Murrindindi Bushfire Memorials Design Brief Report 2014

prepared by Executive Summary

Phase 2 of the Community Consultation process for Murrindindi Shire is complete. Based on feedback received from the Murrindindi Bushfire Memorials Working Group, as part of its extensive consultation process, a design brief has been prepared that will see two regional memorials to be sited in Marysville and Kinglake to represent the broader impact of the fires on either side of the shire, as well as several ‘Local Memorials’ to be sited in communities where lives were lost.

The local memorials will be more intimate markers for community remembrance and as such will be smaller in scale. The function of the regional memorials is to acknowledge the broader impact of the fires on communities and to provide a space for larger memorial events.

The Working Group has also recommended that all names of the deceased be included in the two regional memorials unless families wish otherwise.

Preferred sites have been identified for the regional Memorials at Marysville and Kinglake. The sites for local memorials have also been identified in Narbethong, Toolangi/Castella, Kinglake Central, Kinglake West and Flowerdale / Hazeldene. These will be announced once approvals have been received.

The siting of the Flowerdale/Hazeldene and Toolangi / Castella memorials has been voted on by community members at community meetings that took place in April. The agenda of these meetings was to discuss all recommended sites and to agree on the most appropriate one for these areas. In the case of Flowerdale and Hazeldene where only 3 people came to the meeting, we ran a further survey on the web-site for a period of 2 months. Community members were notified via press releases and a locally distributed flyer. The response was robust and a preferred site was identified.

In terms of the memorials themselves, survey respondents were asked whether names of the deceased should be included in the design.

Most agreed that the names of people who have died should be included. However around 20 per cent did not agree and on this basis the working group has recommended that an opt-out option be offered for those who do not wish their loved ones names to be incorporated into the memorials. Respondents also felt strongly that the loss of pets, wildlife, the environment and property should be acknowledged in the memorials, as well as ongoing impacts on communities.

Another request was that the many people who contributed to the fire response effort and recovery should also be recognised by the memorials. This has been incorporated into the design brief. It is the recommendation of the Working Group that the two regional memorials be the appropriate sites for the telling of these stories.

The survey responses were unanimous in requesting that the memorials should reflect the beauty of the natural environment, and the resilience of the local community – and that the design should be simple, enduring and evocative, to allow quiet contemplation.

On this basis, the Working Group has determined that the bushfire memorials will be “respectful places that commemorate the loss of life, of livelihood, of home, of friends and community and of treasured landscapes wrought by the devastation of the 2009 bushfires”.

Expressions of interests for memorial deigns will be called for as soon as the sites has been finalised and approvals received. Short-listed designers will be asked to make a model to go on display for the communities to comment on.

Information about all aspects of the memorials and their designs, including contact details for members of the Working Group, is available on the Murrindindi Bushfire Memorial website at http://murrindindibushfirememorials. wordpress.com. Families of the bereaved were encouraged to contact us via phone, letter or email to share with us their thoughts on the memorial and the inclusion of names of the deceased. The process of contacting the bereaved will be continued through to phase 3 when the designer has been selected to design the memorials. This may be done through the Projects Working Group and via notifications through the relevant bereaved publications. It is acknowledged however that contacting the bereaved is a sensitive process and the correct protocols must be followed.

Jan Nowell Consultant Arterial Design Pty Ltd Table of Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. History of the shire 3

3. The Events of February 7, 2009 3

4. The recovery process 7

5. The significance of Remembrance and Memorials 18 6. Murrindindi memorials process 19

7. Key Design Criteria 10 8. The Sites 11

9. Attachments 13 10. References 13 1. Introduction

On 7th February 2009 vast areas of country were devastated by catastrophic bushfires resulting in ’s highest ever loss of life from bushfire. This became known as Black Saturday.

Bushfire affected communities in the Shire of Murrindindi have expressed their desire to establish memorials to recognise the impact of these catastrophic bushfires.

Memorials offer places where people can remember losses, reflect on their own experiences and recognise community spirit. The story for each person will be different, and no less or more important than another story. Memorials needs to represent all the losses and impacts of the bushfires.

Well-developed memorials will provide for the needs of all people impacted by the bushfire event. This will include those directly impacted as well as their supporters and those involved in the emergency response and recovery. Memorials will also meet the needs of future generations who seek to understand the impact of bushfire event on their families and community.

