Place Names Register Extract
Mira Square
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Print Extract | Search Again| Name | Mira Square |
|---|---|
| Type Designation | Park |
| Place Id | 7209 |
| Place Type | Park or Cemetery |
| Status | Registered |
| Date Registered | 23 December 2011 |
| Location (Datum GDA94) | |
| Latitude: -12° 43' S (Decimal degrees -12.724019) | |
| Longitude: 130° 56' E (Decimal degrees 130.948709) | |
| View Map | View in NT Atlas | View in Google Earth | |
| Locality / Suburb | |
| Southport | |
| Local Government Area | |
| Litchfield Council | |
| History/Origin | Mira was an Aboriginal man associated with the Adelaide River and Port Darwin region during the 1860s, whose actions were documented during both the failed Escape Cliffs settlement and the later Northern Territory Survey led by Surveyor-General George?Woodroffe?Goyder. Contemporary newspaper accounts from 1867 describe Mira as a senior local figure who accompanied Thomas Manton during exploration of the Adelaide River, acting as an interpreter and guide within the limits of his own Country. These accounts emphasise that while his authority was territorially bounded, he observed Aboriginal law strictly and would not act beyond his recognised domain. Later evidence accepted by Goyder records that, in the mid 1860s, Mira intervened to protect two Macassan sailors who had survived a shipwreck, and subsequently escorted them to the survey camp at Port Darwin. Goyder questioned Mira through an interpreter and provided rations in acknowledgment of what he described as Mira?s humanity. By 1869, Mira was regarded by colonial observers as consistently disposed toward peaceful engagement with the survey party. Official and newspaper reports note that this cooperative stance placed him at personal risk, and that at one point he required protection from other Aboriginal people opposed to European occupation. Following Goyder?s departure from Port Darwin in late 1869, reports indicate that Mira and members of his group visited the Port Darwin camp peacefully during late 1869, at a time when relations were already strained following the May 1869 killing of a survey party draftsman, J.?W.?O.?Bennett. Accounts from early 1870 state that Mira attended the camp shortly after Bennett?s death, expressed grief at the killing, and offered assistance in identifying those responsible. Accounts from the same period note that Mira was accompanied on one such visit by his brother, Gimouri. Mira and members of his group were later driven away under contested circumstances. These events were cited contemporaneously as evidence of a deterioration in relations after Goyder?s absence and were reported critically in Adelaide newspapers, contributing to calls for closer scrutiny of camp administration. Goyder subsequently commemorated Mira by naming a public square in the town of Southport. The name Mira Square appears on the Surveyor General?s Office plan of the Township of Southport dated May?1870. Sources: MR. MANTON'S DESPATCHES. (1867, February 15). South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900), p. 2. Retrieved March 25, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article39175448 Goyder, G. W. (George Woodroffe), 1826-1898. (1869, July 30) Northern Territory survey progress reports. Government Printer, Adelaide (SA). Retrieved 2026, March 25, from https://hdl.handle.net/10070/717232. No title (1870, March 14). The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 - 1889), p. 3. Retrieved March 25, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article73057942 South Australia. Surveyor-General's Office & Crawford, Frazer S. (1870). Township of Southport on the Blackmore Hundred of Cavenagh, 18 m. S.S.E. of Fort Pt Retrieved March 25, 2026, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-231763000 |
Register & Gazettal information
| Date | Gazettal | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 23/12/2011 | Date Registered. | |
| 16/05/2012 | NTG G20 |