Black Saturday

Black Saturday

Post
Subscribe

Posted 2019-02-01 by Neil Follettfollow
Australia's worst bushfire disaster was Victoria's , beginning around 7 February and ending on 14 March 2009. The conflagration cost 173 lives and destroyed 2100 homes.

On 21 March 2009, a small group of photography enthusiasts visited five properties in the Narbethong area, all with the approval and blessing of the owners.

Our guide was a local lady who knew all the owners of the properties we visited. We met two of them and despite losing their homes, they were grateful they were not among those who perished.



After seeing the devastation first hand at the first property we visited, hardly a word was spoken for the whole tour. I'm sure I saw a tear or two in some eyes, perhaps even in mine.
We were all in disbelief in what we saw, people's homes destroyed, their lives shattered and for some, their livelihood gone.



The intensity of the fire was almost unbelievable. There were many examples of what was a forest of trees, now reduced to blackened sentinels with their green foliage gone.



On two of the properties, all that remained of what was once a home was a pile of ashen ruins with a brick chimney still standing, almost in defiance of what it had endured.

It reminded me of a saying I heard a long time ago. "Isn't it ironic, when a house burns down the only thing left standing is the chimney, where the fire was supposed to be."



Many, many, burnt out hulks of motor vehicles were evident, sitting on their wheel rims after the tyres disappeared leaving only the rings of wire from their steel belted tyres. The windows of these vehicles just melted in the heat.





What surprised us all was some of the plants had re-appeared from the ashes, regenerated, just like a phoenix.





They were a joy to behold, a splash of colour in the blackened landscape, perhaps signalling hope to those affected.

#tours
#unusual_events
#unusual_things_to_do
#victoria
%wnmelbourne
166462 - 2023-06-15 03:05:13

Tags

Free
Festivals
Outdoor
Music
Markets
Nightlife
Fundraisers
Family_friendly
Community
Arts_culture
Food_drink
Educational
Random
Theatre_shows
Shopping_markets
Copyright 2024 OatLabs ABN 18113479226