Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory

The Territory's main museum, with outstanding Aboriginal art and a dedicated Cyclone Tracy gallery

The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) sits on the Fannie Bay foreshore and is one of the best free museums in Australia. The collections cover four main areas: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, natural sciences (including the Territory's extraordinary geology and wildlife), maritime history, and the history of Darwin itself.

The Aboriginal art collection is genuinely exceptional — works from across the Territory represent traditions from Arnhem Land, the Kimberley, and the Central Desert. The natural history galleries are particularly strong on crocodilians and marine life, which makes sense for a territory where both are facts of daily life. The Cyclone Tracy display is emotionally powerful and should not be skipped. Allow two to three hours to see the museum properly. Entry is free.

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A story
Cyclone Tracy destroyed 70 percent of Darwin's buildings on Christmas Eve 1974, killing 71 people and leaving 30,000 homeless. The museum's Tracy gallery preserves recordings of the cyclone — including a six-second loop of wind noise, played at the actual recorded volume. Visitors who have stood in that room consistently describe it as one of the most unsettling experiences in any Australian museum.

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