Anthony Albanese joins survivors of Cyclone Tracy return 50 years on
Anthony Albanese has joined survivors of Cyclone Tracy to revisit the place it first made landfall to commemorate 50 years since Darwin was destroyed and more than 60 lives lost.
Speaking at a ceremony on Christmas morning the Prime Minister said people still carried the pain and trauma of the natural disaster.
“Today, as we reflect on the destructive force of nature at its very worst, we also remember and honour the strength and kindness of Australians at their very best,” he said.
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“And everyday Australians, everywhere, who responded with characteristic generosity.”
Mr Albanese unveiled a monument to mark the 50th anniversary.
Many recalled the sound of the cyclone; the howling winds that sent asbestos filled walls and corrugated iron sheets flying down streets at 3:30am on Christmas Day 1974.
It was a story of survival and renewal said Larrakia elder Christine Fejo-King, who was 20 when the cyclone tore through the top end.
“We were refugees and had nowhere to go,” she said.
“People were so kind and that’s something that I believe was reinforced to me because of Cyclone Tracy.
“We lost our home, we lost our pets, we had nothing, but we had a whole country of people we didn’t know be kind to us.”
Ms Fejo-King is among the thousands of survivors who will recall the pain and healing in the aftermath of Cyclone Tracy, as the Remembering Cyclone Tracy Incorporated committee unveiled a new memorial site at East Point.
The unveiling of the memorial is just one of several survivor-led events commemorating the 50th anniversary of Cyclone Tracy.
The memorial is located at East Point Reserve, where Cyclone Tracy first made landfall. Called 5 Decades, 5 Flowers, Forever Remembered, it was designed by local artist Techy Masero, in collaboration with Remembering Cyclone Tracy Incorporated.
It is the second memorial to be unveiled after City of Darwin commissioned a $700,000 kinetic art sculpture.
The sculpture’s official unveiling ceremony was planned for November but was cancelled when the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese postponed his trip to the Top End until Christmas.
On Tuesday Mr Albanese became emotional while looking at archival photos showing Australians who lost their home and lives.
“We had people throughout Australia provide their support, their funding and their commitment to the people who had suffered through this devastating cyclone … that is part of the Australian story,” he told media.
