Tracy: A Force of Nature | ABC Australia
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- Опубліковано 3 лют 2025
- It was the darkest Christmas in Australia’s history. Sixty-six dead, 41,000 left homeless, and 70 per cent of the northern capital destroyed.
Christmas Day 1974, and the once-tropical paradise of Darwin was reduced to rubble, razed to the ground as a severe tropical cyclone carved a path of destruction through the Top End, ripping homes from their foundations, tossing cars through the air, and snapping steel poles like matchsticks.
Small but intense, Cyclone Tracy was like no other system before, or after it, in Australia. Its unexpected path to the city saw winds reach 217 kilometers an hour, before all weather instruments were destroyed by the ferocity.
For those who lived through the terror that was Christmas Eve 50 years ago, their lives would never be the same. In this one-hour ABC special narrated by Leigh Sales, survivors tell of the tragedy and triumph in the days, months and years that followed. From the terrifying moment the storm hit, to the carnage it left in its wake, to the mass evacuation of its population, and eventually, the determination it took to rebuild a city that was wiped out by nature.
A warning some viewers may find the content in this video distressing.
📽 Video produced by Matt Garrick, Andie Smith and Michael Franchi.
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I'm going to watch this :) my dad was one of those who went to Darwin and helped get the electricity back (electrician).. i'm such a proud daughter
Mine too.
He was Navy & assisted with clean-up
Showing my age as a young un but was it as b ad as was sa i d?
I was 9 yrs old when Tracy hit and blow away our home. Your program is the everything i remember . Thank you to all the people that told their stories ❤
I have never forgotten the sound of Tracy. She just screamed. Thanks for the doco. I haven't watched anything about it since the evacuation, so I hope I can watch this to the end.
My Grandfather in Sydney reached out to people he knew in Darwin using HAM radio and assisted with the SES coordination after Cyclone Tracy. This changed the way SES communicated in Australia. He was awarded an OBE, got written up in the newspaper and was awarded a silver tea service from the Wireless Institute of Australia in December 1954.
Thanks for your comment, and thanks to your grandfather for his contribution, all those years ago.
Even nowadays with mobile cellphones, 4g/5g wireless internet and satellites etc, there is still a place for Ham/Licenced Amateur Radio Operators, to help out during emergencies and times of crisis, when normal communications can become disabled and overwhelmed.
I encourage those people who are able to make the commitment, to help out within their local communities, whether it be SES/Civil Defence, volunteer Fire and Rescue, or the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications, and other similar groups.
Whether it be Southern Storms and Floods, Northern Cyclones, bushfires, earthquakes or whatever. People helping people. Note that for shorter distance communication some people can use the, no-licence-required UHF CB radio system. cheero from Catherine ZL3CATH
Who’s here Boxing Day 2024?!
Just watched the documentary Black Saturday. Makes you feel grateful for what you have today ❤
Thank you ABC for allowing Australians to come together here and comment on this horrific event in time. I was not there, but was an avid weather follower. Still am. I remember the devastation all Australians felt when we saw the footage beamed into our homes. RIP to all those who lost their lives.
I was 8 years old when Tracy hit Darwin We were 40 people at our house for our Christmas Eve party We were all saved because a grandfather of a friend saved us Even though I live in Greece now I still remember that Christmas Eve
I'm laying here in bed, at 4am (Sydney time) Christmas Day, 2024 - exactly 50 years after Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin, watching this video. I was 2 years old when this happened, so I don't remember it happening, but have read countless books, and watched numerous videos on this tragedy.
For those who were in Darwin at Christmas 1974 - I'm thinking of you.
Merry Christmas everyone! 🎄💖🇭🇲
I was 10 when Tracy hit Darwin, I can vaguely remember seeing it on TV. I did visit Darwin in 1979, and you could still see, as the person said, evidence of the destruction. I have been in a cyclone before, but to hear these survivors talk, Tracy was more than a cyclone. It is hard to believe that it has been 50 years.
I was Six at the time. We came from Cairns, and we travelled up to Darwin to spend Christmas with our relatives when Tracy hit! We bunkered down at my Aunty Winnie's house; it was a double brick house, so the walls held up, but we watched in horror as half of the roof was ripped off. And the house was shaking and rocking like in an earthquake -- a Brick house rocking from side to side! And noise was just this Howling and Roaring and then came the actual wind gusts blasting like waves breaking over the beach; a deafening woooshing and crash, we couldn't hear ourselves talking to each other! I remember too, as a result of this the locals formed C.R.E.S.T which stood for Citizens Radio Emergency Services Team; everyone bought CB radios after Tracy.
wow! incredible!
