Editing Northern Territory (section)

===Colonial administration===
With the coming of the British, there were four early attempts to settle the harsh environment of the northern coast, of which three failed in starvation and despair. The land now occupied by the Northern Territory was part of colonial [[New South Wales]] from 1825 to 1863, except for a brief time from February to December 1846, when it was part of the short-lived colony of [[North Australia]]. The Northern Territory was part of South Australia from 1863 to 1911, and under its administration the [[Australian Overland Telegraph Line|Overland Telegraph Line]] was constructed between 1870 and 1872.<ref>{{cite web |author=National Museum of Australia |author-link=National Museum of Australia |date=2022-09-28 |title=National Museum of Australia – Overland telegraph |publisher=[[National Museum of Australia]] |url=https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/overland-telegraph |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330000552/https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/overland-telegraph |archive-date=30 March 2020 |access-date=2025-04-28 }}</ref>

From its establishment in 1869, the [[Port of Darwin]] was the major supply point for the Territory for many decades.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

[[Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway|A railway]] was built between [[Palmerston, Northern Territory|Palmerston]] and [[Pine Creek, Northern Territory|Pine Creek]] between 1883 and 1889 as part of the [[North Australia Railway]]. The economic pattern of cattle raising and mining was established so that by 1911 there were 513,000 cattle. [[Victoria River Downs Station]], {{Convert|686|km|mi}} west of Darwin,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Distance from Darwin to Victoria River Downs (DRW – VCD) |url=https://www.airmilescalculator.com/distance/drw-to-vcd/ |access-date=2024-09-17 |website=Air Miles Calculator |language=en}}</ref> was at one time the largest [[cattle station]] in the world. 

Gold was found at Grove Hill in 1872 and at [[Pine Creek, Northern Territory|Pine Creek]] (in 1871), Brocks Creek, Burundi, and copper was found at [[Daly River, Northern Territory|Daly River]].<ref>{{Cite report|last=Otterman|first=D.|date=2004|title=Daly River Project, Annual report for EL 22495, EL 22496, EL 22498 and EL 23595, for the period 6 September 2003 to 5 September 2004|url=https://geoscience.nt.gov.au/gemis/ntgsjspui/handle/1/83631|access-date=21 July 2021|archive-date=21 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721183556/https://geoscience.nt.gov.au/gemis/ntgsjspui/handle/1/83631|url-status=live}}</ref>