Daly River, Northern Territory  Daly River is the name of a river and a town in the Northern Territory of Australia. At the 2006 census, Daly River had a population of 468. The town is part of the Victoria Daly Region local government area. Settlement on the river is centred on the Aboriginal community of Nauiyu, originally the site of a Catholic mission, as well as the town of Daly River itself, at the river crossing a few kilometres to the south. The area is popular for recreational fishing, being regarded as one of the best places to catch Barramundi in Australia. The Daly River is part of the Daly Catchment that flows from northern Northern Territory to central Northern Territory. The traditional owners of the area are the Mulluk-Mulluk people who live both in Nauiyu and at Wooliana downstream from the community. European settlement of Daly River began in 1865 with the arrival of Boyle Travers Finniss, the first Premier of South Australia and the first Government Resident of the Northern Territory. Finniss named the river after Sir Dominick Daly, the Governor of South Australia, since the Northern Territory was at that time part of South Australia. The region lay untouched by Europeans until 1882 when copper was discovered. Daly River town was the scene of some particularly bloody exchanges between the local Aborigines and the miners. In 1884 three miners were killed. The miners in the town wreaked vengeance on the local Aborigines out of proportion to the perceived crime. A year later, probably aware of the tensions in the area, the Society of Jesus order of the Roman Catholic Church established a mission in the town, introducing Christianity and farming techniques to the local Aboriginal population. The original mission endured until 1899, when following a significant flood the missionaries were withdrawn. In 1954, contact between traditional Malak Malak elders and the then bishop of Darwin led to the mission being reestablished. In 1955, the church purchased of land and the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart helped to establish a school and a clinic for the community. The mission was later renamed Nauiyu and with the exception of the church, convent, school and associated residences transferred to community ownership. Due to the influence of the mission in the town, 75% percent of the population identify as Roman Catholics. Through the twentieth century there were a number of attempts to settle the town without real success. In 1911 the Commonwealth Government tried to convince people to move to the town. By the 1920s there were plans for crops of peanuts and tobacco which came to nothing.