Australia Section:
Northern Territory
Fair Dinkum Resources
Literature
Guide.
In 1978 the territory was granted self-government. The nature of the climate, the poor soils, distance from assured markets and labor shortages pose considerable handicaps in the largely tropical north and semiarid far south.
Land
The coastline is flat with low headlands and is mostly fringed with mangrove swamps. There are many offshore islands, of which Melville and Bathurst islands and Groote Eylandt are the largest. Mount Zeil is the highest point in the territory.
Flora and Fauna
The northern vegetation is open woodland with low eucalyptus and tall grass of low nutritive value with some forests of Indo-Malaysian vegetation elements. Birds consist of the princess parrot of the central, the flock pigeon of the grasslands and rock pigeons in the rugged areas of the north. Mammals include the egg laying echidna, the kangaroo, and the black wallaroo.
Cultural
The Aboriginal artist Albert Namatijira is famous for
his watercolors of Central Australian landscapes, while early life
in the territory is depicted in the work of writers Jeannie Gunn,
Xavier Herbert, Douglas Lockwood, William Edward Harney and Frank
Flynn. Here prolific Aboriginal artists abound and the appetite of
the saltwater crocodiles limits swimming in coastal rivers and
lakes.
