News

Katherine residents are invited to join their community on ANZAC Day, Friday, 25 April, to honour those who fought for us and our country. Commemorative services and a community march are planned to pay tribute to Australia's Defence Force personnel's courage, service, and sacrifice.

Katherine Town Council invites residents and business owners to share their feedback on the revised draft Signs Code, now open for public consultation.

Local artist Kim Maskell has been named the winner of the Centenary Logo Competition. Her design will appear on promotional material for Katherine Town Council’s Centenary celebrations throughout 2026.

Event organisers in Katherine and the Big Rivers Region are urged to submit their upcoming events for inclusion in the 2025 ‘Festivals of the Dry’ brochure, a Katherine Town Council publication designed to showcase the Big Rivers Dry Season events calendar before April 4th.

Katherine Town Council is pleased to announce that it has successfully secured $756,000 in funding from the Australian Government’s Active Transport Fund to construct a new shared bicycle and pedestrian pathway along Zimin Drive. The council will contribute the remaining $324,000 and co-fund this project, which is valued at $1,080,000.

Katherine Town Council Mayor, Lis Clark, has announced that Council CEO, Ingrid Stonhill, has once again delivered an outstanding performance in her annual review, as determined by the CEO Review Panel.

Katherine Town Council is again shaking up its approach to Clean Up Australia Day, transforming it into a month-long online event from 1 – 28 March to make participation easier and more rewarding for locals. Following the success of last year’s digital initiative, the Council will continue to use the Snap, Send, Solve app to encourage residents to clean up Katherine at their own pace throughout March.

Katherine Town Council has announced Ethan Woods-Alum as Katherine’s Citizen of the Year after a review found the initial recipient was ineligible.

Katherine Town Council is inviting community feedback on shade structure options for the Town Square. The consultation, launched today on the Your Say Katherine website, aims to gather ideas to improve shade and comfort in the central outdoor space.

Katherine Town Council has announced a three-week dog registration amnesty to help more lost dogs find their way home. During the amnesty, Katherine residents can register their dogs at no cost from Monday, 3 February, until Monday, 17 February. The free registrations will be available for the first 100 applications received and remain valid until the annual dog registration renewals are due on 1 July 2025.

Karl Kratscher was announced Katherine's 2025 Citizen of the Year at a special ceremony held at the Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre (GYRACC) on Friday, 24 January. The ceremony also included a citizenship ceremony, where Mayor Lis Clark welcomed 13 new Australians to the Katherine community.

Katherine Town Council was given the tick of approval by staff in their annual end-of-year anonymous staff survey. The survey, which aims to gather honest feedback from all staff members, has yielded remarkable results highlighting the Council’s commitment to personal development and effective management.

Katherine Town Council has announced the winners of this year’s Annual Christmas Lights Competition. The competition attracted nine nominations, bringing Katherine’s streets to life with festive joy and sparkle.

Katherine Town Council plans to upgrade a section of First Street to improve safety around truck movements into and out of the shopping centre loading dock. Residents and community members can ask questions and make suggestions about the project through the Council's dedicated community engagement platform - Your Say Katherine.

Katherine’s disability community’s achievements were celebrated at the Disability Awards ceremony at the Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts and Culture Centre (GYRACC) this week. The event was coordinated by Katherine Town Council and marked the International Day of People with a Disability.

Katherine Town Council has launched a new online search function for the historic Katherine Memorial Cemetery, powered by Byond. This innovative tool allows families and the public to search for and find the burial locations of their loved ones at the cemetery.

Council facility closure dates and restricted opening times during the upcoming holiday season

When the railway bridge was completed on July 15, 1926, the present site of Katherine was officially gazetted. Ninety-nine years later, we are fast approaching the Katherine Centenary. 2026 will be a massive year for Katherine, with many exciting events in the pipeline. In preparation for this celebration, we invite community members to submit entries in our logo design competition.

This year's International Men's Day Four-Man Ambrose Golf Tournament, held over the weekend at the Katherine Country Club, was a big hit. The nine-hole event attracted 62 players competing for a prized range of golfing honours alongside their mates. Despite minor weather challenges, the event's outcome was well above par, with a turnout that exceeded expectations. 

A diverse range of Katherine community groups and not-for-profit organisations will benefit from their share in Katherine Town Council’s Community Grants Program funding.

At its last meeting on 22 October 2024, Katherine Town Council approved reinstating a scrap metal disposal fee for commercial operators. Effective immediately, a charge of $74.30 per tonne will apply for scrap metal disposal at the Katherine Waste Management Facility. This is a return to previous years when commercial businesses were required to pay for scrap metal disposal. The charge was temporarily waived following the 2024/25 fees and charges review when Council decided to cover these costs, allowing businesses to dispose of scrap metal free of charge, meaning Council absorbed the full recycling cost.

The dry season has departed, the storms are brewing, and it's time to bring the magic to the streets of Katherine with your Christmas lights' grand designs. Entries for this year's residential competition are now open and close on 30 November.

Nominations are open for the International Day of People with a Disability awards, with winners to be announced at a Katherine Town Council-hosted morning tea at Godinymayin Yijard Rivers Arts & Culture Centre on 3 December.

Sixteen outstanding designs entered by Katherine's young people in Katherine Town Council's Youth Flag Design Competition are now on display at the Hot Springs. The designs, created by local young artists aged 5 to 18, represent our town's culture, landscape, and community.

The Katherine Town Council is hosting free 90-minute workshops designed to equip women with mental and emotional fitness tools to face future disasters, extreme weather events, and other life challenges. These workshops will be facilitated by internationally acclaimed Self-Leadership Specialist and Coach Sue Kohn-Taylor.

While it’s hard to believe we are talking about Christmas already, Katherine community event organisers will soon be looking to plot the dates for their annual Christmas celebrations. It’s already time for event organisers to send an Expression of Interest to the Council’s events team to book a spot on the calendar—expressions of Interest close at COB 25 October.

Katherine Town Council is rallying the community to support this year's ‘'Great Spring Clean-up of the river corridor, starting from the Hot Springs from 8 a.m. to 12 noon on Sunday, 22 September. As part of a national event, the Katherine community embraces the opportunity to scour the area for rubbish before the impending wet season.

Major demolition work will begin at the Katherine Aquatic Centre next week in preparation for its $10 million redevelopment. Over the past few days, the Australian Government erected its project sign, Sitzler hoarding has fenced off the construction site, and heavy machinery is scheduled to arrive next week.

It's time to recognise Katherine's outstanding citizens by nominating people who help make our town great. The Australia Day Citizen of the Year Awards recognise 'individuals and organisations that have made a noteworthy contribution during the current year, and/or given outstanding service over several years, to a local community over and above normal employment duties.' The three nomination categories are Katherine Citizen of the Year, Katherine Young Citizen of the Year, and the Community Event of the Year. All nominees must be Australian citizens and the Young Citizen must be under 30 years as of 26 January 2025.

Vietnam Veterans’ Day, on 18 August, is an annual commemoration of Australia’s involvement in the Battle of Long Tan—Australia’s most costly battle throughout the ten-year Vietnam War. In recognition of all those who serve, past and present, the Katherine Town Council is coordinating a commemorative service at the Katherine Cenotaph, supported by the Katherine RSL Subbranch and RAAF Base Tindal. The service starts at 6 pm sharp on Sunday, 18th of August, at the Cenotaph on Railway Terrace.