Extract date: 24/08/2026
| Name | Lake Bennett |
|---|---|
| Type Designation | Dam |
| Place Id | 14299 |
| Place Type | Feature |
| Status | Recorded |
| Date Registered | |
| Location (Datum GDA94) | |
| Latitude: -12° 57' S (Decimal degrees -12.96) | |
| Longitude: 131° 09' E (Decimal degrees 131.1657) | |
| Locality / Suburb | |
| Lake Bennett | |
| Local Government Area | |
| Coomalie Community Council | |
| History/Origin | Lake Bennett takes its name from George and Ken Bennett, graziers from Victoria, who developed the waterbody in the early 1970s on land held under a pastoral lease. The site originally contained a natural waterhole, which the Bennetts enlarged by constructing an embankment to support irrigation and small scale pastoral activity. In its early years the feature was referred to informally as "Bennett's Dam" or "Bennett's Lake", reflecting both the family name and the evolving use of the waterbody. By the late 1970s the lake was already established and recognised publicly as a recreational location. It appears in the Review Report: Recreational Use of Water Storages in the Darwin Region (January 1979), and contemporary newspaper coverage - including "Watersports haven" (Northern Territory News, 30 November 1979) and "Heavy rain fills Lake Bennett" (Northern Territory News, 5 March 1980) - identifies the lake as a popular site for swimming, canoeing, and general recreation. Through the 1980s the foreshore was progressively subdivided for rural residential and 'weekender' development, and the name Lake Bennett became the established form in public usage, mapping, tourism material, and land administration systems. The name is also firmly embedded in the Northern Territory's statutory framework, appearing consistently in government mapping and planning instruments and in legislation such as the Lake Bennett (Land Title) Act 2005. Today, Lake Bennett also lends its name to the surrounding locality. |
| Date | Gazettal | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| (None Found) |