List of deaths as a result of Cyclone Tracy

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Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia, in December 1974, and killed 66 people. [1]

In the cyclone's aftermath, the number of deaths reported varied from 49 to 66, [2] [3] as an official list of deaths was never compiled.[ citation needed ] There was regular controversy of actual deaths. [4] [5]

In 1997 a plaque for the military personnel lost from the patrol boats lost was laid. [6] Nearly thirty years later, two ships were still missing. MV Booya was eventually located in Darwin Harbour in October 2003, and then a ferry, Darwin Princess in May 2004. [7] Police divers investigated both wrecks and found no human remains but did retrieve some personal effects. [8] [9]

In March 2005, the Northern Territory Coroner held an inquest into the people suspected to have died on board, declaring them deaths at sea. Following the inquest the death total was raised to 71 and this was widely published. However recent research has determined that this figure includes five deaths that were double counted, reducing the overall total to 66. Of these 45 died on land and 21 died at sea. [10] [11] [12] The trauma of the death and destruction to the community is regularly cited as having a significant effect beyond Darwin, and to people distant from the location. [13] [14] [15]

NameAgeNotes
Peter AndrewUnknown (adult)
Malini Palathil Bell40
Dorothy BloomfieldUnknown (adult)
Wotsanbuk Bolger (Bungun, Major)60
Cecil Henry Bonner75
Geraldine Elizabeth Brown8
Andrew Mark Bruhn5
Dean William Burgess2 years 7 months
Louisa Fanny Butler63
Leslie Kevin Catton33Death at sea - HMAS Arrow
Paul Mark Chaney7 months
Susanna Rose Clarke74
Eileen Patricia Clough31
Raymond John Curtain28Death at sea - Darwin Princess
Peter Brian Daffey6
Avis Winifred Daniel29Death at sea - Mandorah Queen
Graham William Dearden30Death at sea - MV Booya
Peter James Dewar32
Charles Joseph DibuaUnknown (adult)
David Grant Fealy19Death at sea - Flood Bird
Gary Roger Fenton29
Michael John Grant21Death at sea - Mandorah Queen
Raymond Ian Hampton35
Thomas William Hanson70
Lisa Karoline Harder5 months
Donald James Duncan Hoff36Death at sea - Kendall
Dennis Keith Holten23Death at sea - Flood Bird
Richard Roland James24
Reuben Paul James3 weeks
Catherine Michelle Knox5 months
Elva Dawn Knox29
Michael John Knox30
Stephen James Knox3 years 8 months
John Dudley (Jack) LangUnknown (adult)
On Ing (Owen)29
Arthur Lim48
Paul Alaister Macklin36
Ronald Charles Marshall21Death at sea - Charles Todd
Eric Arthur (Sandy) McNab74
William Daniel Muir60
Shigemori Odowara33Death at sea - Flood Bird
George Valentine Parker32
Suzanne Mary Portman8
Ian Rober RennietUnknown (adult)Death at sea - HMAS Arrow
George Roewer21Death at sea - Flood Bird
Giovanni Smaniotto70
Cherry Leonie Rose Stephenson22
Kylie Jane Stephenson6 months
Robert Gordon Swann19Death at sea - Flood Bird
John Thomas Taylor30
Gerald Frederick Thompson31Death at sea - MV Booya
Richard Thompson85
John Turner69
Ruth Nazmeena Vincent24Death at sea - MV Booya [16]
Robert Norman Wade20Death at sea - Frigate Bird
Shirley Dawn WenckUnknown (adult)
Gregory John Westerman22Death at sea - MV Booya
Terrance Carew Westwood63Death at sea - MV Booya
Kenneth James Scott Wheatley3 years 11 months
Kerry Lynda Williams21 months
Molly Williams31
Siegfried Karl Otto Wolfe30Death at sea - Mandorah Queen
Jennifer Anne Wood37
William Woodyatt34Death at sea - Frigate Bird
Koji Yoshida42Death at sea - Kendall
Frederick Yee Char Yu36 [10]

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References

  1. "National Museum of Australia - Cyclone Tracy". www.nma.gov.au. 2024-06-18. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
  2. "49 dead in Darwin Cyclone". The Canberra Times . Vol. 49, no. 13, 947. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 26 December 1974. p. 1. Retrieved 7 October 2024 via National Library of Australia.
  3. Report on Cyclone Tracy December 1974 (PDF). Department of Science, Bureau of Meteorology. 1977.
  4. "The Darwin cyclone". The Canberra Times . Vol. 49, no. 13, 961. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 11 January 1975. p. 7. Retrieved 7 October 2024 via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Cyclone Tracy: Darwin funds to join Government on aid". The Canberra Times . Vol. 49, no. 13965. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 16 January 1975. p. 7. Retrieved 7 October 2024 via National Library of Australia.
  6. "Tracy victims remembered with plaque". Royal Australian Navy News . Vol. 40, no. 1. Australia, Australia. 27 January 1997. p. 5. Retrieved 7 October 2024 via National Library of Australia.
  7. Government, Northern Territory (2020-09-24). "Maritime heritage". nt.gov.au. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  8. "Cyclone Tracy wreck found". ABC News. 2003-11-01. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  9. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. News (2003-11-03), Booya shipwreck found near Darwin Harbour, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, retrieved 7 October 2024
  10. 1 2 "Cyclone Tracy Deaths". Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. 2023.
  11. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. News (2004-12-14), Cyclone Tracy deaths investigated, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, retrieved 7 October 2024
  12. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. News (2005-03-18), NT coroner hands down finding on Cyclone Tracy deaths, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, retrieved 7 October 2024
  13. The library description of the book by King provides explanation beyond the statistics - King, Jonathan; King, Jonathan, 1942- (2013), Great disasters in Australian history, Allen & Unwin, ISBN   978-1-74331-251-3 {{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. "Darwin after Tracy". Royal Australian Navy News . Vol. 27, no. 23. Australia, Australia. 30 November 1984. p. 12. Retrieved 7 October 2024 via National Library of Australia.
  15. Mason, Matthew S; Haynes, Katharine, 1977-; National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (Australia), (issuing body.); Macquarie University, (host institution.) (2010), Adaptation lessons from Cyclone Tracy, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, ISBN   978-1-921609-13-8 {{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. "Divers lay wreath at Booya shipwreck in Darwin to honour five who drowned during Cyclone Tracy". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2024-11-11. Retrieved 2024-11-11.