Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spent Christmas morning in Darwin reflecting on one of the worst natural disasters ever to hit Australia.
Fifty years ago, soon after midnight on Christmas Day 1974, Cyclone Tracy tore through the remote northern capital of Darwin, leaving a trail of destruction that killed at least 66 people, damaged or destroyed more than 80 per cent of all buildings in the city, and left a repair bill initially estimated at $500 million (multiple billions today).
Today, Albanese said the city’s recovery was a testament to the resilience of the locals who lived through the category 4 tropical cyclone and its winds of more than 217km/h, as well as all those who assisted during the emergency.
“While the modern city of Darwin has grown and thrived, changed and evolved, the unique character of this place and the special warmth of the people who call it home endures stronger than ever,” Albanese said on Wednesday morning.
“Today as we reflect on the destructive force of nature at its very worst, we also remember the strength and kindness of Australians at their very best.”
The cyclone triggered Australia’s largest evacuation and reconstruction operation during peacetime, with a little over 35,000 of the city’s 47,000 people evacuated – about two-thirds by air and the rest by road – according to the Attorney-General’s Department.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attends the 50th anniversary commemoration of Cyclone Tracey in Darwin on December 25th. Credit: AAPIMAGE
It took four years for Darwin’s population recovered to pre-cyclone levels and Albanese called the city’s reconstruction unprecedented.
In London, then-prime minister Gough Whitlam cut short a European tour and took a Qantas flight home. As The Age noted at the time: “One of the first duties of a prime minister is to make symbolic demonstrations of the public will.”
On Wednesday, Albanese took Whitlam’s advice and joined survivors of the disaster, some of the city’s current residents, Governor-General Sam Mostyn and Defence Force chief David Johnston – a survivor of the cyclone – in Darwin to mark the tragedy.
“No matter the challenge, we face it together and we look after each other. We learn from what we’ve been through we hold on to what matters most,” Albanese told the crowd on Wednesday.
Mostyn said: “Today I think the emotion should run high. Today’s the day that we feel the full weight of the trauma you felt in those early days [and] the recovery you showed and taught the country.”
“It’s your voices your stories that is now the touchstone for those who have come since.”
On a three-day visit to the Northern Territory, Albanese, who was just 11 years old when the cyclone struck, said the disaster was one of his first memories and that it had left him and his mum, Maryanne Ellery, devastated – as it had so many Australians.
“It really cast a dark shadow over the whole country, and as we saw the devastation, it came out slowly. I remember it almost dripping out, the information, because people, I think, couldn’t quite believe the extent of the devastation,” he told ABC Darwin.
Albanese in Darwin on Christmas morning. Credit: AAPIMAGE
Albanese said it was important to reflect on and honour the people who had lost their lives in the destruction wrought by the cyclone.
“In the aftermath of this devastating cyclone, we had individuals volunteer, we had people send up food. We had the Australian Defence Force assisting with the rebuilding of this great city of Darwin, we had people throughout Australia provide their support, their funding and their commitment to the people who had suffered through this devastating cyclone,” he said.
In a statement, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the spirit of the people of Darwin and their determination to rebuild the city had inspired the whole country.
“As the intense and slow-moving Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin directly, families sought shelter in bathrooms, under tables and beds, in cars, or wherever they could. We can only imagine the fear that would have gripped those poor residents and the nightmare they endured,” he said.
“The rebuilding and resurrection of the Northern Territory’s capital city over three years was a mighty mobilisation of national blood, sweat and tears – spurred on by the indomitable spirit of the people of Darwin.”
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