George Goyder Commemorative Coin School Presentations

On Friday 25 October City of Darwin is being presented to all primary school children in the Darwin municipality of the Commemorative Gold Coin marking 150 years since the landing of Darwin’s first surveyor, George Goyder and his party, at Port Darwin on 5 February 1869.

2019 marks 150 years since George Goyder and his team docked their ship at Port Darwin. At that time the Northern Territory was still part of South Australia and Goyder, as the Surveyor General, had been sent North to survey the land in and around Darwin - then known as Palmerston.

Goyder and his team of around 128 men left Port Adelaide on a ship called the Moonta on 27 December 1868 and arrived in Darwin Harbour on 5 February 1869. Goyder began work at a site near Port Darwin - which is now the Waterfront - and surveyed an area that extended down the track from Adelaide River to Litchfield Park, a total 660,000 acres. They completed all works in just 8 months, with Goyder returning to Adelaide in November 1869.

Today Goyder is remembered through the naming of Goyder Road in Darwin, which runs between the Stuart Highway and Gilruth Avenue and Goyder Square in Palmerston.

More than 9,000 primary school age children from 28 schools across Darwin municipality have received the commemorative coin, as did many of their parents and grandparents 50 years ago. In 1969 school children in Darwin were also presented with a commemorative coin, like the one you will all receive, to mark 100 years since the landing of George Goyder.

The artwork on the coins reflect the history we share with the Larrakia people. It was developed by local Larrakia artist Jason Lee and includes a boomerang, the Darwin coastline and a sextant (an instrument used on a ship for navigation). Also on the coin is the Larrakia word ‘Darrandarra’ which means together.

Coins are now available for purchase at a cost of $5 each. These are available for sale from City of Darwin customer service located at the Civic Centre, Ground Floor, Harry Chan Avenue, Darwin City, open from 8am - 5pm Monday to Friday. Bulk purchase enquiries from schools can be directed to [email protected]