Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tours MAGNT Cyclone Tracy exhibit on 50 year anniversary
Fifty years since Cyclone Tracy tore through Darwin, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has paid a visit to the new exhibit at MAGNT to reflect on the tragedy. SEE THE PICTURES.
Northern Territory
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has toured the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory’s renewed Cyclone Tracy exhibition ahead of the 50 year anniversary of the devastating storm.
Guided through the exhibit by Territory historian Jared Archibald, Mr Albanese reflected on his own memories of Cyclone Tracy, and how important the display was in understanding the tragedy.
“I was a young boy in Sydney, but like the rest of Australia and indeed the world, we were shocked by the images that came from Darwin with it being flattened on that evening of Christmas Eve into Christmas morning in 1974,” Mr Albanese said.
“This museum and art gallery tells the story [of Cyclone Tracy], and visitors to this great city are able to get some understanding of the devastation that was felt here in Darwin 50 years ago.”
Mr Albanese said the 50 year anniversary would be a difficult period for survivors of Cyclone Tracy as people remember lost loved ones and the trauma.
“It’s important that we reflect, that we honour those who lost their lives, but it’s also … an opportunity that we remind ourselves as a nation that at the worst of times we see the best of the Australian character,” he said.
“In the aftermath of this devastating cyclone, we had individuals volunteer, we had people send up food, we had the Australian Defence Force commit to 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’d suffered through this devastating cyclone.
“Time after time, that is part of the Australian story, we are so resilient, when we’re knocked down we get up and work together as well, and that’s what we saw with this rebuilding of this city of Darwin into the modern metropolis that it is today.”
Member for Solomon Luke Gosling and Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy joined the Prime Minister for the tour and highlighted the importance of the exhibition for Territorians and visitors.
“This exhibition shows the incredible amount of support there was for the people of Darwin,” Ms McCarthy said.
“But [also] the Australian spirit that any crisis in our country shows, that we can pull together whoever we are, wherever we are, young, old, multicultural, black, white, we know how to come together as a country.”
Mr Albanese will be spending Christmas Day in Darwin, officially unveiling the 50th anniversary Cyclone Tracy memorial at East Point.
“It will be an opportunity for us to pay tribute and to hear more about the story of Darwin in all its in all its wonder,” Mr Albanese said.
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Originally published as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tours MAGNT Cyclone Tracy exhibit on 50 year anniversary
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