http://www.metromagazine.com.au https://theeducationshop.com.au A STUDY GUIDE BY © ATOM 2019 ISBN: 978-1-76061-247-4 KATY MARRINER In 2009, the Black Saturday bushfires killed 173 people. Ten years later, Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday (2018), a documentary directed by Tony Jackson, documents the experiences of people who survived the fires, exploring how they coped with such unimaginable loss and trauma.
»»CURRICULUM LINKS Duration: 57 mins This study guide to accompany Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday has been written for second- ary students at all levels. It provides information and suggestions for learning activities in English, Environmental Science, Geography and Media.
The focus of Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday is CONTENT HYPERLINKS the impact of the Black Saturday bushfires on peo- ple. The interviews with survivors develop students’ 3 SYNOPSIS empathy with and understanding of the experience of the trauma and upheaval that bushfires cause for 4 DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT individuals and communities. The accounts of those who survived make the events of Black Saturday 4 PRODUCERS’ STATEMENTS more immediate and relevant to students. In ad- dition, the interviews provide an insight into the 5 INITIAL IMPRESSIONS recovery process and the resilience of the survivors as they rebuilt their lives. 5 GETTING STARTED
Students are encouraged to consider how people’s 5 WHAT IS A BUSHFIRE? responses to crisis may differ and to respect the courage and determination that it takes to overcome 6 BLACK SATURDAY adversity. As a documentary Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday illustrates the effectiveness of per- 7 THE TOWNS sonal storytelling in conveying important messages. 8 COMMUNITY RECOVERY Activities in this study design have also been de- signed to educate students about the characteristics 9 THE PEOPLE and causes of bushfires. In addition, by consider- ing the history of bushfires in Australia, students 15 BEHIND THE SCENES can develop an understanding of the importance of landscape management in limiting the prevalence 15 iVIEW EXTRAS and devastation of bushfires, and study the effects of 16 EXTENDED RESPONSES bushfires on the natural and built environments. 18 RECOMMENDED LINKS Some students may have experienced firsthand the impact of bushfires. Teachers need to respect
19 APPENDIX 1: VIEWING © ATOM 2019 the personal circumstances of students and remain CHART aware of their sensitivities while viewing and dis- cussing Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday. 19 KEY CREATIVES 2 Above: Steven Phelan at his Flowerdale Pub
»»SYNOPSIS
In February 2009, the worst bushfires in The ordinary people featured in Aftermath: Australian history ripped through Victoria in a Beyond Black Saturday all experienced series of firestorms so powerful that a million the same extraordinary traumatic event. acres went up in flames, 7000 Australians However, each of them experienced it differ- lost their homes and 173 people lost their ently and each had to find their own roadmap lives. through the wreckage that it made of their lives. By interweaving their stories, the docu- Ten years later, Aftermath: Beyond Black mentary underlines how there is no sure-fire Saturday chronicles the personal stories of path to recovery from trauma, and no cheat the people who survived the Black Saturday notes to help piece the jigsaw of a life back infernos to discover how they coped with together again. unimaginable loss and trauma, and how they picked up the pieces of their shattered lives. As the ten-year anniversary of Black Saturday approaches, Aftermath: Beyond Black While the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Saturday chronicles the challenging journey Commission forensically documented the many Black Saturday survivors have been public response to the Black Saturday infer- on in the decade since the firestorms trans- nos, Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday tells formed their lives. Out of the ashes of one of the intimate and often anguished personal Australia’s worst natural disasters emerges a story not about death and destruction but stories of an ensemble cast of volunteer fire- © ATOM 2019 fighters and local residents whose lives were about the tenacity of life and the extraordi- turned upside down by the fires. nary resilience of the human spirit. 3 »»DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
On Black Saturday, I was neck-deep in a reservoir in Castlemaine, cooling off and sheltering with my three daughters from the evil heat and winds. We were safe, but I knew something extremely bad was happening. One year later, on the first anniversary of the Black Saturday bushfires, I saw the ABC docu- Above: mentary Inside the Firestorm which forensically The crew chronicles what happened that day. It was more horrifying than I could imagine. When I was asked to make the follow-up filmAftermath: Beyond »»PRODUCERS’ Black Saturday I felt a distinct twang of caution STATEMENTS because I knew I would be dealing with grief and loss on a scale that defied belief. Ordinary people in extraordinary circum- For a filmmaker, this can be difficult ground to stances are the basis for many documenta- cover because it’s critical to get the tone right, to ries, but the opportunity to re-visit individu- respect the losses people have suffered, and to als ten years after a cataclysmic event in reveal the things they have learnt as an inevitable their lives is rare. result of that loss. After exploring the horrors of Black I found the first three days of shooting emotion- Saturday in the film Inside the Firestorm in ally exhausting as I began to interview survivors 2010, we were prompted by Karen Curnow in depth. I felt the weight of their experiences on (who lost her house in the fires) to re-visit my shoulders, and felt a deep responsibility to get some of the people whose stories we had this film right for them. As the shoot days rolled chronicled in that film to find out how they on, I began to sense the things that all of these had dealt with their grief and rebuilt their people shared: a deep strain of philosophical lives in the intervening years. thought; a distinct empathy for the suffering of others; and a certain need to talk in order to make The results were surprising and elevating. sense of the non-sense. Through newly-formed friendships and For many of the people in this film, the last dec- shared sorrow, many individuals and many ade has been an emotional buffer between them- communities had taken great steps and selves and the tragedy that devastated their lives gathered profound insights on their different on 7 February 2009. But that day was just the paths to recovery. It has been a privilege to beginning of a long journey of recovery that some be able to share some of their stories. of them are still on today. – JOE CONNOR, PRODUCER If I’ve learned anything from making this film, it’s that acceptance – and a willingness to incorpo- Over a year ago, I received an email from rate traumatic events into your broader life story Karen Curnow out of the blue asking if – seem to be the key to recovery. That can be Renegade Films would be interested in a incredibly difficult if you’ve lost people you love, collaboration around the tenth anniversary but as some of the people in this film prove, it is of the Black Saturday bushfires. As we possible. started our research, I was struck by the fact that although all these people had been I’m happy to have finished this film knowing that through the same life-changing experience, the tone feels right, that I have respected the sto- every person’s reaction was different. It ries that were shared with me, and that I curated seemed impossible to predict who would them the best way I could. Hopefully it allows the just barely survive and who managed to ac- viewer some insight into what it takes to recover tually thrive after such an ordeal. My hope from extreme trauma and horror, and I pray that for the film is that it shines a light on how none of us ever have to experience such things in seemingly ordinary people cope in extraor- our own lives. © ATOM 2019 dinary circumstances.
