Territory, Netflix's Australian Western, films at real locations like Tipperary Station and Kakadu National Park, grounding its cattle-station drama.

Netflix's Australian Western series Territory arrived in 2024 and quickly became one of the streaming service's most ambitious productions from the region. Created by Ben Davies and Timothy Lee, the show follows the Lawson family as they battle over the future of Marianne Station, the world's largest cattle station. The premise has often been described as an Australian Succession wrapped in the Western genre, with Anna Torv and Michael Dorman leading a cast caught between mobsters, corporations, and a murder scheme. What gives Territory its sweeping, sun-scorched atmosphere is its use of real Australian landscapes. Instead of relying on soundstages, the production traveled across the Northern Territory and South Australia, turning actual cattle country, national parks, towns, and outback wilderness into the fictional world of Marianne Station. As of 2026, those locations remain a major reason the series feels so authentic.

Tipperary Station: The Real Marianne Station

The most important filming location in Territory is Tipperary Station, a working cattle property in the Northern Territory. Established in 1914, the station has grown over more than a century into an enormous operation. It contains 72 paddocks, each roughly 30 kilometers, or about 7,413 acres, which underscores the almost unbelievable scale of the place. In the series, Tipperary Station stands in for the fictional Marianne Station, the sprawling cattle empire that the Lawson dynasty has controlled for generations. Most of the buildings and infrastructure seen on screen belong to the real station, giving the show a lived-in texture that would be difficult to fake. Production worked closely with the facility, and many actual Tipperary Station employees appeared as extras. That collaboration helped bridge the gap between documentary-like reality and high-stakes family drama.

Kakadu National Park: Wilderness With Permission

Kakadu National Park provides another major backdrop. Located in the Northern Territory, Kakadu is a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its wetlands, escarpments, wildlife, and ancient cultural significance. For an Australian Western, it is an ideal visual match. Many of Territory's unnamed wilderness scenes were filmed within the park, where the landscape can shift from lush floodplains to rugged stone country. The production received special permission from the Traditional Owners of Kakadu to film there. That permission was not a minor detail; it allowed the series to place its characters in a setting that carries deep meaning for Aboriginal communities. The result is a landscape that feels both majestic and guarded, which suits the show's themes of ownership, inheritance, and conflict.

Mallala, Adelaide Plains, and Adelaide Studios

Territory also used South Australia for several key locations. The town of Mallala and the surrounding Adelaide Plains supplied buildings and streetscapes that helped create the show's rural settlements. These locations gave the series a practical, working-town feel, contrasting with the vast cattle station and the untamed national park. Indoor sequences were largely handled at Adelaide Studios, a production facility that also supported post-production. By combining location shooting with studio work, the production could move between intimate family confrontations and wide-open landscapes without losing visual consistency. The Adelaide Plains area, with its open skies and agricultural character, also helped sell the idea of a cattle empire embedded in a real community.

Darwin: The Northern Capital

Darwin, the capital city of the Northern Territory, appears in Territory as well. The city is one of Australia's most recognizable northern hubs, and its urban buildings and streets add a different flavor to the show. Specific Darwin locations have not always been singled out, but viewers familiar with the area may spot recognizable structures and streetscapes. Darwin's presence matters because it connects the remote cattle station to a larger world of business, law, and power. In a story about a family fighting over an empire, the city represents the outside forces that want a piece of Marianne Station.

The Outback in South Australia

The final confirmed filming location is the Outback in South Australia. The Outback is one of the world's largest and most famous stretches of wilderness, so it was a natural choice for a series that needed to convey isolation and scale. While watching Territory, it can be difficult to tell which scenes were shot in the Outback and which were shot in Kakadu National Park. Both locations offer red earth, distant horizons, and a sense of danger. Yet the South Australian Outback adds its own stark beauty, reinforcing the idea that the Lawson family's land is both a fortune and a trap.

Why the Locations Matter

Location	Role in Territory
Tipperary Station	Stands in for Marianne Station, the Lawson cattle empire
Kakadu National Park	Provides wilderness scenes and World Heritage landscapes
Mallala and Adelaide Plains	Supplies town and rural settings
Adelaide Studios	Handles indoor sequences and post-production
Darwin	Adds urban Northern Territory atmosphere
South Australian Outback	Delivers vast, isolated Western imagery

The locations do more than decorate the story. They shape it. Territory is about land, legacy, and who has the right to control both. By filming in real cattle country, protected parkland, small towns, a capital city, and the Outback, the series turns Australia itself into a character. In 2026, that approach still makes Territory stand out among Netflix's international dramas. The Lawson family may be fictional, but the ground they fight over is unmistakably real.