Bushfires in Our History, 18512009

Area covered Date Nickname Location Deaths Losses General (hectares) Victoria Portland, Plenty 6 February Black Ranges, Westernport, 12 1 million sheep 5,000,000 1851 Thursday Wimmera, Dandenong 1 February Red Victoria 12 >2000 buildings 260,000 1898 Tuesday South Gippsland These fires raged across Gippsland throughout 14 Feb and into Black Victoria 31 February March, killing Sunday Warburton 1926 61 people & causing much damage to farms, homes and forests Many pine plantations lost; fire New South Wales Dec 1938‐ began in NSW Snowy Mts, Dubbo, 13 Many houses 73,000 Jan 1939 and became a Lugarno, Canberra 72 km fire front in Canberra Fires Victoria widespread Throughout the state from – Noojee, Woods December Point, Omeo, 1300 buildings 13 January 71 1938  Black Friday Warrandyte, Yarra Town of Narbethong 1,520,000 1939 January 1939; Glen, Warburton, destroyed many forests Dromona, Mansfield, and 69 timber Otway & Grampian mills Ranges destroyed Fire burnt on Victoria 22 buildings 34 March 1 a 96 km front Hamilton, South 2 farms 1942 at Yarram, Sth Gippsland 100 sheep Gippsland Thousands 22 Victoria of acres of December 10 Wangaratta grass 1943 country Plant works, 14 Victoria coal mine & January‐ Central & Western 32 700 homes buildings 14 Districts, esp >1,000,000 Huge stock losses destroyed at February Hamilton, Dunkeld, Morwell, 1944 Skipton, Lake Bolac Yallourn ACT 1 Molongolo Valley, Mt 2 houses December Stromlo, Red Hill, 2 40 farm buildings 10,000 1951 Woden Valley, Observatory buildings Tuggeranong, Mugga

©Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, State Government of Victoria, 2011, except where indicated otherwise. You may use, download and reproduce this material free of charge for non‐commercial educational purposes provided you retain all acknowledgements associated with the material.

Area covered Date Nickname Location Deaths Losses General (hectares) Hill New South Wales Nov 1951‐ North‐west NSW, 11 >4,000,000 Jan 1952 Wagga Wagga, Pilliga 5 February Victoria Several 100,000 1952 Benalla Victoria Fires in the The Basin, Christmas Dandenong 14‐16 Hills, Kinglake, St Ranges and January Andrews, 8 >454 homes on the 1962 Hurstbridge, outskirts of Warrandyte, Melbourne Mitcham 17 January Victoria Major grass 7 6 houses 1965 Longwood fire 750,000 of 21 Feb‐13 Victoria >60 houses & shops forest Burnt forest March Gippsland 4,000 stock 40,000 of and grassland 1965 grassland Estimated 1293 houses cost ‐ $45 Tasmania 128 other major million; 110 7 February Black South‐east Tasmania, 62 buildings 264,270 fires burnt 1967 Tuesday Hobart 85,000 stock within a 50 5,400 km fencing km radius of Hobart 19 Victoria 64 houses February Dandenong Ranges, 1,920 >10 other buildings 1968 The Basin, Upwey New South Wales Sept 1968‐ >150 houses South Coast, Blue 14 >2,000,000 Jan 1969 >80 other buildings Mts, Illawarra 280 fires broke out on Victoria the same day; 230 homes Lara, Daylesford, 17trapped 8 January 21 Bulgana, Yea, 22 800,000 motorists died 1969 schools/churches/halls Darraweit, Kangaroo on Geelong‐ >12,000 stock Flat, Korongvale Melbourne freeway at Lara 14 Forest fire Victoria December 12,140 that burnt for Mount Buffalo 1972 12 days Victoria Western Districts: Penshurst, Tatyoon, 12 108 houses Streatham,Creswick, February 4 340 other buildings 103,000 Pura Pura, Werneth, 1977 236,000 stock Cressy, Rokewood, Beeac, Mingay, Lismore, Little River 1 January Western Australia 2 31,500 1978 South‐west W.A. 1 house 15 January Victoria 2 36 buildings 1978 Bairnsdale 6,500 stock

