Humpty Doo is located along the Arnhem Highway, roughly 45 kilometres from Darwin.

It is said by some that the rather unusual and amusing name came from a phrase the first white settler here used when asked how everything was. His reply was invariably 'Everything's humpty doo'. Another possibility is that the name is a derivation of an aboriginal word, which has had a number of different spellings over the years.

In the late 1800s, the area was used to grow rice for the hundreds of Chinese migrants who had come to work the mines in the Northern Territory. This tradition was re-born in the mid 1950s, when the Humpty Doo Rice Growing Project was established by a joint Australian/American company . The project brought an influx of workers, who were ably supported for a number of years. At the beginning of the 1960s, however, the project was abandoned, and the development of the town slowed.

Today, Humpty Doo is a service centre for Darwin's fringe dwellers. It has all basic facilities, including a hotel, supermarkets, a church, banks, a post office and full fuel and mechanical services.


Graeme Gow's Reptile World is on the Arnhem Highway. There are a number of different snakes and lizards to be seen - some of which have even been movie stars ! Open daily from 9am to 5:30pm. Phone (089) 881 661 for further details.

Wishart Siding Railway Museum and Tea Room is located where Wishart fettler's cottages originally were. You will find a whole host of interesting north Australian Railway artefacts and photos. It is located at the corner of the Stuart Highway and the Arnhem Highway, tel. (089) 88 2286. Opening hours are from 10 am until 4 pm Monday to Friday, and from 10 am until 5 pm on Sundays.

There is a giant Crocodile replica - the largest of its type in the world - at the entrance to the Bush Shop supermarket. It has eyes that light up, and with its boxing gloves on is ready for any foe it may encounter !

Bebbie's Place has crafts, home made using barramundi skins and leather. There are a number of items for sale, including buffalo horns (note the pet buffalo in the grounds) and general leather goods. Tea or coffee is available for free, and a barbecues barramundi lunch is also on offer for groups. It can be found in Acacia Road - phone (089) 881 258 for further details.

Humpty Doo also boasts a golf course, and anybody looking for a relaxing couple of rounds should take full advantage !

If you continue through Humpty Doo along the Arnhem Highway for a short distance, you will come to the turn off for the Fogg Dam Conservation Reserve. In the latter years of the nineteenth century rice was grown here for the Chinese involved in mining in the district. Then in the 1950s, rice growing in the region began once more. This venture was not terribly successful, and today an agricultural research station uses most of the land.

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