Good afternoon, it is a great pleasure to be here. Thank you, Janie, for the warm welcome.

Transcription

1 SPEECH BY HIS HONOUR THE HONOURABLE JOHN HARDY OAM ADMINISTRATOR OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY ON THE OCCASION OF THE Launch of The Not So Silent Night Charles Darwin University Tuesday 12 May 2015 Good afternoon, it is a great pleasure to be here. Thank you, Janie, for the warm welcome. In 2014, we found ourselves reflecting on the days that led up to, and that followed, Cyclone Tracy. It was the 40 th anniversary, and big anniversaries are often a trigger for revisiting experiences from the past. On an emotional level, this can be a cathartic experience. But on a practical level, it is an important way to capture the details of an event that has had a lasting impact on society. Sue has done us a great service in taking on the important task of collecting the stories of doctors, nurses and health workers who were in Darwin when Tracy struck. As I read through the accounts in this book The Not So Silent Night, I was immediately taken back to those hot, messy and chaotic days that followed the cyclone. Page 1

2 In my own chapter, I state that my role as radiographer was cut short by the cyclone. The X-ray department had lost its roof, and the machines had been drenched by rain and made inoperable. All of the patients requiring diagnostic X-rays were sent South. But many other services continued, despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges that were thrown at staff. Reading my old colleagues stories, it makes me realise something important. Although these are very personal experiences, when collected together, there are some common themes that shine through. The first theme is that despite the chaos and feeling out of their depth, each found a way to contribute. It was often the simplest solution to a problem that was the most effective in getting things done. Alison King (nee Devine), Hospital Casualty Nurse, Registered Nurse and Registered Midwife, wrote: I felt out of my depth having little experience in emergencies apart from a few months in my training years before in Port Kembla and certainly nothing like this. I felt I could be most help fetching equipment as I knew where everything was. There were others much more experienced than I who came to help but were not familiar with where everything was kept. It was later on that I learnt to suture wounds. Page 2

3 The second theme is the teamwork and leadership that was established out of the chaos. Barbara Evans (nee Pottle), Hospital Acting Nursing Supervisor of Casualty and Outpatients, wrote: Every person present in that town that day had been through the most terrifying night, most losing their home and possessions, and yet the hospital staff and emergency personnel & our NT police, local GPs as well as hospital doctors, worked all day and well into the night until every injured person had been treated either in the hospital or in the first aid stations in the suburbs. Mr Bromwich the senior surgeon was a tower of strength to the staff and in particular the young doctors faced with awful decision making. The third theme is the use of creativity to overcome challenges, and embracing the moments of great fortune and luck. Sue Baddeley (nee Sayers), Hospital Paediatric Registrar Doctor, wrote: We had no paper, so people admitted to hospital had their history and treatment written directly on their skin. Suture material got so low instead of discarding anything left, we used it on the next patient. Page 3

4 And Barbara Evans wrote: Miraculously we had a huge amount of first aid materials available because an over-zealous staff member turned out to be the hero of the day having ordered monumental amounts of bandages, dressings and suture material in error and I had decided not to return it to stores until after Christmas. The final theme is that amongst all of the darkness and despair, there were some moments of positivity. Stephen Baddeley, Hospital First Year Resident Doctor, wrote: Later that evening, just before dusk I walked outside and saw in daylight what remained of the surrounding city. I could not believe the amount of destruction. I could not see a house with a roof and many of the elevated houses had been reduced to Darwin dance-floors. The most striking and depressing thing, however, was the lack of anything green. What had been a lush, tropical city now looked like something out of the pictures you see of the First World War all was grey and in ruins. All was not totally doom and gloom however. That night I met my future wife and never had to work in England. There are other themes, and there are many more extracts worthy of sharing. But I will leave you to purchase the book and digest these in your own time. Page 4

5 Congratulations to Sue for making this project happen, and thank you to those who took the time and courage to recount this traumatic time in Darwin s history. Page 5