Extract date: 18/04/2026
| Name | Goyder Park |
|---|---|
| Type Designation | Urban Park |
| Place Id | 24720 |
| Place Type | Park or Cemetery |
| Status | Registered |
| Date Registered | 13 January 2016 |
| Location (Datum GDA94) | |
| Latitude: -12° 28' S (Decimal degrees -12.469333) | |
| Longitude: 130° 50' E (Decimal degrees 130.844096) | |
| Locality / Suburb | |
| Darwin City | |
| Local Government Area | |
| History/Origin | Goyder Park occupies the site of the original surveyors' camp established in 1869 during the planning of the Northern Territory's capital. The park's landscaping is designed to reflect the original layout of this camp. The park is named after George Woodroffe Goyder (1826-1898), Surveyor-General of South Australia and a key figure in the establishment of the Northern Territory's first capital. Goyder was born on 24 June 1826 in Liverpool, the son of David George Goyder, a physician and Swedenborgian minister, and Sarah Goyder (née Etherington). He migrated to Sydney in 1848. In June 1851, he entered the South Australian civil service as a draftsman. In 1868, Goyder was appointed by the Government of South Australia, which then administered the Northern Territory, to lead a survey expedition to establish a new capital, to be named Palmerston (now Darwin). Goyder and a party of approximately 128 men departed Port Adelaide aboard the vessel Moonta in late 1868, arriving in Darwin Harbour on 5 February 1869. He selected a site at Fort Point (now Fort Hill) near Port Darwin and oversaw the surveying and layout of the town. The survey work was substantially completed within 18 months. Goyder is remembered for his role in the siting, planning, and early development of Darwin. He died on 2 November 1898 at his home 'Warrakilla' in Mylor, near Aldgate, and was buried in the Stirling District Cemetery. 'Warrakilla' was his 19th-century residence and estate. |
| Date | Gazettal | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 13/01/2016 | Date Added to Register | |
| 20/01/2016 | NTG G3 | Date Gazetted |