Darwin Red Cross Relief banner on the side of a truck.
Late on Christmas Eve 1974 Darwin was cloaked by heavy and low cloud with increasingly strong rain squalls and wind gusts. By about 10 pm the winds were causing physical damage. It appeared that the cyclone would pass directly over the city. In the next six hours Cyclone Tracy substantially destroyed Darwin and killed 71 people - 49 on land, and 22 at sea. Seventy per cent of the city's buildings were destroyed.
With the city's internal and external communications shut down, news was slow to get to the outside world. However improvisations were used so that by lunch time officials in Canberra and later the Australian public became aware that a cyclone had struck Darwin.
A committee was appointed in Canberra. Alan Stretton, Director-General of the Natural Disasters Organisation led the relief operation. A mass evacuation was decided on as the best approach. This was later questioned by many cyclone victims, and by subsequent observers. Within two days about 10,000 people had left, about half by road and half by air. After the initial rush south people began to decide to "stay and see it out". However, Stretton and the government were committed to reducing the city's population to 10,500 which was seen as a 'safe' level.
In the end 25,628 people were evacuated by air, and 7,234 left by road. By 31 December 1974 only 10,638 people remained in Darwin. The government pledged to rebuild the city in five years. The new city that arose from the rubble shows little resemblance to the city before the cyclone.
The Red Cross in Adelaide was at the heart of the relief effort. It was the centre for donations of everything from oranges to bedding, and the coordinating hub for tracing survivors. Then there were the supplies that were needed in Darwin by those who had chosen or were required to stay, everything from clothing and bedding to food of every description. Volunteers sorted and packed the goods brought in by thousands of people. Trucks were loaded and headed for Darwin. At this time the railway went only as far north as Alice Springs.