– TONY JACKSON, DIRECTOR – LUCY MACLAREN, PRODUCER 4 »»INITIAL IMPRESSIONS
Before beginning a close analysis of Aftermath: Beyond could read and discuss Henry Lawson’s poem ‘The Black Saturday, provide students with an opportu- Bushfire’
»»GETTING STARTED ADVICE FOR TEACHERS The ‘Beyond Bushfires: Community Resilience and Recovery’ Aftermath (noun): the consequences or after-effects study was conducted to examine the impacts of the Black of a significant unpleasant event.1 Saturday and related bushfires of February 2009 on physical and mental health and wellbeing. The research also aimed to What is the meaning of the word ‘aftermath’? build understanding of the interplay between individual, social When have you heard this word used? Why do and community-level recovery. The study was conducted by The you think the filmmakers decided to use this word University of Melbourne in partnership with community members in the title of the documentary? Alternatively, pro- and a range of community, academic, government, emergency and health agencies. It is recommended that teachers download vide students with the dictionary definition stated a copy of ‘Beyond Bushfires: Community Resilience and Recovery above and ask them to make links between the Final Report’ online at
The white stands of trees burned on Black Saturday stand tall above the ten years of regrowth.
»»BLACK SATURDAY
Black Saturday was a day like no other. We’d had ten years high winds raced through the surrounding townships of of drought. We had several days of forty-degree temperature. Strathewen, St. Andrews and Kinglake, catching residents by Relative humidity for the day was single figures. The bush surprise and trapping many in their homes. was tinder dry and ready to burn. All it needed was a source of ignition. – Glen Fiske The Churchill fire complex began in a pine plantation south- east of Churchill. By late afternoon the fire threatened the On Saturday 7 February 2009, Victorians were told to prepare towns of Hazelwood South, Jeeralang, and Budgeree East. for the worst day in the state’s history. The weather forecast In Callignee, most of the town’s residential properties were predicted a record-breaking temperature of 46.4 °C, gale- destroyed. The fire continued on to Koornalla, Traralgon force winds of up to 90 kilometres per hour and extremely low South, Gormandale and Willung South. Two days later, the humidity. A total fire ban was declared for the entire state. The Churchill fire complex was still posing a threat to all lives and fires that tore through the Victorian bush during the day were properties directly in its path. Investigators found that arson terrifying and devastating, and resulted in Australia’s highest was the cause of the Churchill fires. ever loss of life from a bushfire. Black Saturday, as the day came to be known, claimed 173 lives and injured 5000 people. Other major bushfires on 7 February were the Beechworth fire, the Bendigo fire, the Redesdale fire, the Bunyip The scale of the Black Saturday bushfires has been attrib- State Park fire, the Dandenong Ranges fire, the Wilsons uted to the extreme weather conditions, as well as the severe Promontory fire, the Maroondah/Yarra fires, the Horsham fire, and protracted drought that had created tinder-dry vegeta- the Coleraine fire and the Weerite fire. tion across the state. More than forty-seven major fires ignited across the state, with fourteen of them claiming lives Ten years have passed since Black Saturday changed the or causing significant damage. Up to 2300 homes were lost lives of thousands of people. Aftermath: Beyond Black and close to 8000 people were left homeless. Saturday is dedicated to all those affected by the bushfires. © ATOM 2019
The deadliest fire was the Kilmore East fire. Started by a • Can you remember Black Saturday? Where were you? faulty power pole near Kilmore East, the fire fanned by What were you doing? Were you concerned about the 6 »»THE TOWNS threat of bushfire in your area? How did you learn about the bushfires? How did you react The following towns are referred to in Aftermath: Beyond to the news of the bushfires? Black Saturday: Buxton, Flowerdale, Kinglake, Marysville, Advice to teachers: While the above ques- Strathewen, Wandong tions may be appropriate prompts for senior secondary students, junior and middle • Do you know anyone who lives in a town that was af- secondary students can access the follow- fected by the Black Saturday bushfires? Have you visited ing websites to learn more about the Black any of the towns affected? Saturday fires: • Use Google Maps to determine the location of each of - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ the towns. Use the internet to research each town. Based Black_Saturday_bushfires on your research write a description of each town. Your - http://www.abc.net.au/innovation/ description should indicate where the town is located and blacksaturday/#/stories/mosaic/ provide information about its current physical and human - http://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/about/ characteristics. black-saturday/ • Download the following Forest Fire Management Victoria - http://www.nma.gov.au/de- maps: fining-moments/resources/ - https://www.ffm.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_ black-saturday-bushfires/ file/0015/20265/StatewideFiresOverview_20090406. • The Victorian bushfires of 7 February 2009 pdf are regarded as the worst fires in Australia’s - https://www.ffm.vic.gov.au/__data/ recorded history. Why? What caused the assets/pdf_file/0011/20261/ Black Saturday fires? Why couldn’t the fires KilmoreEastMurrindindiOverview_20090406.pdf be contained and extinguished? These maps show the location and extent of the Black • Working as a class, make a list of the news- Saturday bushfires in Victoria and in the locations fea- paper headlines about Black Saturday. What tured in Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday. Having stud- do the headlines reveal about the events ied the maps, share your observations about the extent of of Black Saturday? What do the headlines the Black Saturday bushfires with the class. make you think and feel? What do the head- lines reveal about the media’s portrayal of Buxton Black Saturday? • Adrian Hyland’s Kinglake-350 is a nonfiction The small town of Buxton was significantly impacted on Black book about the Black Saturday bushfires Saturday by the bushfire burning in the Marysville area. suitable for senior students. Chloe