Waters made a ropey start to the three-part knockout qualifying, only sneaking through Q1 with the 20th fastest time.
From there he was rapid, though, becoming the only driver so far this weekend to dip under the 1m06s bracket in both remaining segments.
In Q2 it was a 1m05.998s that put Waters on top, before he lowered the benchmark to a 1m05.902s in Q3 to secure pole.
"She's been hooked up over one lap this weekend," said Waters. "It's been up and down a little bit, but we've got a nice little window [the car is] working in. Q1 was a bit nervous, we were 20th trying to save a set [of tyres]. But it paid off for us.
"I couldn't be happier, I've just got to convert this to a win."
Waters will be joined on the front row by Broc Feeney who led the way for the Triple Eight squad.
Mark Winterbottom qualified an impressive third ahead of Shane van Gisbergen, who was recovering from a horror run in practice yesterday.
Will Davison was the next-best Ford in fifth while hometown hero Bryce Fullwood will start from the outside of the third row.
James Golding qualified seventh ahead of PremiAir Racing teammate Tim Slade, followed by Scott Pye and Thomas Randle.
There were some genuine surprises in Q2 with neither driver from the in-form Erebus squad making it through.
Brodie Kostecki will start 11th while Will Brown was only good enough for 19th on the grid.
Practice pacesetter Anton De Pasquale was another shock omission from the final segment, particularly as he was fastest in Q1. He'll start today's first race from 12th.
"I didn't do the world's best lap, but it's so close out there," said the Shell Ford driver. "We know our car is pretty fast. We're in 12th, we'll chip from there."
Chaz Mostert, meanwhile, was surprisingly upbeat after qualifying 17th having struggled for pace in the first segment of qualifying.
"I can't be too disheartened," he said. "I felt after the first run in quali we were genuinely 26th. We had a bit of swing between the first and second set of tyres, and for us to be in Q2 was a win.
"To be a tenth and a half off Q3, and have a bit of direction where to go with the car, I'm not sad about it."
Mostert's Walkinshaw Andretti United teammate Nick Percat did actually end up dead last on the grid in what was a shocker of a session for the Ford squad.
Percat had some decent company in exiting Q1, though, with David Reynolds also bowing out with a 23rd grid spot.
The first of three sprint races kicks off at 3:25pm local time.
2023 Darwin Triple Crown qualifying results
| Cla | # | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 |  Cameron Waters |
Ford Mustang GT | 1'05.9027 | ||
| 2 | 88 | Broc Feeney | Chevrolet | 1'06.0085 | 0.1058 | 0.1058 |
| 3 | 18 | Mark Winterbottom |
Chevrolet | 1'06.1283 | 0.2256 | 0.1198 |
| 4 | 97 |  Shane van Gisbergen |
Chevrolet | 1'06.1934 | 0.2907 | 0.0651 |
| 5 | 17 | Will Davison |
Ford Mustang GT | 1'06.2747 | 0.3720 | 0.0813 |
| 6 | 14 | Bryce Fullwood |
Chevrolet | 1'06.4682 | 0.5655 | 0.1935 |
| 7 | 31 | James Golding |
Chevrolet | 1'06.5066 | 0.6039 | 0.0384 |
| 8 | 23 | Tim Slade |
Chevrolet | 1'06.6638 | 0.7611 | 0.1572 |
| 9 | 20 | Scott Pye |
Chevrolet | 1'06.7304 | 0.8277 | 0.0666 |
| 10 | 55 | Thomas Randle |
Ford Mustang GT | 1'06.7410 | 0.8383 | 0.0106 |
| 11 | 99 | Brodie Kostecki | Chevrolet | 1'06.2908 | 0.3881 | |
| 12 | 11 | Anton De Pasquale |
Ford Mustang GT | 1'06.3038 | 0.4011 | 0.0130 |
| 13 | 34 | Jack Le Brocq |
Chevrolet | 1'06.3403 | 0.4376 | 0.0365 |
| 14 | 19 | Matthew Payne | Ford Mustang GT | 1'06.3519 | 0.4492 | 0.0116 |
| 15 | 8 | Andre Heimgartner |
Chevrolet | 1'06.3860 | 0.4833 | 0.0341 |
| 16 | 35 | Cameron Hill | Chevrolet | 1'06.4383 | 0.5356 | 0.0523 |
| 17 | 25 | Chaz Mostert |
Ford Mustang GT | 1'06.4418 | 0.5391 | 0.0035 |
| 18 | 888 | Zane Goddard |
Chevrolet | 1'06.4667 | 0.5640 | 0.0249 |
| 19 | 9 | Will Brown |
Chevrolet | 1'06.5315 | 0.6288 | 0.0648 |
| 20 | 5 | James Courtney |
Ford Mustang GT | 1'06.5561 | 0.6534 | 0.0246 |
| 21 | 56 | Declan Fraser | Ford Mustang GT | 1'06.4663 | 0.5636 | |
| 22 | 3 | Todd Hazelwood |
Ford Mustang GT | 1'06.4700 | 0.5673 | 0.0037 |
| 23 | 26 | David Reynolds |
Ford Mustang GT | 1'06.4747 | 0.5720 | 0.0047 |
| 24 | 4 | Jack Smith |
Chevrolet | 1'06.4842 | 0.5815 | 0.0095 |
| 25 | 96 | Macauley Jones |
Chevrolet | 1'06.6094 | 0.7067 | 0.1252 |
| 26 | 2 | Nick Percat |
Ford Mustang GT | 1'06.7060 | 0.8033 | 0.0966 |
| View full results | ||||||