Area covered Date Nickname Location Deaths Losses General (hectares) 28 Dec Victoria Fire started by 1980‐6 Jan Sunset Country, Big 119,000 lightning 1981 Desert strike 1 February Victoria 50 Houses 6,100 1983 Mt Macedon Victoria Monivae, Branxholme, East Over 100 fires Trentham, Mt burnt in 16 >180 houses Ash Macedon, the Otway Victoria; February 47 >1820 other buildings 210,000 Wednesday Ranges, Warburton, estimated 1983 27,000 stock Belgrave Heights, damage ‐ Cockatoo, $190 million Beaconsfield Upper and Framlingham South Australia 383 houses 16 Estimated Ash Adelaide Hills, Mt >200 other buildings February 28 damage ‐ Wednesday Gambier, South 10,000 km fencing 1983 $200 million Barwon >200,000 stock Victoria 111 fires Maryborough, Avoca, 182 houses 14 January started on Little River, Wilsons 3 400 farms >100,000 1985 public land on Promontory, Mt 46,000 stock 14 January Buffalo 27 Dec 17 houses Victoria 1990‐10 1 166 other buildings Strathbogie Ranges Jan 1991 13,500 stock Victoria 41 houses 21 January Dandenong Ranges, 3 2 other buildings 4,150 1997 Arthur’s Seat, 1 CFA fire truck Gippsland, Creswick 2 Victoria 5 CFA fire December Linton 5 1 CFA fre truck 780 Linton fighters killed 1998 1 house 14,5000 of 18 Victoria 8,000 livestock (mainly crop and December Dadswell Bridge sheep) pasture 2000 5,000 klms of fencing New South Wales Greater Sydney, Hunter Valley, North 495 fires, 151 July 2002‐ 86 houses Coast, Northern, 3 1,464,000 days of severe Feb 2003 3,400 stock Central & Southern fire activity Tablelands Illawarra, South Coast 17 Queensland Granite Belt 10 Houses October Ballandean, Glen 1 40,000 Bushfires 11 other buildings 2002 Aplin 1(as a 80 fires result of started by 41 houses a road lightning; 8 of 8 Jan‐19 Victoria 3 bridges vehicle these March Alpine Fires North‐eastern 213 other structures 1,200,000 accident, combined to 2003 Victoria, Gippsland 10,000 stock not as a form largest 3,000 km fencing result of bushfire in Vic the fire) since 1939 18 January ACT 488 houses Estimated 4 >157,000 2003 Namadji, Uruarra, >100 other buildings damage ‐

Area covered Date Nickname Location Deaths Losses General (hectares) Pierces Creek, Mr Stomlo Observatory $350 million Stromlo, Cotter, 4,000 stock Corin, Tidbinbilla, Duffy, Holder, Chapman, Kamah, Curtin, Lyons, Coppins Crossing, Murrumbidgee Valley South Australia Wangary, Wanilla, 10 January Eyre North Shields, 50 houses 8 890,000 2005 Peninsula Poonindie, Louth Bay, 47,000 stock Greenpathc, Yallunda Flat Victoria Stawell, Yea, Moondarra, Grampians, Kinglake, Anakie, Ararat, Baw 41 houses 31 Dec Baw, Glenelg, Golden 9 houses damaged 2005‐31 Plains, Geelong, 2 359 other buildings 160,000 Jan 2006 Horsham, Latrobe, 65,598 stock Northern & Southern 1,973 klms of fencing Grampians, South Gippsland, Moorabool, Murrindindi 33 houses 1 Dec Great Victoria 13 houses damaged 2006‐7 Divide Northeast Victoria, 255 other buildings >1,154,828 Feb 2007 Complex Gippsland 1,741 stock 1,357 klms of fencing 28 January Victoria 44 houses 6,534 2009 Delburn 29 January Victoria 40 2009 Branxholme 4‐6 Victoria February 31 houses 26,200 Bunyip State Park 2009 The worst Victoria bushfires in Numerous towns and Victoria’s localities in the history and vicinity of Kinglake, the 8th Toolangi, Healesville, deadliest Buxton, Marysville, recorded Strathewen, St bushfire in Andrews, Flowerdale, >2,056 houses the world. 7 February Black Beechworth, >1,600 other buildings 173 450,000 The air 2009 Saturday Bendigo, Central >11,800 stock temperature Gippsland, Horsham, >10,00 km fencing reached 46.7 Coleraine, Churchill, in Melbourne Kilmore, Murrindindi, – highest Upper Ferntree Gully, recorded Maiden Gully, temp in an Lynbrook and Narre Australian Warren. capital city.

Estimate of

Area covered Date Nickname Location Deaths Losses General (hectares) cost of fires by Bushfires Royal Commission – $4.4 billion.

Localities listed are indicative only.

Compiled from Department of Sustainability and Environment's [Link: Bushfire history – Major bushfires in Victoria http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/fire‐and‐other‐emergencies/major‐bushfires‐in‐victoria], Appendix 3 of the[Link: 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission's report http://www.royalcommission.vic.gov.au/Commission‐Reports], and the Council of Australian Governments Inquiry on Bushfire Mitigation and Management, Appendix D http://www.coagbushfireenquiry.gov.au/findings.htm.