Malak, Northern Territory
History
Malak is named after the Aboriginal tribe who came from the Daly River area. Alternative spellings have been Mallak, Mulluck Mulluck. The naming intended in 1965 to have the tribe pronounced Mulluck.
The suburb of Malak was under construction when Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin in late 1974.
Historically, a high proportion of the residential dwellings in Malak and the neighbouring suburb of Marrara have been allocated to social housing, however statistics show this demographic to be changing over time. In the 2011 census, 11.2% of dwellings were under tenure of social housing, compared to 28.8% in 1991.
A 2012 proposal saw the Northern Territory Government set aside lands adjacent to Sanderson Middle School in Malak as a site for a future GP Super Clinic to relieve demand for General practitioner services in the area. Despite receiving bi-partisan support from both sides of the Legislative Assembly, as of February 2013, no further commitment had been made on funding the proposal.
Present day
Malak is a residential area with extensive parklands and community facilities. The development of the suburb primarily occurred during the 1970s and 1980s.
Major features of the area include three schools, Darwin Adventist School, Malak Primary School and Sanderson Middle School (formerly Sanderson High School). The suburb is also home to the Northern Territory divisional headquarters of the Australian Red Cross.
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Malak (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- ^ Northern Territory Lands Group (21 June 2007). "The origin of suburbs, localities, towns and hundreds in the Greater Darwin area". Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 15 December 2007.
- ^ "Community Profile – Malak-Marrara Housing Tenure". City of Darwin. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ Phoebe Stewart (11 May 2012). "Support grows for suburban GP super clinic plan". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
- ^ "Northern Territory Medicare Local Health Needs Assessment" (PDF). Medicare Local Northern Territory. March 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.