Cyclone Tracy swept through the city of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia at 1am on the 25th of December 1974, Christmas morning. The approximate longitude and latitude of Cyclone Tracy was 14° South and 130° East. Tracy was first detected on the Arafura Sea on 20th of December 1974 and slowly intensified as it moved southwest over the ocean. On the 23rd and the 24th of December it passed close to Bathurst Island before it changed direction and headed southeast, straight towards Darwin.