Katherine is a town in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is situated on the Katherine River, after which it is named, southeast of Darwin. The fourth largest settlement in the Territory, it is known as the place where "The outback meets the tropics". Katherine had an urban population of approximately 6,300 at the 2016 Census.
Katherine is also the closest major town to RAAF Base Tindal, located southeast, and provides education, health, local government services and employment opportunities for the families of Defence personnel stationed there. In the , the base had a residential population of 857, with only around 20% of the workforce engaged in employment outside of defence, the majority commuting to work in Katherine. Katherine is also the central hub of the great "Savannah Way" which stretches from Cairns in north Queensland to Broome in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Beginning as an outpost established with the Australian Overland Telegraph Line on the north–south transport route between Darwin and Adelaide, Katherine has grown with the development of transport and local industries including mining – particularly gold mining; a strategic military function with RAAF Base Tindal; also as a tourism gateway to the attractions of nearby Nitmiluk National Park, particularly Nitmiluk (Katherine) Gorge and its many ancient rock paintings. The region floods heavily during the wet season.
History
The first inhabitants of the area were Indigenous Australians, specifically the Dagoman people. It was an important meeting place for these tribes and remains a place of convergence. Today the Walpiri people from the Victoria River District and Tanami Desert areas now have a dedicated community based at Katherine East.
Explorer John McDouall Stuart passed through the area in 1862 on his successful third journey across the continent from north to south. On 4 July 1862, Stuart crossed the Katherine River 90 km upstream from the present town, and recorded in his diary: "Came upon another large creek, having a running stream to the south of west and coming from the north of east. This I have named 'Katherine', in honour of the second daughter of pastoralist James Chambers " There is some conjecture over Stuart's accuracy. Chambers's wife's name was Katherine but, according to most sources, his daughter's name was Catherine.
Katherine Telegraph Station was established on 22 August 1872 and the completion of the Overland Telegraph Line later in 1872, and the town began with a small permanent population on the west side of the Katherine River. Katherine benefited from the proximity to nearby gold fields including Pine Creek 90 kilometres to the north.
Gold was discovered 50 kilometres to the north in 1889 at Mount Todd.
The North Australia Railway was extended to Katherine with construction beginning in 1923 of the Katherine railway bridge. During construction of the railway, the town's centre was relocated to the eastern side of the river. The bridge was completed in 1926 and the first train crossed on 21 January 1926. On 15 July 1926, the town's present site was gazetted. The original post office and the Overland Telegraph station were set just above Knott's Crossing and next to the Sportsman's Arms Hotel that had quarters for the station master at the Overland Telegraph station and a single room police station.
During World War II, the Australian Army set up two hospitals around Katherine, the 101st Australian General Hospital and 121st Australian General Hospital. The army also set up a Katherine Area Headquarters. On 22 March 1942, Katherine sustained its only air raid during World War II. One man was killed when a Japanese aircraft bombed the town.
Mining production has declined since the closure of the mine at Mount Todd (50 kilometres to the north) in 2000.
Construction began on a new rail line in July 2001. On 13 September 2003, the line was finished with a continuous track from Adelaide, South Australia to Darwin. The Ghan passenger train service commenced on 4 February 2004 running several times a week and stopping on both the northbound and southbound journeys.
The river flooded the town in 1931, 1940, 1957, 1998 and 2006. The 1998 floods were the worst on record. The river reached a height of 20.4 metres.