RUB-A-DUB-DUB-15 IN A TUB!
During
Cyclone Tracy 15 people , a ham, a cooked turkey and a dog spent
the night in a Nightcliff bathroom. The family which owned the house
numbered four, but were unexpectedly joined by a family of nine who
came with the turkey, ham and dog , which howled
throughout the night . Two other girls
also sought refuge. During a lull in the blow, a “save the chooks” party
ventured out to collect two fowls in the stove of the nextdoor house but was
unsuccessful because it had been blown
away.
TENNANT CREEK HELP
Like
so many towns down the track, the people of the Tennant Creek
mining town , north of Alice Springs , helped evacuees who
went south by road. The Peko
Clarion reported
that in the period 26/12/74 to 31/12/74,
5903 evacuees registered at Tennant. Of these, 2071 were supplied
accommodation( not including caravan sites and ovals), 413 trunk
calls were made to friends and relatives and $11,000 received
in cash donations with a day's pay to come from mine
workers .
MEDIA
MATTERS
Moonta
House in Mitchell Street was used by southern and overseas media
where Department of NT PR Dick Timperley was based. At some stage
the Murdoch owned Northern
Territory News stopped
production due to damage at the factory. It was subsequently
announced that the morning paper would become an afternoon production
early in February.Veteran journalist and film
producer Cec Holmes was in Darwin when the cyclone struck. After
speaking to many of the southern reporters who came to the city to
report on the disaster , he commented how soft they seemed to
be , complaining about the heat and conditions . Reporters used to
have a reputation for roughing it , he added. The new breed seemed
soft . One journo contacted head office on Boxing Day and
asked them to send water (bang goes the myth of newspapermen
being hard drinkers ) and some food. Five days later three
one gallon containers of water and two tins of steak and
kidney arrived by air .
HOW NEWS GOT
THROUGH
The Clerk of the
NT Legislative Assembly, Fred Walker,
was holidaying in Honduras , Central America, when the cyclone hit Darwin. When he went to a hotel
there the proprietor , learning Walker was from Australia, said that a large port had been destroyed by a storm in North Australia . What
was the name of the port ? Mine host could not remember . Was it Darwin ? Yes !
Fred was later travelling along a trail
in Guatemala when an American pulled up
in a car and handed him a telegram from the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly,
Bernie Kilgariff ,which read something
like : Merry Christmas. Your house destroyed by cyclone. Son okay. Suggest you return
to Darwin .
