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Speaker 1: Now, the Remembering Cyclone Tracy Committee has been working exceptionally

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Speaker 1: hard to deliver a number of events to unite survivors

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Speaker 1: and the broader community for the fiftieth anniversary. And the

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Speaker 1: Man at the Helm joins me in the studio right now,

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Speaker 1: Richard Creswick. Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie, and thanks once again for having me on.

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Speaker 1: Richard. We've been catching up with Cyclone Tracy survivors over

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Speaker 1: the last few days and those stories. Hearing from those

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Speaker 1: territorians and people who've left the Northern Territory and come back.

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Speaker 1: It's really just another demonstration for me not only how

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Speaker 1: rich our history here in the Northern Territory and in Darwin,

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Speaker 1: how rich that history is. But you know, Cyclone Tracy

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Speaker 1: is part of the fabric of Darwin.

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Speaker 2: It is, it is certainly it was one of the

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Speaker 2: four significant, really significant events in recent Darwin history, you know,

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Speaker 2: like the eighteen ninety seven, the nineteen thirty seven, the

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Speaker 2: bombing of Darwin, and then Cyclone Tracy. I mean, those

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Speaker 2: are the four seminal events and Cyclone Tracy a natural

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Speaker 2: disaster and really it is, it is the it was

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Speaker 2: at the time the biggest that we'd had and will

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Speaker 2: you know the figures sixty six dead, six hundred and

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Speaker 2: seventy or something injured, the biggest peacetime evacuation in Australia's history,

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Speaker 2: twenty odd thousand out by air, ten thousand out by road.

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Speaker 2: So it's huge. And the interesting thing is that there

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Speaker 2: are still a large number of those people who went

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Speaker 2: through it, and this the fiftieth anniversary for many of them,

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Speaker 2: probably the last chance to commemorate this, this incredible event.

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Speaker 2: And so it is well, I'm talking to to people

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Speaker 2: who still carry trauma from the time, and for them

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Speaker 2: this is a chance to get that out of their

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Speaker 2: system maybe hopefully. And the fact that we've got the

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Speaker 2: memorial actually happening five decades in the making, and thanks

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Speaker 2: to the federal government and the territory government, that is

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Speaker 2: actually happening. So there's big stuff happening out at East

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Speaker 2: Point even as we talk. And well, as you know,

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Speaker 2: as I told you last week, the Governor General's coming,

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Speaker 2: the Prime Minister of course, our own acting administrator, Elizabeth Morris,

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Speaker 2: will be there and I had a response. I sent

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Speaker 2: an invitation to the Chief of the Defense Forces, David Johnston,

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Speaker 2: Admiral David Johnson, he's a survivor himself. You know, it's

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Speaker 2: going to be a wonderful event.

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Speaker 1: It will be. And you know, one of the things

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Speaker 1: I've been really interested to sort of hear as well

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Speaker 1: from some of those on the Cyclone Remembering Cyclone Tracy Committee,

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Speaker 1: but also survivors, that it is fifty years in the making.

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Speaker 1: You know, there's been other occasions or other milestones where

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Speaker 1: you guys have really wanted it to be commemorated in

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Speaker 1: the way that it should be and with the respect

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Speaker 1: that it should be. But this is actually now looking

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Speaker 1: like it is going to be the time when that happens.

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Speaker 2: This has been a part of my life for two

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Speaker 2: and a half years, and as part of the committee

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Speaker 2: for almost two years, and we've stuck at it. And

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Speaker 2: some of the committee members have come and gone for

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Speaker 2: various reasons, but the committee has a solid cores. It's

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Speaker 2: stayed true, it stayed firm and very supportive. And yes,

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Speaker 2: I'm tremendously proud of what we've achieved. I mean, I

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Speaker 2: don't want to don't want to over dramatize it, but

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Speaker 2: when you see what we've done, you with the support

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Speaker 2: of so many people too. But this small volunteer committee.

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Speaker 2: We've done amazing things, I believe.

