By Annabel Bowles, ABC
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among the dignitaries at the commemoration. Photo: ABC / Kyle Dowling
A Christmas morning heralded by soft rain but with the memory of nature's unimaginable ferocity.
Memories of terror and devastation, but also sheer resilience.
The rebirth of a city after near-complete destruction.
Hundreds gathered at East Point in Darwin at dawn's break to commemorate 50 years since Cyclone Tracy.
In one of the worst natural disasters Australia has ever seen, at least 66 people died and hundreds more were injured when the category four system struck Darwin on 25 December 1974.
The cyclone destroyed and damaged eight in 10 homes and wiped out the city's essential infrastructure, displacing tens of thousands of people in the biggest civilian evacuation Australia has ever seen.
Some survivors had never returned to Darwin until today.
Richard Creswick said the commemoration event was dedicated to the resilience of Cyclone Tracy survivors. Photo: ABC / Kyle Dowling
Richard Creswick, a survivor and chair of the Remembering Cyclone Tracy Incorporated Committee, said the commemoration was dedicated to all those impacted by the disaster.
"Fifty years ago, almost to the hour, we emerged shell-shocked from our places of refuge," he said.
"Bathrooms or baths, cupboards, under tables, beds or mattresses or downstairs in sheds, cars, boats or caravans … to a scene of devastation that few of any of us had ever seen before.
"We'd survived a 6-hour battering of the senses, impossible to imagine."
Winds during Cyclone Tracy reached 217 kilometres per hour before the measurement device broke in the storm. Photo: ABC / Supplied: Library & Archives NT
Larrakia man Lucas James welcomed those gathered to country and reflected on his family's experience of the cyclone.
"My mother tells me stories of how she was only a young girl, having to take shelter in her bathroom with all her siblings - she has 11 of them," he said.
"She witnessed her teddy bear being flown into the wind and never seen again."
James said the disaster showed the resilience of Larrakia country and its people after the city was "completely destroyed".
"We are always here, which is our traditional land, it is our family, our spirit, our future," he said.
Dignitaries including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Governor-General Sam Mostyn were among those at the commemoration.
Albanese said the event honoured all those "who still carry the pain and trauma" of Cyclone Tracy 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.
"Darwin became a magic word throughout Australia, evoking assistance in every form.
"We pay tribute to the great resilience of the great city of Darwin and the proud people who call it home.
"The hard work of rebuilding homes, communities and lives is always an act of profound courage."
Survivors of Cyclone Tracy who lost loved ones to the natural disaster embraced one another during the event. Photo: ABC / Grace Atta
NT Acting Administrator Chief Judge Elizabeth Morris retold chilling stories of survivors, paying tribute to their "unbreakable spirit".
"A young father lying, using his whole body to brace against a swaying brick wall, preventing it from collapsing on his two-year-old daughter," she said.
"Other parents, knowing in their hearts they would not survive the night, planning to put their baby in the washing machine in the hope that in the morning someone would hear.
"But the cyclone was not the end of the story."
Families of those killed in the cyclone laid flower tributes on the memorial. Photo: ABC / Kyle Dowling
Chief Judge Morris said through "unimaginable trauma", the community "demonstrated what it truly means to be Darwin".
"As Darwin emerged from the wreckage, we turned to our families, our friends and our neighbours. We walked miles to check on each other.
"Every Greek builder and earthmoving company got out on their bulldozers and just got the job done.
"Nobody waited for permission. They saw what needed to happen, and they did it."
Hundreds gathered at Darwin's East Point to mark 50 years since Cyclone Tracy. Photo: ABC / Kyle Dowling
The commemoration event also saw the unveiling of a memorial at East Point Reserve, where Cyclone Tracy first made landfall.
Titled Five Decades, Five Flowers, Forever Remembered, it features frangipani flowers made from polished concrete and steel, representing the strength and beauty of Darwin and its people in the wake of the disaster.
- ABC