Nightcliff Beach, on the northern side of Beagle Gulf, has a stinger net protecting part of the beach. It is patrolled by the Darwin Surf Life Saving Club. The jetty is a popular place among amateur fisherman to launch their boats. In recent years Nightcliff has arguably become one of Darwin's most desirable suburbs, as it is mostly situated directly on the coastal fringe.
The Nightcliff foreshore was the site of Royal Australian Air Force camps with spotlights and large guns used to defend Darwin from bombing during World War II. During 1941, a naval outpost including a large concrete artillery outpost bunker was established on the headland. Various other defence facilities were constructed inland as large numbers of military personnel moved into the area.
The 2/14 Field Regiment A.I.F. (Australian Infantry Force) was given the task of planning and constructing a hutted camp which became known as "Night Cliff's Camp". After the War, increasing pressure for suburban development caused the Nomenclature Committee of the N.T. to officially name the area on 29 October 1948. The conjoint version of the name, "Nightcliff" was adopted.
Today, a 20km long footpath along the foreshore of Nightcliff is used for walking and cycling, particularly in the evenings after work. Along the footpath there is Nightcliff Jetty, Nightcliff Beach and Nightcliff Swimming Pool. On Sundays, the Nightcliff Markets occur from 6am to 2pm. The stalls at the markets are mainly food and drinks but there is also craft, massage and fresh/dried fruit stalls. A live music band usually plays music on the stage in the middle of the markets.
The name 'Night Cliff' appears on Goyder's original plan of Port Darwin (1869), but could have originated between Stokes' examination of the harbour in 1839 and that time. Many people once incorrectly believed it came from a misspelling of J G Knight's name, but he arrived in 1873. When Nightcliff became a Town for land title purposes in 1948, the Nomenclature Committee of the day agreed to the conjoint name 'Nightcliff'. The new Progress Association of the 1950's before Local Government arrived in Darwin applied the floral and shrub names to the suburbs streets.
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