Rapid Creek is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin

Darwin, Northern Territory

Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...

, Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

History

Although 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 as it does from Marrara

Marrara, Northern Territory

Marrara is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.-History:Shown on Goyder's original surveys of Darwin in 1869 was the swamp between the suburb and the Darwin International Airport, but it, like Leanyer, is believed to be derived from an Aboriginal name for the...

 swamp to the sea between Casuarina

Casuarina, Northern Territory

Casuarina is one of the northern suburbs of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.It is home to the largest shopping centre in the Northern Territory, called Casuarina Square...

 Beach and Nightcliff

Nightcliff, Northern Territory

Nightcliff is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.-History:Although the origin of the name Nightcliff has always been surrounded by conjecture and controversy, the naming can be tracked back to 8 September 1839...

, is present on Goyder's map, but 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.

From that time on, 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 is also crucial because it saw the establishment of the first known permanent settlement in the area.

Rapid Creek is bounded by the Timor Sea

Timor Sea

The Timor Sea is a relatively shallow sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, to the south by Australia and to the west by the Indian Ocean....

 foreshore in the north, the Rapid Creek in the east, Trower Road in the south and Nightcliff Road in the west. Rapid Creek was originally established in the late 19th century when it was settled by the Jesuit Mission, although this was abandoned before the turn of the 20th century.

Rapid Creek prior to World War II was a favourite day trip / picnic area for Darwin people, along the bush track which was to become Bagot Road and McMillans Road. After Nightcliff grew as a seaside suburb in the 1950s, residential development expanded into the Rapid Creek area, primarily during the 1960s. The streets in Rapid Creek are mostly named after early police officers.

Nightcliff and Rapid Creek were the first Darwin suburbs to feel the force of Cyclone Tracy

Cyclone Tracy

Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, 1974...

 which came off the Timor Sea on 25 December 1974. Much of the residential housing was totally destroyed.

Present day

Rapid Creek is a predominantly residential area and is generally associated with its sister suburb, Nightcliff, and the adjacent northern suburbs of Millner

Millner, Northern Territory

Millner is a northern suburb in the city of Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia.-History:Millner was named after Dr James S. Millner, the medical officer in George W. Goyder's 1869 expedition to found the first colony at Port Darwin. He went on to serve as Protector of Aborigines until...

 and Coconut Grove

Coconut Grove, Northern Territory

Coconut Grove is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. It is in the Local Government Area of City of Darwin.-History:Coconut Grove is named for the grove of coconuts on the coastal fringe of the area...

. Both Rapid Creek and Nightcliff have arguably become Darwin's most popular suburbs, as they are mostly situated directly on the coastal fringe. A lot of development has been completed on the coastal road, Casuarina Drive, which runs along the coast from Rapid Creek to Nightcliff.