I was there and our house blew down around us but that Xmas day was the happiest day of my life just because I was alive. So thanks ABC for acknowledging that and the utter chaos of the evacuation. One thing everyone always misses is the terror that spread like wildfire with the rumor that Tracy had turned back in its tracks and would hit Darwin again with increased force on Xmas night
Thank you everyone for sharing your stories. I realise how hard it must be to bring up some of these horrific memories.
Great stuff ABC 👍
Been looking fwd to this.
An event that shocked us, from the stories & limited footage shown throughout the past 50 years.
I was only 9 but always remember this tragedy.
Well done Australia for the outpouring of love & help towards the good folk of Darwin at the time 👏👏
🇦🇺✌️❤️
Dad was part of the Navy cleanup crew…He was actually born in Darwin but was based in Sydney when it unfolded. He shared many stories. I was 13 when I moved to Darwin with him in 94 and the oldies would tell us of this period of devastating events. I remember it was the 20 th anniversary that year. I lived there until 2002. Still have a place in my heart for Darwin. Dad RIP. “Love you Darwin”. As the TVjingle would say.
My heart goes out to all those who lost loved ones on that day. My brother was one of them. He worked on a prawn trawler and they were sent out to ride out the storm . He never returned. I find this hard to watch as it just stirs up unresolved grief. Christmas day was never the same again and my parents never got over losing their first born son on such a traumatic Christmas day ! 😢
So sorry 😢
My Canadian girlfriend and I were there. We had arrived in Darwin on Dec 14th.
The Australian government looked after us. It was of no concern to them that we were backpackers.
I have been a proud Australian citizen since 1986
My father had juts arrived in beautiful Darwin from the former Yugoslavia and this was his first Christmas in australia.he never forgot it and told me stories about it all them time .he left for Sydney 3 months later and never returned.🙏🙏🙏🙏
I was 12 years old then. Dad in the Army and we lived in Larrakeyah Barracks. 50 years. Looking back now how brave my mum and dad were...scared themselves but trying to protect my brother, sister and myself. Roofs caving in on top of us and finding protecttion in a broom cupboard. Mum trying calm us by trying to sing christmas carols while dad was out trying to secure the surrondings. It will be a night i will never forget. 62 years of age now and still so scared of winds. Its something i would never wish on any living soul
My cousin Robbie is a fitter and turner or something like that, he went to rebuild and stayed there, he was 18. Thankyou Rob, and his friend Shaun, they made a life for themselves in Darwin. Thankyou Rob McClelland. Unsung heroes. 👍🇦🇺 we are Australians, we are tough, but we all will never forget those heroes or the victims and the people of Darwin. 🇦🇺 on that Christmas Day.
My family moved to Darwin after Cyclone Tracy. My dad was a tradie and helped to rebuild the town. I'm so happy that I grew up in Darwin. I made lifelong friends who I am still in contact with today.
I worked with a lady who lived through Tracey. She was one of the first returnees who held a tupperware party. There were so many sales via her party that she got the entire range of tupperware as a hostess gift. Everyone needed to replace their tupperware. I am guessing, but I imagine the amount of sales that day were the highest Tupperware had ever had.
I really enjoyed this show, I went through Tracy as an 8 year old and let me tell you it was Horrific, although I don't think about it much anymore until now.. Brings back so many memories ❤
My grandfather and uncle were survivors of Tracy. Christmas Day was also my grandfather’s birthday, and one he said he would never forget. He would always say he has never experienced a night so cold. They lost a close friend/neighbour overnight. When reminiscing and telling the story every year, it was like he was transported back to that day.
Great doco, well done Leigh & team 👏👏 I was a teen then & remember gradually starting to see more & more about it on the news & everyone talking about it everywhere. I didn't know anyone who'd seen or experienced anything like it in our history, so shocking - not like today, where natural disasters are almost a year-round occurrence around our country... So interesting hearing the stories & perspectives of the older folk who were interviewed, some still very emotional at the memory... I lost my home in Lismore in 2022 & we all experienced much of what was spoken about in this video - that surreal place of everything being okay when nothing was okay; the kindness & generosity of strangers, of ordinary Australians; the shelters set up at the uni & sports centre, where we could sleep & were fed, donations of books & toys to help pass the time; the 'hubs' that opened up in all the flood-affected towns, providing practically everything you'd imagine you'd need or could use, by generous people from all over Oz...
The true Aussie spirit does come out at times like this, as it does world-wide. My first trip to Darwin was about 10 years ago, all thoughts of Tracy lost from my mind decades before, but like us when it rains, the trauma is still triggered by big winds for some locals. I pray neither of those disasters ever happen again 🙏🙏
My mother & stepfather lived in a caravan park in Fannie Bay, the owner gathered them to sit in his brick built house, they survived but when they came out , there were just concrete pads where the caravans had been. Days later their ginger cat appeared unharmed & they set off down west coast to Geraldton where people helped them with clothes etc.