Hooper’s The Arsonist is a nonfiction book about the • What does Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday reveal hunt for the arsonist who lit fires that caused about the fire in Buxton? Drawing on the documentary devastation throughout the Latrobe Valley on and other sources, compile a fact sheet about the Buxton Black Saturday. Teachers may choose to use fire. excerpts from Kinglake-350 and The Arsonist • What strategies did the residents of Buxton implement to to generate classroom discussion about the protect themselves, their property and their community Black Saturday bushfires. on Black Saturday? • What were the impacts of the Buxton fire on people’s INSIDE THE FIRESTORM lives, the natural environment and the built environment? Identify both negative and positive impacts. Inside The Firestorm (2010) provides a definitive account of the unfolding of, and the events of Flowerdale 7 February 2009 from the perspective of those who were there. One year on, the feature docu- Flowerdale lost thirteen residents and two out of every three homes on mentary tells the story of what happened on that Black Saturday. Residents sought shelter at the Flowerdale Hotel as the terrible day. The Smetham-Densem family, the Kilmore East fire front moved through the area. Lynn family, Glen Fiske, John Munday and Steve Varga’s experiences of Black Saturday and its • What does Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday reveal immediate aftermath are documented in After about the fire in Flowerdale? Drawing on the documen- the Firestorm, along with the experiences of tary and other sources, compile a fact sheet about the other survivors. The documentary has a running Flowerdale fire. time of 111 minutes and is rated M. Teachers • What strategies did the residents of Flowerdale imple- should preview After the Firestorm before a ment to protect themselves, their property and their com- classroom screening. Teachers may choose munity on Black Saturday? to screen excerpts from the documentary to • What were the impacts of the Flowerdale fire on people’s © ATOM 2019 support the discussion of the ideas and issues lives, the natural environment and the built environment? explored in Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday. Identify both negative and positive impacts. 7 Kinglake
Kinglake was one of the communities hit the hardest by the Black »»COMMUNITY Saturday bushfires. The Kinglake fire complex was a result of the merg- RECOVERY ing of the Kilmore East fire and the Murrindindi Mill fire. • What does your community mean to you? • What does Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday reveal Working as a class, make a list of and about the fire in Kinglake? Drawing on the documen- discuss those moments that define what tary and other sources, compile a fact sheet about the community means to the people featured in Kinglake fire. Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday. Having • What strategies did the residents of Kinglake implement to watched the documentary what did you protect themselves, their property and their community on learn about a community’s capacity to re- Black Saturday? cover from a disaster experience? • What were the impacts of the Kinglake fire on people’s lives, the natural environment and the built environment? Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday documents a Identify both negative and positive impacts. pot luck community dinner. Mary Avola explains the significance of this occasion, ‘The dinners Marysville first started about a month after the fire went through. We just thought doing something like Marysville was home to over 500 people and a thriving tourist destina- that was a way of sharing feelings and sharing tion at the time of the Black Saturday fires. More than 90 per cent of the ideas for the recovery.’ town was destroyed on Black Saturday. • ‘Strathewen was really really good with • What does Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday reveal embracing everybody.’ – Dini Shepherd about the fire in Marysville? Drawing on the documen- ‘It was really a bruised community and tary and other sources, compile a fact sheet about the pretty severely in some cases because Marysville fire. some people lost quite a few neighbours.’ – • What strategies did the residents of Marysville implement Diana Robertson to protect themselves, their property and their community ‘It was very difficult at first because we had on Black Saturday? some really grieving and sad people. I was • What were the impacts of the Marysville fire on people’s pretty numb knowing the people that were lives, the natural environment and the built environment? coming did help and we helped each other.’ Identify both negative and positive impacts. – Mary Avola • Watch from 45.24 to 47.30. Strathewen Why were the community dinners started? Why do you think the community dinners Strathewen was substantially destroyed during the Black Saturday have continued? bushfires. Twenty-seven of Strathewen’s 200 residents died in the fire. How does the footage of the community The fire obliterated most of Strathewen’s homes and other structures dinner portray the relationship between including the primary school, old fire station and community hall. members of the Strathewen community? What does the footage of the community • Drawing on Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday and other dinner reveal about the recovery of individu- sources, compile a fact sheet about the Strathewen fire. als and the recovery of the community? • What strategies did the residents of Strathewen imple- ment to protect themselves, their property and their com- Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday includes an munity on Black Saturday? interview with Steve Phelan, publican of the • What were the impacts of the Strathewen fire on people’s Flowerdale Hotel, and documents the role that lives, the natural environment and the built environment? his hotel has played in community recovery. Identify both negative and positive impacts. • ‘People can be changed quite quickly over- Wandong night. I’ve learnt it’s important that commu- nity does keep together. That’s a very impor- Four residents and more than forty homes in Wandong were destroyed tant reason to keep going.’ – Steve Phelan in the Black Saturday bushfires. • Watch from 41.09 to 43.46. Describe the role that Steve Phelan and the • Drawing on Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday and other Flowerdale Hotel have played in the recov- sources, compile a fact sheet about the Wandong fire. ery of the community since Black Saturday. • What strategies did the residents of Wandong implement How has his relationship with the survivors to protect themselves, their property and their community of the fires impacted on him and his busi- on Black Saturday? ness? Explain the symbolism of the framed © ATOM 2019 • What were the impacts of the Wandong fire on people’s jumper that hangs on the wall of the bar. lives, the natural environment and the built environment? Identify both negative and positive impacts. 8 »»THE PEOPLE
