Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
Moments in a longer story.
Selected milestones in the history of Stokes Hill Wharf and the Flying Doctor.
On this page
A wharf and a flying service
These dates describe the place you can learn about here. They are not a company timeline for Apollonaut.
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1885–86
A first jetty
A timber jetty is built below Stokes Hill.
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1903
The Town Wharf
A new wharf replaces the first jetty.
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17 May 1928
The first flight
John Flynn’s Aerial Medical Service makes its first flight, from Cloncurry in Queensland.
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1939
The Northern Territory
The Flying Doctor begins working in the Territory, from Alice Springs.
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19 February 1942
The first raids
Two Japanese air raids strike Darwin, its harbour and the wharf.
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1942
A new name
The service is renamed the Flying Doctor Service.
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12 November 1943
The last raid
Northern Australia is bombed for the last time, after about 100 raids since March 1942.
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1955
Royal
The service becomes the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
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1956
The present wharf
Stokes Hill Wharf, of steel and concrete, is completed.
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2000
East Arm
Darwin’s main port moves to East Arm.
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July 2016
The facility opens
The RFDS Darwin Tourist Facility opens on Stokes Hill Wharf.
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2019
Brolga Award
The facility wins the Visitor Experience Award at the Northern Territory’s Brolga Awards.
Follow the stories behind the dates
A timeline is a beginning. The longer history introduces the people and places; the sources below provide further context.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
- Wikipedia: Stokes Hill Wharf
- Wikipedia: Bombing of Darwin
- Wikipedia: Royal Flying Doctor Service
- Royal Flying Doctor Service: Darwin Tourist Facility wins the Brolga Visitor Experience Award
Links lead to the original publishers.
