Carl Atkinson - Adventurer - salvage expert -Fish Feeding - Doctors Gully in Darwin

Aquascene – Fish Feeding.

There are many signs throughout the Esplanade to guide you to Aquascene – Fish Feeding. Aquascene – Fish Feeding is where hundreds of fish come to shore at high tide to be fed by hand. At high tide, there may be some hundreds of milkfish, mullet, bream, catfish, bream and even barramundi that come to the shoreline to be hand fed by the owners and tourists. Out swimming in the foreground you may also catch a glimspe of other fish such as rays, diamond, mangrove jack and cod fish.

Bill's Reminising!!! This area was actually a boat landing area during WW11 and it housed the 'Iron Lung' in the NT for divers that got the bends. Carl Atkinson actually made the 'Iron Lung' himself and saved many a life - such as Chinese Malay, Indonesians divers who were as Bill said often here pinching the pearls on the NT Coastline. Carl Atkinson is credited with saving at least 16 lives.

Carl Atkinson obtained a ‘lease in perpetuity’ of Doctors Gully we think in the 50's.

Carl Atkinson used to have an old Willy's Jeeps he salvaged from a sunken ship in the harbour with his German Shepard in the back. Always seen around town. Funny thing is customs cornered him one day and wanted excise off him. Now Carl never letting anyone get the better of him he took the jeeps he salvaged back out on a barge and dumped them back into the harbour.

Carl Atkinson then threw scraps in the water for many years and noticed the fish coming in on every hig tide to feed on them.

In 1964 he successfully applied for the area to be declared a Fish Reserve and he layed the foundations for a tourist attraction known as 'Doctor's Gully' in his day - we say unique in the world.

A stroke in 1972 affected Carl. Then he constructed the groyne which to this day protects his cheerished wild fish. By 1978/79 he had decided tomove south and sold the property to Marshall and Cherry Peron. Marshall Peron the retired Chief minister who began Aquascene – Fish Feeding.

Carl Atkinson died at Murwillumbah, NSW in February 1985.

Carl Atkinson - Adventurer and salvage expert. Reputedly the first man to water-ski on Sydney Harbour in 1932, he became an instructor in Darwin. (Also Billy Burrow's as he owned the boat.)

The walk down to doctor's Gully would be 20mins to 30mins as it is a steep climb for 400 metres.

To our motorhome clients you may consider to walk down as even in low gear it can be difficult to manage passing traffic.

Aquascene – Fish Feeding.

There are many signs throughout the Esplanade to guide you to Aquascene – Fish Feeding. Aquascene – Fish Feeding is where hundreds of fish come to shore at high tide to be fed by hand. At high tide, there may be some hundreds of milkfish, mullet, bream, catfish, bream and even barramundi that come to the shoreline to be hand fed by the owners and tourists. Out swimming in the foreground you may also catch a glimspe of other fish such as rays, diamond, mangrove jack and cod fish.

This is a must for the kids.

A day to meet natureface to face.

Doctor's Gully
Tel: (08) 8981 7837.
Website: www.aquascene.com.au