Berry Springs, Northern Territory

Berry Springs is an outer suburban locality in Darwin, Australia. The suburb is a mostly rural area situated on the Cox Peninsula Road and is sparsely populated. A few businesses and a school are located in the suburb. In the, the population of Berry Springs was 818. It is located 58.5km by road from the Darwin Central Business District and lies within the Litchfield Municipality local government area.HistoryThe name "Berry Springs" derived from "Berry Creek", named by Goyder in 1870, after his Chief Draftsman, Edwin S Berry. Most early development of the area was concentrated around the thriving town of Southport at the confluence of the Blackmore and Darwin Rivers. In 1889, a station opened on the North Australia Railway named Southport on the road between that town and Berry Springs. The location soon declined in importance however.During World War II, over 100,000 service personnel were deployed to the Litchfield area. A low weir was built across Berry Creek to provide a swimming area as part of a Rest and Recreation camp for troops and this is still a popular swimming venue.EconomyA 14ha aquaculture complex, known as ARDA-Tek Barramundi Farm was established in 1998 in the suburb. It employs 3 full-time staff. In addition to supplying fish for seafood wholesale, there is a research program aimed at managing disease and creating cheaper, high protein food sources to increase the quality of the fingerlings produced by the farm. The farm offers recreational fishing and tours for visitors, further contributing to tourism and the local economy.