Place Names Register Extract

Coleman Street

Extract date: 28/03/2024

Name Coleman
Type Designation Street
Place Id 24282
Place Type Road
Status Registered
Date Registered 6 December 2011
Locality / Suburb  
  Muirhead
Local Government Area  
  Darwin City Council
History/Origin Named in commemoration of John (Colie) Coleman (1913 - 2006), a journalist and printer. In 1939, Colie was sent by the management of the Courier Mail to Darwin to work for the Northern Standard. He served in the Navy during WWII, and returned to Darwin following his discharge and re-joined the newspaper. When he left the newspaper, he started his own printing business under his house.

In 1952, he joined publicist Eric White, journalist Don Whitington and several local Chinese businessmen in starting the Northern Territory News, with Colie providing the printing press in what was known as "Tin Bank". The first issue was published on 8 February 1952 and was an immediate success, due largely to the death in England of King George VI. Even though the paper lacked a cable service, it drew the basic information on the King's death from ABC radio newscasts and padded that with background information.

The Northern Territory News was sold to Rupert Murdock in February 1960 and Colie used the money to start Coleman Printing which he ran until retiring to Queensland in 1974, where he died in October 2006, aged 93.

Register & Gazettal information

Date Gazettal Comment
06/12/2011 Date added to the Register.
14/12/2011 NTG50

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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