A Scanned copy of the publication Cyclone! Christmas in Darwin 1974.
Cyclone! Christmas in Darwin 1974.
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Ansett Outlook, Vol. 20, No. 1 – Darwin Special ’75
This picture was submitted by Dr Vidya Bhushan Khurana. He writes: “Our house after the cyclone. My wife and two sons were airlifted to Melbourne the next day, I stayed on as a GP at the hospital to support.”
Cyclone Tracy – Relief Work Recollections as an Army Reserve Air Dispatcher – Melbourne and Darwin – Dec-Jan 1974/75 At the time, I lived in Melbourne and worked as a trainee accountant, with a part-time job in the Army Reserve (then the CMF – Citizen Military Forces) as 24 year-old […]
Cyclone Tracy 24th and 25th December 1974 by Murray Brunsgard 2024 Click on an image to open a larger view. Just a week or two before Tracy, there had been another cyclone but eventually it passed to the north and had very little effect, so when warnings were sounded for […]
Click on an image for a larger picture. On Boxing Day 1974, we invited our next door neighbours to dinner in our brand new Hoppers Crossing home. At that time I was based at Point Cook and was working through Christmas, except for public holidays. Helen had worked a day […]
I was four years and four months old when Cyclone Tracy tore my family apart. I remembered my Mum, Sandra, cooking the turkey early on Christmas Eve as the power went out when Cyclone Selma hit two weeks earlier, and she didn’t want to risk having raw turkey on Christmas […]
by Pat Messenger At the age of twenty seven I drove a distance of 1500 kilometres in a beaten up car with limited fuel. “How could you consider that?’ I hear you ask”. Fair enough. I would ask the same question. No windscreen or rear window. Driver’s door, so badly […]
The Darwin…Is a Way of Life (1963) booklet is a tourism and lifestyle guide that provides a vivid snapshot of Darwin in the early 1960s. Published during an era of significant growth and development in the Northern Territory, this booklet highlights the unique climate, attractions, and relaxed culture of Darwin […]
The U.B.D. Northern Territory Directory 1962-63 is a fascinating piece of memorabilia from pre-Cyclone Tracy Darwin. This directory, published by Universal Business Directories (U.B.D.), served as a comprehensive resource for residents and businesses in the Northern Territory during the early 1960s. It includes a wealth of information such as residential […]
This Telecom Australia Cyclone Tracy 20th Anniversary Commemorative Limited Edition Phonecard Pack was released in 1994 to mark two decades since Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin. The pack not only includes a $5 phonecard but also a wealth of historical information and imagery to commemorate and educate about the disaster’s impact. […]
This Telecom Phonecard was issued to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Cyclone Tracy, which devastated Darwin on 25 December 1974. It is a $5 prepaid card featuring an image of the destruction caused by the cyclone, showing damaged buildings, overturned vehicles, and debris that illustrate the extent of the disaster’s […]
This is a Continuous Entry Authority or Permanent Entry Permit issued by the Department of the Northern Territory in the aftermath of Cyclone Tracy. This surviving permit was kindly provided by Gunther Lackner. These permits were created to regulate and control access to the Darwin Cyclone Disaster Area during the […]
This is the Darwin Evacuee Identity Card, commissioned by the Australian Government as part of the emergency response to Cyclone Tracy. The card was designed to assist evacuees displaced by the disaster, certifying their status as residents of Darwin at the time of the cyclone and ensuring they received support […]
This stamp is part of the “Headline News” series issued by Australia Post in 2013, which commemorated significant events in Australian history. This particular stamp highlights Cyclone Tracy, a pivotal event in Australian history that devastated Darwin on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 1974. The design features a headline-style […]
Darwin…A Way of Life (1969) offers a vivid snapshot of life in Darwin just a few years before Cyclone Tracy changed the city forever. Published by the Department of Interior, this booklet celebrates a bustling tropical city on the rise, where modern architecture met friendly, laid-back living. It highlights […]
