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In the early hours of Christmas Day in 1974, Cyclone Tracy unleashed her wrath upon Darwin and surrounds, claiming 66 lives and destroying around 90 percent of the city's housing.
This December, the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) opens the new permanent Cyclone Tracy exhibition to mark 50 years since the destructive natural disaster changed our landscape, and lives, forever.
By Tierney White
ON CHRISTMAS EVE in 1974, children reluctantly retired to bed, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the man in the big red suit as gifts were placed neatly under Christmas trees dripping in tinsel. What they woke to was far from festive cheer, but the screeching sounds of Category 4 winds ripping sheets of corrugated iron from buildings, glass shattering, and concerned yells of neighbours.
For anyone that was there that fateful night, it was utterly terrifying.
Across Darwin, residents were ill-prepared for the onslaught Tracy unleashed, the cyclone originally predicted to scoot by without penalty. But a late turn in her trajectory and previous warnings not eventuating into massive cyclones meant residents were taken by surprise.
This momentous event in the Territory’s history, experienced by so many still around today, will forever stand out as a significant punctuation mark in their lives.
Jared Archibald, Curator of Territory History at MAGNT, has been tasked with leading the team to consolidate this harrowing collective experience into the new exhibition. When asked if he’s felt pressure to get it right, given its delicate nature, his answer is quick, and with conviction.
“Oh, absolutely. One of the problems I have, as a curator, is I’m not a survivor. I did not go through Cyclone Tracy – I have talked to large numbers of people who have, and people that have been affected by it – but we need to get it absolutely correct,” he says.
“We have to make sure that we are doing justice to all of the stories, and the experiences, and the people that went through it.”
Archibald points out that the trauma experienced wasn’t limited to those that were there when the cyclone rolled through, and that, for many, it is still experienced five decades later.
“Also, those that came afterwards and helped. Thousands of defence force people came and helped – Army, Navy – to assist. And they went through their own traumas and problems, the things that they saw, and the things that they had to do,” he says.
“We have to make sure that we are not being flippant, that we are not in any way denigrating the memory of Cyclone Tracy or belittling it, but making sure that people understand that it was something that affected 45,000 people, and that it continues to, to this day.”
MAGNT is the natural home for such an exhibition, the Territory’s premier cultural institution founded in 1966 to tell the stories of the NT and its people, its original site also wiped out in the natural disaster. Cyclone Tracy is a momentous story that occurred for Darwin and the people that lived it, and thousands of locals and visitors can learn about the event that affected so many.
The previous exhibition was given a gracious send-off in September, with history buffs given the chance to don their 70s get-ups, peruse the retro diorama – you know the one – and enter the Cyclone Tracy sound booth featuring real sound recordings from that fateful night.
The revamped exhibition features many of the same elements, with updated imagery and stories interwoven, as intensive research by the MAGNT team has uncovered new stories.
“We’re here to tell the thousands of stories – we can’t tell them all – but we can dip into those and give people a sense of what it might have been like to be inside Cyclone Tracy, but also, for those who survived it, to give them something that they can bring friends and family to, and to remember and look back on what happened to them on Christmas Day in 1974,” Archibald says.
One family’s story that is shared is the McDougall family. Their smiling faces, that somehow cut through the devastation they would have been experiencing, grace the cover of this edition, demonstrating that resilience we know so many Territorians contain.
Jean and Bruce, their children Di, Paul and Russell, and their dog Charger and cat Milly, had their house flattened by Tracy. Corroborating how little they knew about what was to come, Jean says they were enjoying festive celebrations on Christmas Eve.
“We had a Christmas party, but finally convinced everyone to leave at midnight. The children were asleep. We got the children out of bed and sheltered in the linen press, one on each shelf, with the dog and the cat.”
Jean reflects on what it was like to experience Tracy, and what she and her family were confronted with on Christmas Day.
“It’s hard to believe. It was deadly silent. We were so thankful to be alive. We found our next-door neighbours in the carport Bruce had just built, minus the roller door! We checked on other neighbours in the immediate area, and were thankful to see movement,” she says.
“When we went to pick up bikes hidden at a friend’s house, we were knee-deep in water, and it was very windy.”
In the aftermath, the family – like so many – had to do what it needed to get through the following weeks.
“We sent the children to relatives in Melbourne, where they remained for six weeks. Bruce helped with the rebuilding of Darwin, and I started work at the Darwin Community College. We were very lucky, but determined to rebuild, added a carport, and continued to live there.”
This is just one account of what was experienced that night, so you can imagine how many other stories the MAGNT team have unearthed as people have opened up to share, 50 years later.
“It’s a huge process, with lots of reading, lots of talking to people, lots of finding people that are willing to talk about their experience of Cyclone Tracy, and not all of that is survivors,” Archibald says.
“I’ve talked to people that drove coaches from Alice Springs to Darwin to pick up people … I’ve talked to people that were kids, and these kids from Darwin turn up at their schools in 1975 in Melbourne, and they still remember their names – they had nothing to do with them before or after, but they still remember their names, 50 years later.
“I’ve spoken to people who flew out on aircraft during the evacuation, and the captain of one of the Royal Australian Navy support boats who survived, and that’s another incredible story of how many ships survived on the harbour when so many didn’t.”
This moving permanent exhibition offers the chance to reflect and appreciate the life-changing event experienced by so many. It also demonstrates the resilience of the incredible Darwin community, and that, somehow, an entire city rose from the ground after being flattened.
Go and see it. It’s impossible not to be moved, nor to be in complete awe of this incredible place we call home.
Cyclone Tracy Exhibition
WHEN DAILY (EXC. PUB HOL) 10AM-4PM | SAT 7 DEC (EXHIBITION OPENS)
AT MAGNT
Live ABC Radio Darwin Broadcast
WHEN SAT 7 DEC | 9AM
Talk | A Cyclone for Christmas – a walkthrough of the new Cyclone Tracy exhibition
Join Territory History Curators, Jared Archibald and Paige Taylor, as they share the extraordinary stories behind the new interactive displays, images and objects.
WHEN EVERY MON, WED & FRI (FROM 9-23 DEC) | 11AM-12PM
AT MAGNT
Screening | Tracy: Cyclone Tracy ABC Documentary
ABC reflects on the event, the survivors, and their stories, in this special one-hour documentary. Using firsthand accounts from those who survived, and digging deep into the ABC’s archives for the incredible footage of the day, Tracy tells the story of one of the most powerful moments in Australia’s history, and how Darwin still stands strong 50 years later.
A special partnership between MAGNT and ABC, you’re invited to head along to the world premiere. Stick around for a live Q&A session with survivors and local Darwinites.
WHEN SAT 21 DEC, 6PM | SUN 22 DEC, 2PM
AT MAGNT
INFO magnt.net.au
Header & top inset: Cyclone damage in suburban Darwin. Gift of Barry and Carol Ebert, 2024, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, 2024.017.034
Thumbnail & bottom inset: 'McDougall Family of Wagaman with their House Destroyed by Cyclone Tracy', 1974. Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
