Latest news with #CycloneTracy


Daily Mail
13 hours ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Legendary Aussie cameraman who captured Cyclone Tracy on film dies aged 81 - following harrowing battle with dementia
Keith Bushnell, the legendary cameraman who captured the devastation Cyclone Tracy wreaked on Darwin in 1974, has died at age 81. The industry veteran, who is survived by his daughter, Robin, passed away on Friday, August 1, following a long health battle with dementia, reported NT News. He moved to Australia from England in the late '50s with his family and began his media career as an office boy at Channel Seven in Adelaide. The cinematographer was soon teaching himself to shoot and edit film using a second-hand 16mm camera. Known for his dedication to his craft, he once told friend and longtime colleague Richard Creswick how he volunteered for every assignment. This spanned from covering wrestling to speedway and trotting races—often shooting, processing and editing footage in the early hours of the morning. After working with Channel Seven and a brief stint at Channel Nine in Sydney, Bushnell accepted a role filming for ABC Darwin. In 1974, he moved to the Northern Territory, arriving with a custom-equipped LandCruiser and caravan outfitted for film processing. When Cyclone Tracy struck on Christmas Eve 1974, Bushnell took shelter with a colleague as the storm tore through the city. At dawn, accompanied by a neighbour, he drove his damaged LandCruiser out to document the devastation, capturing around ten minutes of colour footage His film was rushed to Brisbane and broadcast on Boxing Day, becoming the first moving images the nation saw of Australia's largest natural disaster at the time. Bushnell's harrowing footage of the aftermath of the cyclone, which caused 66 deaths and hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage, helped the nation understand the full extent of the tragedy. The footage earned him the inaugural Thorn Award for television news coverage and a $250 prize. Heartbroken friends and fans took to social media to pay tribute to Bushnell. 'I remember Keith as a good bloke,' one person wrote. Following the cyclone, he worked in Canada before returning to Darwin, where he partnered with Creswick to produce government information films and TV commercials. In later years, he lived on Kangaroo Island and in Bundanoon, NSW. After being diagnosed with dementia, he spent his final months in palliative care. Bushnell's work remains a vital part of Australia's media history, with his lens capturing a defining moment for the Northern Territory and the nation.

News.com.au
18-07-2025
- General
- News.com.au
Darwin icon going under the hammer
An architecturally-designed home in a highly sought after pocket of Larrakeyah has hit the market for the first time, having weathered Cyclone Tracy and surviving everything the Top End has thrown at it since. The house at 27 Lambell Tce, Larrakeyah, was built in 1972 by Pam and David Flint with the design done by their neighbour and acclaimed architect, Peter Dermoudy. 'Peter was living next door to us in the rusty old silos,' Mrs Flint said. 'I had no say in the design, really. 'He just designed it, and that was it.' Mrs Flint said the result was a 'very quirky house'. 'It's very unique and not like any conventional house,' she said. 'When my kids went to school all the kids called it the 'Pizza Hut' house.' Mrs Flint said the home was built to last. 'Peter said because of where it was situated, it would have to be a very strong building and it is,' she said. The home proved its strength after surviving Cyclone Tracy with no structural damage, though not unscathed. 'All around top floor the glass was broken, half the roof tiles were ripped off and everything in the house was destroyed,' Mrs Flint said. Mrs Flint relocated to Perth for six months post-Tracy with her children and bought all new furniture, tiles and supplies from the Perth Royal Show to fix up the home. 'I put them all in a shipping container and sent it to Darwin,' she said. The home has a distinct Darwin flavour with a mix of Asian and Top End influences, timber accents and tropical views. The house is spread across three storeys with a walkway bridge at street level leading to the top floor. On this level there is an open plan kitchen and dining area, a large lounge room opening to a balcony, a bedroom and a bathroom. On the first floor there is another bedroom, a bathroom, a walk-in robe and a home office that could be used as a bedroom. On the ground floor there is a massive games room with bathroom, bespoke furniture, bar, full size snooker table and French doors opening to the pool area. Mrs Flint said there's even a hidden room. 'Behind the bar there's a storeroom and behind that there's a room that goes under the drive,' she said. 'It was supposed to be a wine cellar but it never got that far. That's where you want to be if Darwin gets bombed again.' There is also a four-car garage, while a rooftop terrace sits above the games room looking out over the pool and barbecue pergola. 'David always said 'I don't want a pool people stand up and talk and drink in, I want a pool people can swim in', so it's a quarter size Olympic pool,' Mrs Flint said. 'The kids loved it – they used to jump off the games room roof into it. 'They had a lot of fun. 'We've got a very long driveway as well, so they'd get on their skateboards or bikes and go down it.' Mrs Flint said the home had been the perfect place to raise a family, host guests and entertain. 'David had his 50 years in Darwin celebration here – it was a great night,' she said. 'I can remember when my parents used to come up every year for a holiday. They had their 50th wedding anniversary here and we had a party for them. 