Mum did well & survived until she was 104 ❤❤
Great documentary. Credit to ABC and people of Darwin. Best wishes from Melbourne.
Thank you, to the makers of this documentary,and the brave survivors that shared their stories. I am happy that Darwin was rebuilt and still exists, because one day I hope to visit this beautiful resilient town, that I've never been to. It's courageous to rebuild a town in the very place that it was devastated by nature...... Nature can be wonderful and awesome for 95 percent of the time, but then it can be so cruel and merciless the other 5 percent...... People pray to God, but I hope that they realise, that nature is the only real non fictional/ mythical God that we have......I was a sixteen year old in Melbourne, when cylone Tracey struck Darwin.
May peace and love be with us all.....
Without a doubt, Cyclone Tracy of Christmas 1974 was one of Australia’s worst natural disasters, however a silver lining to come out of Tracy was that it served as a catalyst to improve Australia’s disaster resilience in Cyclone prone areas of the country, with improved building standards to lessen the amount of destruction, and taught the nation to never be complacent with the weather.
50 years ago today - I remember it like yesterday - I must be getting old. One of my dads best mates went there towing a caravan for a holiday a few weeks before it happened to visit his daughter who lived there. Tracy then hit. The caravan was trashed betond repair and his blue V8 Valiant ute drove back to Melbourne with massive drivers side damage with (Tracy done it) written done the side with a black chisel point marker!
I loved Roland Chin story....and hearing a full blown Aussie accent from a gentleman from Asia....heartwarming :)
I was 2 when Cyclone Tracy came on the news in Victoria. I have a very vague memory of my parents reaction to this dreadful disaster.
Have been to Darwin several times over the years & each time l go back there l feel like l am home. I love the uniqueness of Territorians, their sense of humour & the wonderful laidback lifestyle.
Having lived in the tropics (through a couple of cyclones) watching this documentary, hearing the wind & corrugated iron brings back flashbacks of the unpredictability of cyclones, torrential rains followed by very cold weather.
Seeing those who lost loved ones & hearing their stories was extremely sad but very courageous that these people shared their (beyond terrible) experiences on camera.
The generosity of Australians in the aftermath of this terrible storm was truly unprecedented & the fact that Darwin not only survived WWII then Cyclone Tracy is a testiment to the resistant Territorians who lived through both.
Thank you for your courage & guts 50 years on from that terrible Christmas. Darwin is my most favorite city Australia wide.
❤❤🇦🇺🇦🇺
Back in 1981/2 it was still big news. My family were new to Australia and I was 7. Cyclone Tracey and Azaria Chamberlain were the only things I knew about in those first few weeks of arrival. It’s hard to believe it’s been 50 years. It doesn’t feel that long.
Very interesting piece of Australian history
I often fail to realise that many people today were not born when Tracey happened.
I was 11 years old and can remember what huge news this was. The entire country was in shock.
Very well done, always remember who we are “We’re Australian”🇦🇺
I remember growing up in Darwin and when driving down Trower Rd at CSC (Casuarina Secondary College), there was a memorial structure, and it was a set of train tracks that was twisted into circles from the 60+km winds and I always fascinated by that memorial structure.
Our history, even though I was born in 1990 in Western Sydney, it’s still Our History
My mum was in Cyclone Tracy. She said it was like a nightmare. I experienced a few while living in Port Hedland but nothing compared to Cyclone Tracy.
david johnsons my granddad ❤
Rebornll … did your grandfather ever live in Port Moresby / PNG?…
I remember this day well. Been to Darwin to see the aftermath. Have experienced many cyclones up the top end but Tracy was devastating 😢
I am from Gove and remember it as a 8 year old. It was heading for Gove at one stage . We were battering down the night before and can remember the warning sound on the radio all that night on xmas eve. That sound still gives me the creeps today
Came to live in Gove a couple of years after Tracy from Sth and met folks there that were in Darwin at the time and so traumatised telling their stories Can still picture and hear those stories as if yesterday.
The longest night of my life was in Townsville during Cyclone Yasi, nothing like a natural disaster to bring out the best of Australian's 🇦🇺
I was living in Perth during that time frame. In that era. So it is safe to mention. That cyclones were going on during that time TOO 3:36
Christmas Day 1974 was also a Wednesday. Dad was aged 22, a miracle he and family survived without a scratch, there definitely are Guardian Angels! Love the Australian made classic cars, what happened to the Australian auto industry?