Darwin POW by Edward Collins (1975) is an engaging and personal account of life in Darwin shortly after Cyclone Tracy, blending humour and resilience in the face of devastation. Through witty observations and vivid storytelling, Collins captures not only the destruction caused by the cyclone but also the unique camaraderie, […]
The Darwin and Top End Holiday Booklet is a captivating glimpse into mid-20th century life and culture in Australia’s northernmost regions. This brochure serves as a celebration of the area’s rich natural beauty, cultural diversity, and unique charm. It features vivid descriptions of key attractions such as the cultural traditions […]
Darwin after Cyclone Tracy postcard folder
Written by Carroll Cox not long after the event, these accounts of Cyclone Tracy, submitted by her sister Connie, capture the profound human experience in the aftermath of the storm. This collection brings together raw, personal reflections that lay bare both the terror and the resilience felt during that night. […]
The drive home from the Bagot Aboriginal hospital ward after my night shift was dark, and the winds were wild. Matron had let us leave a bit early—there was a cyclone coming (again… we’d had one a few weeks earlier) and all the electricity was off… again. I had just […]
By Dora Pearce, Hospital Scientist at Darwin Hospital 1974-1978 Before leaving the hospital on Christmas Eve we were advised that we were “On Call” should Cyclone Tracy eventuate. Just before midnight, I telephoned the hospital to ask if I was required at the hospital because I suspected that as weather […]
I was nine when the cyclone hit. Our family—Dad (Ray Twist), Mum (Annette Twist), my brother Colin (6), and my sister Caroline (3)—had been at a neighbour’s house for a Christmas party when the wind picked up and the cyclone warnings were on the radio. People kind of ignored them […]
In the lead-up to Cyclone Tracy’s 50th anniversary, Dave Carr recounts his unforgettable experience as one of the young Kiwis living in Darwin when the cyclone struck on Christmas Eve 1974. What began as a typical holiday gathering quickly turned into a night of survival against fierce winds and flooding. […]
13 years old survivor The night of Christmas Eve where we spent opening Christmas presents as a family’s traditional Christmas Eve, I received my first ‘Watch’, so excited and cannot wait to put on the following day. I was 13yo at that time. We went to sleep with the rain […]
This is an original recording of Sue McIntyre’s (formerly Sneath) recollection about a week after the cyclone. It’s very lucid and descriptive, and may help other survivors who are still trying to piece things together, in terms of timelines and events. Sue was in the Northern suburbs, the hardest hit […]
These previously unpublished photos were submitted by Mike Coles. He writes: I was in Darwin for about three months as a PMG (later Telecom, Telstra) technician, from early January. The house with 3165 on it is where we lived for that time, at first without a roof, just tarps overhead). […]
These are some images of the devastation I’ve collected over the years. I don’t know the original source of most of these photos and don’t own the copyright.
These photos were submitted by Sally Jay of 15 Lyons Terrace, Wanguri.
Over the years I’ve been asked about the iconic twisted steel photos. Here are some that are in the public domain. I do not own copyright to these photos.
Over the years many people have asked about the spaceship house. I found these images on the web.
These pics were sent in by Scott Gibson. He wrote: “This is my Christmas present for 1974 was under the wreckage of our house I still have it they don’t build them like this anymore”.
These pictures were submitted by Graeme Bell. He wrote: “Bell family, 292 Casuarina Drive, Nightcliff. Jim and wife Win (Winifred / Freddy) Bell had nearly finished the construction of a new two storey brick home in front of the older timber fibro single storey house. Tracy brought forward the intended […]
This picture was submitted by Gene Moyle. Gene wrote “This picture is of me as a young child (2.5 yrs) – Gene Moyle (nee Barrell) after evacuation to Brisbane following cyclone Tracy. This photo was on Page 4 of The Sunday Mail Colour Magazine, Picture Book 12, from 19th January […]
These photos were submitted by John Horn. He wrote “This was our house on the RAAF base”.