'The big games room was always good for parties. And we used to take chairs and sit out the front to watch the fireworks.' Mrs Flint said the neighbourhood had changed significantly in the five decades she'd called Lambell Tce home. 'We had the old hospital across the road when we built,' she said. 'My two daughters were born there. I was able to walk to the maternity ward. 'I can remember saying (to the midwife) 'I'm just going to duck home and check on the dog'. 'After Tracy they renovated the hospital and made it into the university for a few years but now the land is vacant. 'I'd really like some up-market homes built on it – it's a beautiful piece of land.' Mrs Flint said she also watched Cullen Bay being built. 'I've got photos of all the trucks going down with soil and gravel and I remember all the people saying you can't built on sand out there, it will sink,' she said. But while Darwin changed around the home, the home remained largely unchanged. 'We're the only one who have lived in it and it's in very good condition,' Mrs Flint said. 'All the tradesmen who have come around can't believe we've been here 53 years. 'And it will be here quite a while longer. 'It's in a condition where whoever does buy it can live in it as it is. 'There are probably things they'd want to change and I don't mind that.' Mrs Flint said with her husband passing away in January, she felt it was time to sell. She said she hoped the next owners would love the home as much as she has and make decades of memories. Selling agent Sascha Smithett of Real Estate Central said there was nothing else like 27 Lambell Tce in the Darwin market. 'The imagination runs wild with what you could do to that house,' she said. Ms Smithett said the location was also quite unique. 'There's only three properties on that section of the street,' she said. 'It's tightly held, premium real estate.' PROPERTY DETAILS Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 3 Carparks: 4 Auction: Tue, Jul 29, 5.30pm

ABC News
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
How migrating to the 'wild' world of Darwin as a child inspired Franck Gohier's artistic career
Artist Franck Gohier is part of the artistic fabric of Darwin, but, when he arrived from France with his parents 50 years ago, the cyclone-ravaged outpost was like an alien universe. "It was like being on another planet, or in a science fiction movie or something," he says. "It was pretty wild." That impression reverberates in the vast body of work the painter, sculptor and printmaker has produced since he started making art in the 1980s, at times weaving Northern Territory and French culture seamlessly. His work is exhibited in galleries across Australia and overseas, sharing his unique take on all things typically Territorian with the broader world. Gohier grew up around his parents' demolition business during the clean-up after Cyclone Tracy, and much of his early years were spent foraging around the mangroves as an amateur archaeologist. "That still informs my work to a great deal," he says. "There's lots of strata, lots of history, the detritus of other people's stories, which I bring into new contemporary storytelling as well. "Some of those objects that I find, I also incorporate into the artwork, to give them more layering and more meaning." Gohier studied art at the former NT University, now known as Charles Darwin University (CDU), and this year has come full circle with a residency and fellowship at the new Danala art building at the CDU city campus. He's currently working on a body of work to greet visitors to the planned Northern Territory Art Gallery in Darwin — the content of which is under wraps, but is sure to be true to the territory. Gohier's work features the history of the territory, flavoured with political and social consciousness. Consistently curious, just reading about the history of doctors and bush nurses who went out to work in remote communities inspired Gohier to head out that way too. Over the years, he has covered the Kimberley, Central Australia, Arnhem Land and the Tiwi Islands. "I learned a great deal about Indigenous culture, about land rights, about the different seasons, about fishing, about hunting," he says. "And in turn, I hope I imparted some knowledge as well, with my screen printing and printmaking skills." Gohier says he hopes those skills can help Indigenous communities when it comes to generating income from their art. "[It] just became another tier to help Indigenous artists to pay for their communities and their art centres," he says. The big-ticket artworks take time to create and sell, according to the Darwin-based artist. "So instead of the artists in the community having to wait for the huge painting to sell, there's always bread-and-butter money coming in from the printmaking as well," Gohier says. His community work has also extended to developing an art program in Berrimah Prison in 1996, under the former Ending Offending program. That involved Indigenous inmates being taught art skills by guest Aboriginal elders, as both a form of therapy and skill-building for life. "My job there was just to make the project run smoothly and to facilitate that process and to culminate in a huge exhibition," Gohier says. "That show was really successful, both inside and outside." Over the years, Gohier has donated much of his work back to the Darwin community. He believes that no matter where you live, you can make art. "Have a look around you. What are the things that are right in front of your face, where you're at, and use that as your source material," he says. The Territorian is certainly a testament to that advice. "I've never really tried to make my art have a wider appeal or an international appeal or anything else," he says. "I'm just interested in the vitality of my own experiences and the honesty that comes out of that about storytelling.