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Speaker 1: And you know, when you think about the fact that

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Speaker 1: they're at ease point, we are going to see the memorial,

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Speaker 1: the monument, they're those frang japannies unveiled. I think to myself,

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Speaker 1: you know, as a mum who wasn't here for Cyclone Tracy,

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Speaker 1: but for me to be able to, you know, to

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Speaker 1: take my children there to try to educate them as

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Speaker 1: well on Cyclone Tracy and something that they're non live through,

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Speaker 1: you know, something that they've got family members that they

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Speaker 1: live through, this natural disaster. So what you're also doing

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Speaker 1: is creating some thing for the next generations to be

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Speaker 1: able to know more about our history.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and they're not just frang JAPANI Flowers replicated three

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Speaker 2: of them. As I think I've said before. We'll have

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Speaker 2: information plaques which explain various aspects of Cyclone Tracy, and

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Speaker 2: so it is an education It will be an educational

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Speaker 2: facility as well as a place of reflection for people

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Speaker 2: for who want to reflect on Cyclone Tracy. And then

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Speaker 2: I believe it will become one of the major tourist

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Speaker 2: attractions in Darwin in time to come.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I reckon people will want to go and see.

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Speaker 1: They will want to go and check it out. Now, Richard,

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Speaker 1: tell me, how are some of the other events sort

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Speaker 1: of coming along. Have you got much of an indication

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Speaker 1: of how many survivors are going to be attending or

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Speaker 1: how many people are going to be attending that welcome reception.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, as of today, six one hundred and seventy people

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Speaker 2: have registered. Now I'm a bit surprised. I thought it

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Speaker 2: would be more than that. But there are difficulties for

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Speaker 2: some people in doing the online stuff, because you bear

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Speaker 2: in mind our demographic is all as old as me

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Speaker 2: now or mostly as old as me, and we're a

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Speaker 2: bit technologically challenged, let's admit it. But nonetheless, I think

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Speaker 2: on the day it'll certainly be bigger than that. The planning.

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Speaker 2: We've got an event planner called Rebecca, and she's fabulous

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Speaker 2: and I've just come from a meeting with her in fact,

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Speaker 2: and there are so many strands to this welcoming function,

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Speaker 2: but the Chief Minister no doubt told you she's going

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Speaker 2: to be doing the welcome to those who are at

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Speaker 2: the function. We've got a young woman named Melie who

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Speaker 2: is who has written a cyclone Tracy song and she'll

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Speaker 2: be performing that on the night. It's not a it's

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Speaker 2: not a big ceremonial thing, very very minimal. What would

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Speaker 2: you call it?

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Speaker 1: More about getting together?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. There'll be food and there'll be drinks and

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Speaker 2: displays of various sorts. I have to say, my son

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Speaker 2: Ben and I spent the weekend making display boards out

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Speaker 2: of old corrugated iron from costas roof of his shed.

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Speaker 1: So, oh, good on you. And look, I think, you know,

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Speaker 1: I think it's going to be that reception. I feel

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Speaker 1: like that's going to be a really nice occasion for

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Speaker 1: people to come back together that maybe haven't seen each

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Speaker 1: other for a long time, or you know, maybe haven't

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Speaker 1: been back to Darwin for quite some time as well, right,

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Speaker 1: and to be able to be together.

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Speaker 2: Yep, that's what we're hoping will happen. We're making stations

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Speaker 2: available for various combinations of suburbs so that people who

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Speaker 2: were in the Jingly Moyl Howe area, those are in

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Speaker 2: the Nightcliff Rapid Creek area, and it will have a

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Speaker 2: focal point together so that they can say, oh I

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Speaker 2: remember you or whatever. They'll have colored wristbands that locate

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Speaker 2: them and cost Us Trickless from Chief Ministers, who's been

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Speaker 2: fabulous is planning an audio visual display where people will

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Speaker 2: be able to on a television screen look at there

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Speaker 2: at an aerial shot of their house before the cyclone

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Speaker 2: and after the cyclone, and then more recently so they'll

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Speaker 2: be able to cycle through this pre cyclone, post cyclone

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Speaker 2: and then subsequent development area. I suspect that that's going

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Speaker 2: to be fantastically interesting for people.

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Speaker 1: I reckon it really will be. Now can anybody go?

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Speaker 1: Or is it only for Cyclone Tracy survivors.

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Speaker 2: It's not only for Cyclone Tracy survivors. It's for their

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Speaker 2: families and friends. There is a registration process. It's predominantly

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Speaker 2: a survivors event, as are all of the things that

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Speaker 2: we're planning. They're targeted primarily at survivor community because that's

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Speaker 2: what this is all about. The fiftieth anniversary. It's about them.

