Today it was off to see some more of Darwin. First stop the WW2 Oil Storage tunnels right in town. After war shipping generally changed from coal to oil fired power, Darwin became a strategically important place and large oil storage containers were built on the wharf in the early 1930s. Unfortunately these were some of the first targets hit in the bombing raids of 1942 and were completely destroyed, so a decision was made to build some underground storage tanks instead. Work began in 1943 and they were completed in 1945 - quite a feat considering bombing raids continued during construction. Sadly the tanks were never used for their intended purpose as they became redundant as soon as they were finished. A couple were used to store aviation fuel for a short time however they remain unused and rotting away - yet another example of the waste of war. In the tunnels were some amazing pictures of the damage caused on 19/02/42 as well as the ships, aircraft and soldiers in and around Darwin at the time. Coudl not help thinking that my brother-in-law Bernie would have enjoyed this place - I'm sure he would have lost track of time checking it all out.
Next we went for a walk around the wharf presinct. The city has done a great job of turning an already impressive waterfornt into a modern playground which includes a fenced off ocean swimming area and a wave pool - we'll be back later in the week to do this. The main area is surrounded by chic shops and luxury apartments which I'm sure would cost a pretty penny. The views out to the Arafura Sea are magic.
Then back to the van and a swim in the pool there, then another BBQ dinner.
The Campbells
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