Department of Health Library Services ePublications - Historical Collection
Please Note: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this publication may contain images, voices or names of deceased persons in photographs, film, audio recordings or printed material.
Purpose
To apply preservation treatments, including digitisation, to a high value and vulnerable Historical collection of items held in the Darwin and Alice Springs libraries so that the items may be accessed without causing further damage to the original items and provide accessibility for stakeholders.
Reference and Research Disclaimer
Please note: this document is part of the Historical Collection and the information contained within may be out of date.
This copy is a reproduction of an original record. Please note that the quality of the original record may be poor and cannot be enhanced with the scanning process.
Northern Territory Department of Health Library Services Historical Collection
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362 . 12 DAR
1982
DARWIN CENTRAL
COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE COMMUNITY PROFILE
HISTORICAL COLLECTION
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DARWIN CENTRAL
COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE
COMMUNITY PROFILE
CENTRAL LIBRARY
1 7 JUL 1998
TERRITORY HEAL TH SERVICES
November 1982
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DATA ABOUT THE COMMUNITY
PAGE
3
INFORMATION ABOUT PEOPLE . . . 7
KNOWLEDGE OF THE ENVIRONMENT . . . 9
CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION . . . 11
HEALTH ILLNESS PATTERNS . . . 11
INFORMATION ABOUT EXISTING COMMUNITY RESOURCES . . . 12
SUMMARY . . . 2 0 001..,09
3
DATA ABOUT THE COMMUNITY
Inner City - The old inner city area is mainly commercial, populated with private and government business house/office blocks/shops/restaurants and take-away food shops. The few old style residential houses are gradually being sold . and replaced with modern low density town houses and medium density 2 to 3 storey houses.
Beach Camp - Lameroo - frequented by young unemployed during the dry season.
Aboriginal Accommodation Silas Roberts Hostel, Galawu Hostel, Gordon Symon£ and Geranium Street Catholic Missions Hostel plus fringe camps - Railway Hill and Railway Dam, Low Down Camp, Doctors Gulley Camp, Y.M.C.A. Camp, Mindil Beach Camp and area outside Parap Hotel.
Outer Suburban Mainly residential houses that have been rebuilt since Cyclone. Tracy by the private and government sector. The suburb of Fannie Bay has high density uni ts as well as medium density. There is a semi-industrial area on both sides of the Stuart Highway in Stuart Park, as well as N.T.E.C. in Armidale Street, Stuart Park.
Industrial areas include: Prawn Factory, Private industry along Bishop Street, the wharf, Private industry Dinah Beach.
Housing Commission Accommodate High density Kurringal Flats, Carinya Flats, Wirrina Flats.
houses Parap area, Stuart Park.
Medium density - town
Tourist Accommodation - include very pricey hotel/motel units, Y.M.C.A., Y.W.C.A. and low rental Larrakeyah Lodge and private caravan parks.
Other Accommodation include 2 Salvation Army Hostels, St Vincent de Paul, Ross Smith Hostel, Lameroo Lodge and Tracy Lodge and Tuckwell Court which are pensioner accommodation.
4
Multi-storey Buildings in Progress New Casino, Cultural Centre and high office blocks in Smith Street.
Boundaries The coastline is dotted with the Power House, Wharf, Small Ship Facilities and the Naval Patrol Base located at Larrakeyah Army Barracks.
For further clarification see attached map.
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AREA COVERED BY DARWIN CENTRAL COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE
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FANNIE BAY
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POPULATION BREAKDOWN
Less than 60 = 7%
DARWIN CENTRAL 0-4 5-9 10-14 15-49 50-59 60-69 70+ TOTAL
Balance·of City 146 151 121 721 20 8 3 1170
Half Ludmilla 53 58 62 310 30 121 8 533
City 321 521 41 1210 237 150 84 1806
24 20 55 220 20 15 6 360
Parap/Fannie Bay 354 363 370 2800 500 271 115 2773
Stuart Park 190 216 226 1673 204 88 241 2622
799 869 875 6934 1011 544 241 11264
7
INFORMATION ABOUT PEOPLE
Permanent inner city population is chiefly elderly, many live alone and have lost touch with all relatives.
Outer suburbs have a young population stable in residential houses but mobile in high density accommodation.
Highly mobile transients who come to Darwin from all over Australia who are chiefly young and unemployed pose problems re life style, have no fixed abode, unable to afford high rents for accommodation so live on or near the beach with no facilities and carry or wear what little they possess.
Most ethnic and cultural groups found in the Northern Territory are represented. Tamarind Centre at Parap has been set up to help Vietnamese refugees assimilate into our Society.
