Parap, Northern Territory
Encyclopedia
Parap is an inner suburb of the city of Darwin
, Northern Territory
, Australia
.
, first Commonwealth Administrator in 1912. He applied the name Paraparap (believed to have been a pastoral property of Dewing near Moriac, Geelong), but had to abbreviate it to Parap later during his term. Parap was also the staging point to the event known as the Darwin Rebellion
, on 17 December 1918, in protest against Gilruth's administration.
Parap became well-known as the 2½ Mile in subsequent years, being near the Railway Workshop when the train ran in pre-World War II
years .
In 1919, when the England
to Australia air race was announced, Darwin airport
was established in the suburb of Parap to act as the Australian Terminal. Darwin hence operated two airports, a civilian
airport and a military
field. In 1945, the Department of Aviation made the existing Darwin military airfield available for civil aviation purposes. As a result, the civilian airport at Parap was closed down and airport operations combined with the military airport.
The London-Australia Air Race
was actually a means of returning Australian Flying Corps pilots and crews to Australia after the cessation of hostilities – they were required to fly their aircraft home, with a £10,000 prize as the incentive for the first aircraft manned by Australians to reach Australia in less than 30 days before the end of 1919. Having departed Hounslow Heath Aerodrome
near London
on 12 November, Ross and Keith Smith
landed their Vickers FB27 Vimy G-EAOU 40
at Darwin aerodrome at 3.05 pm on Friday 10 December 1919 and were met by the Acting Administrator, Staniforth Smith. They had accomplished the first ever flight from Europe
to Australia, a distance of 18,500 kilometres, in 27 days and 20 hours. The following day, the Acting Administrator entertained the heroes at Government House, where they were joined by Lieutenant Hudson Fysh
DFC, another veteran of the Light Horse and No.1 Squadron AFC, who had been responsible for clearing the airstrip at Fannie Bay. The aerodrome in Darwin at which they landed was in the suburb of Parap, near the site of the present pool.
Parap is well known for its streets being named after early Australian aviators and explorers
including; Ross Smith Avenue
, Hudson Fysh Avenue
, Leichhardt Crescent
and Gregory Street
.
and Stuart Park
.
Price Street in Parap was named after Mr Edward W. Price, Magistrate and Commissioner Circuit Court of the Northern Territory from 1873 to 1876 and Government Resident of the Northern Territory from 1876 to 1883. Mr Price lost his wife and six children on the ill-fated SS Gothenburg
, which sank off the north Queensland coast, after hitting the Great Barrier Reef on 24 February 1875.
This multi-cultural market place is well known for its diverse food styles, arts and crafts and its busy but relaxed atmosphere. Parap Markets encourage local arts and craftspeople. Situated in the Parap Village Shopping Precinct off Parap Road , the market operates every Saturday of the year between 8am - 2pm.
Parking has recently increased and a car park on Parap Road is available for a gold coin donation. Toilet facilities are available.
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
History
Parap derived its name from that applied by Dr John A GilruthJohn A. Gilruth
John Anderson Gilruth was a veterinary scientist and administrator. He is particularly noted for being Administrator of the Northern Territory from 1912 to 1918, when he was recalled after an angry mob demanded that he resign...
, first Commonwealth Administrator in 1912. He applied the name Paraparap (believed to have been a pastoral property of Dewing near Moriac, Geelong), but had to abbreviate it to Parap later during his term. Parap was also the staging point to the event known as the Darwin Rebellion
Darwin Rebellion
The Darwin Rebellion of 17 December 1918 was the culmination of unrest in the Australian Workers' Union which had grown between 1911 and 1919. Led by Harold Nelson, some 1000 demonstrators marched on Government House at Liberty Square in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia where they burnt an...
, on 17 December 1918, in protest against Gilruth's administration.
Parap became well-known as the 2½ Mile in subsequent years, being near the Railway Workshop when the train ran in pre-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
years .
In 1919, when the England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to Australia air race was announced, Darwin airport
Parap Airfield
Parap Airfield was the civilian airport/aerodrome at Parap a suburb of Darwin, Northern Territory, in Australia between 1919 and 1946. It was also known as Darwin Aerodrome and Ross Smith Aerodrome.-History:...
was established in the suburb of Parap to act as the Australian Terminal. Darwin hence operated two airports, a civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
airport and a military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
field. In 1945, the Department of Aviation made the existing Darwin military airfield available for civil aviation purposes. As a result, the civilian airport at Parap was closed down and airport operations combined with the military airport.
