choose to personalise their plates lies in the surrounding landscape and the identity of those living within it.

"It's so different to everywhere else and there's a freedom of spirit, maybe a greater sense of fun and a greater sense of getting away from the norm," she said.

"I guess they [Australian states and territories] all have their own spirits but the Northern Territory seems to have a sort of special quirky one."

As well as collating pictures, Ms Joseph asked some people to tell her the story behind their number plates.

One of the first stories she was told was of a number plate that read CARPDM.

"It was somebody who'd been unwell and depressed and sad but picked their life up again and chose a starting point by buying a newcar and a new number plate," she said.

Other number plates that were among Ms Joseph's favourites were POOGURU — a man who wanted to illustrate he was often in trouble with his wife — and FUNSIZ — a young woman with a sense of humour about her height.

Personalised number plates in the NT, and the reasons people choose the combinations they do, is a fascinating topic for Simon Moss, an associate professor of psychology at Charles Darwin University.

He said while no formal studies had been conducted it was clear that Territorians liked to be unique.

"The [Northern] Territory is about expressing yourself, much more so than other states and territories," he said.

"I think a lot of people move to the NT because they don't want to conform and in