The after-effects of Darwin's Cyclone Tracy were still rippling through the nation on this day, 46 years ago.
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On the front page of The Canberra Times were some remarkable stories of survival.
Upon arrival at the Canberra Airport, Mrs D. Goodger, from Darwin, talked about the moment the cyclone hit.
She said: "I thought - if we're meant to survive we will and if this is the end, then at least it will be quick".
With her husband, who was a Northern Territory police constable, and their 12-month-old son, they waited out most of the cyclone huddled in a corner of their living room under a mattress supported by an ironing board.
At first the damage to their house wasn't so bad, but when the eye of the cyclone had passed over them, the tail swept over and the house disintegrated.
When daylight came the constable and Mrs Goodger moved into the baby health clinic next door. By Christmas night they had moved in with friends whose home had not even had a louvre broken.
The building had been badly damaged but sill had some dry spots.
All Darwin evacuees reaching Canberra by air were met by representatives of the ACT control centre welfare and two Salvation Army officers.
Mrs D Burrell, arrived with her two sons and was met at the airport by her in-laws, Vice-admiral Sir Henry Burrell and his wife, Lady Burrell.
With five other women and seven children, Mrs Burrell sheltered throughout most of the cyclone beneath a navy-issue dining table.
Most of the house destroyed, but the table remained intact.
See more at https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/12220810
