Place Names Register Extract

Cullen Bay

Extract date: 25/04/2024

Name Cullen Bay
Type Designation Bay
Place Id 12092
Place Type Feature
Status Recorded
Date Registered
Location (Datum GDA94)  
Latitude: -12° 27' S (Decimal degrees -12.452232)
Longitude: 130° 49' E (Decimal degrees 130.8238)
Locality / Suburb  
  Larrakeyah
Local Government Area  
  Darwin City Council
History/Origin Although the name Cullen Beach first appears on plans in 1913; the origin of the name is unclear as both Cullen Beach and Kahlin Beach names have appeared on maps.

One interpretation is that Cullen is possibly a mispronouncation and/or a misspelling of 'Kahlin' as the name appears on plans in the Gilruth period when the Kahlin (aboriginal) compound was built.

Another possiblity is that the beach was named after the senior partner in the firm of solicitors, Cullen and Wigley, who were based in Pine Creek during the Mining period of the 1870s. Cullen River and Mt Wigley in the Pine Creek area were named during the early 1870s.

With the construction of the Cullen Bay housing estate and marina, in 1993, the term Cullen Bay came into use for the enclosed bay between Myilly and Emery Points. The Cullen Bay Marina Act (1994) and Regulations govern the management of the bay/marina. Cullen Bay is within the suburb of Larrakeyah, Town of Darwin.

Register & Gazettal information

Date Gazettal Comment
  (None Found)  

The Northern Territory Gazetteer is maintained by the Place Names Section,
Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics.
GPO Box 1680, Darwin NT 0801. Ph 08 8995 5333.
place.names@nt.gov.au

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