Through extensive community engagement, it has been agreed that two central memorials will be represented either side of the shire: Kinglake and Marysville. These memorials will be larger in scale and will express the broader impacts of the fire upon the Shire.

Central Memorials will: • Provide quite reflective spaces and privacy for visitors • Remember the loss of life and provide space for the names of those who died • Recognise the range of impacts and losses for the fires • Tell the story of the fires

1 • Provide a space for memorial events • Provide access for all abilities • Be larger in scale

Five local memorials will be developed for towns who suffered the loss of life. These memorials will be smaller in scale and their purpose will be for the quiet, intimate reflection of the local communities.

Local Memorials will: • Provide recognition of the impact of the fires on the local community • Provide a place of remembrance • May be in a more public space • Be smaller in scale

Purpose statement

The bushfire memorials will be respectful places that commemorate the loss of life, of livelihood, of home, of friends and community and of treasured landscapes wrought by the devastation of the 2009 bushfires. These memorials will also be places to acknowledge and appreciate the enduring community spirit that is nurturing regrowth and renewal in a landscape and world that has changed forever.

For further information: go to website: http://murrindindibushfirememorials.wordpress.com contact: Jenny Branton 0417 532 344

2 2. History of the Shire

Murrindindi Shire is located north east of ’s urban fringe and encompasses large areas of agricultural land, beautiful national parks and state forests, the majestic and the expansive Lake Eildon.

Extending over an area of just under 4,000sq kilometres, 48 percent of the shire is crown land. Murrindindi is characterised by many small towns including Acheron, Alexandra, Buxton, Cathkin, Castella, Eildon, Flowerdale, Glenburn, Gobur, Highlands, Homewood, Kanumbra, Kinglake, Kinglake West, Koriella, Limestone, Marysville, Molesworth, Murrindindi, Narbethong, Rubicon, Strath Creek, , Terip Terip, Thornton, Toolangi, Woodbourne, Yarck and Yea.

3. The Events of February 7, 2009

In February 2009 vast areas of country Victoria were devastated by catastrophic bushfires resulting in Australia’s highest ever loss of life from a bushfire. This became known as Black Saturday.

During Black Saturday, 1,539km2, or forty percent, of Murrindindi Shire was burned, resulting in catastrophic loss of life and property. There was substantial impact on agricultural, tourism, accommodation and retail businesses, community infrastructure and the natural environment. Many people were displaced and significant social disruption occurred Kinglake Ranges, including Kinglake, Kinglake West, Kinglake East and Pheasant Creek, Flowerdale and Marysville suffered significant loss of life and property.

Toolangi, Castella, Narbethong and Strath Creek suffered some loss of life and property.

Buxton, Taggerty, Granton, Murrindindi and Woodbourne suffered some loss of property.

Yea and Alexandra, while not directly suffering loss of life or property, operated as evacuation and relief centres and offered extraordinary support in the aftermath of the fires.

Overall, the Shire was devastated with a total of 95 people losing their lives, and the destruction of 1,397 homes, 75 businesses, 16 community

3 or government buildings and 234 sheds. Significant losses were also experienced in other parts of Victoria.

Although some communities were physically destroyed, the resilience, courage and determination shown by the communities of the Shire of Murrindindi has been inspirational.

The Murrindindi Fire

Record-breaking weather conditions resulted in bushfires of a scale and ferocity that tested human endurance. Within Murrindindi Shire, the first sign of fire was at 2.55 pm on 7 February 2009 with a report about smoke to the north of a sawmill in Wilhelmina Falls Road, Murrindindi. Fanned by a strong north-north-westerly wind, the fire quickly moved south along the side of the road, through grass paddocks, a privately owned blue-gum plantation, and into the Toolangi State Forest.

The combination of rolling ground in the State Forest and fire crowning almost immediately, the fire moved rapidly to the south-east, and up the western slopes of the Black Range. Spot fires burned to the south and east of the main front.

At about 4.15 pm the fire entered the Black Range, 12 kilometres from where it started. Strong winds launched the fire from the top of the Black Range, propelling burning bark, leaves and branches south-east up to 15 kilometres ahead of the main fire. The burning debris ignited spot fires in and around Granton, Narbethong, St Fillans, Mt Gordon and the . Over 10 kilometres away spot fires burned independently of the main front for long periods. Some of these became so large they created a second wave of spot fires further to the south-east.