People who’ve had the worst things hap- People who experience the trauma of disasters feel the re- pen have the possibility of what we’re now ally fundamental things they took for granted are destroyed. calling post traumatic growth. I think it’s Security, safety, loved ones. Many of them will say, ‘I can’t the suffering and the struggle to make just go back to who I was before. I’m not the same.’ – Dr constructive creative use of the suffering Rob Gordon that actually leads to the post traumatic Dr Rob Gordon growth. Most people who are severely • What emotions did the people featured in Aftermath: affected eventually come to the recognition Beyond Black Saturday experience on Black Saturday? that this is a watershed in their lives. Their lives What did they fear? What did they hope? What emo- cannot ever be the same again. – Dr Rob Gordon tions did they experience after the immediate threat had passed? What emotions dominate their lives now? Individuals recover from bushfires in different ways and • Post-traumatic growth refers to people’s positive ex- at different rates, and people can be supported in many periences after traumatic events. As you watch each different ways. Clinical psychologist Dr Rob Gordon has documentary participant’s story, consider what the been treating survivors of natural disasters for over thirty person’s story tells the audience about an individual’s years. On Black Saturday, Dr Gordon was under threat from capacity to recover from a disaster experience. How did bushfires himself. He avoided disaster when a wind change the bushfires disrupt the lives of the documentary partici- pushed the approaching firestorm away from his Yarra Glen pants? How did they adapt to their changed lives and home. He saw firsthand how the fires profoundly affected environments? the people.
Mary Avola lost her husband of MARY AVOLA 44 years
Mary Avola, one of the survivors featured in Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday, recalls the day of the fire:
‘The day was very very hot and Peter spent a lot of time dampening down our house. Black balls of stuff all falling everywhere and our paddock was on fire. Gas tanks blow- ing up and there were flames and horses on the road. We were just trying to survive.’
Mary’s husband, Peter Avola, instructed his wife to leave, he stayed to defend their property. Peter Avola was one of the Strathewen residents who lost their lives on Black Saturday.
• ‘That’s my husband Peter. We lost him in the fire. He was a gorgeous man. Loved by all. He used to smile a lot.’ – Mary Avola What were you thinking and feeling when you watched this sequence? What does this sequence highlight about the loss and grief that survivors of the Black Saturday bushfires have had to confront? Based on your reading and research about the Black Saturday bricks, dust, ash.’ – Mary Avola bushfires, what bereavement support was available? What does Mary’s account of returning to her home and sifting through the rubble suggest about loss? Peter’s body was found at the Strathewen oval. In Why do you think Mary has kept the pieces of the glass Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday, Mary watches a local chandelier and the fire-damaged costume jewellery? cricket match. She is standing in front of the Peter Avola Memorial Pavilion. Unable to face the prospect of rebuilding alone, Mary left Strathewen for the suburbs of Melbourne, taking all she • Explain the significance of naming the pavilion at the could salvage from her old life. © ATOM 2019 Strathewen oval after Peter. • ‘I got back to my house after the fire but it was just ‘There’s a separation between my life before. It’s like 9 there’s a pane of glass in front of me. I can see what happened but I mean it was a tragic thing and I hated it but it hasn’t stopped me living.’ – Mary Avola
Even though Mary no longer lives in Strathewen, she has maintained her rela- tionship with the community. She explains, ‘I’m on a bunch of committees. I’m on the Strathewen Public Hall Association, Memorials Working Group, the Strathewen Wellness and Activities Groups.’ JONATHAN DENSEM AND EMMA SMETHAM Studies of people who experienced Black Saturday have shown that involvement New Zealanders Jonathan Densem and Emma Smetham were living with in community groups has proven to be their young son Otto in a cottage that they had renovated in Buxton at a protective measure for survivors of the the time of the Black Saturday bushfires. Black Saturday bushfires. While living with someone else was protective, the risks of • How does the home video footage depict the Buxton fire? living alone appeared to be offset by group • ‘Our decision had been that we would stay and fight.’ – Emma involvement. Smetham ‘The fire had crested the ridge. That’s when I said “Bugger the house, • ‘My life changed after Black Saturday let’s go.”’ – Jonathan Densem because of the commitment I made to What factors influence people’s decision to stay and fight a bushfire try and help our community.’ – Mary that is threatening their property? What factors influence people’s Avola decision to leave? Why did Emma and Jonathan reassess their deci- Explain the significance of Mary’s sion to stay and fight? decision to stay connected to the Strathewen community. How do you Recommended link:
• ‘I felt I had to stay. I felt it was where Liza and Dalton had left from. I was committed right from the start that we were going to rebuild and rebuild back on the same site.’ – Glen Fiske Why do you think Glen refers to staying in Marysville and rebuilding as ‘do(ing) the right thing by Liz and Dalton’? Explain the significance of the photograph Glen Fiske was captain of Glen and his two surviving children standing on the of the Marysville CFA threshold of their new home on the day that the keys on Black Saturday. He were handed over? lost his wife and son.
