Cyclone Tracy MemorialPrint Page 
A plaque commemorates those who lost their lives during Cyclone Tract in December 1974.
It lists the forty-nine names of those who lost their lives in the cyclone and the 13 who were lost at sea.
“Tracy” was first detected as a depression in the Arafura Sea on 20 December 1974. It moved slowly southwest and intensified, passing close to Bathurst Island on the 23rd and 24th. Then it turned sharply east-southeastward, and headed straight at Darwin, striking the city early on Christmas Day. Warnings were issued, but - perhaps because it was Christmas Eve, and perhaps because no severe cyclone had affected Darwin in many years - many residents were caught unprepared. Forty-nine people were killed in the city and a further 16 perished at sea. The entire fabric of life in Darwin was catastrophically disrupted, with the majority of buildings being totally destroyed or badly damaged, and very few escaping unscathed. The total damage bill ran into hundreds of millions of dollars.
Location
| Address: | Harry Chan Avenue, Civic Centre, Darwin, 0800 |
|---|---|
| State: | NT |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -12.464167 Long: 130.845556 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Disaster |
| Sub-Theme: | Storms |
| Actual Event STart Date: | 24-December-1974 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 25-December-1974 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Saturday 26th March, 1977 |
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This Plaque Was Erected
In Memory Of Those People Who Lost Their Lives
During Cyclone Tracy In Darwin
On 24th And 25th December, 1974
And Was Unveiled By
Her Majesty the Queen
On 26th March, 1977
[ Names ]
And Those That Were Lost At Sea That Night
[ Names and Vessels ]
