Where to eat, play, stay and network in Darwin

FORMER AUSTRALIAN prime minister Paul Keating reportedly once said, “The best way to see Darwin is at 35,000 feet on the way to Paris.” These days he might want to take a closer look.

Prise away any preconceptions about Mick Dundee types drinking themselves senseless in a wild town; Darwin is a metropolis with new bars and restaurants, a modern waterfront development, a vibrant arts scene and a diverse population.

It’s a small city, with only 100,000 or so people, and few places are more than 15 minutes’ drive away. Businesses – particularly government offices that employ thousands of people and are central to the Northern Territory economy – are concentrated in the CBD but there’s increasing activity in areas like Berrimah, the satellite city of Palmerston and around Darwin Airport.

Strategically, as the nation’s only tropical capital city, Darwin is well placed to benefifit from the development of Northern Australia and the huge growth of markets beyond as the world’s economic centre of gravity moves inexorably towards Asia.

There’s a growing confidence about Darwin’s place in the world – by the Arafura Sea, on the edge of Australia, with Asia just over the horizon. As local Larrakia musician Ali Mills sings of her home town in Arafura Pearl, “She’s a multiracial beauty… she’s the jewel of Australia, she’s the Arafura pearl.”

Perhaps you’ll call in next time you’re offff to Paris, Mr Keating?