Extract

Gunn

Extract date: 10/06/2026

Name	Gunn
Type Designation	Suburb
Place Id	2042
Place Type	Administrative Area
Status	Registered
Date Registered	17 October 1984
Location (Datum GDA94)
	Latitude: -12° 29' S (Decimal degrees -12.4867)
	Longitude: 130° 59' E (Decimal degrees 130.9938)
Locality / Suburb
	(None Found)
Local Government Area
	Palmerston City Council
History/Origin	The suburb of Gunn is named in honour of Jeannie Gunn, author and educator, best known for her influential novel We of the Never Never which recounts her experiences in the Northern Territory. Jeannie Gunn (née Taylor) was born in Carlton, Melbourne, in June 1870. Educated in literature and history alongside her sisters, the three Taylor sisters later established a private school, Rolyat (Taylor spelled backwards), in Hawthorn in 1889. In the 1890s, Jeannie met Aeneas Gunn, a librarian in the Melbourne suburb of Prahran. They married in December 1901 and, shortly after, travelled to the Northern Territory, arriving in Port Darwin aboard the SS Guthrie in early 1902. The couple took up residence at Elsey Station, located on the Roper River, where Aeneas Gunn had pastoral interests. He had previously visited the Territory in 1890 with his cousin, Captain Joseph Bradshaw. Tragically, Aeneas Gunn died in March 1903, less than two years after their arrival. Jeannie Gunn subsequently returned to Melbourne, where she wrote We of the Never Never (1908), a fictionalised memoir that brought national attention to the lives of settlers in the Northern Territory and contributed to shaping popular perceptions of the Australian outback. For her contribution to Australian literature and community service, Jeannie Gunn was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1939 by King George VI. She passed away in Melbourne in June 1961.

Name

Gunn

Type Designation

Suburb

Place Id

2042

Place Type

Administrative Area

Status

Registered

Date Registered

17 October 1984

Location (Datum GDA94)

Latitude: -12° 29' S (Decimal degrees -12.4867)

Longitude: 130° 59' E (Decimal degrees 130.9938)

Locality / Suburb

(None Found)

Local Government Area

Palmerston City Council

History/Origin

The suburb of Gunn is named in honour of Jeannie Gunn, author and educator, best known for her influential novel We of the Never Never which recounts her experiences in the Northern Territory.

Jeannie Gunn (née Taylor) was born in Carlton, Melbourne, in June 1870. Educated in literature and history alongside her sisters, the three Taylor sisters later established a private school, Rolyat (Taylor spelled backwards), in Hawthorn in 1889.

In the 1890s, Jeannie met Aeneas Gunn, a librarian in the Melbourne suburb of Prahran. They married in December 1901 and, shortly after, travelled to the Northern Territory, arriving in Port Darwin aboard the SS Guthrie in early 1902. The couple took up residence at Elsey Station, located on the Roper River, where Aeneas Gunn had pastoral interests. He had previously visited the Territory in 1890 with his cousin, Captain Joseph Bradshaw.

Tragically, Aeneas Gunn died in March 1903, less than two years after their arrival. Jeannie Gunn subsequently returned to Melbourne, where she wrote We of the Never Never (1908), a fictionalised memoir that brought national attention to the lives of settlers in the Northern Territory and contributed to shaping popular perceptions of the Australian outback.

For her contribution to Australian literature and community service, Jeannie Gunn was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1939 by King George VI. She passed away in Melbourne in June 1961.

Date	Gazettal	Comment
17/10/1984	NTG G41
05/12/2001	NTG G48	Revocation of 17/10/1984 gazettal and renaming of suburb due to changes to boundaries from originally gazetted

Date

Gazettal

Comment

17/10/1984

NTG G41

05/12/2001

NTG G48

Revocation of 17/10/1984 gazettal and renaming of suburb due to changes to boundaries from originally gazetted

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

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The Northern Territory of Australia does not warrant that the information in this extract or any part of it is correct or complete and will not be liable for any loss damage or injury suffered by any person as a result of its inaccuracy or incompleteness. You are encouraged to notify any error or omission in the material by calling the Place Names Section.

Place Names Register Extract

Gunn

Register & Gazettal information