"Santa Never Made It into Darwin" is a

charity single A charity record or charity single is a song released by musicians with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity. George Harrison's " Bangla Desh" single in 1971 is commonly acknowledged as the first ever purpose-mad ...

, recorded by

Bill and Boyd Bill and Boyd were a pop music duo from 1959 to 1989 consisting of William "Bill" Cate (10 October 1940 - 29 November 2020) and William "Boyd" Robertson (born 1941), both on lead vocals and lead guitar, which started recording in 1960. They bega ...

. It was written by the band's William Cate. Funds raised supported the Australian city of

Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin ( ; Larrakia: ) is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. With an estimated population of 147,255 as of 2019, the city contains the majority of the residents of the sparsely populated Northern Territory. It is the smalle ...

, following the damage wrought by

Cyclone Tracy Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from 24 to 26 December 1974. The small, developing easterly storm had been observed passing clear of the city initially, but then turned t ...

on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, 1974. The song peaked at number 2 on the

Australian singles chart The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

. At the 1975 Australian Record Awards it won Song of the Year. It also won APRA Song of the Year at the 1976

Country Music Awards of Australia The Country Music Awards of Australia also known as the Golden Guitar Awards (originally named Australasian Country Music Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, in Tamworth, New South Wales ...

Background

formed in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand as a pop and country music duo in 1959 by William "Bill" Cate and William Boyd Robertson. They relocated to Sydney in 1964. In 1970 they signed with independent label,

Fable Records Fable Records was an Australian independent record company which operated from 1970 to 1984. It was one of the most successful and productive Australian 'indie' labels of the period, issuing over 300 singles and dozens of EPs and LPs. Fable made ...

, which issued "Santa Never Made It to Darwin" in January 1975. Its proceeds supported the re-building of Northern Territory's capital city, Darwin after its devastation on the previous Christmas Eve and Christmas Day by

. "Santa Never Made It into Darwin" was written by Cate and produced by Doug Trevor at Armstrong Audio and Video Studios in Melbourne. It peaked at number 2 on the

. At the 1975 Australian Record Awards it won Song of the Year. It also won APRA Song of the Year at the 1976

Track listing

7" vinyl single

(FB-234) *Side A "Santa Never Made It into Darwin" (William Cate) – 5:54 *Side B "Chulu Chululu" (Cate, William Boyd Robertson) – 2:02

Background

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References