The fire reached Narbethong between 4.30 and 5.00 pm. At around 6.15pm a south-westerly wind change in Narbethong caused the 40 kilometre north-east flank of the fire to become its main front. By this time the fire had travelled 40 kilometres with an average speed of nearly 11 kilometres an hour. This wind also carried embers that caused spot fires on the southern outskirts of Marysville. The spot fires that had grown around Narbethong joined and burned towards Marysville.

The firefront arrived in Marysville with devastating force at about 7.15 pm.

4 Buxton and the adjoining valley were on fire by about 7.30pm. Further north, the fires arrived just south of Taggerty at about 10.00 pm. The weather conditions eased but the Kilmore East and Murrindindi fires merged, and the fire burning in heavily forested public land continued for weeks and was not formally declared contained until 5 March.

The Kilmore East fire

The Kilmore East fire began at about 11.47 am on 7 February 2009, near Saunders Road, Kilmore East. It started after a power pole conductor failed, and caused arcing, which ignited vegetation near the base of the pole. Early reports from crews on the scene described a blaze 80–100 metres wide. The fire ran south towards a hill where it split into two tongues: one running south to Saunders Road and the other east towards Wandong. Attempts to stop the fire at Saunders Road were unsuccessful, and the fire crossed the road about 15 minutes after fire crews arrived.

The fire then burnt through about 200 hectares of plantation logging slash, moving towards the Highway. It is very likely that the fire was spotting over the highway by about 1.20 pm. It crossed the highway at Heathcote Junction just before 2.00 pm. At this stage the fire had multiple tongues, with a collective width of about 5 kilometres between Clonbinane Road and the north-eastern railway line.

Between Wandong and Clonbinane the fingers merged, and headed south- east towards Yabamac and the Wandong Regional Park. The fire entered a forested area near Shiels Road in Clonbinane where it intensified. It then moved south-east up the slopes of the Great Dividing Range towards Mt Disappointment. The western flank of the fire was also moving laterally towards Lords and Mahadys Roads in Upper Plenty, reaching the area at about 4.20 pm.

The head of the fire reached Mt Disappointment at about 3.00 pm, and progressed up its slopes between 3.15 and 3.45 pm.

As the head of the fire climbed Mt Disappointment, spot fires were reported 20–40 kilometres ahead of the main firefront at Wallaby Creek, Humevale, Strathewen, St Andrews, Steels Creek, Dixons Creek, Yarra Glen and in the Healesville area. The topography of the area caused spot fires in Humevale to run in multiple directions. As a result, between 3.30 and 5.00 pm, fires

5 from Mt Disappointment and from within Humevale struck Kinglake West and Humevale.

At the same time spot fires developed in Strathewen and St Andrews North, up to 22 kilometres ahead of the main firefront. Once again the spot fires moved in several directions. Generally the fires headed south-east, but they also spread north due to local topography and the fire’s convection column.

A south-westerly wind change arrived at about 5.45 pm, progressively turning the eastern flank of the fire into its head. At this point the blaze spread from Clonbinane to the Chum Creek area. The wind change caused the front to move north, and north-east.

The impact of the wind change was enormous. It brought the full front of the fire upon the Kinglake West township. By 6.00 pm new spot fires had formed in Humevale, Strathewen, Arthurs Creek, Yarra Glen, Gruyere and Healesville. From Strathewen and Humevale the main fire headed north, through Kinglake, Castella, and along the towards Glenburn.

After the wind change the Kilmore East–Wandong section of the fire turned and headed north along the Hume Highway. It also burnt through the remainder of Wallaby Creek catchment, Kinglake National Park, and Mt Disappointment Forest. During the evening the fire travelled north-east, reaching Hazeldene and Flowerdale. Although fire was reported in Flowerdale at 7.40 pm, the main front did not reach the Flowerdale Hotel until about 11.20 pm.

The wind change fanned very intense fires in the Castella, Toolangi and Glenburn regions, and caused another extreme branch of the fire to travel north and north-east towards Strath Creek, and Reedy Creek where it impacted at 8.00 pm.

