The freshwater spring at Doctors Gully attracted more than just early settlers. Chinese brothers Ah Cheong recognised its potential and established Darwin's very first market garden on this site — a fact clearly documented in Surveyor General Goyder's survey plan of 1872.

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The Ah Cheong brothers cultivated the land and supplied fresh vegetables to Darwin residents and the nearby hospital, playing a vital role in feeding the young colonial town. Their contribution to Darwin's early food supply is one of the lesser-known but most significant chapters in the city's history.

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​The brothers returned to China in 1920, transferring the lease to George and Stella Carroll, who continued the market garden operations for a further two decades. Their story came to an abrupt end when they were evacuated following the Japanese bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942 — one of the most devastating attacks on Australian soil.