During the rebuild, Glen initiated a relationship with fellow Marysville resident Kerry McFadzean. Kerry’s house was destroyed in the fire. She remembers, ‘It was very hard GLEN FISKE AND KERRY MCFADZEAN times. To go through all that rubble and try and find any- thing that was left.’ Marysville resident and CFA volunteer, Glen Fiske, fought a losing battle to protect Marysville on Black Saturday. He • ‘Initially I didn’t want to admit that I wasn’t coping. I observes, ‘What we got was a far bigger fire than we ever was in a state of confusion and it probably wasn’t until could have imagined. It took my town.’ Glen’s wife Liz and Kerry and I got together that I felt a sense that there son Dalton perished in the firestorm. The family home was could be something afterwards.’ – Glen Fiske destroyed. Glen and two of his children survived. How has Glen and Kerry’s relationship supported their recovery? • ‘When we first came back to the house all that was left was the chimney stack and the roof flat on the deck. Glen introduces his granddaughter Charlotte to the film- And that’s when I accepted Liz and Dalton had been in makers. His optimism is evident in his claim, ‘I hope she’s there.’ – Glen Fiske got a bright future. Marysville’s only going to grow and What were you thinking and feeling when you watched grow.’ this sequence? What does this sequence highlight about the loss and grief that survivors of the Black • ‘…That’s our story now. Losing Liz and Dalton is part of Saturday bushfires have had to confront? Based on who we are today.’ – Glen Fiske your reading and research about the Black Saturday How has Glen and his family been changed by their ex- bushfires, what bereavement support was available? perience of Black Saturday? What is resilience? What do Glen’s and Kerry’s stories tell the audience about Glen decided to build a new home in the same place resilience?
JASON AND RUTH LYNN community. In Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday, Ruth recalls the challenges her son faced after the fires: ‘It was The Lynn family lost their Kinglake West home on Black heartbreaking for me to see Joshua not being able to look Saturday. While Ruth and the children escaped in a car, at his own father because he was so badly injured.’ Jason remained to defend their property. Hours later, he was found semi-conscious and severely injured in the dam. • Drawing on the stories of the Lynn family, the Smetham- Jason recounts his experience of Black Saturday: Densem family and the Fiske family, spend time as a class discussing the likely challenges that children and ‘I crawled all the way down until I could feel the water and I teenagers faced after the fires. Based on your viewing of think I pulled my coat up a bit and just laid there. I thought the documentary and your reading and research about I don’t think I’ll make it. I’ll probably die here. It was one of the Black Saturday bushfires, what adjustments were those things where it’s just like the quicker the better...’ made and what strategies were implemented by fami- lies and in the community to restore children’s sense of The reality of the disaster and its aftermath formed the safety and re-establish stability in their lives? © ATOM 2019 ongoing backdrop of children’s daily lives. Children • ‘This is the last of the three dogs we had on Black and teenagers experienced anxieties and upheavals at Saturday. They all got burnt. The first time Jason lit up home, in school, in sport, in friendship groups and in the a bonfire after the fire the dogs went crazy. They were 11 terrified.’ – Ruth Lynn overwhelmed with everything.’ – Ruth Lynn How do you care for your pets on hot days? Identify the impact that the Black Saturday bushfires Why is it important for people who live in bushfire had on Jason and Ruth’s relationship. prone areas to include their pets in their bushfire plan? • ‘The years after the fire were probably some of the best Recommended link:
JOHN MUNDAY AND CATH SCOTT else other than the crew just wasn’t going to be an option.’
John Munday was a lieutenant in the Country Fire Authority In the week after Black Saturday and after fighting over (CFA) at the time of the Black Saturday bushfires. His 300 fires across Victoria, the CFA volunteers found them- brigade of volunteers was overwhelmed by the scale selves under scrutiny. and intensity of the fires and was forced to retreat to the Marysville cricket oval. John explains their decision: • ‘After Black Saturday I ended up doing an awful lot of media. There was a lot of very negative people, critical ‘We had to make our way through the whole of the town to of the CFA and the volunteers.’ – John Munday get back to there. There were fires all round us. The wind ‘While the smoke has barely cleared the finger pointing © ATOM 2019 was that strong and trees were being blown down and has begun.’ – ABC News blocking roads. We realised that to try and save anyone ‘It was a very tough week and I just imploded. I just 12 Cath Scott lost everything on Black Saturday. Afterwards she met John Munday, both an employee of the CFA and a volunteer fire fighter.