The fire was gradually secured as it hit grassland during the night of 7 February, and over the following days. Containment proved to be difficult in forested areas, particularly the Maroondah catchment, Toolangi State Forest and Yarra Ranges National Park. The fire also continued to burn in the Healesville area. It was finally contained on 16 February.

6 4. The Recovery Process

Since 2009 a process of community consultation about the need, meaning and purpose of memorials has occurred within the fire affected communities of Murrindindi, supported by funding from the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments. The consultation process has reached out to affected people, in particular, those who have lost loved ones but also for many others whose homes, friends, pets, possessions and communities were lost.

Experience suggests that the marking of anniversaries and the development of more lasting community memorials can be an important part of the recovery journey. Experience from other communities following similar disasters has taught us that people recover from disasters at different rates and that consideration of commemoration and memorials should not be rushed.

Murrindindi Shire Council is determined to ensure commemoration services and memorials not only involve those most affected but also reflect the community’s shared understanding of their purpose.

A number of communities have already developed formal and informal bushfire memorials. This Shire-wide memorials process should recognise and complement (not compete with) these established memorials.

All affected communities have expressed similar impacts and needs for memorials. At the same time local communities are passionate about their own identities. It is important to engage with local communities rather than treating them homogeneously.

7 5. The Significance of Remembrance and Memorials

Making sense of disaster requires coming to terms with what loss means in the new ‘normal’. Much of this ‘sense making’ will be about how people place their memories of what has been lost into a context where the memories are no longer as painful, and may ultimately be of some comfort. This is remembrance.

Remembrance occurs at many levels; personal, family and community and can be experienced in many ways - symbolic rituals, anniversaries, visits to places of importance, pieces of music that were favourites and establishment of physical memorials.

Traditionally, physical memorials have been a function of government with the focus typically on honouring those who are lost through the building of monuments. However, over recent decades a change in the process of achieving remembrance for a community’s loss has occurred. Staid monuments have lost their relevance and responsive and interactive community-focussed memorials are now preferred.

Remembrance, and how it is expressed, contributes to the rebuilding of a sense of place by helping identify what is important, in a community sense, to people both prior to the disaster and in the “new normal”. When well facilitated, the process of achieving remembrance seeks to collectively express the meaning of the disaster for all the community, by engaging people in a conversation about the past, what is important to them, and the future.

Memorials offer places where people can remember losses, reflect on the their own experiences and recognise community spirit. The story for each person will be different, and no less or more important than another story. The memorial needs to represent all the losses and impacts of the bushfires. A memorial will need to be not just for now, but “in perpetuity”, recognising that role of the memorial may change over time, capturing what has happen so it is not forgotten. Some strong themes:

• Respectfully remembering, never to forget • Be educative, telling the story • Recognise that everyone has been impacted through a broad range of losses • A place to come to reflect

8 6. Murrindindi Memorials Process

Murrindindi Shire Council, through its Memorials Working Group, commenced planning for an appropriate memorial, or memorials, in late 2009. During Stage 1 the community was consulted extensively, and it became apparent that each community within Murrindindi Shire has a strong local identity. This has particular importance when considering, designing and creating memorials that adequately reflect the needs, values and experiences of each community.

During Stage 2 of the memorials process (Design Brief Development), community members were engaged through information releases in local papers, memorials website, surveys, and community meetings. There has been some difficulties in engaging the broader, fire affected community. It is likely that the translation of community needs and desired memorial elements into design concepts will result in an increase community interest and engagement.

In Stage 3 of the memorials development process, design and construction, community members will expect to be informed and be able to have input into the final design of the central and local memorials. In particular local communities in which local memorials are to be placed should be engaged in design and placement.

There will be many personal opinions and the final design and placement of memorials should aim to meet the needs of affected communities as expressed though the design brief, rather than responding to individual preferences.

9 7. Key Design Criteria

During the Stage 1 community consultation process and the subsequent Stage 2 brief preparation and site selection process the following underlying themes, message requirements, location options and features were identified. People submitting expressions of interest are encouraged to read the full consultation reports to gain a broader understanding of the communities response.

Siting a. It has to allow for access for all people, but not in a main thoroughfare. b. The community have a desire for the memorial/s to be in a quiet location. c. Adding to existing memorials was not widely supported. d. Maintenance of the site needs to be a consideration.

