Veteran newsreader breaks down on live television reliving the trauma of Cyclone Tracy

A veteran newsreader has broken down on live television while recalling the traumatic moment his home was devastated by Cyclone Tracy.

Ron Wilson, who presented the Channel 10 news for nearly 40 years, burst into tears while describing the lasting impact Salvation Army had on his family on Sunrise. 

Cyclone Tracy was Australia’s most destructive cyclone, killing 71 people on Christmas Day in 1974 as it tore through Darwin. 

Wilson appeared on the show to promote The Salvation Army Red Shield appeal, which has so far raised more than $1 million to help people in need. 

Sunrise presenter Monique Wright rushed to his comfort as he broke down in tears recalling how the charity organisation helped with accommodation and rent in Sydney. 

When asked how the Salvation Army helped him, then 19, and his family after the cyclone hit, Wilson said: ‘I’m going to get blubbery’.

When asked how the Salvation Army helped him, then 19, and his family after the cyclone hit, Wilson said: ‘I’m going to get blubbery’. Ron Wilson’s destroyed home is pictured 

‘They were there for us,’ he said.

‘This was in the days before mobile phones so to apply for jobs you had to go and stand there.’ 

As he continued to look teary, he was asked how $20 notes provided by the Salvation Army to him and his mother helped in the aftermath of the cyclone.

‘You spent the money on the public phones to make calls to get jobs,’ he said. 

‘We came out of Darwin wearing shorts and a t-shirt and that’s everything we had.’ 

The first helicopter from an Australian navy relief convoy drops supplies several days after Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin on Christmas morning 1974 

Footage of Darwin’s suburbs in the aftermath of Cyclone Tracy in late 1974