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Speaker 1: It is it is about them, and I think that that's,

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Speaker 1: you know, even for me, that's something that I've really

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Speaker 1: sort of liked to be able to sit down and

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Speaker 1: listen to their stories and listen to the history of

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Speaker 1: Darwin and hear how much how important it is to

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Speaker 1: people as well to tell those stories. And I know

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Speaker 1: everybody deals with it differently. Not everybody wants to tell

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Speaker 1: those stories, but to those who do. Now, do you

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Speaker 1: have any idea how many survivors might be returning to

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Speaker 1: and for the events or not?

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Speaker 2: Really? I believe that the figures about six hundred, and

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Speaker 2: they're coming their people from England, from the North American continent.

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Speaker 2: I'm not actually sure, but thirty I think from overseas

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Speaker 2: and then close to six hundred from interstate. So we'll

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Speaker 2: be bringing a fair bit of support for businesses. And

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Speaker 2: we've been, as you know, have been trying to get

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Speaker 2: businesses involved who are willing to offer discounts to people

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Speaker 2: who carry the car, and I have to say it's

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Speaker 2: not been as successful as I had expected, but we have.

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Speaker 2: We've got I think twenty at the last count businesses

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Speaker 2: which are offering discounts to carrying the cars.

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Speaker 1: So I've gone Tracy card. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: And if there are any people out there, businesses out

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Speaker 2: there who would really like to contribute, well, they can

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Speaker 2: get through to me. You've got my contact details, we

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Speaker 2: can pass that on to you. Yeah, and I'm happy

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Speaker 2: for them to contact.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, Now tell me in terms of I mean,

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Speaker 1: in terms of all the events that are getting underway.

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Speaker 1: It seems as though everything's very well organized at this point.

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Speaker 1: How are you guys feeling There's still a few things

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Speaker 1: to happen, isn't there.

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Speaker 2: The tension levels are incredible, not only for me but

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Speaker 2: my wife Patsy, who's feeling it all as well. We've

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Speaker 2: just had a friend arrived from Brisbane. She's a survivor

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Speaker 2: and she came in to this morning. I picked her

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Speaker 2: up at the airport and you know, at least Patchy's

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Speaker 2: now got another support person. And my seven year old

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Speaker 2: granddaughter is enormously excited. What job can I do? Popa?

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Speaker 2: She's asking me.

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Speaker 1: That's beautiful.

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Speaker 2: She wants to be involved.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that is wonderful. That's the next generation learning about

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Speaker 1: Cyclone Tracy and finding out more about our history, as

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Speaker 1: I'm sure you've taught her anyway, Richard tell me, I mean,

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Speaker 1: it's it's going to be a heavy time as well

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Speaker 1: for a lot of people. Being back here. Have you

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Speaker 1: given yourself much time to sort of sit back and

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Speaker 1: reflect fifty years on?

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Speaker 2: I've had to reflect obviously through because of being so

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Speaker 2: intimately involved in the planning for all of these events,

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Speaker 2: and and you know the work behind the scenes to

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Speaker 2: get to get the projects happening. But people keep asking

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Speaker 2: me about my own story, and I've told her so

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Speaker 2: many times, and they're interested in the shredded jocks, and.

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Speaker 1: Tell us about your shredded jocks. What happened there?

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Speaker 2: Oh, Patsy was in BALI My mate Eric, who was

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Speaker 2: our house guest, and I were there with the three cats,

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Speaker 2: and we were in the bathroom. We'd gone to the

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Speaker 2: bathroom because the house the roof had started to disappear,

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Speaker 2: and at one stage we were very, very very cold,

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Speaker 2: and I said, I'll go out of the bedroom and

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Speaker 2: get us some warm clothes. And I opened the bathroom door,

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Speaker 2: which I'd been sitting against because the catch didn't hold,

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Speaker 2: and I'd been sitting with my back to the bathroom door.

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Speaker 2: So I opened the bathroom door, and in a flashes

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Speaker 2: of lightning, I saw that I no longer had three bedrooms.

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Speaker 2: There was just the jarra floorboards and oblivion beyond. So

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Speaker 2: I quickly hopped back in and I thought, oh, flimsy

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Speaker 2: bathroom door between me and the outside world. Not good.

