Darwin

Distinguished and Famous people from Darwin

Nova Peris

Nova Peris grew up in Darwin before becoming an international hockey player and athlete. With the Hockeyroos at Atlanta in 1996, she became the first Indigenous Australian Olympic gold medallist. She later switched to athletics and competed at the Sydney Olympics, an exceptional transition between sports requiring very different skills. Election to the Senate in 2013 added a political chapter to her public life. The city’s connection is foundational: Darwin was her birthplace and the setting of the childhood preceding those national milestones.

June Mills

June Mills is a Larrakia Elder whose art, music and community work are closely tied to Darwin and its surrounding Country. Her creative subjects include love, loss, landscape and the relationships that sustain a sense of belonging. Public art and work with young people connect cultural knowledge with contemporary city life. At Parap, her dangalaba artwork brought a Larrakia account of the crocodile into a public setting, making cultural meaning part of an everyday streetscape rather than confining it to a gallery.