Darwin's iconic Cyclone Tracy exhibition closes today, to be redesigned over the coming months, and be reopened for the 50th anniversary of the devastating 1974 cyclone. Among the visitors to the NT's Museum and Art Gallery this morning were a number of Cyclone Tracy survivors, enjoying the exhibit one last time, after a 30 year run.
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00:00Stepping back in time to the year of one of Australia's worst natural disasters.
00:07It's not often museum staff will let visitors touch the exhibits, let alone take a seat.
00:13But today is an exception.
00:15It's 50 years since Cyclone Tracy happened so we're getting a fabulous refresh.
00:19So it's going to be all new exhibitions, much more interactive.
00:22The museum's long-standing exhibition to be closed for several months
00:26ahead of this Christmas's 50th anniversary of the devastating Darwin cyclone.
00:31A lot of things are under wraps but in December, early December, we'll be reopening
00:36so we're really looking forward to people interacting with the new spaces.
00:39Hundreds of visitors today coming to see the reminders of a city left annihilated
00:44on Christmas morning 74, including some of those who lived through that unforgettable night.
00:50Mum had all our photos in a bank vault, thank God, so we didn't lose our photos
00:55but coming and seeing it, because we were evacuated of course, weren't here for about eight weeks
01:01so we didn't get to see much of the cleanup.
01:04But yeah, seeing it all, it's very emotional.
01:07Cyclone Tracy has made such a mark on the lives of so many people and it has on mine
01:12and so having it here as a gentle reminder of that period is really important to me.
01:19This grandfather visiting the museum today, telling the story of when he had to shelter
01:24his young family in the toilet block of a local caravan park.
01:28The roof came off of the ablution block and the walls started to come in
01:34and all we could do was just huddle and hope for the best.
01:39Hey, would you like to come have a photo? Come and sit down on that couch.
01:43Bye all, peace and love.
01:45The Cyclone Tracy exhibition has been the pride of the museum's collection for 30 years now
01:50and for survivors of that terrible morning, a stirring memorial.