T.I.A: Day 7 - Last Day in Darwin

Headed out this morning to the Smith Street Mall for a bit of cafe coffee and a look at the souvenir shops- of which there are plenty. Hard to buy much made in Australia and things that aren't novelty...kangaroo scrotum lighter anybody? Kurtis chuckled to himself for ages with that one (he is growing up!!) and we had a hard time trying to explain this to Elijah. Yelling out in frustration, "Listen Elijah, it's a ball bag of a kangaroo!!" is not very tasteful at 9:30 in the morning. After buying the boys a key ring each, and again averted their gaze from the upteenth pair of Snapper G-strings (if you don't know what these are then you will never know anything- every shop in Darwin has these!!), we headed off for a teacher-led excursion to the Darwin Military Museum. A side point here while I remember. Elijah got freaked out last night after the Cyclone Tracy exhibition at the NT museum. He couldn't sleep last night and we now get numerous questions as how you can escape them, what are they like, can you die in them and do they really sound like they did in the darkened simulation room at the museum (an actual tape recording by a priest during the cyclone. I found it freaky as well).
After lunch, and a nap, it was off to look at how the other 5% live at Cullen Bay. Nice area, but we probably don't look rich enough in the Hyundai. Then a quick ice cream stop at Stokes Hill Wharf. This is the wharf where part of the movie "Australia" was filmed. Those of you who know me will know how excited I would have been when the ice cream shop has 5 posters up advertising the "Ice Cream Burger"...2 sponge cakes with jam and cream and ice cream and topping in a burger style. I was looking forward to showing you this masterpiece and my attempt to eat it..."Sorry, we are out of sponge." Enough said. Welcome to the Territory. Finally, gave the boys a number of parent decided choices and then the last (and made out to be the not so interesting) choice, was a revisit to the waterslides. Back to the waterslides and water park we went. At least the boys are in bed earlier tonight. Off to Kakadu tomorrow.

A chip off the ol' block. I have taught him well my young padawan.

Elijah and Joseph had an absolute ball climbing over the military equipment and hardware...until we informed them not to climb on the military equipment and hardware. Signs everywhere, we just somehow missed them.

I do promise the first person to tell me what this is, I will take out for a feed. Multiple entries accepted.

The 9.2 inch gun emplacements at East Point. Please allow me to give you a history lesson. Darwin endured some 64 raids by the Japanese with the first being on February 19th, 1942. 188 Japanese planes flew over Bathurst and Melville Islands on the way to bomb the ships in Darwin Harbour. The Catholic missionaries radioed ahead and they were ignored. We had no planes at the ready and Darwin was decimated as well as a number of American and Australian ships. 2 of these guns were built to withstand the Japanese navy. They had 2 practice fires and were never used in combat. Not much use against the continuing raids of Japanese zeros. Sold off for scrap about 20 years later to...the Japanese who had come to retrieve some of their debris left behind. Most of Darwin was evacuated and some 500 000 Australian and American troops settled in Darwin, began the upgrade of the Stuart Highway from Darwin to Alice and built numerous air strips so the Spitfires could finally arrive and fight the battle in the skies, not in the sea as first thought. I can't remember the final death tally from the raids, but I do know the government fudged the figures so panic would not set in around Australia.