couldn’t do it anymore. I just turned off my phone and plan-prepare/pets-and-bushfires/>. shut down the laptop and went down and sat in the ve- gies. Gave them a water. Had a cry.’ – John Munday John and other survivors formed a music group in the • The CFA is an organisation that responds to a variety aftermath of Black Saturday. John explains: of fire and emergency incidents including wildfires, structure fires and transport-related fires. ‘There was a real need in the community to try and identify What role did the CFA play on Black Saturday? Why positive things that we could do for the people that sur- was the CFA subject to public and media scrutiny vived Black Saturday. Things to bring a bit of laughter and in the days and weeks following the fires? How did a bit of joy back into our souls again.’ this scrutiny impact on volunteers like John Munday? Based on your viewing of Aftermath: Beyond Black Cath’s decision to participate as part of her recovery Saturday and your reading and research about Black proved to be a life changing decision: ‘I rocked up one Saturday, was the criticism of the CFA justified? night and that’s when I met John. It was somewhere to go and be creative and just sing my heart out.’ The event and aftermath of Black Saturday tested many relationships. Divorce and separation became increas- John acknowledges that without the fire he would not be ingly common but the shared trauma of the bushfires also with Cath: ‘Out of the furnace of Black Saturday came the brought people together. John Munday and Cath Scott steel, the heart and steel that formed our resolve and our initiated a relationship after separating from their spouses. relationship.’ Cath and her children evacuated as the fire approached. Their Kinglake home was razed by the fire. John and Cath’s • How has the music group supported John’s and Cath’s new property is not located in a high bushfire-prone area. recovery? Explain the significance of John and Cath’s song about Black Saturday. • ‘I can’t even go into the bush on a hot day.’ – Cath Scott ‘I think probably prior to Black Saturday I was a little What does Cath’s admission reveal about the chal- bit naive. The fragility of life and the fine line between lenges of the recovery process? what happens and what might happen. We have to go • ‘My relationship broke down pretty badly after the fires on. You know, the ones that are left behind have to go which a lot did. We did do counselling and it just wasn’t on.’ – John Munday working. It’s easy to divide all your house and contents What are the challenges that John faces in returning to when you don’t have any. I met John and romance Marysville? Explain John’s decision despite these chal- blossomed.’ – Cath Scott lenges to lecture groups of senior CFA volunteers and Identify the impact that the Black Saturday bushfires staff about his Black Saturday experiences. had on established relationships. How has John and • ‘I think I’m in a lot of ways a better person. I’ve learnt Cath’s relationship supported their recovery? probably more about empathy and about human suf- fering and about humans triumphing over adversity. I’m In Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday, Cath describes the comfortable where I am.’ – John Munday rescue of the family’s pet cat. It is estimated that over a ‘I think I’m really clearer about what I do and don’t want million animals lost their lives on Black Saturday. in my life. I’m not going to spend time with negative peo- ple that bring me down. Life’s too short.’ – Cath Scott • How do you care for your pets on hot days? How have John and Cath been changed by their ex- © ATOM 2019 • Why is it important for people who live in bushfire- perience of Black Saturday? What is resilience? What prone areas to include their pets in their bushfire plan? does their story tell the audience about resilience? • Recommended link:
Cliff and his wife now live in Healesville. He has rejoined CLIFF OVERTON the CFA as a volunteer.
When first responders reached the scene, CFA volunteer • ‘It’s a huge part of my life and it’s made me exactly who Cliff Overton helped guide them into the heart of the dev- I am today. I think those of us who perhaps go through astation. Cliff explains, ‘I never saw fire on Black Saturday. experiences and survive have a legacy to try and help For me that Sunday, it was the killer. I went out on our those going through experiences in the future.’ – Cliff truck, got on the road and worked our way up to Kinglake Overton and I mean, that’s when we started to see the people who Were you surprised to learn that Cliff has rejoined the hadn’t made it.’ CFA? How does Cliff view his experience of Black Saturday? How has he been changed by his experi- Cliff’s account of finding and identifying victims of the fires ence of Black Saturday? What is resilience? What does highlights why many first responders like Cliff have battled Cliff’s story tell us about human resilience? with post-traumatic stress and depression. STEVE VARGA • ‘I’ve got this slide show tucked in the back of the head and if I want to I can pull it up and I can sit and scroll After twenty-five years of living in Wandong, Steve Varga through every still image my brain captured of every watched his house collapse around him as a violent fire- person that I saw out there that day.’ – Cliff Overton storm engulfed his rural property. Steve built the home to Using Cliff’s statement as a starting point, identify the be defendable against bushfires but the ferocity of Black immediate and ongoing impacts of responding to a Saturday revealed the faults in his design. natural disaster for emergency services workers. • ‘Waking up on Sunday was not a particularly good feel- One of the victims of the fire that Cliff saw on the Sunday ing. It was like being hung over I think, realising what was Mary Avola’s husband, Peter. Cliff shares the story of had gone on the day before and wishing it hadn’t.’ their first meeting: The landscape was just black sticks. There was white ash and there was not a living thing as far as you could ‘Mary came up to me and she said, “My husband Peter see.’ – Steve Varga died in the fires. He was on the oval when they found him.” What do Steve’s memories of the days following And I realised exactly who she was talking about. She sud- the fires reveal about the impact of Black Saturday? denly put a name to someone I’d seen. That was the first Explain the significance of Steve’s banjo in helping him time that had happened. These people in my head were to make sense of his experience. just the deceased. I didn’t know who they were.’ • ‘I decided to rebuild immediately. I had a renewed vigour to get on with life. I’d been sort of dawdling a In Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday, Cliff joins Mary at bit before that, so I had a house to build. Whole lot of the oval. It is an opportunity to catch up. The conversation things to do. Whole lot of things to replace.’ – Steve turns to the memorial tree and the healing that has come Varga from this project. Explain the importance of the rebuild. What does Steve mean when he says, ‘Something I always do is fix • Mary: I still have that beautiful leaf you made me. what’s broken’? Is he only referring to the house? What Cliff: That was the moment I started to get better. is resilience? What does Steve’s story tell the audience What does the commemorative leaf mean to Mary? about resilience? © ATOM 2019 What does it mean to Cliff? In this sequence, Steve proudly explains how his new • The Strathewen Blacksmiths Tree is dedicated to home is fireproof. The verandah shutters, the cellar and 14 Steve Varga relishes in his isolate
its escape hatch, and the reinforced cornices will hope- fully protect his home in the event of another fire. Do you live in a bushfire zone? Is your home bushfire- ready? Make a list of ways that your family home could be prepared and protected in the event of a bushfire. What is an asset protection zone? How does it protect a house built in a bushfire zone? Your task is to design a flame zone house. Use the internet to investigate bushfire-resistant architecture. Work with a peer to complete drawings of your design and to write a design report. Display the designs in the classroom and then hold a class competition to select the winning design.
