It was an abandoned lot where a building burnt down half a decade ago, but for Manu Etchegoyen, a professional skater and surveyor, it was the perfect slab of concrete for a DIY skate park.

Manu and his brother began constructing rails and ledges and brought in wooden ramps, road work equipment and chairs to flip over.

Now, on any given day, a group of up to 30 skaters of all ages can be found practising at the secret location until dark, all with one thing in common; they have nowhere else to go.

"The Northern Territory is the only place where there's no proper skate parks," Manu says.

As councils and governments across Australia pour money into new skate parks, recognising their value as low-cost, high-impact spaces for young people, skaters in Darwin say the local facilities are "ou

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