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Speaker 2: Took off the jocks, tied the door handle to the

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Speaker 2: towel rail and then slipped along and got under the

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Speaker 2: handbase and where I thought I'd be a bit more secure.

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Speaker 2: Ten seconds later, the door opens, rips the rips the

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Speaker 2: towel rail off the wall, and shreds the jocks in

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Speaker 2: the process. And I'm sort of sitting there naked and

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Speaker 2: had to slip back to hold the door closed again,

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Speaker 2: and I wrapped a very much glass impregnated towel around

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Speaker 2: me for modesty's sake. Then when the ceiling fell in

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Speaker 2: it held the door closed. I climbed in the bath

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Speaker 2: with Eric and the three cats, and he said, now

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Speaker 2: might be a good time for you to teach me

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Speaker 2: the words of Walshing Matilda.

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Speaker 1: So I did that. Yeah, oh my, that sounds like

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Speaker 1: I know we're having a bit of a laugh there

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Speaker 1: about your jocks, but that sounds so frightening.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess it was. I guess it was. But

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Speaker 2: but you know, you're in survival mode and you just

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Speaker 2: sit there and waited out. And I mean, so many

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Speaker 2: people in so much more difficult circumstances than me. Eric

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Speaker 2: and I emerged completely uninjured, not a scratch on us,

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Speaker 2: the three cats alive, howling, but alive and stayed alive,

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Speaker 2: got them, got them to Perth, and then got them back.

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Speaker 1: Wow, that is unbelievable, totally unbelievable. It's you know, when

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Speaker 1: you hear these stories, and I think for so many

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Speaker 1: of us, even you know, whether you've lived here for

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Speaker 1: a year, whether you've lived here for twenty five years,

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Speaker 1: however long you've lived here. You know, we've all been

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Speaker 1: through through cyclones on a much smaller scale, but it

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Speaker 1: gives you a slight understanding of you know, of what

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Speaker 1: it's what a cyclone is like. But to think of

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Speaker 1: the scale that you've lived through, to think of, you know,

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Speaker 1: what you've been through, to think of the fact that

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Speaker 1: Darwin was utterly flattened, and to now see it the

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Speaker 1: way it is is unbelievable.

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Speaker 2: Well, I've been looking obviously at the names of those

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Speaker 2: who died, because one of the Fraan Japan is going

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Speaker 2: to have these little plarques with the names of those

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Speaker 2: who died, and some of the just the images that

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Speaker 2: you that come from seeing this this list of names,

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Speaker 2: the crew of the Booya, for instance, the fairy, the

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Speaker 2: the the number of mothers and children, fathers and children,

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Speaker 2: an entire family, You know this. This tears at your guts.

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Speaker 2: It does to think about these are the people who

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Speaker 2: didn't make it. And and I know that at the

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Speaker 2: unveiling there will be family of people who died, and

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Speaker 2: I imagine, well for everybody who is a survivor, that

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Speaker 2: will be a cathartic moment for those For those people,

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Speaker 2: it will be tremendously emotional.

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Speaker 1: Good on you guys for organizing it. And I think

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Speaker 1: that fiftieth, you know, the fiftieth commemorations that our Cyclone

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Speaker 1: Tracy survivors finally, you know, getting getting somewhere where you're

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Speaker 1: able to go and reflect and remember and and you know,

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Speaker 1: look at our future as well. I think it's and

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Speaker 1: that's it is a beautiful location. It is.

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Speaker 2: It's fabulous. And Katie just want to thank you for

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Speaker 2: all of the support that you've given to us as

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Speaker 2: a committee and to the survivor community through your interest

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Speaker 2: and support.

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Speaker 1: You know, for me, I just think this is part

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Speaker 1: of the fabric of the Northern Territory and part of

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Speaker 1: our Darwin history and we should all know more about it.

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Speaker 1: And it's school holidays. I hope a few parents are

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Speaker 1: making their kids listen as well, so that they know

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Speaker 1: and learn a little more about it.

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Speaker 2: That's great, Richard Creswick.

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Speaker 1: Lovely to speak to you. All the best over the

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Speaker 1: coming days. We will talk to you again soon, and

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Speaker 1: all the best to Patsy as well. It sounds like

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Speaker 1: she's been busy too. Good on you're Richard. Thank you, Katie,