{{Short description|Holiday in the Northern Territory of Australia}} {{about|a holiday in the Northern Territory of Australia|the similarly named holiday in the British Virgin Islands|Territory Day (British Virgin Islands)}} {{Infobox holiday | type = patriotic | holiday_name = Territory Day | nickname = "Cracker Night" (for night celebrations) | observedby = Residents of the Northern Territory | celebrations = Widespread use of fireworks without permit requirements | date = 1 July | duration = 1 day | frequency = Annual | firsttime = {{start date and age|df=yes|1978}} | image = Territory Day Fireworks.jpg | caption = Fireworks going off to celebrate Territory Day 2008 in The Gardens, Northern Territory }}
'''Territory Day''' is a holiday widely celebrated in the Northern Territory of Australia on 1 July that commemorates the territory achieving self-government in 1978.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last= |date=2020-05-13 |title=History of Self Government |url=https://territoryday.nt.gov.au/history-of-self-government/ |access-date=2022-07-01 |website=Territory Day (Government of the Northern Territory) |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Zhuang |first=Yan |date=2023-07-02 |title=Fireworks for All, One Day Only, in Australia's Last Frontier |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/02/world/asia/australia-fireworks-territory-day.html |access-date=2023-07-02 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The holiday has been famously commemorated with fireworks since the early 1980s. Popularly known as '''Cracker Night''', Territorians are provided five hours to legally blow up fireworks without needing a permit or special training, the only instance of its kind in Australia.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Perera |first=Alicia |date=2022-06-30 |title='Final frontier': The last place in Australia you can buy and blow up explosives, for one day |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-07-01/why-the-nt-allows-public-fireworks-use-on-territory-day-july-1/101174064 |access-date=2022-07-01}}</ref>
== Background == After decades of efforts to achieve self-government, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pledged in 1974 to grant the territory self-rule, which went into effect on 1 July 1978. The implementation of self-government was considered significant as it allowed for Territorians to purchase freehold land. This proved a boon to commercial development in the territory, allowing for the construction of hotels, casinos, and other tourist attractions.<ref name=":0" />
== History of the holiday == On 1 July 1978, over 6,000 Territorians gathered at the Darwin Cenotaph in celebration of self-governance status and the inaugural Northern Territory flag-raising: This would later be acknowledged as the first Territory Day.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=June 25, 2015 |title=1 July is Territory Day - It's Our Day |url=https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/sponsored-content/a-history-of-terriory-day-and-celebrations-being-held-across-the-nt-in-2015/news-story/b74febe49dd490785b00059b2e76fc29 |access-date=July 1, 2022 |website=NT News}}</ref>
Beginning in the early 1980s, the use of fireworks became a staple of the holiday.<ref name=":1" /> Paul Everingham, then-serving as the first Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, said that "controlled pyrotechnic displays will be encouraged" on the holiday.<ref name=":2" /> Under Northern Territory law, on 1 July, individuals aged 18 years and older are allowed to legally purchase fireworks without a permit between 9 AM and 9 PM, and are only permitted to set them off between 6 PM and 11 PM.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Janagaraj |first=Priya |date=May 2019 |title=Fireworks related injury Northern Territory 2018 |url=https://www.racp.edu.au/docs/default-source/fellows/resources/racp-congress/congress-2019-presentations/racp-mon-6-priya--janagaraj.pdf?sfvrsn=4f93181a_2 |access-date=1 July 2022 |website=Centre for Disease Control Northern Territory}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Anthony |first=Sharwood |date=July 1, 2014 |title=Our salute to Territory Day, when Northern Territory locals set off ridiculous amounts of fireworks |url=https://www.news.com.au/travel/australian-holidays/northern-territory/our-salute-to-territory-day-when-northern-territory-locals-set-off-ridiculous-amounts-of-fireworks/news-story/d59f39910825c69960fba473e55cff85 |access-date=August 7, 2022 |website=News.com.au}}</ref> [[File:Paul Everingham.jpg|thumb|184x184px|Paul Everingham, the first Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, was reportedly an early supporter of the firework celebrations ]] On Territory Day 2015, an estimated 25,000 Territorians gathered in Darwin for a "much-hyped pyrotechnics display.