1974 Cyclone Tracy

In 1974 Cyclone Tracy destroyed the City of Darwin in north Australia in a few hours. See a map of the cyclone path, pictures, photos, sound recordings and salvaged objects in the Darwin Museum exibit.

Museum & Art Gallery of the N.T.

It is hard for anyone who was not there at the time to imagine how it must have felt, however the Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory has a permanent exhibit which is so realistic it's a bit frightening.
When you see whole suburbs without a house standing, the magnitude of this disaster hits home.

Wind speeds of 217 km/h registered at Darwin Airport before the equipment was itself blown away and there are estimates of maximum speeds of up to 300 km/h. Seeing this destruction also brings home another matter - Darwin is a very new city simply because there was almost nothing left standing when Tracy had finished her work.

Damage caused by Cyclone Tracy

With so much destruction of both homes and infrastructure, the population of about 45,000 was reduced to about 10,000 by a mass evacuation of people to other Australian cities. This was organised by Major-General Alan Stretton, Director-General of the Natural Disasters Organisation and Minister for the Northern Territory, Rex Patterson.

Many of the families that left never returned and the rebuilding attracted people from many different places resulting in a young, diverse population who rebuilt the city.

If you are buying a house, setting up a business or simply thinking of moving to Darwin, it is important to understand this because of the effect this rebuilding has had on how this city functions.

After the cyclone building codes were upgraded dramatically to try to prevent such extensive damage next time a cyclone passed by. And the rebuilding was largely done by the NT Housing Commission using only a limited number of designs on a large scale. At one stage nearly 90% of homes in Darwin were owned by either Government Departments or large national companies such as banks.

As the (enlarged) plaque says, these steel girders were twisted into these shapes by the force of the Tracy's winds. Set in concrete at the Casuarina College, they remind us of the strength of mother nature. Hopefully the stringent building codes now in place will prevent this happening again in Darwin.

There is still tremendous interest in the the Xmas event which changed a city and so many lives.

Were you here when Tracy visited? Were you evacuated, never to return, or were you one of the few who stayed to rebuild Darwin as we know it today?

Everyone you meet slips the question into the conversation sooner or later, "Were you here...?"

Me? No I arrived in July '78, but look below the form to see how Darwin was when we came for a short visit - which has lasted nearly 30 years now.

Click the headings to read their story

My experience with Tracy 1974 
My name is Fay Karamanakis and here is some of my experiances of Tracy

Tracy was unbelievable, I am still almost aghast with the memories. My story'...

Living in the rebuilt Darwin 
I arrived in Darwin nearly four years after Tracy, just as the Northern Territory became a self-governing territory with it's own Parliament and an optimism ...

help 
i need a speech a funny speech on what happend in dawin and cyclone tracy can you help me? can you please send me an e-mail on

rocky.roxs.puppy@hotmail....

My daily run... Now, my daily memory..  Not rated yet
Ever since i was young, i loved christmas. All the presents and family gatherings and being able to enjoy the christmas meaning. But then cyclone tracy ...