native although these species are also found throughout Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, India and China. Birds feeding on the small, fleshy fruit of this fig, deposit undigested seed on other trees. The seed may then germinate and euentually develop long aerial roots in order to obtain nutrients from the soil as well as to support its heavy crown. Ficus benjamina are attractive shade trees and are long lived. This ficus will outlive the adjacent Samanea samans to become a large shade tree for The Mall. The artwork on the curved wall beneath this fig is from the 1998 upgrade of The Mall and has been preserved due to its cultural and artistic significance.

Former Reserve Bank of Australia "Bold, graceful and functional, it lends a simple elegance to the corner of Smith and Bennett Streets. It is the newest branch of the Reserve Bank of Australia and it opened for business in Darwin today" - Northern Territory News, 28 March 1968. he Reserve Bank Act was passed in 1959 and created a central bank to regulate ustralia's monetary and banking system. Branches of this new institution were planned r all states and territories, with the head office in Sydney. building reflecting the importance of the Reserve Bank and its role in the Australian onomy was needed. Construction began on the Darwin branch in 1967. awing its inpiration from ancient Greek and Roman architecture, the building is a example of late twentieth century stripped classical architecture. The way the ding is set back from the boundaries and the use of landscaping were deliberate ices made to highlight the formality of the building and its function. View of Reserve Bank, Smith Street frontage, 1973. Coburg Collection, Library & Archives NT The Reserve Bank became part of a group of buildings known as "Bank Corner" , which included the Commercial Bank of Australia (the façade of which is now incorporated into the Charles Darwin Centre), the Commonwealth Bank and the Bank of New South Wales (now Westpac). The driveway to your left was used by armoured cars carrying cash, and important documents, a reminder of a time when the banking system relied on cash, and on the storage of paper records rather than computerised systems. In October 2003 the former Reserve Bank building was declared a Heritage Place under the NT

Town Hall Ruins (Former Palmerston Town Hall) "It is usual on occasions of this kind to present the gentleman performing the ceremony with a silver trowel... it's not here, but will be forthcoming shortly, suitably inscribed. It is just likely the (foundation) stone will be well laid without it for I have often noticed that gentlemen using silver trowels do not care to use much mortar.." (Victor. V. Brown, Chairman Palmerston District Council, 17 August 1882). This once imposing building served a variety of roles over its 92 years. The discovery of gold, the completion of the overland telegraph and an expanding township of Palmerston, later to become Darwin, saw the formation of the Palmerston District Council in 1874. With it came a need for a Town Hall and Council meeting place beyond the termite-ravaged Pickford's Rooms then in use. Built to the design of John G. Knight, as were a number of Darwin's early substantial buildings, the Town Hall incorporated space for the Council and the Palmerston Institute with its reading room and library. It was constructed of local stone and cypress pine from Indian Island to timber the floor and a roof. Opened on 10 March 1883 by the departing Government Resident, E. W. Price, the Town Hall was a popular venue for the citizens of Palmerston. It became the focus of many large social gatherings, a Local Court, library, and a meeting place for the then District Council. In 1937 the Darwin Town Council was dissolved and the Commonwealth Bank moved in until its own building was completed in 1940. A year later the navy took over the building as part of its shore base, HMAS Melville. Post-war the navy refused to surrender many buildings and a new town hall was built in 1954. The navy moved out from this building in 1959 and from then it was known as the Old Town Hall, serving as motor vehicle registry, and from 1968, as a museum - until December 1974. Previously only slightly damaged in the 1897 cyclone, this once important part of Darwin's early history was devastated by Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Eve 1974. In acknowledgment of its significance, the ruins were stabilised and now stand as a reminder of Cyclone Tracy, with the symbolism of the concentric paving reminding us of the destructive forces of the cyclone. And, again, the Old Town Hall is a popular venue for community activities, including theatrical performances and outdoor entertainment. The Town Hall Ruins were declared a heritage place on 19 March 1996.

Christ Church Cathedral Fully sixty ladies and gentlemen, and a goodly number of smaller fry, assembled on the allotment in Smith Street... to witness the ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the first Church of England in the Northern Territory (Northern Territory Times and Gazette 12 July 1902). Darwin's Anglican community used the Court House opposite here for Sunday services until a small stone church was constructed as a chapel for a larger cathedral. The new Church of England we a bait of the Carpentaria Diocese covering much of the Northern Territory. In 1902 this end of Smith Street was a collection of a the new church was constructed. It was built of locall and was completed in just three months. The first st res of Darwin's Chinatown, and into this melting pot in tollowing the acceptance of his tender for £435 dithe church consecrated on 2 November 1902. Electric lighting was installed in 1923 for £20 and T memory of her husband. She later donated a lecter we a build a tennis court in the church grounds in With the threat of war in the Pacific, civilians were evac the Darwin Fortress, or Garrison, Church. The church reuor The move was timely as the 19 February 1942 Japanese raid oi blown out. Shortly afterwards the building was looted. carly 1942 the military took over the church as Es were also removed to Alice Springs for safe keeping. he church buildings damaged by shrapnel and windows In early 1944 plans for a memorial fence and gates and landscaping Were prepared by Lieutenant A. Gardner of the army's 6 Australian Camouflage Unit. The gate and fence, and a porch to the church were completed using local stone. They were dedicated by the NT Force and Royal Australian Navy to those who died on active service in the Northern Territory. By the 1960s, however, the stone was crumbling and in 1965 the work was replaced by the Returned Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen's Imperial League of Australia (the RSL). Cyclone Tracy roared through Darwin on Christmas Eve 1974 destroying all but the porch and gateway. A new cathedral was constructed around the historic porch in 1976, winning the 1978 Tracy Memorial Award for its architects.