Rapid Creek, Northern Territory

Rapid Creek is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.HistoryAlthough the precise circumstances of the naming of Rapid Creek remain obscure, the name must have been applied by Surveyor-General George W. Goyder's surveyors not long after the arrival of the 1869 Northern Territory Survey Expedition. The outline of the creek, running from Marrara swamp to the sea between Casuarina Beach and Nightcliff, is present on Goyder's map, though no name appears on it. Goyder personally visited the locality on Saturday, 3 April 1869 and described the creek, without naming it, as "a strong shallow stream near Night Cliff". Sometime between then and 13 September, the name came into existence. There is an entry in Goyder's diary for the latter date which records that surveyor George MacLachlan was sent out to Rapid Creek to check on the availability of fresh water and good feed for the horses. On the basis of a satisfactory report from MacLachlan, "all the spare bullocks and horses were sent out to Rapid Creek to rest", two days later.The name remained in common local usage and it is evident that settlers continued to visit the area regularly. In a book published in 1882, William Sowden described travelling from Palmerston (Darwin) to Casuarina Beach passing "Rapid Creek, which rushes swiftly along its bed during the wet season, but at other times during the dry.....its waters are clear and crystal". The year 1882 also saw the establishment of the first permanent settlement in the area.