Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows the devastation of Darwin by Cyclone Tracy in 1974. The footage was taken from the rooftop of a damaged house that men are shown securing. The hammering stops as six navy helicopters fly across into Darwin. The film also shows empty streets, ruined buildings and some of the extensive damage done to the city. The sounds of hammering, a dog barking and helicopter engines can be heard on the otherwise silent clip.

Educational value points

• Cyclone Tracy was one of Australia’s most devastating natural disasters. This small but intense cyclone struck the largely unprepared city of Darwin very early on Christmas Day in 1974 and lasted until 7 am. Darwin’s lack of preparedness can be explained by the unpredictable path taken by the cyclone and residents’ preoccupation with Christmas. The cyclone destroyed or severely damaged 70 per cent of houses and other buildings in the city. Reports vary about the casualty rate, but 650 people were injured, and between 65 and 115 people were killed, including 16 who died at sea.

• Keith Bushnell’s footage of the cyclone, from which this clip is taken, was the first to be seen on television screens across Australia. The cyclone had destroyed almost all external and internal communications in Darwin. Employed by the ABC as a cameraman, Bushnell shot footage that, accompanied by reporter Mike Hayes’s descriptions, brought images of the devastation to the rest of the nation. Both men left the Northern Territory soon after.

• In an ABC interview in 1999 Bushnell described the trauma he experienced as he viewed the destruction and his fears for the isolated city: 'Everywhere you looked in Darwin, in every direction you looked, you saw wreckage and for all you knew, maybe the whole world looked like this and that was frightening’ (www.abc.net.au).

• The footage of the helicopters flying into Darwin records a special feature of the response to the disaster. All three branches of the defence forces, army, navy and air force, played a role in the relief operations and service personnel were recalled from leave to assist with relief operations.

• The federal government declared a state of emergency and provided immediate financial assistance to residents. Public appeals conducted by the media and humanitarian associations also raised millions of dollars for the victims of the cyclone. Early on 26 December naval aircraft flew in supplies and personnel. Throughout January naval personnel were involved in the clean-up of government and private facilities. The army flew specialist personnel into Darwin and the entire RAAF transport fleet was involved in evacuating Darwin’s residents and airlifting in supplies.

• Tropical cyclones are intense low-pressure systems that form over warm tropical oceans and develop a characteristic circular wind pattern. In severe tropical cyclones such as Cyclone Tracy, maximum winds surrounding the centre are greater than hurricane strength, 120 km per h. Cyclone Tracy’s winds were measured at 217 km per h prior to the destruction of the measuring instruments. In Asian countries severe tropical cyclones are called typhoons and in the USA and the Caribbean they are known as hurricanes.

• The legacy of Cyclone Tracy continues to be felt in the housing and insurance industries in Australia. The insurance payout for Cyclone Tracy was the largest in Australia’s history and as a result the Insurance Council of Australia established the Insurance Emergency Service, which developed into the Insurance Disaster Fund. After natural disasters, the Insurance Disaster Fund enables timely assistance to those insured. Following Cyclone Tracy, Darwin was rebuilt with cyclone-resistant materials, and new national codes for building in disaster-prone areas were drawn up that are among the most stringent in the world.

• Just over three years after Cyclone Tracy, the Darwin Reconstruction Commission achieved its mandate of reconstruction. By 1978 the city was able to house the same number of people as it had prior to the cyclone. However, electoral rolls reveal that 60 per cent of those living in the city in 1974 were no longer residents in 1980.