ABC News
15-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
The truth behind the accuracy of weather forecasts
One of the most common questions I'm asked is how accurate weather forecasts are. These queries are normally polite inquisitions; however, online comments on meteorological services can be far more hostile, even implying forecasts are borderline worthless. Let's examine these claims, starting with how accuracy has changed with time. Contrary to recent claims that climate change is making forecasting more difficult, an increase in computer power, detailed satellite data, along with an improved scientific understanding of the atmosphere, has greatly advanced the model simulations that are the basis of modern meteorology. This has resulted in temperature forecasts improving by about one day per decade since the 1970s, and according to a Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) spokesperson, the advancements have become even more rapid in recent years. "Forecast accuracy for maximum temperature has improved by two days in the last 10 years. This means that the four-day forecast issued today is as accurate as the two-day forecast issued in 2015," they said. Significant improvements have also been made in other fields, like rainfall, wind and cyclone tracks. The map below illustrates how weather models between 1974 and 2010 would have forecast the path of Cyclone Tracy, and there is little doubt if the storm was to occur today, Darwin would be given ample warning. The two main fragments of a forecast most Australians consume are temperatures and rainfall. The BOM's verification for maximum temperatures in the 2024-25 financial year shows the forecast was within 2 degrees Celsius of that observed 91 per cent of the time. But how do we judge whether that's a skilled forecast? Darwin residents with little meteorological knowledge could probably match that accuracy by just assuming tomorrow's maximum will hit the long-term average. And in regions where the weather fluctuates, a forecast with a large error could still be beneficial — for example, if a location averages 25C, is forecast to reach 45C, but only reaches 40C, the forecast may have been 5C off but was still a valuable guide to possible threats like heat stress and bushfires. That's why temperature forecasts require an initial baseline for assessment and one method to calculate the forecast error and compare its accuracy against climatology (long-term average for that time of year). The graph below shows the forecast error (the blue line) in the Australian and New Zealand region from a leading global model compared to the climatological average (the red line). Unsurprisingly, the further ahead the forecast, the larger the error; however, the key takeaway is even at nine days, the model is still more accurate compared to climatology. This is compelling evidence that a seven-day forecast has skill and even suggests the BOM could be justified in extending to a nine- or even 10-day forecast as many weather apps already do. Another method of assessing skill is to measure a forecast against the assumption that tomorrow's weather will be the same as today's (called persistence forecasting). However, in the mid latitudes, where alternating warm and cold air masses can bring extreme fluctuations, the persistence system quickly results in large errors. Take Melbourne, for example, in April 2025, using persistence forecasting for maximum temperatures reveals a mean error of 3.1C just one day ahead — that's severely inferior to the BOM's average error. For a seven-day forecast, this error balloons to 5.1C, while modelling error that far ahead (just above the surface) is on average as low as 2.4C. The same persistence errors for Sydney last month are 2.5C one day ahead and 3.1C seven days out, again less accurate than modelling. The bureau's rainfall forecasts are structured differently from temperatures, expressed as a chance of rain and a likely rain range. Verifying the chance of rain is straightforward since the forecasts can be compared to the ratio of rain days that eventuate. Data supplied to the ABC from the BOM for the 2024-25 financial year show that for the next day the rain probability forecasts are exceptionally accurate: "The bureau's forecasts of the probability of receiving any rain were, in 2024-25, accurate to within 0 to 4 percentage points," a bureau spokesperson said. Verifying the rain quantity is more complex since the given range is defined with the lower value being the amount that has a 75 per cent chance of being exceeded, while the higher value has a 25 per cent chance of being exceeded. In 2023-24 rain totals one day ahead exceeded the lower value on 78 per cent of days and the higher value on 29 per cent of days. In other words, the bureau's forecasts were accurate to within three to four percentage points, despite the fickle nature of rainfall. "Routine assessments of forecast accuracy … show that the bureau forecasts are accurate and reliable, even given the high local variation in rainfall," the spokesperson said. The bureau did not provide verification covering forecasts more than one day ahead; however, data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) below reveals rain forecasts are more accurate than climatology at least eight days ahead — indicated by skill values above zero. If forecast data is highly skilled, as shown above, why then is the quality of predictions not unanimously valued? Is it just selective memory, or perhaps a misunderstanding of forecasts and an unreliable method of self-verification. The last two factors almost certainly work together to diminish the perception of accuracy. For example, the BOM uses the term "high chance of showers" to describe a day when there is a 65 to 84 per cent chance of 'measurable rain'. However, this forecast is often misinterpreted as 'a wet day' when in reality it implies up to a 35 per cent chance of no rain and covers the common scenario when rain only lasts minutes and is therefore missed by most people. Temperatures can also be perceived inaccurately. A 25C day in summer during periods of high humidity and light winds may feel uncomfortably warm in direct sunlight, while a 25C high in winter (when the sun's angle is lower) in combination with low humidity and strong winds could feel noticeably cool, particularly if the majority of the day was well below the maximum. And one final word on weather apps. A recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration study showed that apps were now easily the most popular source of weather data, but some provide hyperlocal forecasting to a level at which reasonable accuracy can't be expected — like giving hour-by-hour predictions up to 10 days ahead or daily forecasts up to 45 days ahead.