In 1983, Northline’s Darwin depot, located in Winnellie, began operating for Australia’s ‘last frontier’. With half the original team setting up Northline’s Adelaide operations, the other half of Northline was in Darwin to ensure that markets were on both sides of the country and that fully laden trucks were passing through central Australia in both directions.
By building strong relationships with third-party logistics (3PL) providers and becoming agents for wineries and other industries, Northline was able to move 100 tonnes of freight within their first month.
During this time, Northline was already thinking about expanding from transport into storage and warehousing.
Contracts with Hungry Jacks and White Wings helped Northline expand into warehousing and eventually operate a 3PL business offering Pick and Pack, Warehousing, and Delivery.
Momentum continued to build for Northline, and well-established competitors began to notice this young business snapping at their heels.
Alliances started to form between smaller competitors, and they began working with Northline to consolidate their half loads into full loads to increase efficiency and profitability.
For the first 11 years of operation, Northline transported all freight by road. Most of the freight transported by Northline went from Adelaide to Darwin and then onto more remote locations in the Territory. It wasn’t until 2004 when the Alice Springs to Darwin section of the rail line opened that Northline utilised the Adelaide to Darwin rail corridor.
By the 2000s, Northline was operating from two facilities in Winnellie due to the amount of work they were acquiring.
And then it was 2015. The team in Darwin were cutting the ribbon of their first purpose-built depot. The $27 million facility in East Arm provides more than 14,500 square metres of warehousing and under-roof freight operations, injecting millions into the Northern Territory economy.
Today, while Northline operates a national and international business, the Northern Territory remains their spiritual home. They have a proud history of supporting the community in the Territory with sponsorship and support of local community groups, including the NT Minnows and Darwin Sailing Club.