Memorial Elements a. Messages including honour, remembrance and reflection should be conveyed through the memorial, along with survival, recovery and community spirit. b. The names of those who were lost in the fires should feature in the central memorials, with space left for future listing of names for those who opt out in the initial development. c. The loss of pets and wildlife should be acknowledged in some way, but in a manner secondary to the loss of human life. d. The loss of property should be acknowledged through a general statement. e. The story of the fires should be told through some interpretive elements, including the response from the emergency services and broader community (particularly people in Alexandra, Yea and Whittlesea), to provide context into the future. f. Structures should be simple, not overstated.

10 Materials a. Elements including rocks, gardens, trees and water could be incorporated into design options. b. Linking the memorials through some common theme should be considered but is not essential. c. Maintenance and durability is a key consideration. The materials should be durable, long lasting and have a relatively low maintenance requirement over the long term.

8. The Sites

During Stage 2 further consultation and site analysis helped refine the site options. A site selection matrix was developed with the criteria such as land ownership, site qualities, parking, accessibility, and maintenance. The following locations have been selected refer appendix for the details regarding each proposed site:

Central Regional Memorials Marysville – Lions Park Kinglake – Frank Thomson Reserve

Local Memorials Narbethong – (Narbethong Reserve) Toolangi / Castella – Central Park Castella Kinglake West –Whittlesea Road / Yea Rd Flowerdale / Hazeldene – Byrneside Reserve

11 22 9. Attachments to the Brief

Background Information on Memorials Overall Shire Map including affected towns and proposed site options

Site information

10. References

http://www.murrindindi.vic.gov.au/Your_Council/About_Murrindindi_Shire, accessed 06.02.2013

http://woodbourne.vic.au/, accessed 07.02.2013

http://www.pria.com.au/resources/community-relations-6/murrindindi-shire- bushfire-memorials-consultation, accessed 31.01.2013

Murrindindi Shire Bushfire Memorials Consultation Stage One Consultation Report, December 2011, Professional Public Relations

FINAL REPORT SUMMARY, July 2010, 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission

The Fires and the Fire-related Deaths, FINAL REPORT VOLUME I, July 2010, 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission, http://www.royalcommission.vic. gov.au/commission-reports/final-report/volume-1/chapters/the-murrindindi- fire, accessed 06.02.2013

The Statements of Lay Witnesses, FINAL REPORT VOLUME IV, undated, 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission, http://vol4.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/ index.php?pid=31, accessed 06.02.2013

13 28 Background Information on Memorials

Presentation to Murrindindi Working Group Rob Gordon, December 2009

15 Notes on Disaster Memorials

Presentation to Murrindindi Working Group Rob Gordon, December 2009

The urge for memorials is in every civilization. They preserve important events and remember those who died. Memorials are physical objects which stand for events, people and human experiences. They hold onto what has happened and make sure it is not forgotten and that those who did not know about it can find out, and they tell those who come after what is in their own past. They are touchable, see-able and can be gone to on special occasions so that reminders of the people and events are there for all to experience.

They are symbols for events and people, for communities and actions. Symbols belong to the deepest level of the human mind. Young children respond to symbols long before they can think in a logical way. The symbolic level of mind is always present in the background, and is responsible for connecting things up so one thing stands for anther and carries not only the memory, but also the emotion of the past and can bring it back to life in the present. Symbols bring together all the aspects of the experience of what they symbolise, because they have the power that comes from emotions and from the intensity of the original event.

An important expression of symbols is in our dream life. Dreams consist of symbols and do not make sense unless we take the events and characters of the dream as symbols for parts of our own life. Symbols often emerge from dreams, but at the same time, communities form a shared collection of symbols related to common experiences. The formation of common symbols in a community is like the community being able to dream together and they unite them by bringing back the event, the people and the feeling of the original experience.

A community memorial, then is formed by shared symbols which must work for each person in their own way. This

16 means the community has to find symbols to bring the community to common ground and they have to integrate the dimensions of the experience in a way that enables those who come to the memorial to know instinctively what happened and how the dead are valued.

