Mr KIELY - 2007-08-28
The initiatives you have announced today have focused around the building of a Defence of Darwin museum which displays the history of Darwin in World War II. Can you please advise the House why this has been chosen as the centrepiece?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sanderson for his question. There is a very good reason why, of all the announcements that were made today, the World War II museum, the Defence of Darwin, is the centrepiece. As we all know, nowhere else in Australia had a World War experience like Darwin and the Top End. No other city suffered the heavy loss of life that we did, and in no other place was the enemy so near to the community and their presence so immediate.
It is interesting, when you go back to those World War II days, that the Australian government of the time hid what was happening. They were worried that if the rest of the country knew what was happening in Darwin there would be some kind of paralysis, there would be fear, and so it was hidden. We all know that we struggled to get that knowledge of what happened during World War II in Darwin and in our region out to the rest of the country. We are slowly starting to get that knowledge across Australia, but we have a long way to go.
Every year, the Bombing of Darwin commemoration has a greater attendance, but, really, people who come to Darwin have very little knowledge of what happened here. It is important to change that. We know how many impressive sites we have in Darwin and Katherine and around the region as part of that World War II infrastructure, but what we need something to link them all. That is what this Defence of Darwin museum will do. It will tell the story, but it will also link to those important areas like East Point, sites around the CBD, the airstrips down the Stuart Highway, the Adelaide River War Cemetery, and to Katherine where there was bombing and loss of life during World War II.
We have committed $250 000 to commence the work to see what kind of museum this will be, what is the role of audio-visual and IT in a contemporary museum; what kind of materials we need; and to set up a reference group to do that. We will be doing that over the next six months, and I believe it will be a significant contribution to Darwin. It is an exciting project, not just for locals, but for tourism, and one that will mark the significance of Darwin and the Top End in World War II. Slowly, the rest of Australia and the rest of the world will understand what happened in Darwin. I am very proud of this announcement today and it is one that we are going to be moving on very quickly.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Sanderson for his question. There is a very good reason why, of all the announcements that were made today, the World War II museum, the Defence of Darwin, is the centrepiece. As we all know, nowhere else in Australia had a World War experience like Darwin and the Top End. No other city suffered the heavy loss of life that we did, and in no other place was the enemy so near to the community and their presence so immediate.
It is interesting, when you go back to those World War II days, that the Australian government of the time hid what was happening. They were worried that if the rest of the country knew what was happening in Darwin there would be some kind of paralysis, there would be fear, and so it was hidden. We all know that we struggled to get that knowledge of what happened during World War II in Darwin and in our region out to the rest of the country. We are slowly starting to get that knowledge across Australia, but we have a long way to go.
Every year, the Bombing of Darwin commemoration has a greater attendance, but, really, people who come to Darwin have very little knowledge of what happened here. It is important to change that. We know how many impressive sites we have in Darwin and Katherine and around the region as part of that World War II infrastructure, but what we need something to link them all. That is what this Defence of Darwin museum will do. It will tell the story, but it will also link to those important areas like East Point, sites around the CBD, the airstrips down the Stuart Highway, the Adelaide River War Cemetery, and to Katherine where there was bombing and loss of life during World War II.
We have committed $250 000 to commence the work to see what kind of museum this will be, what is the role of audio-visual and IT in a contemporary museum; what kind of materials we need; and to set up a reference group to do that. We will be doing that over the next six months, and I believe it will be a significant contribution to Darwin. It is an exciting project, not just for locals, but for tourism, and one that will mark the significance of Darwin and the Top End in World War II. Slowly, the rest of Australia and the rest of the world will understand what happened in Darwin. I am very proud of this announcement today and it is one that we are going to be moving on very quickly.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016