Bushfire

 While the tragic events of February 7th, Black Saturday are fresh in our minds, it may be of interest to members to learn something of the history of fire in our city. 

In pre-European times, aboriginal people used a cool burn technique as part of their-way of life. Fires were used for warmth, to cook food, and the burning of forests flushed out native animals for hunting. 

Victoria is one of the three highest fire prone areas in the world. Each summer sees the threat of fire in the state and with the drought which has plagued Victoria for so long, and the effect of global warming, the problem seems to grow worse each year.

As the population expands ever further into forested regions on Melbourne's outskirts, the fire danger has become even greater. Some people think that the fashion for native garden plants has perhaps added to the factors which lead to more frequent fires. 

On Thursday February 6th, 1851, later known as "Black Thursday" a huge conflagration occurred in Victoria. It is unknown how many people died, as communications were primitive in those early times in Victoria's history. Authorities would have been ignorant of the whereabouts of many people living in the bush. This huge fire covered Victoria from north to south and from east to west. 

Bruce Bence, in his book on fire in Victoria states that the fires were so vast that the captain of a sailing ship reported that while his ship was out at sea, flying embers from the fires ignited the rigging and ruined the sails. 

In our own district, Irvine Green, in "Petticoats in the Orchard" describes the ordeal of the Pickering family who lived in the stringy park forest just north of the present Doncaster Secondary College. On that awful day, fire swept through Doncaster, burning their farm to the ground. One of the Pickering daughters, Susan, suffered severe burns to her face during the fire, that the resulting scarring caused her to become a recluse. She refused to meet people and remained confined to her house for the rest of her life. 

Again in 1927, Warrandyte was saved in the nick of time from disaster by a wind change which arrived in the town. In those times, volunteers were only armed with tree branches and wet bags to quell the flames. 

January 1939, was the culmination of a long drawn out drought and on the 13th, the temperature rose to 46C in Melbourne. Fires had been raging in Victorian country areas, and a new one broke out near Eltham and driven by a ferocious northerly wind crossed the Yarra River near Alexander Street, Warrandyte • near the present Warrandyte High School and headed for the township of Warrandyte. Many locals went to the tunnel at Pound Bend for shelter, and they were joined by some native animals also looking for a safe haven. 

As the fire raced on, houses in Pound Bend, then in the township itself and further on in South Warrandyte where the school, hall and South Warrandyte Post Office were destroyed. 

The present home of the Warrandyte Historical Society, the Post Office was saved on that dreadful day by the tremendous efforts of people who formed a bucket chain from the river. The buckets were filled by women who were sheltering in the river itself and filled the buckets continuously passing them up to helpers. 

The next door church burned in the fierce flames and threatened the Post Office, but with the assistance of the hotel staff opposite, who also quelled the fire by pouring water on the inferno. 

Many people who worked in Melbourne were unaware of the fire in Warrandyte, as communications were much simpler in those days. There were many accounts of people who alighted from Wither's Bus only to find their homes reduced to a pile of burning embers. 

Taffy Jones' cafe in Yarra Street is a ruin which stills stands in the heart of the town. Recently it has been conserved as a ruin, and interpretive boards have been erected on the site to explain to visitors the story of that disastrous day in 1939. 

Two men died and over 120 houses were destroyed as well as numerous public buildings in the January 1939 fire in Warrandyte. 

Gradually, as a result of this terrible event, the fire brigades in the area banded together to form a cooperative group with a united front and common goal. 

A new Fire Station was built in Warrandyte, and fire fighting vehicles were purchased for use by the various local brigades. Hoses, pumps and suitable clothing were obtained, and volunteers carried out controlled bums to rid the area of potentially flammable material. 

The fire tower on Fourth Hill, completed in 1961-62 and the improvement in radio communications were also factors which were invaluable in the next major fire which threatened Warrandyte in January 1962. 

This fire which began in Christmas Hills, north of Warrandyte burned through the town going south at a rapid rate'. It came over the Yarra at the island, up Webb Street, Fourth Hill and skirting Park Orchards went as far as the Maroondah Highway very near Mitcham. A lady who lived in a small house in Antonio Park near Schwerkolt's Cottage writes in an article in the Whitehorse Historical Society's newsletter, of returning home as a child to find her home destroyed. 

It seems incredible to think of suburban Mitcham as a likely site for a bushfire, but as we saw, there is a precedent for such a fire. We surely should not be complacent, that we will not be affected by bushfires, so we need to be vigilant on all days of high fire danger. 

Black Saturday, February 7th 2009, was the date of the most disastrous fire Victoria has ever experienced, especially concerning the number of people who lost their lives in the Kinglake and Marysville areas. 

The population of Warrandyte have great concerns about future fires in the area. Many feel that, but for a change in the wind direction, Warrandyte and perhaps Park Orchards, would have been right in the path of the fires on February 7th. 

A public forum will be held on May 5th in Warrandyte to debate many aspects of the "Black Saturday" fire.  One of the questions to be discussed will be the "stay or leave" policy which may need to be altered on days of potential high fire danger. Also the controversy concerning dead forest. floor undergrowth lying by -roadsides and in the National Park, and the need for more burns on cool or suitable days will be of paramount interest to participants at the forum. 

A major problematic topic will no doubt surface. The proposal for another Yarra River crossing is sure to be very controversial. At present the only escape route south from North Warrandyte is across the Warrandyte bridge. Large numbers of residents would evacuate over the bridge on a high risk fire day. A possible fallen tree, brought down by high winds on the day would be a catastrophe causing panic and a serious blockage on the only two roads south over the bridge. A suggestion of erecting another bridge, possibly near the Warrandyte High School will likely be discussed as well as the connecting roads necessary to service the bridge entry. 

These are only a few of the concerns which will no doubt be voiced at the forum. It is vital that we are adequately prepared for the fires which will sooner or later inevitably affect Warrandyte, and we commend the Warrandyte Community Association for its initiative in proposing this forum. The points raised and concerns expressed will form part of the community submission to be presented to the Victorian Bushfires Commission. 

Source: 2009-06 DTHS Newsletter