Cyclone Tracy evacuation registration card, 1974

Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin in the early hours of Christmas Day 1974. It was one of the most destructive cyclones ever recorded in Australia. Sixty-six people were killed and 145 people were seriously injured because of the cyclone, and 80 per cent of the city was destroyed or severely damaged.

After the cyclone, most of Darwin’s population was evacuated. This happened because there was no safe drinking water, no electricity and no sanitation (toilets did not work, and the sewerage treatment plant had been destroyed). This meant that there was a high risk of disease outbreaks. There was also very little shelter, as most houses and buildings in Darwin had been badly damaged or destroyed.