Doctor's Gully, Darwin

The RAAF seconded Doctors Gully during World War II as the new northern base and headquarters for Australia’s largest flying boat squadrons, the Catalinas. Two oil tanks and a pump house were installed at the back of Doctors Gully in 1943 as part of Darwin’s strategic naval oil fuel supplies and to support the Catalina Flying Boat Base and RAAF Marine Section.

The former World war II Doctor's Gully Flying Boat Base and RAAF Marine Section base is now a well known tourist attraction called Aquascene where at high tide, tourists can feed the hundreds of fish that come into the shallows looking for a free feed.

The RAAF Marine Section first established a Marine Section Workshop at Doctor's Gully on the water's edge in Darwin near the north western end of the Esplanade in readiness for the establishment of the Doctor's Gully Flying Boat Base.

Two Oil tanks and a pump house were installed at the back of Doctor's Gully in 1943 as part of Darwin's strategic naval oil fuel supplies and to support the Catalina Flying Boat Base and RAAF Marine Section. 20 Squadron, 42 Squadron and 43 Squadron were all based at Doctor's Gully during the war.


Below: the explosion of an oil storage tank and clouds of smoke from other tanks, hit during the first Japanese air raid on Australia's mainland, at Darwin on 19th February 1942. In the foreground is HMAS Deloraine, which escaped damage


From Doctor's Gully Flying Boat Base the Catalinas ranged far and wide in their strikes against Japanese Bases and Ports from where they exported vital minerals and oil to the factories in Japan. The RAAF Marine Section played a vital role at Doctor's Gully Flying Boat Base. The Catalina Air Crews depended upon the RAAF Marine Section boats and crews operating in a multitude of roles

On many occasions Catalinas returning from missions could be damaged, or had injured airmen onboard who required immediate medical attention. Crash boats would accompany these aircraft to render towing assistance to moorings if necessary, or, to be immediately along side the hull to collect wounded. This close liaison between Air Crews and the Marine Section crews was a matter of friendship and pride in their professional expertise.

After the surrender by the Japanese, the men of RAAF Marine Section were kept busy with the constant flow of Catalina Flying Boats arriving, with men just released from the Japanese Prisoner of War Camps. Hospital Ships like the Oranji would pass through Darwin and RAAF Marine Section Boats crowded with Crews would greet the returning POW's. The two Catalina Squadrons at Doctor's Gully Flying Boat Base were eventually posted southwards on 30 November 1945.

RAAF Marine Section remained operational at Doctor's Gully until it was taken over by Carl Atkinson, a salvage diver in 1946. Some time later Stan Kennon, a Darwin Engineer, took over the former RAAF Marine Workshop and slipway for some time before Carl Atkinson took over the lease to expand his salvage base. Atkinson held the salvage rights to many of the wartime wrecks in Darwin Harbour including USAT Meigs, USAT Mauna Loa, SS Zealandia and USS Pery. At low tide you can see the rusted bottoms of former military barges at Doctor's Gully.


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Relics from the base

Many remnants from the flying boat base remain. These include a huge rock oil tank, parts of the RAAF Marine Section workshop and the old boat ramp, with the tie up rings still intact where the Catalina flying boats were hauled ashore for maintenance work.


Remains of the world's longest boom net - used during WWII to stop submarines entering the Darwin Harbour - are visible from the shore at Doctors Gully.


Scattered around the area are numerous concrete anchor points used to tie downaircradt wings; an anchor from a Catalina; a Catalina Propeller blade one display was recovered from Darwin Harbour 50 years after it was discarded during routine aircraft maintenance. Pipework associated with the two WWII Oil Tanks is located behind the base.

One of the oil tanks has found a new life as Darwin's rock climbing gym. Now climbers ranging from beginners to advanced can practice here. Music, play maze, archery, trampolines, abseiling, Laser gun skirmish, picturesque gardens and an excellent outdoor play area make this a great activity centre.

Peel's Well

Doctor's Gully is named after Doctor Robert Peel, the medical officer attached to Goyder's survey party in 1869, the area became known by the colloquial name Doctor's Gully.

This is also the site of a heritage listed area known as Peel's Well, a well which was gazetted on 19 April 1877 and provided water for the first gardens in the settlement and visiting ships. Most of the early gardeners were Chinese, with the first formal lease issued on 30 March 1875 to three Chinese settlers.


According to the books 'Adventurous Empires' by Phillip E Sims and 'Flying Empires' by Brian Cassidy, this Qantas flying-boat came to grief at Darwin in December 1938, was salvaged and freighted back to Rochester where it was rebuilt, then eventually ended up as part of BOAC's fleet

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