Life stirs in Darwin

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33741, 14 January 1975, Page 17

Life stirs in Darwin

(By

NICK NUNN,

of the “Herald.” Melbourne!

DARWIN.

Almost three weeks after Cyclone Tracy hit Darwin, the devastation still stretches out like a segment from a horror film on the end of the world.

Wreckage, twisted metal, scraps of torn clothing, battered children’s toys, .and broken furniture lie as far as the eye can see.

But a closer look at the mess reveals hope and human ingenuity. Life is coming back to the city. In the northern suburbs of Wagaman and Nakara the devastation is great, but the drive and courage of residents surpasses it. Mrs Irene Pickersgill, aged 62. still lives in her partly demolished home. It would have made weaker souls weep and move away. Instead, she has been busyclearing rubble — and she has mowed the lawn.

A carpenter, Mr John Leary, sat out the cyclone in the lavatory of his house with" his wife, Jan, two children, a budgie, and a chicken. The family has been flown to Melbourne while Mr Leary cleans up the mess, with the animals for company.

A Northern Territory policeman, Mr Danny Mclver, aged 24. and his wife. Mary, aged 20, wanted to make sure they had one luxury — a shower — even though their house on stilts was wrecked. They built a shower stall from pieces of wood and galvanised iron. It is the kind of ingenuity and spirit that will lift Darwin from less than a shanty town to a city again.