»»BEHIND THE SCENES
Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday is a representation of Overton, and Steve Varga? Do you think these sto- reality. The following prompts allow you to consider how ries combined offer a representative account of Black the filmmakers use media codes and conventions to tell a Saturday and its aftermath? nonfictional media story. Through the use of media codes • The interview is a documentary technique that allows and conventions, the filmmakers of the documentary en- participants to speak directly about events, prompted gage an audience and communicate meaning. by the questions asked by the filmmakers. Write an analysis of how interview techniques are used to shape Media codes are technical, written and symbolic tools the filmmakers’ representation of the impacts of the used to construct or suggest meaning in media forms and Black Saturday bushfires. products. They include the use of camera, acting, setting, • Spend time as a class discussing the use of archi- mise en scène, editing, lighting, sound, special effects, val footage and photographs to represent reality in typography, colour, visual composition, text and graphics. Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday. • The opening title sequence of Aftermath: Beyond Black Media conventions are rules or generally accepted ways of Saturday begins with camera phone footage of the fire constructing form and informing meaning in media prod- taken by witnesses. As a class, discuss why the docu- ucts including story principles, form and structure, generic mentary begins in this way. structures, character and story arcs, cause and effect, • In the closing credit sequence of Aftermath: Beyond point of view, the structuring of time, titles and credits Black Saturday, the focus is on the participants as they sequences and framing of images. walk away from the camera. Why is it a fitting conclu- sion? Compare and contrast the first and last frame of • What moments in the documentary had the most im- Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday. Explain the purpose pact on you? of these two shots. • As a class, discuss and debate the ethics of respon- sible reporting. In your investigation of the events of Black Saturday, have you come across reports that transgressed the boundaries of what you believe to be »»iVIEW EXTRAS responsible journalism? • Based on your viewing of Aftermath: Beyond Black The trailer for Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday is Saturday, how would you describe the relationship also accessible via iView. between the filmmakers and the documentary partici- pants? Provide evidence that endorses this descrip- iView extras for Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday tion. How does the filmmaker establish an empathetic include: relationship between the audience and the documen- • ‘Kevin Tolhurst – Mapping Fire’ tary participants? • ‘Marysville – Fire Museum’ • Working as a class, make a list of the challenges of • ‘Karen Curnow – A New Life’ making a documentary like Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday. Advice to teachers: the iView extras provide an op- • Why do you think the filmmakers decided to tell the portunity for a flipped classroom activity and/or stories of Mary Avola, Jonathan Densem and Emma extension material for students working above the © ATOM 2019 Smetham, Glen Fiske and Kerry McFadzean, Jason expected level of achievement. and Ruth Lynn, John Munday and Cath Scott, Cliff 15 »»EXTENDED RESPONSES
The following topics provide an opportunity for stu- • ‘Adversity can bring out the best in people.’ dents to construct an extended response that discusses When does Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday show Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday. An extended re- this to be true? sponse should be 750–1000 words in length and should • ‘It takes courage to survive a bushfire.’ draw on specific evidence from the documentary. The Use this prompt as the starting point of a piece of topics can also be used to facilitate small group discus- writing about Black Saturday and its aftermath. sion and class forums about the film.
John Munday (right), both an employee of the CFA and a volunteer
Investigation 1: TASK A 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission a. What is a Royal Commission? b. Why was the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal The 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission was Commission a necessary response to the events of established on 16 February 2009 to investigate the causes Black Saturday? and responses to the bushfires. c. What were the findings of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission? The Hon. Bernard Teague AO chaired the VBRC, support- d. What recommendations were made by the 2009 ed by Commissioners Ron McLeod AM and Susan Pascoe Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission? AM. The Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission delivered a e. Have these recommendations been implemented? final report on 31 July 2010. TASK B The 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission website has been archived. It can be accessed via the National Drawing on your reading of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Library of Australia archive site at
What community organisations and projects have assisted the rebuilding of Victorian rural communities affected by the Black Saturday fires?
TASK A
Steven Use the internet to research community organisations and Phelan projects that supported the communities affected by Black Saturday. Choose one organisation or project as the focus of Task B.
Investigation 2: TASK B The history of bushfires in Australia Use Google Slides or PowerPoint to document the work of one community organisation or project that supported the TASK A communities affected by Black Saturday. The presentation should include text and images. You may include audio For tens of thousands of years prior to European arrival and video. The first slide should be a title slide. The final and settlement in Australia, Indigenous Australians used slide should be a bibliography. fire to manage the landscape. The history of bushfires in Australia indicates that since colonisation, the landscape Suggested content: has become more prone to fire. When the Indigenous in- habitants were forced off the land by the European settlers, • a description of the organisation or project; their careful management of country was abandoned. • a dot-point list of the objectives of the organisation or project; a. Describe the Australian landscape at the time of first • a summary of the benefits of the organisation or settlement. Drawing on print and electronic resources, project; explain how Indigenous Australians once used fire to • an analysis of the organisation or project’s provision of manage the land. relief and/or recovery support; b. What aspects of early European settlement made the • an evaluation of the organisation or project’s land more fire-prone? Drawing on print and electronic achievement. resources, explain how the early European settlers used fire to manage the land.
TASK B
Victoria has a long history of bushfires beginning with the Black Thursday bushfires that occurred on 6 February 1851. Read more information about the fires that have ravaged Victoria at
Spend time as a class discussing what you now know about the history of bushfires in Victoria. Discuss the sig- nificance of the names that have been given to Australia’s most destructive bushfires. Based on your reading and re- search, what links can you make between the fires of Black Thursday, Red Tuesday, Black Friday and Ash Wednesday and the fires of Black Saturday?
