DARWIN

With a 5.5m croc at the NT Museum

DAY 31 – DARWIN                                                                          Tuesday, 2^nd August

First up – off to sort out the problem of our fridge that will not cool down properly!!  Pain in the neck, in the tropics.  Apparently, nothing can be done but to put a fan near the fridge to try to cool it down.  I am sure it is not helping that we are trying to put food in there for six people!!  Poor thing is working overtime.  Anyway, my clever husband (having completed his electrician’s apprenticeship some years ago) is “hard at it” as I type, installing a new fan system!!   Such a clever man!!  I am just providing coffee, chocolate and moral support – being an expert in the humanities!!!!

We started off at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (it is constantly amazing me how many of these things are free) which was so interesting.  There is a great deal on Cyclone Tracy in the museum and I learnt lots that I did not know.  There was a volunteer there giving a talk generally on the cyclone and also on his personal experiences.  It was really interesting to find out that of a population of around 50,000, around 35,000 were evacuated from the city by the end of the week and of those 35,000 people only 10,000 people actually returned to Darwin.  It is an extremely itinerant population with most people only staying for a few years, because of the high cost of living or because of the weather.  There was a special sound room you can go into to hear the sounds of the cyclone, recorded by Bishop Collins at St. Mary’s cathedral as midnight Mass was starting.  It really was quite frightening and the kids were all clinging to me!!

We went off into the city for a wander around the mall. (And a McDonald’s ice-cream.  We have become so poor that our kids can’t have nice ice-creams.  We have even downgraded from the boxes of ice-creams at the supermarket! The soft serve 50c cones are about it now!!)  We then went home for a swim and a delicious hamburger dinner provided by Daddy.  As with home, jobs are very delineated here.  Mummy is in charge of washing and communications.  Daddy is in charge of cooking!!  Mummy is VERY happy with that!