Primary Schools:
Darwin Primary Larrakeyah Primary St Marys Primary
(Private Catholic) Stuart Park Primary Parap Primary
Secondary Schools:
Darwin High School St Johns
200 230
496 287 475
992 810
Darwin Pre 25
Larrakeyah Pre 35 Stuart Park Pre 24
Parap Pre 90
(Private Catholic)
(Includes girls residential hostel and boys boarding section)
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School attendance figures are higher than actual school age population. This is due to parents working in the town area, enrolling their children in schools in the town. High turn- over of school pupils is due to transient nature of part of the population especially service families.
9
KNOWLEDGE OF THE ENVIRONMENT
Housing
High cost of housing has forced individuals to seek acconuno- dation in communal type living. The transient population find i t extremely difficult to find adequate accommodation and tend to gravitate in sub standard housing around inner city area or Lameroo Beach. Some of th~ unemployed have banded together to form a ·coalition to help others in the same precidament. The Housing Commission does provide flats, town houses, house and executive homes. Owing to the lengthy waiting list people are forced to pay high rental (sometimes shared) until acconunoda- tion becomes available.
Water Supply
Because of the geographical situation of Darwin - on a rather dry peninsula surrounded by areas of coastline and mangrove type rivers, the water is drawn from an area in the higher reaches of the Darwin River where there is a suitable catch- ment area. This area is in approximately 70 km from the inner city. The water is pumped to a sub-station 30 km from Darwin where i t is chlorinated and fluoridated before being pumped to one of the several reservoirs in the city area. One is situated near the R.A.A.F. base which supplies the city water, and several others are scattered around the suburbs. The fact could prove to be dangerous should there by any damage either through natural disasters or war. Water supply is becoming increasingly inadequate for the needs of the rapidly expanding population which has led to water restriction, fines, public awareness of the need to conserve water i.e. T.V., school and by example. People living in the fringe camps, e.g. Lameroo Beach, Railway Hill and vacant allotments etc. have little or no sanitation or water supply.
10
Sewerage
sewerage is collected from the town area and processed at the plant off Dick Ward Drive. If the sewerage plant breaks down, raw sewerage is discharged into Ludmilla Creek. Public toilet facilities are lacking in the inner city area. The public toilet in the Mall has been closed because of misuse and abuse.
Overcrowding See Environment.
General State of Repair of Houses in this Area Appears to be adequate.
Garbage Disposal Methods
Household garbage is collected bi-weekly under contract and daily collection from selected areas. In the fringe areas/
squatter camps, there is inadequate garbage collection i.e.
lack of collection containers and no paid contract for collection.
Transport Services Available
A govenment bus service provides adequate transport to and from the city for workers and shoppers from Monday to Friday and some services on Saturday. A cause of great inconvenience to many is the lack of a direct bus service to the hospital.
Other modes of transport are taxi, private car, rent-a-car, Dial-a-Bus etc. AIMS (Aboriginal and Islander Medical Service) provides transport services for patients to and from appointments. In cases of emergency a service is also provided for Europeans. St Johns Ambulance - under direction of a Doctor. Y.M.C.A. provide a mini bus for special outings.
In the Northern Territory our school bus service has school buses designated for school children only.
11
CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION
These include one daily and one weekly newspaper, weekly school newsletters, Notice Boards in the Mall, Community Health Centre and other public places, radio, which has community notices for charitable organisations (free), T. V. , local members: Chief Minister Mr Paul Everingham, City Area - Mr Tom Harris, Fannie Bay - Ms Pam O'Neil, Ludmilla - Mr Roger Steele, Stuart Park - Mr Marshall Perron.
HEALTH/ILLNESS PATTERN
Birth Rate: In the inner city area the birthrate lS noticeably lower than in the surrounding suburbs as the population in this area is mainly pensioners, transients and
commuting workers.
Death Rate: The expected death rate in the inner city area is noticeably higher from natural causes, alcoholism, drug abuse.
Infectious Diseases: Venereal Diseases are the predominant infectious diseases in the area. Tuberculosis appears to be on the increase. Leprosy appears to be under control. There are occasional outbreaks of infectious hepatitis and scabies.
There are the usual outbreaks of childhood diseases e.g.
chickenpox, measles, mumps etc.
Other Diseases/Problems: These include tropical ear, oti tis media, infected sandfly bites becoming ulcerated, alcohol/drug abuse with related nutritional problems, isolation of families from extended family, single parent families and related social problems.
002-09
12
INFORMATION ABOUT EXISTING COMMUNITY RESOURCES
Organisation
Aboriginal Services
A.I.M.S. - Bagot Reserve
A.D.F.
Hostel
Womens Resource Centre
Dept of Aboriginal Affairs
F.O.R.W.A.A.R.D.
Legal Aid
Home Makers
Function Ph No.