T This photo was submitted by Angela O’Neil. She wrote: “I took this photo of our house at 6 Shepherd St Darwin (which runs between Cavenagh and Woods Streets in the middle of Darwin City), on 25th December 1974, the morning after the cyclone hit. We weren’t able to spend […]
Cyclone Tracy had a sound; it was the most terrorizing sound I have ever heard. The sound of literally millions of sheets of corrugated iron being scraped across the ground at 250 kilometres per hour and crashing into rather flimsily built fibreboard buildings. Homes exploded off their stilts, leaving people […]
In 1974, I was working with the Electricity Generating Board in Queensland. I was at my fiancé’s house celebrating Christmas when I received a call to mobilise with tools and depart for Darwin as soon as possible. That afternoon, we had to get medical injections, and the following day (Boxing […]
When tropical Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin I’d been living there 18 months in a typical wooden house on high stumps, with a steep pitched iron roof in Searcy Street behind the Post Office where I’d let a couple of rooms to fellow travellers. I had a temporary position cleaning planes […]
From Danny’s sister Georgia: “Danny was always passionate about Cyclone Tracy and that it be remembered as a significant event in our history. He produced a small concert at the gardens for the 30th Anniversary. This also got media coverage which may be available in the ABC (?) files. We […]
Darwin Harbour 24th December 1974 “If this wheelhouse goes, we’re Dead Forward: This is the story of two young people’s experience of the fury of Cyclone Tracy on Darwin Harbour. John Howard and Lynda Burke met in August 1974 when Lynda joined the crew of the NR Robinson. They soon […]
Cyclone Tracy – 25th December 1974 My name is Antony Bullock, and this is my story. Christmas Eve 1974 marked a particularly special occasion for me for several reasons. It was my last year in primary school, and I was going to start high school in January. I was just […]
(As recalled, Fifty Year’s on – Christmas Eve, 2024) At some point in almost everyone’s life, there will come a moment when you are faced with a situation that may be terrifying, tragic, impossible to comprehend, life threatening, or simply very unfair. My wife and I and our six week’s […]
Cyclone Tracy, 24 December 1974 Julie Brimson It was sometime in early June 1974 when I found out I was pregnant with our second child, with a due date of 29 January 1975. Given that our first baby, a daughter, was born in Adelaide, we were so pleased that this […]
Our Cyclone Tracy Memories (The Night from Hell) Michelle Walker Roberts (aged 21), Deb Walker Hendry (aged 14), and Jannine Walker Hardy (aged 12) It was Christmas Eve 1974, and Michelle’s 21st birthday was pending on Christmas Day (luckily, we had the party the weekend before). Our interstate relatives staying […]
Cyclone Tracy – Darwin, 24th & 25th December 1974 In 2014, on the 40th anniversary of Cyclone Tracy, I retyped our memories and added to them. Cyclone Tracy Meteorological Bureau Vital Statistics: Size: Gales extended to about 40 km from the centre. Diameter of the eye: about 12 km at […]
Cyclone Tracy Hi, my name was Gjoka Nicovic then, now Nicaj. I was 8 years old and remember most of it like it was yesterday. We lived on McMillans Road in Millner back then. Now I live in Sydney, having been flown out a couple of days after Tracy. It […]
I’m like most survivors; Tracy doesn’t go away. In the unforgiving grip of Cyclone Tracy on Christmas morning in 1974, our Nightcliff unit transformed into a battleground. Huddled in the bathroom, knowing this wasn’t going away, we endured harrowing noises, with walls seemingly pulsating in and out, inflicting pain on […]
I spent two years at Larrakeyah Barracks, arriving about a month after Cyclone Tracy with thousands of other troops. After many others left, I was asked if I would stay on with 711 Supply Company. The barracks had sustained a lot of damage—I remember them being open to the weather, […]
December 24, 1974. Living in Jingili near Rapid Creek. I was on maternity leave from the Attorney-General’s Department, approximately eight and a half months pregnant with my first child. Around 11:30 am, I attended a Christmas party at the Civic Centre. Before leaving home, I filled the bath, secured any […]
My wife Rosemarie and I lived in Darwin at the time of Cyclone Tracy. We arrived in early August 1974 from England with the object of earning money to fund future travels. We were newly married and as I had previously lived in Darwin I had contacts at the hospital […]
We all looked into our mirrors as we left Tracy behind we’d done nothing to upset her but she had not been very kind trashed Darwin in her anger dashed children’s Christmas joys scattered homes and houses all the wrapping and the toys Dawn on The Stuart Highway the year […]
TRACY…. DARWIN…. CHRISTMAS….’74 It started with a warning As one the week before A cyclone was arriving And trouble was in store We filled the bath with water Took pictures off the wall Put blankets in the bathroom But Selma did not call The wind was just a whisper […]
