Stokes Hill Wharf is the main wharf for the city of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia and is named after Stokes Hill, adjacent. The hill itself was named in 1839 by the commander of HMS Beagle, after its previous commander, Captain Pringle Stokes.[citation needed]
Another possible source is the unrelated John Lort Stokes, who was mate and assistant surveyor aboard Beagle under Captain Robert Fitzroy, R.N., 1831–1836 when Charles Darwin was a paying passenger, sharing Stokes' cabin. Darwin Harbour was named in 1839 by Lieutenant Stokes and Mr. Forsyth after their old friend and shipmate.[1] Stokes and (ship's mate) C. C. Forsyth[2] had taken the ship's boat to make a closer examination of the harbour.
- ^ "The Discovery of Port Darwin". South Australian Register. Vol. LXIII, no. 16, 225. South Australia. 12 November 1898. p. 5. Retrieved 9 May 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "The Beagle". The Courier (Hobart). Vol. XVI, no. 901. Tasmania, Australia. 3 March 1843. p. 4. Retrieved 9 May 2023 – via National Library of Australia.