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Davidson |first=Helen |date=2015-07-02 |title=Northern Territory in a day: excess, destruction, beauty and recklessness |url=http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jul/02/northern-territory-day-let-the-fireworks-fly-but-only-for-five-hours |access-date=2022-07-02 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, Territory Day celebrations were called off in 2020.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vivian |first=Steve |date=2021-06-10 |title=NT's 'cracker night' to go ahead after Territory Day cancelled in 2020 |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-10/nt-territory-day-2021-to-go-ahead-after-2020-covid-cancellation/100204116 |access-date=2022-07-02}}</ref> In 2021, then-tourism minister Natasha Fyles announced that the holiday would resume in 2021, with alternative rock band Eskimo Joe joining the lineup at the celebration in Darwin.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Morgan |first=Thomas |date=2021-06-10 |title=Cracker Night returns as Eskimo Joe, Hot Dub Time Machine join Territory Day line-up |url=https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/eskimo-joe-hot-dub-time-machine-jess-mauboy-among-artists-playing-territory-day-shows-c-3068715 |access-date=2022-08-07 |website=The West Australian |language=en}}</ref>
== Public holiday proposals == The possibility of making Territory Day a formal public holiday in Australia has been considered by the territorial government at various times. In 2015, then-Chief Minister Adam Giles floated the possibility of making Territory Day a public holiday by "swapping it with an existing one". According to Giles, he abandoned the proposal when "Territorians were divided" about replacing another public holiday with Territory Day.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wood |first=Dave |date=February 18, 2015 |title=Territory Day will not become a public holiday after NT Government surveyed public |url=https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/territory-day-will-not-become-a-public-holiday-after-nt-government-surveyed-public/news-story/a51859f1287c77137ce67b0f96ee9036}}</ref>
== Controversies ==
=== Fire risks === Due to the widespread use of fireworks on Territory Day, territorial and local leaders have urged caution in order to avoid dangerous accidents. On Territory Day 2019, seventeen Territorians were sent to the hospital due to "minor burns, lacerations and ear related injuries".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=Lauren |date=July 5, 2019 |title=Territory Day 'shouldn't be a public holiday' |url=https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/opinion/in-the-interest-of-safety-territory-day-shouldnt-be-a-public-holiday/news-story/ba487ce728fc79347463d7cee82ad270 |website=NT News}}</ref> Commentators have noted that the event poses special risks in rural communities near Darwin, as July is "associated with acute fire risk" in the region.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Heaney |first=Chelsea |date=2021-08-26 |title=Fireworks in fire season? The plan has some people alarmed ahead of Territory Day |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-26/territory-day-fireworks-plan-causes-fire-fears-in-nt/100399458 |access-date=2022-07-02}}</ref>
=== Impact on other states === The smuggling of fireworks purchased legally on Territory Day to Western Australia has reportedly become a "top priority [for police] in Western Australia", where possession of fireworks without a permit is strictly forbidden. In 2019, illegal fireworks purchased in the Northern Territory was believed to have sparked a bushfire in the Western Australian town of Broome.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Meldrum |first=Chris |date=2019-10-10 |title=Illegal fireworks from the NT spark 'devastating' bushfires in WA |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-11/illegal-fireworks-from-the-nt-spark-devastating-bushfires-in-wa/11576794 |access-date=2022-07-02}}</ref>
=== Environmental pollution === {{needs expansion|date=March 2025}}
=== Impact on asthma patients === {{needs expansion|date=March 2025}}
== References == {{Reflist}}
Category:July observances Category:Culture of the Northern Territory Category:1970s in the Northern Territory Category:Observances in Australia Category:Winter in Australia Category:Fireworks events in Oceania Category:1978 establishments in Australia