List of Australian region cyclones before 1940

On 20 April 1872, a cyclone struck Roebourne in the Pilbara of Western Australia effectively destroying the town.[4]

On 24 December 1875, a total of 59 lives were lost at sea when the eye of a cyclone passed over Exmouth Gulf. Several schooners were driven ashore and wrecked.[5]

On 9 January 1880 a cyclone passed near Yammadery Creek, between Onslow, Western Australia and Fortescue River, where the tidal surge was eight metres over the high-water mark. The Adalia was wrecked near Robe River and some of the crew drowned.[6]

On 7 March 1882 a severe cyclone passed Roebourne and Cossack in the evening causing damage to every building in the settlements. Cossack recorded a minimum pressure of 942 hPa. Despite the extensive loss of sheep from surrounding stations it was considered fortunate that only one person suffered an injury.[7]

On 30 January 1884 a severe cyclone hit Bowen in Queensland causing damage to every building in the settlement and loss of the jetty and all boats and all communication.[8][9][10]

On 22 April 1887, a cyclone struck the pearling fleet at Ninety Mile Beach near Broome claiming 140 lives. The storm was unexpected, since it was so late in the season.[5]

On 1 March 1889 flooding was considerable at Cossack where a cyclone coincided with high tide. All crew aboard the Waratah were lost off Cape Preston and one man drowned in the river at Roebourne.[7]

On 4 January 1894 and 9 January 1894 – Within the space of five days two cyclones crossed the Pilbara coast. The first caused damage to many buildings at Roebourne and Cossack. The second cyclone caused more significant damage to the area completely washing away the previously damaged sea wall at Cossack. Over forty lives were believed to have been lost as twelve luggers and the steamer Anne were destroyed. Altogether the damage was estimated at 15000 pounds and the loss of some 15000 sheep. Flooding was also substantial.[7]

In January 1898, Cyclone Eline made landfall near Mackay, Queensland. The Cremorne Hotel in northern Mackay sustained damage, as well as the Methodist church on Gregory Street.[14][15]

On 2 April 1898 a cyclone was described as causing more damage at Cossack than had ever been experienced before. Tramway, rails, road and bridges were destroyed and telegraph line downed. Houses collapsed and all boats slipped their moorings. The damage was estimated at over 30000 pounds. Whim Creek registered 747 mm of rain in 24 hours, the highest daily rainfall ever recorded in Western Australia.[7]

Upon making landfall in Queensland as an extremely powerful Category 5 severe tropical cyclone on March 4, 1899,[16] Severe Tropical Cyclone Mahina produced a 40-foot storm surge, the highest ever recorded. The flooding killed 400–410 people, making it the deadliest cyclone in Australian history.

Cyclone Leonta was a tropical cyclone that caused severe damage in North Queensland on 9 March 1903, with approximately 14 lives lost (12 in Townsville and 2 in Charters Towers).[17][18]

On 27 April 1908, the pearling fleet (again) at Ninety Mile Beach experienced the full force of a storm. The loss of life exceeded 50 persons.[5]

Following a cyclone at Onslow, Western Australia in January 1909 a second storm hit the town on 5 to 6 April 1909 causing damage to most boats and some buildings. Four luggers with all 24 of their crew were lost.[19]

A cyclone hit Queensland, Australia near the city of Cairns.[20]

On 19 November 1910 the eye of a cyclone passed directly over Broome, where there was much damage. Twenty six boats of the pearling fleet were sunk and 40 lives were lost.[5]

A powerful tropical cyclone made landfall in Mackay, Queensland, as a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone on the Australian scale. It was only the second system to make landfall in Queensland at this intensity on record.[16]

A powerful tropical cyclone made landfall in Innisfail, Queensland, as a Category 5 severe tropical cyclone on the Australian scale. It was only the third system to make landfall in Queensland at this intensity on record.[16]

This cyclone developed on 21 March 1923 east of Cape York and then devastated the normally cyclone free Torres Strait Islands. It then moved over the Gulf of Carpentaria where 20 lives were lost after the Douglas Mawson sank. The cyclone decayed around 2 April.[21]

After this cyclone on 21 January 1925 near Roebourne, Western Australia only a very small portion of the land end of the Point Samson jetty was left intact. Almost 5 km of the tramline was washed away and the Pope's Nose Creek bridge was badly damaged. At Cossack the sea in the creek rose 7.2 m, covering the road and surrounding country for about a mile (1.6 km). Seven luggers and a schooner which had sheltered in Cossack Creek were lifted 100 m into the mangroves by the storm surge. Not a building was left unscathed in Roebourne. Residents sheltered in more substantial stone buildings as the timber houses were razed. The Jubilee Hotel was unroofed and the other two hotels badly damaged.[7]

In April, a tropical cyclone destroyed most houses in Yamdena. 10 people were killed on the island of Selaru, along with destruction of plantations, damage to houses, and palm trees being blown over.[2]

On March 12, 1934, a powerful cyclone crossed the coast of Far North Queensland at Cape Tribulation. A pearling fleet was decimated by the system, resulting in the loss of 75 lives. The towns of Daintree and Mossman suffered extensive damage, with damage to vegetation reported in Cairns.

This is Australia's second deadliest cyclone in the 20th century. The Lacepede Islands near Broome were struck sinking 21 pearling luggers with 141 lives lost.

Nine people died on 11 January 1939 with the loss of the Nicol Bay, on a holiday cruise to the Ashburton River. Some properties in Roebourne, Western Australia sustained damage.[7]

• February 4 – 18, 1940 – A tropical cyclone developed to the west of Tuvalu and moved south – southwest through the islands of Vanuatu. The system subsequently passed to the north of New Caledonia and moved north – westwards into the Australian region where it made landfall near Cardwell, Queensland during February 18.[3]
• March 6, 1940 – A tropical cyclone made landfall on Queensland to the north of Cooktown.[22]
• March 17, 1940 – A tropical cyclone made landfall on Queensland near Mackay.[22]
• March 23 – 24, 1940 – A tropical cyclone made landfall on the Cape York Peninsula, before it moved across the Gulf of Carpentaria from the Edward River to Port Roper.[22][23]
• April 7, 1940 – A tropical cyclone made landfall on Queensland near Townsville.[22]