Creating a memorial is a unique opportunity to awaken the symbolic dimension and allow symbols to come to life out of the community by a sort of shared dreaming process. To dream we have to let go of rational thinking, common sense, opinions, presumptions, expectations and pre-set, personal views. Dreaming means to allow a free play of ideas and images so that gradually, some ideas and images come to the fore and are recognised as carrying the feelings for the community. It is the product of a certain sort of communication in which the end result is not known before, and the valuing of each contribution allows all who wish to have an influence and the selection happens by a feeling of recognition.

If this can be done, all members of the community can embrace the memorial and it becomes a focus for remembering the events and people and allows them to become part of history. When a tragedy becomes part of history, it can be remembered with rituals and ceremonies and as the years go by, remains part of the community life. Then what happened in the past becomes an element of the community’s identity. It tells them who they are and shows who they are to anyone who encounters the symbols.

A process is required to enable the community to dream together to find the symbols and rituals to express for each person something essential about the event that is there for whoever comes to join. While the formation of the actual memorial with its features and symbols is the goal, the

17 elements emerge when people allow the symbolic dimension of their minds to bring out what is needed. The process has to be shaped so that time allows a gradual coming together of ideas, images and suggestions until something genuinely common to all emerges.

If the focus is on the outcome, the tendency is for each person to give their own ideas and have strong feelings about them. These will not coincide and will inevitably lead to conflict, competition and disappointment and some feeling excluded. Such a memorial will then only be for a section of the community and will always evoke pain to those who cannot relate to it.

However, since symbols come from a deep and universal level of the mind the same basic symbols are there for everyone - symbols of life, death, good, bad, fire, earth, water, hope, love, sacrifice, survival. Symbols are part of a universal language which anyone can recognise and understand. But each person may feel connected with their own bit and want to express it in their own way. What brings a common feeling, is working towards the actual symbols by allowing them to emerge so that what comes, is something that no one would have started with but everyone can embrace because they see how it can express what is important to them.

The process of arriving at a symbolic form for the memorial need to value the process over the outcome. Instead of everyone coming with their ideas already formed and arguing over whose is best or whose can be accepted, it is a process in which a group of people (perhaps representing various groups) feel their way towards something none will be clear about at first. But by starting with what is absolutely common, then adding elements and qualities that are important, they can gradually come to something that is a product of the group rather than the idea of individuals. If the focus is on protecting this process, it will produce a memorial of the community.

18 Such a community process becomes an important part of the recovery of the community. In working on the memorial, memories, emotions and the relationship to what has happened will be reviewed, discussed and placed into a new perspective. This is what recovery from trauma and grief involve - finding a way to put the experience into the story of life so that those who are gone can be remembered with love, what they gave can be held onto and they are made part of the future, even though they are not present. In this way, creating, building and inaugurating the memorial represent opportunities for healing which will not be repeated. The more people can be involved in it the more it will become a true community memorial.

If this perspective is kept in mind, it will mean carefully considering such matters as time lines, deadlines and how people are drawn into the process. It is important to set the terms of the discussion and how it will proceed so that all participants understand the importance of finding common symbols and everyone needs to allow themselves to be influenced by each other’s views and experiences so that something common can arise.

What is common arises when people who have strong, definite ideas are encouraged to move from the specific forms of the ideas to the essence of what they are trying to express. At first our ideas come up in a specific way - a sculpture, a locality, a figure, particular plants or shapes or colours. But if they are to become symbols, such questions need to be asked as:

• What do you want to express in the symbols of the memorial? • What is it about those shapes, forms, locality, plants, colours etc that is important? • What is it about that particular idea that symbolises something for the event? • Are there any other symbols that can also carry the same feeling?

19 If the essence of the experience can be found and expressed, a commonality will emerge because the fundamental human experiences are common to all who went through the tragedy in whatever form, and this is the common ground to the one reality which has taken everyone into it.

Such a process will require a group of people to find a way of bringing people together so they can talk, listen, discuss and be influenced by each other in the confidence that what they create together will be a unique contribution to the community’s healing.

There will need to be careful consideration as to how the various views and opinions can be expressed and then an agreed way of moving to defining what is to be designed. If the procedure is planned to support the process of arriving at common symbols, and this is understood by all who participate, then it should be possible to respect differences, resolve conflicts and shift towards something that everyone can feel a relationship to.

