Greg and Mandy's Travels

Don’t know how to describe Territory Day really. Perhaps ‘Australia Day On Steroids’, or perhaps ‘Lets Blow Darwin Up Day’. Kind of like Guy Fawkes night where anything goes.

For the five hours between 6:00pm and 11:00pm, people are given almost free rein to set off as many fireworks as they like. It’s all in celebration of becoming a self governing state on July 1st, 1978 – 29 years ago.

To give you some figures:
– There are about 200 tonnes of fireworks sold
– Fireworks sell for between $200 and $400 per box
– Most families spend about $1000, and lots spend much more
– About 20,000 go to Mindil Beach for the market, concert and official fireworks, but people can let them off anywhere (and do) – anywhere on any beach, in the middle of their street, in the park, in their driveway, in the grounds of the school
– 24 people had injuries serious enough to go to hospital
– At 8:30pm there were 60 fires burning in Darwin and Palmerston

So imagine, if you can, thousands of fireworks sites all going simultaneously everywhere you can see for 5 hours continuously. Certainly one of a kind in Australia where it’s the only legal occasion you can do it.

And then, the next morning, there are bleary eyed parents out there with brooms and shovels cleaning up the mess, not to mention hundreds of council workers cleaning roads, parks and beaches.

Didn’t try to take photos of the fireworks – it was pointless. But we did go to the Mindil celebrations. Had tea at the market, watched Killing Heidi, and watched the official fireworks and hours of unofficial ones.