Exhibition shows the power of Cyclone Tracy’s destructive winds

A new photographic exhibition shows in stark clarity the extent of the damage caused by Cyclone Tracy. See the pictures.

A family’s remarkable survival story underpins an emotional Cyclone Tracy photographic exhibition beginning on Saturday at Northern Territory Library.

One Family’s Story: Remembering Cyclone Tracy, features a collection of images shot by Peter Prideaux, who was in Darwin with his wife Anne visiting family in December 1974.

Staying with his daughter Joan Fitzsimmons, son-in-law Dennis and granddaughters Larissa, Dana and Carla at the 85 Alawa Crescent home, Peter took countless photos in the days before and after Cyclone Tracy.

Peter’s images show a young family in a quiet tropical city gearing up for Christmas Day, and the scenes of utter destruction that followed Tracy as he walked northern suburbs streets in disbelief, documenting on film the tragedy appearing before him.

Joan Fitzsimmons at the old house 85 Alawa Crescent. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Now living in Mackay, Joan is back in Darwin for the exhibition launch and her and Dennis will return again closer to December 24 for further commemorations.

They had moved to Darwin for three months in early 1971 for Dennis to work as a locum doctor at the Mitchell Street Clinic, but extended their visit when he was asked to stay because he was also a qualified anaesthetist.

She recalled that on December 24 there was word a cyclone was hovering around the Top End but it was not at that point clear whether it would hit Darwin.

“It said it was between two sets of islands and basically didn’t say until very late that it was actually heading to Darwin so we weren’t that worried,” Joan said.

“My husband had been in a cyclone on the Gold Coast in 1951 and it had been a fun event ... so he wasn’t worried.

Joan Fitzsimmons at Darwin 50th anniversary of Cyclone Tracy exhibition 'One Family's Story: Remembering Cyclone Tracy' at the Territory Library and Archives NT. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“Our children were staying up late and we were in the lounge room, we had the Christmas tree there and it was normal except the children were awake and then went to bed fairly late.

“The winds kept coming, getting stronger and stronger, and then the windows in our bedroom broke.

“The lights were out and we used an old camping-style gas lantern as we tried to stop the wind coming from under the door in our bedroom with a mattress and the lantern actually set it alight.

Images from the Cyclone Tracy exhibition. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“We went into the lounge and saw the windows were bulging and the water coming in around the edges, and we thought that didn’t look good at all.”

After putting the Christmas presents in a cupboard they retreated to a downstairs bedroom they’d prepared for Peter and Anne, where they tried to ride out the storm, despite seeing the roof of their home falling down the stairs and water pouring through the floorboards.

She remembers being cold, the sound of corrugated iron scraping beneath the house and the noise of the storm.

“We knew things weren’t good, but we felt we were going to be embarrassed in the morning when our house was destroyed. We didn’t expect everyone else to be destroyed as well.”

The exhibition will be opened by Arts Minister Jinson Charls at 11.30 Saturday at the NT Library at Parliament House.

Originally published as Exhibition shows the power of Cyclone Tracy’s destructive winds