Book details Darwin since Cyclone Tracy

A NEW book details the key role businesses played in sustaining Darwin in the wake Cyclone Tracy and how they helped rebuild the city.

WHEN nine-year-old John Elferink had his first cold drink three weeks after Cyclone Tracy smashed its way through Darwin, "it was like ambrosia from the gods", he said.

HE bought a soft drink from a vending machine at Cashman's Newsagency powered by a generator, and 40 years on, he has launched a book about the key role businesses played in sustaining the city and helping it to rebuild.