[Life in Darwin for the Defence Forces and their families
Music plays]
[Corporal Brad Donald on screen]
>>Brad: When someone was coming to
Darwin and they were like yeah, you're going
you're going to Darwin haha, 
and I was like great dirt roads, tumbleweed
and I got up I was like wow, love this place!
[Lieutenant Sarah Mills on screen]
>>Sarah: All I knew was that I was
heading up north and it was going to be really
hot and I was coming in the middle of the
wet season and I remember driving out of the
airport and smelling the frangipanis down
the main road and thinking this is beautiful.
[Lieutenant Colonel Greg Rowlands on screen]
>>Greg: I've met many people in
my travels particularly Australians interstate
who have never been to the Northern Territory
and don't really know what it's like so
it's a bit of a hidden secret. And when
you meet people who have actually made the
transition to come up here many of them say
'geez what a great place!
[Petty Officer Lachlan Sommerville on screen]
>>Lachlan: Darwin is an awesome place.
There is such a variety of things you can do
outside of work as well.
[Lieutenant Colonel John Fenwick on screen]
>>John: Well it's quite different
and there are a few things that have changed
about our life moving up here from just outside
Melbourne. But what we found was that we really
needed to embrace the things that Darwin offered
that you couldn't get anywhere else.
So the socialising on Sundays all through the
dry and so on, were the things we really started to embrace.
[View of palm trees panning down to show people
relaxing on grassed area at Mindil Markets]
[Two women walking along water's edge on beach]
[Army regiment marching then standing to attention in formation]
[Commodore David Gwyther on screen]
>>David: In terms of Larrakeyah itself
there are about 7 to 800 people on the base
mostly navy, but we have Norforce here as well,
the North West Mobile Force are here,
[View of palm trees with three flags flying
in front of the defence office building]
headquarters Northern Command is here
[Defence personnel entering and leaving building then
Navy patrol boat in harbour]
and of course we have our patrol boats based here.
[Captain Lachlan Simond on screen]
>>Lachlan: I think one of the great
things about Darwin is been posted to
first brigade you're in a very dynamic environment,
your got some of the best units in Australia
working with some of the best equipment,
you know we've got the tanks up here
[Army tanks firing rounds in bushland,
views of Tiger Helicopter and Army tanks]
we've got the tiger helicopters
we've got the new AS4 personnel carriers,
the ASLAVs so it's a very dynamic environment
[Army tanks on parade ground]
with a lot of units working together training together
and then deploying together overseas.
So it's a really good step for a soldier
[Army personnel on parade ground,
standing to attention then marching.]
both professionally and personally.
[Corporal Brad Donald on screen]
>>Brad: The vehicles are top grade
the working conditions are top grade,
the live in accommodation is great, they're
still upgrading accommodation every year.
[Petty Officer Lachlan Sommerville on screen]
>>Lachlan: We're a relaxed atmosphere
up here, I think the military as a whole up here,
especially the patrol boat world.
We're proud of what we do,
[Navy personnel undertaking face to face defence training]
We're proud of what we do,
we enjoy what we do.
We work hard. There is a fair bit of playing hard too.
[Various defence activities in jets, patrol boats and tanks]
[Leading Aircraftman Marcus Emsley on screen]
>>Marcus: I love it! I think it's
fantastic. There is so much opportunity for
different people in Darwin, different lifestyles,
different family groups, single people.
[Aerial view of Darwin city at night time and on Mitchell Street]
The nightlife ... is fantastic on Mitchell street,
that's mostly why I like Darwin.
[People at Mindil Markets stalls at night time]
[Lacey Cassidy on screen]
>>Lacey: It's been an adventure,
we've enjoyed more of the outdoor lifestyle.
We enjoy going camping and all that sort of
stuff, and it's been interesting to see more of the top end,
[Lacey playing with a children in park area and playground]
tropical area I suppose. The kids have really
enjoyed playing a lot more outside.
[Sonia Fenwick on screen]
>>Sonia: It's fantastic for children;
firstly they can be outside all year round.
[Sonia playing outside with two toddlers then on screen]
The NT government have a lot of activities for children
but in addition to that I think Defence
make the extra effort to have lots of activities for families.
[Sonia and John Fenwick walking along a track with their children]
>>John: Darwin is a smaller city then
probably most people expect,
[Street views of Darwin City]
but it's got a lot of the facilities and so on
[Lieutenant Colonel John Fenwick]
of a really good standard that will surprise most
people. The standard of schools and so on here
is really good; the access
to childcare and the ability to get children
into preschool has been fantastic. There's
no shortage of things for a family to do,
like going and seeing crocodiles just over morning tea
that you can't do in other places
[Views of juvenile crocodiles basking and 
crocodiles in an aquarium]
[Flying Officer Daniel Cassidy on screen]
>>Daniel: Facilities wise, you know,
we turned up just after they'd finished
the Leanyer water slides. So that has been
fantastic, the kids always enjoy that.
There's the wave pool now which came online twelve
months ago, the kids enjoy that.
There's plenty of things to do outdoors, it's quite
an outdoors orientated area. So facilities wise,
yeah, it's quite good.
