Howard Springs Reserve

On 20th. April 1865 explorer Pat Auld, during a reconnaissance from Escape Cliffs to Port Darwin, found a "creek, sixty feet wide ... I have named this creek the Howard, in honour of Lieutenant Howard, R.N., of the government survey ship Beatrice. ..."
Twenty years later, pastoral land in the area was taken up. In 1916 the land surrounding Howard Springs was sold to a subsidiary company of the British meat giant Vesteys.

Vesteys intended to use Howard Springs as a bullock depot and water source for their huge meatworks at Bullocky Point in Darwin. However, Vesteys never used the land, and in 1936 the area was leased by Vesteys to the Herbert Brothers of Koolpinyah station, who had a slaughterhouse nearby.

Howard Springs became a vital part of Darwin’s history from 1939, when it became the source of a temporary water supply for the town. Until then, almost all Darwin’s water supply needs were met from wells, bores, and rainwater tanks, as well as the Railway Dam but this was only available for very limited public use. However, there had been occasional serious shortages from 1916, and there was always a risk of contamination of the groundwater supplies.

Reticulation of water from Howard Springs was proposed after 1916, but nothing was done for many years. In 1937 the Darwin water supply problem became acute when the hospital well and adjacent domestic supplies began to dwindle, due to heavy use of nearby wells by contractors building Larrakeyah Barracks. At one stage there was no fresh water for mixing cement for defence building works. The government decided in principle that a water supply for the town should be built, and that the source should be a dam to be built at Manton Gap.

Work started on the Manton Dam scheme in 1939, but it was clear that water could not be brought to Darwin from there until some time in 1941. Something had to be done to meet town and military needs in the meantime.

From August 1939 water was pumped from Howard Springs across to the pipeline intended to be used once the Manton Dam scheme became operative. The Howard Springs water was pumped to storage points in Darwin and then piped to the town area.

The Howard Springs water supply system was a complete success, and it was kept in place as a back up for the Manton Dam scheme even after supplies were pumped from that source after March 1941.

From January 1942 a new military camp at Howard Springs was briefly occupied by troops from the United States Army. However, the wartime use of Howard Springs which is best remembered, and was perhaps most influential upon the area’s post war history, was its use as a convalescent or "rest and recreation" area by the Australian Army.

The most serious wartime enemy in the north was boredom and the risk of men "going troppo". Duties were monotonous, the men became lonely and depressed, the climate was hot and unfamiliar, and there were few recreational opportunities. The situation badly affected morale, and, as an antidote, rest camps were set up .

The plan was that eventually all men serving in the north would have a spell in one of the camps. There were several such camps, including those at Berry Springs and Annaburroo, both of which were considerably larger than Howard Springs. Annaburroo accommodated about 1000 men, but Howard Springs took only about 120 men at a time - one Company. Berry Springs took two Companies at a time.

Men would stay for three weeks. Most of their time was spent in physical training, sports, and swimming. A weir was built to back up the springs’ water and create the swimming pool which was then and is now so much enjoyed.

The soldiers played football in the mornings, cricket in the afternoons, and basketball at night. Basketball courts were made out of antbed, and an oval was built. Simple pastimes, but they were breaks from routine for which men were very grateful.

After the war, Darwin’s civilians sought places which offered recreational amenities. Choices were limited at first, but there was a bitumen road to Howard Springs and it quickly became a favoured spot for swimming and picnics.

The recreational significance of the area was officially recognised in 1957 when Howard Springs was reserved as the first Reserve to be placed under the control of the newly created Northern Territory Reserves Board, predecessor of the present Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission.