Impact of cyclonic 'Sygna storm' lingers, 50 years on

Remember it? The 50th anniversary of the savage storm of late May 1974 that created major devastation will be marked next weekend.

State Emergency Service (SES) records of the era state a staggering number of 1500 homes in the region being damaged, with some totally destroyed during the emergency.

Police estimated 200 cars were either wrecked or damaged in this same weather disaster. Buildings shook, streets were blocked and flooded with several ships breaking their moorings in Newcastle Harbour amid the chaos of high-pitched winds and rain.

So fierce were the screaming wind gusts, from about 130kmh but gusting up to 165kmh, (when combined with heavy seas) they caused both Newcastle and Bar Beach to be completely stripped of sand, exposing vast bare rock shelves.

Most people today can remember where they were when a similar extraordinary storm struck the Lower Hunter in 2007. That's when the collier Pasha Bulker almost went ashore on Nobbys Beach as a permanent tourist attraction.

But they might tend to forget the earlier drama of May 1974 dominating the headlines. It also involved a giant coal ship in distress, but on this occasion it wasn't a happy ending when this earlier ship ran aground (pictured) then broke in two north of Stockton with its stern ending up rusting away in the surf until, fairly recently, it finally disappeared beneath the waves.

The ship victim of the violent gale was the 53,000-tonne Norwegian bulk carrier, M.V. Sygna. Wedged firmly in the sand, it immediately became Australia's biggest shipwreck and the rescue of its seamen was an incredible drama carried out in unbelievably difficult circumstances by the courageous crew of an Iroquois helicopter from Williamtown RAAF base.

But more of that in a moment. There were many unsung heroes during what was then labelled a 'hurricane'. Former Civil Defence (later SES) volunteer Clem Doyle, now retired of Salamander Bay, still vividly remembers the storm events on the ground around Newcastle helping residents in flooded homes.

He wasn't involved with the wreck of the Sygna and the rescue of its crew as he, and others, had their hands already full helping desperate community members elsewhere.

"We were run off our feet for days, plus going without sleep. I was 21 at the time and have just turned 70. That gale is something you don't forget," Doyle said.

"We were all young and fit and had basic training. You'd work until you were exhausted. You'd fall sleep on a pile of tarps (tarpaulins) after getting a meal here and there. You'd later wake up and find out 10 more jobs had come in while you were napping

"It was such a significant event at the time it's simply remembered these days by the name of the ship - the Sygna - which ran aground. And now 50 years have passed and we shouldn't forget it. It should be remembered in the history of Newcastle," Doyle said.

Doyle was among more than 80 Civil Defence rescue team volunteers, from all walks of life, helping people cope with the disaster. They worked without serious rest for three days.

"There was mess all over the place with street hazards from trees and powerlines down. We worked in roughly eight-person teams when people lost their roofs," Doyle said.

"I remember one particular job I was involved in, a house opposite the Mary Ellen Hotel (at Merewether), which had lost its roof. We had to put a tarp over it to try and protect it in the rain. That's when I fell through the ceiling. The plasterboard was all wet and soggy," Doyle said.

The first call to the SES in Newcastle came at 3am on Sunday, May 26, 1974. During the fury of the gale, verandas were torn off historic East End houses, power lines came down, the Bar Beach surf pavilion was completely destroyed and airborne debris created havoc.

Only days afterwards, SES compiled data on the effects of the severe gale and heavy seas in the Newcastle area plus the Central Coast, Sydney and South Coast. Almost 2500 homes were damaged, many completely unroofed. Help was provided to about 1200 householders with 160 people evacuated from unsafe dwellings. Thousands of trees were blown down with foreshores and flood affected areas sandbagged.

But the statistics showed the coastal storm's impact had overwhelmingly occurred in Newcastle (with 1000 homes damaged) and 500 in Lake Macquarie. The next highest was 224 homes damaged in Wyong with more than 100 homes damaged in Gosford.

As the phones ran hot with householders crying for help, the man in the hot seat at SES headquarters was its operations controller who was normally a schoolteacher. He praised the young SES volunteers as "incredibly enthusiastic" in helping people in distress.

"His name was Lindsay Anson and he had to prioritise the emergency calls," Doyle said.

At the time, between taking calls, one operations officer, possibly Anson, said: "We are desperately short of good tarpaulins. We have given out more than 100 in the past 12 hours and we need a lot more.

"Tile and iron roofs are still being lost, chimneys are going over, windows smashed and property damaged by flying debris."

The suburbs of Cooks Hill, Newcastle East, Bar Beach and Merewether were initially the hardest hit.

But today, however, much of the public's focus still remains on the stricken bulk carrier the Sygna aground north of Stockton. This story is well known but goes something like this.

On Sunday May 26, 1974, the ship was anchored out at sea off port waiting to enter to load a coal cargo although warned of an approaching storm.

By 1am the next day, as the wind rose, the Sygna finally tried to get underway but huge seas pushed her sideways instead onto Stockton north beach, where she ran firmly aground.

The crew prepared to abandon ship.

The RAAF boldly scrambled a helicopter piloted by Gary McFarlane who had flown in Vietnam. Amid driving rain, severe turbulence and reduced visibility, the helicopter hovered over the stricken vessel. Spray from waves breaking over the ship went 150 metres into the air.

Despite hazards posed by the ship's superstructure, the RAAF crew successfully winched 28 men and two women in groups of two or three from the Sygna in appalling conditions for 75 minutes. They were then flown to the nearby beach, about 200 metres away.

It was one of the most amazing rescues in the Hunter's history.