NORTHERN TERRITORY

Australia self-governing territory of northern Australia, occupying the central section of the northern part of the continent. self-governing territory of Australia, occupying the central section of the northern part of the continent. The Northern Territory is bounded by the Timor and Arafura seas to the north and by Western Australia to the west, Queensland and the Gulf of Carpentaria to the east, and South Australia to the south. It is approximately 1,000 miles (about 1,600 kilometres) from north to south and 600 miles from east to west and occupies more than one-sixth of the Australian landmass. It is largely tropical in the north and semiarid in the far south. Constitutionally, the territory was inferior in status to the states until 1978, and it had limited legislative powers until self-government was granted in that year. Its development since 1911, when it was transferred to the Commonwealth from South Australia, has been a major item of expenditure in terms of works, services, and inducements to producers to accept the risks of an uncertain physical and economic environment. The nature of the climate, the poor soils, distance from assured markets, and problems of recruiting labour have been considerable handicaps. Area 519,800 square miles (1,346,200 square km). Pop. (1996) 195,101. Additional reading P. Loveday and D. Wade-Marshall, Economy and People in the North (1985), is a collection of conference papers on social and economic conditions in the Northern Territory. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Aboriginal People in the Northern Territory (1990), provides comprehensive details of the social, demographic, and economic characteristics of the Aboriginal population. A Social Atlas of Darwin (1989), which includes commentaries by John Taylor and Dean Jaensch, provides a thorough description of the Darwin population and includes a useful account of urban planning history. General studies of the history include Ernestine Hill, The Territory (1951, reissued 1970), a populist history, heavily anecdotal; and Alan Powell, Far Country (1988), a short history from earliest times to the 1980s. Particular periods and topics are examined in P.F. Donovan, A Land Full of Possibilities: A History of South Australia's Northern Territory (1981), a scholarly study of mainly official policy and actions in the territory, 18631910, and At the Other End of Australia: The Commonwealth and the Northern Territory, 19111978 (1984); Alan Powell, The Shadow's Edge: Australia's Northern War (1988), a history of the territory in World War II; Barbara James, No Man's Land (1989), a history of women in the territory; and Douglas Lockwood, The Front Door (1969), a popular history of Darwin, 18691969, anecdotal and entertaining. John Taylor Alois Wilhelm Podhajsky