[Suzanne rose]

50 Years Since Australia's Worst Natural Disaster Cyclone Tracy​

I was 13 at the time and woke up Christmas Morning to the devastating news of Cyclone Tracy.
This was my very first time that I donated money.


Cyclone Tracy, which hit Darwin in the small hours of Christmas Day 1974, killed 66 people and devastated 80 per cent of the city.
Cyclone Tracy, which hit Darwin in the small hours of Christmas Day 1974, killed 66 people and devastated 80 per cent of the city.

In the days and weeks following the disaster, most of the traumatised population left the city.

On 28 February 1975 the Whitlam government established the Darwin Reconstruction Commission, which effectively rebuilt the city within three years. Darwin’s near complete destruction led to the introduction of improved building codes across Australia.

Christmas Day 1974​

Darwin, indeed the whole of northern Australia, is no stranger to cyclones. However, Cyclone Tracy, which hit Darwin in the small hours of Christmas Day 1974, was among the most destructive ever recorded in Australia. Its vital statistics make for frightening reading:

• wind gusts reached 217 km/h before the anemometer was destroyed
• gales extended to about 40 kilometres from the cyclone’s centre
• there was a storm surge of 1.6 metres in Darwin’s harbour; an estimated 4 metres at Casuarina Beach
• 255 mm of rain fell in 12 hours overnight, 145 mm in the two half-hour periods on either side of the eye of the cyclone
• 66 people were killed
• 145 people were seriously injured; more than 500 received minor injuries
• about 70 per cent of houses suffered serious structural failure
• the total damage bill topped $800 million

Santa Never Made It to Darwin
On Christmas Eve of '74 the warning sounded out
For all the broadcast stations, a great storm was near about
The boys and girls asleep in bed, tomorrow was the day
Their mums and dads all prayed the mighty storm would turn away
Santa never made it into Darwin
Disaster struck at dawn on Christmas day
Santa never made it into Darwin
A big wind came and blew the town away
Christmas morning was a nightmare as Cyclone Tracy struck
It ripped apart the buildings like an atom bomb had struck
It twisted iron girders and it flattened all the trees
The might of such a cyclone must be seen to be believed
Santa never made it into Darwin
Disaster struck at dawn on Christmas day
Santa never made it into Darwin
A big wind came and blew the town away
Many boats put out to sea, very few returned
Most were foundered on the rocks or in deep seas overturned
Australia was shocked and saddened as the news came through
The devastated city must be built anew
That suffering and heartbreak could happen in this way
A natural disaster could come on Christmas day
Santa never made it into Darwin
Disaster struck at dawn on Christmas day
Santa never made it into Darwin
A big wind came and blew the town away
Santa never made it into Darwin
Disaster struck at dawn on Christmas day
Santa never made it into Darwin
A big wind came and blew the town away
A big wind came and blew the town away

 

[Littleboy8]

I went to Darwin in 1979 and my friend and I got jobs at the Darwin hospital changing there paper work to the computer system.
It was horrible seeing all the devastation even after five years and learning the truth about how many people really died.we actually had to sign a form swearing that we wouldn’t divulge the truth about how many of the aborigine population that actually died. It was really sad

 

[Suzanne rose]

I went to Darwin in 1979 and my friend and I got jobs at the Darwin hospital changing there paper work to the computer system.
It was horrible seeing all the devastation even after five years and learning the truth about how many people really died.we actually had to sign a form swearing that we wouldn’t divulge the truth about how many of the aborigine population that actually died. It was really sad

I think this is something we need to remember.
I heard the death toll was higher than they said.

Very very sad