Cyclone Tracy - Darwin, Christmas 1974

1975, 9 Minutes

Filmed in the days after the cyclone hit, this short film records the devastation caused to Darwin caused by Cyclone Tracy in 1974.

Christmas is always a time to remember. Christmas 1974 will long be remembered in Australia's Northern Territory.
Early in the morning of December 25 the Territory's capital city - Darwin - was destroyed by Cyclone Tracy. The city became the site of possibly the greatest natural disaster in the nation's history, causing the mass evacuation south of three-quarters of the city's 43,000 people.

Within hours of the cyclone's strike, Film Australia's crews were in the city filming the ravaged scene. This quickly compiled short film was completed and screened in Australian cinemas within a week.

Directed by Oscar nominee Chris Noonan, it is a film of realism, of genuine human drama in the face of adversity.

A Film Australia Production. © 2011 National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.