Perhaps one of the most important principles is that coming together with others in a shared remembering may be more healing than having exactly what was imagined. Then the memorial will be able to slowly grow in importance and meaning to those it represents as years pass, keep history alive and tell us who we are.

20 85 FIRE MAP

22 PEOPLE WHO DIED

The Commission focused on improving Victoria’s bushfire safety, so that the lessons learnt from the tragedy of Black Saturday will make the state a safer place. It offers this report and its recommendations to the Government and people of Victoria in memory of those who lost their lives.

ARTHURS CREEK HUMEVALE Debbie O’Shea Josef Matheis Barry Johnston Trey O’Shea Glenys Matheis Lloyd Martin Lyric O’Shea Mary Martin Dimitrios Tsimiklis BENDIGO Allan O’Gorman Tanja Tsimiklis Mick Kane Carolyn O’Gorman Richard Zann Stuart O’Gorman Eileen Zann CAMBARVILLE Eva Zann David Balfour JEERALANG JUNCTION Karma Hastwell Gertrude Martin CALLIGNEE KINGLAKE WEST Fred Frendo KINGLAKE Krystal Breeze Scott Frendo Adrian Brown Nathan Breeze Annette Leatham Mirrabelle Brown Teagan Haymes Martin Schultz Matthew Brown Tina Wilson Eric Brown Rex Norris FLOWERDALE—HAZELDENE Brielle Brown Paul Rolands Ronald Barling Neeve Buchanan Karen Rolands Richard Hall Mackenzie Buchanan Caitlin Rolands Gavin Dunn Melanie Chambers Nicola Rolands Bob Harrop Penelope Chambers Lesley Leahy Daniela Marulli Daniel Clark Kiona Gibson Jesse Inzitari Rob Davey Jye Gibson Aldo Junior Inzitari Natasha Davey Ava Gibson Donald Walker Jorja Davey Eileen Gillespie Helen Walker Alexis Davey Brian Naylor John Walker Mark Butler Moiree Naylor Cheri-Lee Walker Mike Flynn David Holcombe KOORNALLA HAZELWOOD SOUTH Carol Holcombe Alan Jacobs David Gibson Geoff Hyde Miros Jacobs Colin Gibson Suzanne Hyde Luke Jacobs Gennaro Laudisio Nathan Charles Graham O’Shea

23 MARYSVILLE NARBETHONG Terry Paulka Jamie Bowker Grace Mundovna Donna Paulka Nicole Jefferson Fay Walker Bob O’Sullivan Kevin Bradwell Bill Walker Sue Evans Melissa Bunning Geoff Walker Jon Le Gassick Glenis Delmenico Haydn McMahon Lesleigh Webb REEDY CREEK Kaya Mehmedoff Dalton Fiske Christopher Towie Don Hatton Elizabeth Fiske Leonie Hatton James Gormley ST ANDREWS Catherine McIver Julie Wallace-Mitchell Garry Bartlett Greg McIver Aileen Hoskin Jacinta Bartlett Judy McIver Geoff Grady Erryn Bartlett Phillip Perry Patrick Jennings Michael Real Libby Perry Dean Lesmana Angela Brunton Joe Shepherd Rudi The Reg Evans Danny Shepherd Laurel Lewis Jenni Bundy Marilyn Spooner Elizabeth Liesfield Raye Carter Damien Spooner James Liesfield Arthur Enver Irma Winton Matthew Liesfield George Jackson Michael Winton Coralie Lynch Sam Matthews David Lynch Robert Pierce TOOLANGI Alen Mawson Graeme Savage Kate Ansett Errol Morgan Marcel Smits Steve Fisher Harley Morgan Isak Nilsson STEELS CREEK UPPER PLENTY Kirstie Nilsson Leigh Ahern Stephen Lackas Colin Paul Charmian Ahern David Stokes Len Postlethwaite John Barnett Ken Rowe Jenny Barnett YARRA GLEN David Sebald Lynne James Gareth Jones-Roberts Jr Marlene Sebald Greg Leonard Suat Bian Tan Gail Leonard Marie Walsh Greg Lloyd David Whittington Melanee Hermocilla Kate Whittington Jaeson Hermocilla

MUDGEGONGA STRATH CREEK John Wilson Hubert Jelinek Sue Wilson STRATHEWEN Peter Avola Max Emmins

24 SITE ASSESSMENT MATRIX FOR CENTRAL MEMORIALS

Public Land No. Low Stable or Prominent Toilets Views / Quiet reflective lives Parking Accessibility Shade Land ownership Management Structure Feedback/comment Site from Stage 1 report or PWG Maintenance Land community location water vistas space lost suggestion. use KINGLAKE RANGES 47 Kinglake Central Stadium Council Council Committee of As the site of the former Kinglake Management (Section 86 Kindergarten, this site has a very strong delegation) community association. Site also earmarked as preferred location for Kinglake aquatic centre (subject to funding approval). Road noise and impacts detract from quiet reflective qualities.

