Women Who Shaped the Territory

For generations, women have helped shape the Northern Territory. They have cared for Country, raised families, built businesses, advanced education and health, created art, led communities and contributed to public life in countless ways.

Many of these contributions transformed the Territory but were rarely recognised in public places.

In the early 1990s, members of the Northern Territory Women's Advisory Council envisioned a place where these stories could be remembered and shared. Their idea became Damoe-Ra Park on Darwin's waterfront. A place dedicated to recognising the achievements of women from across the Territory.

Today, Damoe-Ra Park preserves these stories through its landscape, artworks and memorials, inviting visitors to discover the women who helped shape the Northern Territory.

The Damoe-Ra Park site holds deep cultural significance for Gulumerrdjin/Larrakia Aboriginal peoples.

The park stands beside a sacred freshwater spring near Lameroo Beach. The name Damoe-Ra was gifted by Gulumerrdjin/LarrakiaElder Topsy Juwaning Secretary, who explained its meaning in her own words:

"Lameroo had its own water because that trevally fish jump and made a spring water, freshwater for people to drink. That's why … Gulumerrdjin/Larrakia people call damoera 'eye', cause he had one eye that fish and jumped….and made a freshwater. It's a dreaming from the fish."

This Dreaming story explains the origin of the freshwater spring and the meaning of the name Damoe-Ra, which refers to "eye" or "spring". 

For countless generations, Gulumerrdjin/Larrakia women lived here, raising children, gathering  fresh water and bush foods from the monsoon vine forest and collecting shellfish along the beach. Their strong connection to place remains.

In 1992, the Northern Territory Women's Advisory Council proposed creating a public place to recognise the contributions of Territory women.

The Northern Territory Government identified a gully below Parliament House as the site. Although overgrown and eroded, it was a place of long cultural significance beside a sacred freshwater spring and holding strong associations with Darwin's early development.

Young Territorians played a key role in transforming the site through the Landscape and Environment Action Program. Working alongside community volunteers, they cleared invasive vegetation, rebuilt pathways and steps, improved drainage, landscaped the terraces and stabilised the foreshore. The project provided practical training and transforming an important public space.

Damoe-Ra Park officially opened in 1994, creating one of Australia's few public parks dedicated to recognising the achievements of women.

As work on the park progressed, further initiatives celebrating the achievements of Territory women were announced ensuring these stories were told and remembered.

Beginning in 1998, the Chief Minister's Women's Achievement Awards recognised women who had made outstanding contributions to life in the Northern Territory. Recipients came from every region and represented fields including education, health, business, community service, science, sport, the arts and public leadership.

The Tribute to Territory Women was launched on International Women's Day in 2002, creating a lasting way to recognise women whose contributions had shaped the Northern Territory. 

The centrepiece of the program became the Women's Walk, a mosaic pathway through Damoe-Ra Park. Each year, women nominated by the community were honoured with plaques and mosaics created by Territory women artists.

Between 2003 and 2005, artists Sharon Brissoni Beven and Hortensia "Techy" Masero designed and installed distinctive mosaic sections incorporating symbolic imagery, brass inlays, pebble mosaics and painted borders by Larrakia artist June Mills. Together, these artworks transformed the pathway into a permanent record of Territory women's achievements.

Although sections of the original mosaics were later damaged and removed, the stories they commemorate remain central to the history of Damoe-Ra Park.

The women recognised through the Chief Minister's Women's Achievement Awards and the Tribute to Territory Women reflect the diversity of the Northern Territory.

Among those honoured are Aboriginal Elders, artists, educators, nurses, scientists, business leaders, community advocates, politicians, pioneers and volunteers. Some became widely known public figures, while others quietly strengthened their communities through decades of valuable service.

Although the Tribute program concluded in 2012, these stories continue. Biographies, photographs and archival records are preserved through Territory Stories, allowing visitors to discover the lives behind each memorial.

Together, Damoe-Ra Park and the Territory Stories website ensure these achievements remain an acknowledged part of Northern Territory history.

Darwin's tropical climate and coastal environment gradually impacted many elements of Damoe-Ra Park.

A major revitalisation completed in 2026 restored gardens, improved accessibility and renewed the park while respecting its significance to both Gulumerrdjin/Larrakia people and the women it commemorates. Community consultation guided the project, ensuring the renewed park remained a place for remembrance, learning and reflection.

New public artwork by Gloria Richards forms the centrepiece of the revitalised park. Its sculptural forms create places for gathering and conversation while reflecting the enduring connections between women, water, Country and community. A flowing blue line links the forms, echoing the story of Damoe-Ra and connecting past, present and future.

Damoe-Ra Park reminds visitors that history is made not only through public leadership, but also through service, creativity, care, knowledge and community. Every story honoured through this park contributes to a broader understanding of the people who have helped shape the Territory.

Together, Damoe-Ra Park and the records preserved through Territory Stories ensure these women's achievements remain part of the Northern Territory's living history and continue to inspire future generations.