TASK C
Use the internet to research the history of bushfires in another Australian state of territory. Drawing on your research, create an annotated timeline that provides a © ATOM 2019 detailed historical account of bushfires in another state or territory.
John 17 Munday Investigation 4: Emergency management and communications
The purpose of this investigation is to consider how emer- gency management and communications have changed since Black Saturday.
TASK A
Drawing on your viewing of Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday and your reading and research about Black Saturday, share your observations about the way mobile phone technology was used during the emergency.
How have smartphones and social media changed the way safety warnings and emergencies are communicated?
TASK B
Drawing on the findings of 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Cath Commission and other online resources, why was the Scott communication of information about the emergency a case of ‘too little, too late’? TASK C »»RECOMMENDED LINKS Black Saturday led to many changes in the way the emer- gency services work together to communicate information and warnings to the public. In Aftermath: Beyond Black The following websites are recommended Saturday, John Munday alludes to how much has been for use with secondary students: learned when he gives his annual speech to the CFA fire- fighters in Marysville. ABC Black Saturday https://www.abc.net.au/innovation/ What is Emergency Management Victoria? blacksaturday/#/stories/mosaic/ Recommended link: https://www.emv.vic.gov.au/ Bureau of Meteorology http://www.bom.gov.au/weather-services/fire- Did you know there is a real-time map of emergency inci- weather-centre/index.shtml dences in Victoria? Bushfire Education Recommended link: http://www.emergency.vic.gov.au/ http://www.bushfireeducation.vic.edu.au/ respond/ about-this-resource.html Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research The VicEmergency app was launched in 2016 and the Organisation Victorian SES provide Emergency Planning plans and kits. http://www.csiro.au/Outcomes/Environment/ Bushfires.aspx Recommended links: Country Fire Authority https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare/ https://www.cfa.vic.gov.au/kids-schools/ vicemergency-app Geography Teachers Association of Victoria https://www.ses.vic.gov.au/get-ready/ https://www.gtav.asn.au/resources/bushfires- emergency-plans-and-kits a-geography-resource-for-australian-stu- dents/bushfires-a-geography-resource-for- In reality, how prepared do you think most people are in australian-students/ the event of an emergency? Is your family prepared? Geoscience Australia http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/hazards/ *If you live in another state or territory, use the Internet to bushfire/ research how prepared your state or territory is to com- Splash ABC municate information and warnings to the public about an http://splash.abc.net.au/media/-/m/30033/ emergency? climate-and-bushfires-in-australia/ © ATOM 2019
18 »»KEY CREATIVES
Renegade Films is Joe Connor and his brother Ken Connor who both came up through the production ranks and have worked extensively behind the camera, giving them a deep perspective on every aspect of the pro- duction industry. Renegade has brought to screens the situation comedies Wilfred and Moonman, the docu- mentaries Immigration Nation and Utopia Girls and the television series RockWiz. For more information, go to
JOE AND KEN CONNOR | PRODUCERS Joe and Ken Connor have known each other all their lives, and have worked together for twenty-four years producing documentaries, television commercials, entertainment and comedy. They have been responsible for productions that have been nominated for eighteen AFI/AACTA Awards, and have won Gold Lions, a Jury Prize at Cannes and many other international awards.
LUCY MACLAREN | PRODUCER In 2000, Lucy Maclaren produced her first feature film Strange Fits of Passion (written and directed by Elise McCredie) which was accepted into Critics’ Week at the Cannes Film Festival. She also produced the highly acclaimed dramatised documentary Love Letters from A War. Since 2008 McLaren has been producing documentaries at Renegade Films, including Immigration Nation, Inside the Firestorm, Utopia Girls, Subtopia and The Diplomat, The Artist and The Suit. She is currently developing several drama and documentary projects, and co-producing the feature filmMiss Fisher and The Crypt of Tears.
TONY JACKSON | DIRECTOR Tony Jackson has spent more than thirty years making documentaries and factual television. From earning his first stripes at the BBC to becoming Head of Television at Lonely Planet, Jackson has established a reputation as one of Australia’s most experienced producers and directors. He has worked with broadcasters in Australia, Asia, North America, Europe and the Middle East, been nominated for a Walkley Award for Excellence in Journalism, and is the winner of a Screen Producers Australia Award.
Mary Avola and »»APPENDIX 1: Cliff Overton VIEWING CHART
INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS
Use the viewing chart on the next page to document your observations about the impact of the Black Saturday bushfires on the individuals and communities featured in Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday.
In the row labelled ‘IMMEDIATE RESPONSES’, make notes about the way people responded on Black Saturday and the days that followed.
In the rows labelled ‘ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS’, ‘SOCIAL IMPACTS’ and ‘ECONOMIC IMPACTS’ make notes about the immediate, short-term and ongoing impacts of the Black Saturday bushfires.
In the rows labelled ‘INDIVIDUAL RECOVERY’ and © ATOM 2019 ‘COMMUNITY RECOVERY’, make notes about the Steve actions people have taken individually and Varga collectively to rebuild their lives. 19 Subject: Impacts of the Black Saturday bushfires Source: Aftermath: Beyond Black Saturday
IMMEDIATE RESPONSES
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
SOCIAL IMPACTS
ECONOMIC IMPACTS
INDIVIDUAL RECOVERY
COMMUNITY RECOVERY © ATOM 2019
20 Memorial tree leaf
Endnotes 1 Oxford Dictionaries,
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