Tracy: The Storm that Wiped Out Darwin on Christmas Day 1974

Allen & Unwin, Sydney, 2004. First Edition. Softcover. Very Good Condition. Fifth impression. Size: Octavo 8vo (standard book size). 244 pages. Text body is clean, and free from previous owner annotation, underlining and highlighting. Binding is tight, covers and spine fully intact. No foxing in this copy. All edges clean, neat and free of foxing. The book is available and will be PACKAGED professionally, DISPATCHED promptly and a TRACKING NUMBER will be advised by Australia Post.. Nearly fifty years ago, on Christmas Day 1974, Australia woke up to the news that Darwin had been devastated by Cyclone Tracy. Only hours before, the town of Darwin was winding down for the holiday season. Like many people that day, Josephine Foreman spent the morning cooking a large turkey for Christmas lunch; Geoff Crane took the opportunity to finish some last-minute Christmas shopping. Reports of an approaching cyclone were taken lightly-after all, the last cyclone had been little more than a storm with a bit more wind. Besides, it was Christmas . . . At midnight on Christmas Eve, Cyclone Tracy roared in from the Arafura Sea and in six hours wiped out Darwin. It was Australia's worst natural disaster-a night of fear and horror, a storm of unprecedented savagery and destruction. Winds of 300 kilometres per hour totally destroyed nearly all of Darwin's buildings and caused the deaths of more than fifty people. When Christmas Day finally dawned, many counted themselves lucky to still be alive. Thirty years later, some of those who lived through the cyclone's devastation recall their frightening experiences-from the sheer terror of the storm itself, to the heart-wrenching days that followed and the mass clean-up operation and evacuation of more than 20,000 people in six days. This is a compelling account of tragedy, survival and human courage. Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 500 grams. Category: History; Australian History; Australia; 1970s; ISBN: 1741144493. ISBN/EAN: 9781741144499. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: 10211. . 9781741144499