Frank Thomson Reserve Crown Land Parks Vic (Kinglake National Although not a Shire owned site this site is Park) highly valued by locals. Parks Vic has indicated that a memorial on this site would most likely be approved (subject to maintenance agreements).

MARYSVILLE 35 Crown Land Council Committee of Areas close to river may be subject to flooding Gallipoli Park, adjacent to Management (Section 86 or land stability issues. Steavensons River delegation)

Crown Land Council Committee of If sited carefully a memorial on this site would Management (Section 86 not detract from the existing use. Excellent Lions Park site delegation) aspect and views to river. Tranquil qualities despite nearby playground.

Crown Land Council Committee of Island not large enough to accommodate a Monument on the island in Gallipoli Management (Section 86 memorial that people could view or experience Park delegation) close up.

OTHER Crown Land Very remote location. This does not seem to be Memorial for The Triangle in neutral a site that would attract many visitors or locals. location. Mt Gordon suggested. DSE

KEY yes No Uncertain or TBC

25 MURRINDINDI BUSHFIRE MEMORIAL

SITE ASSESSMENT MATRIX FOR LOCAL MEMORIALS Draft 11/04/13

Public Land No. Stable Land or Quiet or Low or Land lives Parking Accessibility flooding reflective Shade Management Structure Feedback/comment Site from Stage 1 report or PWG Maintenance community Ownership lost issues space suggestion. use FLOWERDALE 11 Moores Rd Reserve Crown Land Council Quiet park space developed after the fire. Site of past memorial services. Can get busy on weekends.

Byrnside Reserve (Triangle Site near CMA? Further review to be undertaken.Limited maintenance Hazeldene Store) regime. Parking and access very difficult. Crown Land

Near the Flowerdale CFA CFA CFA Queries over ownership of old CFA site, some options in general vicitiny.

Existing memorial located in front garden, possible sites Flowerdale Community House Crown Land Council around the back adjacent to the creek. TOOLANGI/CASTELLA 2 Central Park (Melba Hwy intersection). Crown Land Council Committee of Management (Section 86 delegation)

Crown Land Council Committee of Management Further assessment to be undertaken. Former Castella School Site (Section 86 delegation)

Crown Land Council Committee of Management CJ Denis Memorial Hall / Community Garden (Section 86 delegation) site

NARBETHONG 4 Crown Land Council is taking over - still with DSE Ideal public site. Few other locations in Town. Narthethong Reserve

STRATH CREEK 1 Viewing platform at top of Murchison Gap Crown Land VicRoads and Mitchell Shire Council. No memorial currently proposed for Strath Creek (based on Stage 1 feedback). Structure is located in Mitchell's boundaries but maintained by Murrindindi.

Memorial on Falls Rd

KINGLAKE RANGES 47 Kinglake West Oval Reserve Crown Crown Land Act Committee of Existing memorial within space. Management

Cemetery land not considered suitable. Cemetery Land (know as Chinaman's Grave) Crown Not confirmed

Council Committee of Management Bollygum COM has indicated they are developing their Bollygum Park (near CFA memorial bell in (Section 86 delegation) own memorial. Kinglake West) Council

Yea Road / Kinglake West Intersection VicRoads VicRoads Prominent location

Reserve in front of Kinglake Library Council Council Further assessment to be undertaken.

Kinglake Central, within garden area near Council Council Committee of Management playground & picnic area. (Section 86 delegation)

Crown Land DSE / ParksVic Very remote location. Not considered suitable. Mt Sugarloaf

KEY yes No Uncertain or TBC

26 Marysville Site Kinglake Narbthong Castella/Toolangi Flowerdale/Hazeldene Kinglake West 118