northern territory

	Northern Territory		To see the photos, use the menu on your left. Click on the place names you are interested in, wait for the page to load and SCROLL DOWN!
		Katherine
		Nitmiluk National Park
		Edith Falls
		Darwin
		Adelaide River
		Kakadu National Park
		Ubirr

The Northern Territory seems to defy everything that is middle-of-the-road. The average age of Territorians is 29 years old (the youngest state in Australia), most Territorians come from somewhere else (at least a quarter from overseas), and Territorians make up just 1% of Australia's population but take up 16% of the land area.

29% of the population identify themselves as indigenous, although the real figure is probably higher due to "conservative" ABS census-taking techniques. When Europeans first came in contact with the Northern Territory, there were about 75 language groups active.

And holy crap these people like to fish.

Over $30 million of the Territory's annual expenditure is directly attributable to recreational fishing. On top of that are indirect costs (like accommodation). It is estimated that the locals have invested almost $51 million for recreational fishing vessels. A third of fishing hours are spent looking for barramundi even though only 15% of fish caught are actually barramundi. Even better - half of all barramundi caught are thrown back.

So what is so great about barramundi? It has one pretty cool trick. All barras (see, we know the lingo) are born as boys. It takes them about six years to realise that girls are better, so they all turn into girls. So it is probably one of the smartest fish on the planet.

Last updated: 13th October, 2001