The Northern Territory town of Winnellie has a small population and big attractions. Centered on historic and current events associated with Darwin’s aviation activities, the area also has outdoor scenery, including a park named after one of the world’s most famous naturalists.

Tour the Darwin Aviation Museum, previously the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre. Many visitors from outside the Northern Territory are surprised to learn that Darwin was actually bombed more than Pearl Harbor during World War II, so an air museum here is quite fitting. Walk around to inspect the museum’s 19 aircraft, 21 engines and numerous other displays, including artifacts from crashed aircraft. Besides a large B-52 bomber plane, you’ll see other craft with familiar names: Sabre jet, Japanese Zero, Spitfire and Huey helicopter. Study the photographs of Darwin under attack and learn about additional aviation history, such as the story of Amy Johnston and other early female aviators.

To see planes in action, check the schedule for Exercise Pitch Black. At this biennial event, the Royal Australian Air Force Base (RAAF) hosts a three-week training event with about 100 multinational aircraft. The public is invited to observe flyovers and attend an open day at the base.

Rent bikes and visit Charles Darwin National Park just south of Winnellie on Frances Bay in Port Darwin’s wetland region. Here you can have a picnic, hike, follow mountain bike trails, inspect a display of World War II ammunition storage areas, view the city and harbor and try to find the park’s 36 different mangrove species. The city of Darwin and this park are named after the famous evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin.

Winnellie is about 3 miles (5 kilometers) northeast of the center of Darwin. The neighborhood is just south of Darwin International Airport and the RAAF Base, which shares the runway. For more information about Darwin’s role during World War II, visit the Darwin Military Museum in East Point and the WWII Oil Storage Tunnels near Darwin Harbour.