I think that I was one of four men who went through Cyclone Tracey twice! ————- On Christmas Eve 1974 I was working in Pilot Briefing at Darwin Airport. I was one of three recently qualified Air Traffic Controllers had been transferred from Adelaide to Darwin in July 1974, and […]
In 1974, I was the District Officer for the Commonwealth Department of the Northern Territory (formerly the Department of the Interior) in Katherine. I recall after the Christmas Day church service in the Anglican Church in Katherine, I was with Andy McNeill the local police officer. We were eating prawns […]
From my diary – Also online at http://www.pikle.co.uk/journal/1974/Dec1974.html 24-30 December, Darwin CYCLONE TRACY And suddenly it is Christmas Eve. Work [at the power station] isn’t really work (yesterday it was quite interesting – we had to take the complete two ton end of the cylinder off – I was a […]
Bath filled with water; windows taped. Ironically all the new sliding windows would be smashed to smithereens and only the kitchen louvres would survive Tracy. My mother Flo wisely put some children’s clothing in a suitcase. Swinging power lines gave way to the din of roofing hitting the bitumen in […]
Christmas in Darwin was always something quite different from that experienced anywhere down south. There really was no ‘silly season’ as such, probably because the ‘silly season’ lasts twelve months up there. Before the introduction of Remote Locality Leave Travel, it was normal for personnel on a two-year posting to […]
In approximately October 1972 my family (Dad, Mum and 4 kids aged 2, 4, 6 + 8) moved from Victor Harbour South Australia to Darwin, as my Father’s employer, Mr Ian Cocks had tasked him to build a Darwin branch of the Adelaide based concrete production business known as “Direct […]
The below files are copies of pages from the now no longer published Electronics Australia Magazine. The article outlines the role Myself and my wife along with the many Australian Amateur radio operators played in the immediate post cyclone communications out of Darwin. We moved from Darwin to Northern NSW […]
My husband Lou and I had only arrived in Darwin 6 months before Cyclone Tracy with our three little sons, Justin, four years old, and twins Shannon and Paul, three years old. We had settled happily in our Thornton Crescent, Moil home, a very sturdy home built by Watkins Builders […]
This is not my story but that written by late wife, Mary Fox, shortly after Cyclone Tracy. It is the personal account of our experience during and immediately after CT. Mary passed away on 30 May 2022. Robert Fox An Account of Cyclone Tracy by Mary Fox, January 1975. […]
At the time of Cyclone Tracy I was living as a young Army wife in Larrakeyah Barracks where my husband was posted. I was in the early months of my first pregnancy and working as a Community Nurse based at the Parap Centre. At the time of Tracy I was […]
I flew, with our four children, to Darwin on 2 November 1974, my birthday, with a couple of suitcases, just clothes, bedding and a few bits and pieces. The rest of our belongings were very few and arranged to be delivered in about 2 months. John had secured a home […]
By Christmas 2024, it will be the 50th Anniversary of Cyclone Tracy, the fiercest and most destructive cyclone that destroyed Darwin. Here is our story of escape and survival of Cyclone Tracy. At the time, my wife Penelope and I were staying with my wife’s parents, Colin and Clara Royes, […]
Each year during “Cyclone Season” (November to February) every week or two we would listen to the “Woomp Woomp Woomp Cyclone Alert ! Cyclone Alert !” on radio and television until most people including Velia (my wife) and I just became very complacent. In fact 3 weeks before Tracy I […]
The War Cry – Salvation Army – Saturday, December 17, 1994 – Cyclone Tracy 20th Anniversary Special
The Weekend Australian 1994 – 20th Anniversary Cyclone Tracy special Part 2
The Advertiser – Weekend Magazine – Life After Tracy to Hell and Back – 10 December 1994
The Australian Magazine 16-17 December 1989 – After Tracy Darwin, 15 Years On
The Christmas Santa Never Came (Santa never came, instead Tracey came) Christmas eve 1974 had more than the usual anticipation. Cyclone warnings had beenblaring on the hour all day. We could almost say it off by heart, but did not really thinkall the precautions would be necessary. After all we […]
According to folklore, there’s two eras in this town: Before Tracy and After. A simplistic assessment—just ask the Larrakia People—but it’s still an accepted ‘fact’. Merry Christmas, 1974. Take that up your clacker, Darwin. Plenty has been said about that mean little system—that bitch Tracy who almost wiped this northern capital off the map.
You can never understand me You don’t understand me, I could tell you a million times About Cyclone Tracy Christmas Eve 74, But you were not there… If you look at Darwin that morning, The debris is all that is in me, It is me. And I have been trying […]
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