00:00Decades after Darwin's darkest moment, a time to reflect.
00:15In the early hours of this day in 1974, the severe tropical cyclone took a sharp turn
00:21and made landfall in Darwin's north, leaving many unprepared.
00:2550 years ago, children across Darwin went to bed dreaming of Santa Claus, and Christmas
00:32and awoke to a nightmare.
00:35Hundreds gathering this morning to honour both victims and survivors.
00:39Very sad because it brings back memories of what happened that night, which is still very
00:44raw.
00:45It's very emotional, I can tell you that, for 50 years.
00:52I got very badly injured.
00:54Our best friends lost their daughter, who was only very young, she was only 8 years
00:59old, and that gets to me every time.
01:05So now a new memorial blooms at the place Tracey first hit.
01:09Five decades, five flowers, forever remembered, a permanent reminder of the strength and resilience
01:15of Darwin and its people.
01:17This is a memorial to survivors and to those who died, and it's been something that survivors
01:26have been demanding, asking for at least, for most of the past 50 years.
01:32With 200km wing gusts, Tracey destroyed most of Darwin.
01:3666 people died and tens of thousands were left homeless, and then the biggest evacuation
01:42effort in peacetime Australia.
01:45Five decades on, Cyclone Tracey remains firmly etched into the city's history.
01:49But the legacy of Tracey isn't only one of destruction, but also of strength, resilience
01:55and mateship.
01:56We were able to come together as a community, as a whole of Australia, to rebuild Darwin
02:02to what it is today.
02:03A Christmas day like no other, still just as vivid 50 years on.
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