Howard Springs Nature Park: Synthesis of What We Know
Brief History
| 1944 |
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| 1959 |
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| 1960's |
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| 1970's |
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| 2006 |
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Howard Springs Nature Park has been a recreational venue for the people of Darwin since World War II. The Nature Park covers 283 hectares of diverse habitats that include a monsoon forest, paperbark swamps and woodland.
The creek below the springs was dammed during World War II to supply water to a nearby abattoir and as a means of supplementing Darwin’s water supply. The pool area was also used as a rest camp by both American and Australian Service personnel. Following the war, the emergency water supply was no longer required but it was not until September 1950 that some facilities were erected and the area became a picnic ground under the control of the Darwin Town Management Board. In 1952 the Park became a Recreation Reserve under the control of the Northern Territory Reserves Board. The area was proclaimed a Recreation Reserve in 1952. In 1978, the Recreation Reserve was declared a Nature Park under Section 12 of the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act.Chronology of infrastructure of the Howard Springs Nature Park
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1944 - Weir at the springs created
The weir at the springs was built by the Royal Australian Engineers corps to supply water to Servicemen’s camps in Howard Springs, McMillians Road, Lee Point Rd and other places. The area became a popular recreation facility for servicemen.
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1971 - Rock wall around the spring
The rock wall around the upstream section of the spring was built in 1971, after the Springs were cleared of gravel and silt to get it to flow again.
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1986 - Sluice gate built
The sluice gate was built into the weir wall when the waterhole was drained towards the later part of the year in 1986. The waterhole refilled during the wet season of 1986-87. Rainfall for the wet season from September 1986 to June 1987 was 1670mm, which was close to average. More than 60 per cent of the rain fell in January and February of 1987.
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1990’s – Popular recreation site
The Nature Park was a popular recreation site for both locals and interstate visitors with approximately 179 867 visitors recorded in 1998. The Nature Park provided an ideal location for picnics, social outings, fish viewing, swimming and walks. - 2006 – Waterhole closed
In 2006 the waterhole was closed to swimming due to poor water quality. - 2010 - Redevelopment of Nature Park
In 2009 the waterhole was drained, the barramundi removed, the waterhole was cleaned, refilled and monitored in an attempt to restore water quality to a standard to enable swimming. Unfortunately the monitoring results show the water quality does not meet the NT recreational swimming guidelines and as a result the waterhole remains closed to swimming.
The redevelopment of the Nature Park is underway to improve and enhance the visitor facilities to again make the Nature Park an important place for locals and visitors. The redevelopment will include the construction of rock pools, aquatic wildlife viewing platforms, an interactive playground / playscape and more walking tracks.