[Views of children playing at Lake Leanyer, Darwin Convention
Centre, the wave pool and Darwin Waterfront]
[Captain Anne Oliver on screen]
>>Anne: I'd say that Darwin's got
everything that you'd be able to find in
the southern States if you can't get it
here you can get it online. There's great
lifestyle up here that's the biggest selling
point is the great lifestyle everyone works
really hard because the army, the brigade
here is really busy but we also socialize
and have a great relaxed lifestyle.
[Kaye Gwyther on screen]
>>Kaye: And everybody here seems to
be used to people coming and going and they're
really welcoming to new people. It didn't
take very long at all for us to feel welcome.
[Petty Officer Lachlan Sommerville on screen]
>>Lachlan: The best thing I ever
did when I came to Darwin was to get out and
play sport on weekends and meet people from
different walks of life that way.
It's what you make of it.
[Corporal Brad Donald on screen]
>>Brad: The four wheel driving up here is the best.
[4wd vehicle driving in bushland over rough ground,
views of rock escarpment and waterfalls]
You go out to Kakadu it's free for Northern Territory residents and
you go and spend a week there and you will
find something new to do every day.
You've got Litchfield half an hour down the road
you can go and jump out of waterfalls,
swim underneath waterfalls.
[Captain Lachlan Simond on screen]
>>Lachlan: You meet some indigenous
folks you go out into their own territories.
[Views of Indigenous rock painting and Indigenous women]
See the art works, experience bush tucker,
the opportunities are only what you limit yourself to.
[Lieutenant Brooke Olds on screen]
>>Brook: You know there is something
about the Northern Territory and about Darwin
that to me actually speaks Australia,
it means Australia to me.
[Views of Frances Bay marina and rock escarpment]
There is something about the earthy colours of Darwin and
the Northern Territory that just really to
me it's the core of Australia and I really love that.
[Men and women sitting around table
enjoying a drink then a view of the sunset over water]
[Group of people playing indoor beach volleyball]
>>Anne Oliver: Personally the reason I like Darwin is the heat.
reason I like Darwin is the first
[Captain Anne Oliver on screen]
When I have to get up early in
the morning to do Defence stuff
[Views of army personnel on an assault course]
I hated rolling out of bed in the freezing cold,
you get into the shower and get warm,
get out again and you're freezing cold,
whereas up here you roll out of bed nice and
warm all the time, so I really like that.
[Leading Aircraftman Marcus Emsley on screen]
>>Marcus: The dry season is probably
the best thing about Darwin. The wet season
is very hot, and hot, and hot. That's about
it really, but you get used to it.
[Kaye Gwyther on screen]
>>Kate: You just get on with it, and
everybody sweats and you just realise that
you don't have to be embarrassed about it mostly.
[Flying Officer Daniel Cassidy on screen]
>>Daniel: The build-up can get a bit
harsh, and you certainly need to run your
air conditioners because of those climatic
conditions. But the wet season, I found the
wet season just as fun as the dry season.
You've got the mud races, if you've got
a decent outdoors setup, you can certainly
go and find some adventure and some fun yourself,
and the kids always enjoy that as well.
[View of 4wd vehicle driving through large puddles]
[Sprint cars on a dirt track]
[People at Mindil Markets]
[Leading Aircraftman Marcus Emsley on screen]
>>Marcus: Whatever people have to say
about Darwin it's a really exciting and
up-and-coming place to live. That's what
I think people should come with that atmosphere
and you can grow with the Northern Territory
and that's what's good about it.
[Corporal Rachael Pigeon on screen]
>>Rachael: You will see places that
you never get to see from elsewhere but you
also get different experiences so up here
it's very multi-cultural so you have a lot
of people that come across from Asia
you've got the Indigenous community
[Views of people walking through Smith Street Mall and
standing on a beach at sunset]
as well as a transient population from other cities so
it brings a richness that you don't really
get in other places.
[Lieutenant Brooke Olds on screen]
>>Brook: If you have any sense of adventure
in you should come to Darwin.
[Corporal Brad Donald on screen]
>>Brad: Yeah Darwin for a single bloke
is probably the best place in Australia to live.
[Petty Officer Lachlan Sommerville on screen]
>>Lachlan: It's just one of
those really unique places in Australia that
I look forward to coming back to, it's awesome.
[Captain Lachlan Simond on screen]
>>Lachlan: I'd say grab the opportunity
with both hands. Darwin is a lifestyle, it's
an experience, and you will never regret it.
[Lieutenant Colonel Greg Rowlands on screen]
>>Greg: Well sometimes you just have
to take a chance in life if you've never
been to a place like Darwin before, you've
just got to throw your bonnet to the wind,
as it were, and leap from the precipitous,
and you might be pleasantly surprised.
[Kaye Gwyther on screen]
>>Kate: Come, come, it's fantastic
and you just won't want to leave.
[Child playing on large trampoline]
[Various shots of defence personnel]
[People walking past Mindil Markets stalls and
man and young child playing]
[Close up of woman laughing]
[Music stops]
[Northern Territory Government logo]