Transport to medical 824895 appointments
irrespective of ethnic group
Liaison between CHC and fringe camps
Financial assistance 854746 Support and services
to camps
Education Support
Fund resources for outstations
Fund F.O.R.W.A.A.R.D., A.M.S., A.D.F, and several other aborig- inal support agencies
Aboriginal Alcohol Rehabilitation Unit
814388
819601
815300
818673
Legal Advice (free) 815465 815389
851246
Oozoq
Community Services
Cancer Support Group
Meals on Wheels
Red Cross
St Vincent de Paul
Salvation Army
Womens' Shelter (Dawn House)
13
Rehabilitation
Community Awareness Family Support
Cleaning
Disaster Relief
Education Programmes
Free meals to destitutes
Food and clothing parcels
Support visits to institutions
Alcohol Rehab Emergency Accommodation
Various forms of accommodation Crisis accommod- ation for families Food and clothing parcels
Alcohol Rehab Midday meals Missing persons bureau
24hr/7 day week family and domestic crisis centre for women
271102 813556
812117
812117
817783
818188
274581
Advisory and supportive service for these women
14
Community Services (cont)
Dept of Community 275022
Development
St John Ambulance
Department of Community Welfare
Transport First Aid
Child Care (licensing and standards)
818999
814733 Duty Officer (adoption/fostering, 275022 family support/ (Rapid counselling) Creek) Child protection
(physical,emotional, sexual abuse and neglect)
Financial assistance for range of areas, subject to interview and assessment
Emergency Money Food Vouchers
Dept of Business and Consumer. Investigation of
Affairs consumer complaints
eg consumer vs business
Dept of Education
Teachers )
Liaison Person(s) )
Dept of Health - Leprosy Control
Liaise - individual schools
Regular checks of known Pts - maintain and receive relatives as necessary
821211
208674
0 0 2 , . 0 °I
Community Services (cont)
Dept of Immigration
& Ethnic Affairs
Dept of Social Security
Commonwealth Dept of
Health Vaccination Clinic
Services for the Aged
NT Council on the Ageing
NT Pensioners Association - Darwin
Tracy Lodge Hostel
Services for Child Care
Darwin Family Centres
15
Interpreter and liaison service for migrants
Information/advice re benefits
Information and giving of vaccin- ations for
international
travellers and malaria prescriptions
Advisory and supportive group for aged citizens
Advisory and supportive group group for all pensioners irre- spective of type of pension
Independent accommodation
814566
802911
802911
812239
819691
851318
Offers range of occasional/part- time/full time
emergency child care
814611
(.10 c.,.O
i
16
Services for Child Care (cont)
Darwin Family Centre Fun Bus
Darwin Toy Library
Darwin Neighbourhood Centre
NT Playgroup Association
Somerville Day Care
Darwin After Care
Service for Youth
Darwin Youth Refuge Kahlin Avenue
Guides Assoc
District Commissioner, Mrs Barbara Wagner
C.Y.S.S. (Community Youth Support Service Retraining Scheme)
Services for the Disabled
NT Spastic Association (Unit for a child between the age of 0-6 yrs who is disabled)
Mobile Playgroup
Emergency Accomm- odation and Shelter
Advisory ) Investigatory) Treatment
Supportive ) )
Conduct an outpatient facility for school aged children
Day/Longer Term Respitatory Parent Relief
814611
279249
818644
272333
853861
272548
818874
813628
852347
271166
Services for the Disabled
Bunyip House
Rehabilitation Unit
Downs Syndrome Group
Handicapped Persons Assoc
Kokoda Industries
NT Blind Assoc
Family Services
Northern Region Hearing Centre
Nursing Mothers Association
Amity House
Association of Adoptive Parents
17
(Cont'd)
Residential Care for under 12 yrs
Sheltered Workshop
Secondary hearing test - school children
Hearing tests - people in industry
(industrial screening)
Advisory and
supportive group to mothers
Individual & Family Counselling
Treatment Support (Alcohol)
Progranune offered - Drink driver, Family
Advice to prospect- ive/actual parents of adoptive children Liaison for Inter- country adoptions
809296
279997 or 271352
843206
843206
892313
802504
275370
818030
853172
Family Services
Banyan House
Childbirth Education Assoc Inc
(cont)
Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre
Alcoholics Annonymous
Crisis Line 7pm-7am
Darwin Womens Centre
Pregnancy Help
Emergency Home Makers
Family Planning (Mondays 7.30pm Clinic at Nightcliff)
Marriage Guidance
Parents Without Partners
Rape Crisis Centre
Homemaker Service
18
Counselling, treat- 852479 ment and support for
individual who has a drug problem
Supportive and advisory service pre-birth, birth and post delivery to
individuals/families
craft activities for H.W. mornings Wednesday and Friday
851497
208262
812500
279370 AH
275022 R/C
273322
817126
271124 AH
851246
818924- 818003
275370
Family Services (cont)
Diabetic Association of NT
•
19
Advisory and supportive group for diabetics and their families
UO'Z...o9
813979 BH 852850 AH
00209
20
SUMMARY