The London-Australia Air Race
England to Australia flight
In 1919 the Australian government offered a prize of £A10,000 for the first Australians in a British aircraft to fly from Great Britain to Australia. Of the six entries that started the race, the winners were two brothers and their two crew in a Vickers Vimy....
was actually a means of returning Australian Flying Corps pilots and crews to Australia after the cessation of hostilities – they were required to fly their aircraft home, with a £10,000 prize as the incentive for the first aircraft manned by Australians to reach Australia in less than 30 days before the end of 1919. Having departed Hounslow Heath Aerodrome
Hounslow Heath Aerodrome
Hounslow Heath Aerodrome was a grass airfield, operational 1914-1920. It was situated in the London borough of Hounslow, and in 1919 was the location from which the first scheduled daily international commercial air services took place.-1909-1914:...
near London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 12 November, Ross and Keith Smith
Ross Macpherson Smith
Sir Ross Macpherson Smith KBE, MC & Bar, DFC & Two Bars, AFC was an Australian aviator, who, along with his brother, Sir Keith Macpherson Smith, became the first pilots to fly from England to Australia, ....
landed their Vickers FB27 Vimy G-EAOU 40
Vickers Vimy
The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft of the First World War and post-First World War era. It achieved success as both a military and civil aircraft, setting several notable records in long-distance flights in the interwar period, the most celebrated of which was the first non-stop...
at Darwin aerodrome at 3.05 pm on Friday 10 December 1919 and were met by the Acting Administrator, Staniforth Smith. They had accomplished the first ever flight from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to Australia, a distance of 18,500 kilometres, in 27 days and 20 hours. The following day, the Acting Administrator entertained the heroes at Government House, where they were joined by Lieutenant Hudson Fysh
Hudson Fysh
Sir Wilmot Hudson Fysh KBE, DFC was an Australian aviator and businessman. A founder of the Australian airline company Qantas, Fysh was born in Launceston, Tasmania. Serving in the Battle of Gallipoli and Palestine Campaign as a lieutenant of the Australian Light Horse Brigade, Fysh later became...
DFC, another veteran of the Light Horse and No.1 Squadron AFC, who had been responsible for clearing the airstrip at Fannie Bay. The aerodrome in Darwin at which they landed was in the suburb of Parap, near the site of the present pool.
Parap is well known for its streets being named after early Australian aviators and explorers
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
including; Ross Smith Avenue
Ross Macpherson Smith
Sir Ross Macpherson Smith KBE, MC & Bar, DFC & Two Bars, AFC was an Australian aviator, who, along with his brother, Sir Keith Macpherson Smith, became the first pilots to fly from England to Australia, ....
, Hudson Fysh Avenue
Hudson Fysh
Sir Wilmot Hudson Fysh KBE, DFC was an Australian aviator and businessman. A founder of the Australian airline company Qantas, Fysh was born in Launceston, Tasmania. Serving in the Battle of Gallipoli and Palestine Campaign as a lieutenant of the Australian Light Horse Brigade, Fysh later became...
, Leichhardt Crescent
Ludwig Leichhardt
Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, known as Ludwig Leichhardt, was a Prussian explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.-Early life:...
and Gregory Street
Augustus Gregory
Sir Augustus Charles Gregory KCMG. was an English-born Australian explorer. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions.-Early years:...
.
Present day
Parap is a predominantly residential suburb and is usually associated with its sister suburb, Fannie Bay and the adjacent inner suburbs of LudmillaLudmilla, Northern Territory
Ludmilla is a northern inner suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.-History:Ludmilla, as a suburb, obtained its name from Ludmilla Creek. The suburb is believed to have been named after Ludmilla Holtze by Gustav Sabine, who was a Government Surveyor, and who carried out a...
and Stuart Park
Stuart Park, Northern Territory
Stuart Park is an inner suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.-History:This area derived its name as part of Parap after the Army had left in 1946 and a number of Sidney William hutments remained. The Parap Parish Hall between Westralia Street and Charles Street existed in...
.
Price Street in Parap was named after Mr Edward W. Price, Magistrate and Commissioner Circuit Court of the Northern Territory from 1873 to 1876 and Government Resident of the Northern Territory from 1876 to 1883. Mr Price lost his wife and six children on the ill-fated SS Gothenburg
SS Gothenburg
The SS Gothenburg was a steamship that operated along the British and then later the Australian and New Zealand coastlines. In February 1875, she left Darwin, Australia en route to Adelaide when she encountered a cyclone-strength storm off the north Queensland coast. The ship was wrecked on the...
, which sank off the north Queensland coast, after hitting the Great Barrier Reef on 24 February 1875.
Parap Markets
The Parap Village Market is one of Darwin's longest running markets, and is considered by many as the ideal meeting place to meet or to have breakfast or light meals.This multi-cultural market place is well known for its diverse food styles, arts and crafts and its busy but relaxed atmosphere. Parap Markets encourage local arts and craftspeople. Situated in the Parap Village Shopping Precinct off Parap Road , the market operates every Saturday of the year between 8am - 2pm.
Parking has recently increased and a car park on Parap Road is available for a gold coin donation. Toilet facilities are available.