- Dawn Lawrie
- Rob Wesley
Smith - Darwina and
William Fong - Joe Karlhuber
- Bob Collins
- Michael Loos
- Maggie Kent
- Roger Steele
Interviews with Bob Collins
Bob Collins, who retired as Northern Territory Senator in March 1998 after nearly 21 years of public life, was working for the CSIRO at the time of Cyclone Tracy. Born in post-war Newcastle to a working class family, Bob left school at 15 and after a stint at cotton farming in New South Wales, he arrived in Darwin in 1967 "to get as far away as possible from a broken heart." His 'launch' into Territory life was problematic - he was robbed on his first night and so slept in a drain pipe ("Yes, I could fit in a drain pipe then") in the botanical gardens. Within a week, he got himself a job with the then Department of Agriculture in Katherine where he spent several years. He became politically active in the 1970s while he was running a market garden at Maningrida. He was persuaded to stand for Labor for the 'bush' seat of Arnhem in 1977 and won it with a 65 per cent majority. In 1981 he became Leader of the Labor Opposition in the Territory Parliament where he remained until 1986 when he resigned to contest the Senate seat for Labor. He won that seat in July 1987 and became the first Territorian to become a Minister in a federal government, becoming a Cabinet Minister in 1992. At the time of Cyclone Tracy Bob was working with the CSIRO and living in a rural block near Darwin. He was also active in the St John's Ambulance at the time and his interview describes his cyclone experience, the drive into Darwin during the "eye" and his work after the cyclone with the ambulance service.
Cyclone - A description of how Bob lost his house in the cyclone before driving into Darwin during the eye of the Cyclone.
Ambulance - A description of driving to the Ambulance station the morning after the cyclone. Tells of the damage caused and the effort to try to clear the roads.
Funeral Parlour - Tells of his time as a Ambulance driver. Includes a funny story from the morgue and being threaten for remove tires to repair the Ambulance.