Boondocks

Here is an excerpt from an article publishedin the Guardian Weekly regarding the Falconio case.

Media, mangoes and murder
Andrew Clark
Friday October 21, 2005
The Guardian
Each morning this week in the sleepy harbour city of Darwin at the
tropical "top end" of Australia, a dark Ford sedan with black-tinted
windows has swept up outside the courthouse. The doors open and
Joanne Lees climbs out into the sweltering 90F heat. She is escorted
up the steps by five burly policemen in desert camouflage, sporting
wrap-around sunglasses and prominent revolvers; cameras flash,
reporters fruitlessly shout questions and curious bystanders in
shorts and thongs edge closer for a better look. It is an entrance
worthy of a minor royal and Darwin has never seen anything like it.
Best known as a staging post for backpackers en route to Kakadu
national park, the city has pulled out all the stops for the murder
trial of Bradley Murdoch - the outback drifter accused of killing
Lees' boyfriend, Peter Falconio. Darwin is the capital of the
Northern Territory, which has a land mass larger than France but a
population of 200,000 - roughly the same as that of Brighton and
Hove. In the Northern Territory News, the case gets four pages a
day. The week's second biggest story was a study concluding that
most victims of attacks by saltwater crocodiles are drunk.

It goes on along the same line but I didn't include the whole thing for space reasons.

Crikey! We're not that parochial. For once I am stirred with some form of patriotism and anger at this blatantly simplified and comedic view of our home.
It seems that the rest of the world are still stuck on the image the Territory projected during the Chamberlain case - which was a fair representation considering what a shermozzle that turned out to be - however it was over 20 fucking years ago!! We have matured and developed considerably since then - so snap out of it - stop being so judgemental and see Darwin for what it is. A dynamic and beautiful tropical harbour city, culturally tolerant and diverse with rapid economic growth and all sorts of opportunities and things to offer locals and visitors alike.

Got to admit , the weather sure is shit though.