To say no one knew what had happened is incorrect.Depends who you were,I got news pretty quick that my home town was devestated,I had only just moved to further south in NT.We all rallied round immediately to help those coming thru in cars,even had some stay with us as they had no one down south to go to.
My name is Tracie. I had never heard of this horrible cyclone and it's destruction. So very sorry😢
really enjoyed this show. cheers
to Darwin
I SENT CLOTHING AND MONEY UP 💰
Darwin captured my heart ❤
I remember Boxing Day we were on our way to Surfers Paradise from Melbourne when we heard. I was 13 years old. When l was 42, l went to Darwin and found my biological family as l'd been adopted in Melbourne as a baby They had no idea l existed, yet welcomed me and told me some horrific stories of Tracy. The roof of the house had been blown off, and unfortunately, a large part of the family photo collection had gone. The house had been rebuilt like many others with a cement roof. Everyone had thankfully survived though.
I was 6 months old, my mother an i was held up at Berrimah pub, my father may his soul rest in peace chained down our mildar caravan an took the rims off an concrete the chains he put over the top board the windows, an locked him self in, the only thing that was still standing in place for miles, the first re enactment at museum, was to much for me, might ov only been 6 months old but body remembers, never again, been in a few cyclone seens then, but my father knew 3 days before it hit, y he sent us to start staying at the bermar pub y he started his preparations to ride it Tracey in the Van
i went in the darwin for 4 years & visited the musem about 2006 in this dark room was listening to cyclone Tracy howl over speakers then this man next to me said what you think it sounded like the devil i said he was the paster who bravely went in a tall building and recorded tracy on his cassette recorder people you meet small world
i remember a yellow volxwagon parked in our vic country town near the grampians 1970s painted on it tracy it did this had a few dints .
met the mob who weekly sat on the darwin warf old men then who all had a part in construction rebuilding darwin .
worked with a man who stayed in there house bathtub as tracy howled by next day they couldnt believe nothing around them was standing 1/2 there house survived
steel power poles as in sa why the power got got back on quicker unlike vic loads rotten wooden poles A country covered in steel make you think why wood
Absolutely terrifying
I'm so proud to be Australian.
Amazing history .
🤔🤔 The resilience of the Australian character edge and style is a reminder to me , on the notions of:
Recovery , teamwork, toughness and leadership skills.
And I am grateful, for being able to both listen, hear and absorb these historical perspectives as a mature adult , as one can understand the gravity and importance , and seriousness of these scenarios and trials , and 🤔 sensitivity with it too ; absent from youngens as the youthful mind , doesn't quite get .
So I really appreciate those aspects .
Never been to Darwin . (Except the airport on the way to Indonesia and changed planes) thus not familiar with it .
Australians know I am not travel envious . Hence, consider visiting western Victoria and provided they abstain from assuming or presuming "FRIENDLY " from me, and paying customers , will always be extended courtesy and respect.
Pretend that you are an introvert, and we will be good . 😊
I was 6 yrs old under a mattress with .my mum dad and 3 yr sister i remember mum and dad fighting to hold the mattress down on us after eye passed over . Still cant believe we lived
Mum was a month off giving birth to me, we were shopping in Coles in Short st Port Mac where Jb is, she said she felt aftershocks
The big mistake in the evacuation was forcing most the wives and children to leave their husbands and fathers, they were so traumatised that separation made it worse.
Cyclone came to an end down at Roper River
Guess what is happening right now?
3:20 numberplate 25 would be worth 100k these days
What about the aboriginal side of the story
We didn’t know what to do
Might have destroyed Darwin, but didnt destroy the peoples resilience. ❤❤
Out of the 66 VICTIMS?, I feel for the 9 Kids!, that we're Killed?, i was only 2 myself!, but, DAD FOUGHT FOR HIS LIFE!, Stokes Hill Wharf?, on board the HMAS ARROW!, & DID NOT MAKE IT!!!, as well as ABLE SEAMAN IAN RENNIE!, PRAYERS are going out TONIGHT!, FOR ALL LIVES LOST!, that 25/12/ 1974!, DAMN YOU TRACY!!!.
No mention or representation of our indigenous people and the impact on them?
Shame the donation money didn't get to us. We got nothing.
Beds, billiard tables. Gee whiz
My father describes a cyclone he was in was worse than Tracy but unrecorded. Closer to Yazi and/or Bobby he thinks.
Saying this, what was Yazis death toll?
They were obviously living way beyond their means in real terms of sustainability and with their heads in the clouds, reality hit them with reality...
What about the aboriginals from there?
Helloooooooooooooo