The Blacksmiths' Tree

The Blacksmiths' Tree: A Portrait by Debbie Qadri was recently donated to the library by the author. Debbie is an artist who is also interested in community art projects in public spaces. The book is her PhD research at the College of Arts and Education at Victoria University. It follows the story of the Blacksmith's Tree, public art work constructed mainly by many blacksmiths and installed at Strathewen as a memorial following the Black Saturday bushfires of February 2009. The book includes the authors own drawings and text in addition to a time line and references. It can also be accessed from her website 

This post was first publlished 7 May, 2019 on Yarra Plenty Regional Library

Black Saturday Anniversary

Photo: Matt Dickinson

The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of bushfires that ignited or were burning across Victoria on and around Saturday, 7 February 2009 and were among Australia's all-time worst bushfire disasters. Areas within the City of Whittlesea and Shire of Nillumbik were directly impacted including Kinglake West and Strathewen.
Local historian and photographer Matt Dickinson took a series of photographs immediately following the fires and has donated them to Yarra Plenty Regional Library for public access. 

Black Saturday Bushfire February 2009 

Aftermath of Black Saturday – Dickinson Collection

Aftermath of Black Saturday - Dickinson Collection

Black Saturday fire 7 Feb 2009

Following the devastation of the fires Yarra Plenty Regional Library’s own mobile library resumed service to the fire affected Shires of Nillumbik and Whittlesea as soon as the roads were reopened. The mobile library provided a touch of normality for the residents contributing to the initial recovery.

It is now ten years since that fateful day. Gradually items have been added to our local history collections at both Eltham and Mill Park libraries, including other photograph collections.  These items will be held permanently representing a significant event in our local history.

If you are interested in commemorating Black Saturday, Whittlesea Library is running community events in February and March. Find out more.

Nillumbik Shire Council and City of Whittlesea are also hosting several events and services.

To learn more about what happened and to read some personal accounts visit this list:  Black Saturday 

Poems from Strathewen Bushfire

Source: Matt Dickinson Collection, Yarra Plenty Regional Library

The Black Saturday bushfires of Satruday 7 February 2009 impacted our local area, in particular the City of Whittlesea and Shire of Nillumbik.  In the aftermath, a local photographer took some photographs which were donated to Yarra Plenty Regional Library last year.  They have since been added to our YPRL Local History Flickr account.  Poems from the Strathewen bushfire were posted to blackened trees during these days.

In the Oct 2014 Google Street View image, a number of poems are still visible pinned to this tree.
Source: Matt Dickinson Collection, Yarra Plenty Regional Library

There’s a summer bush requim

So silent it chills
It’s drifting on ashes
Through Strathewen Hills

There’s no song at “Singing Waters”
Just an ashen lament
And trees that stood straight
Are now blackened and bent

Strathewen history
Is clouding the air
With soft powdery ash
And a wail of despair

There are spaces without traces
Of neighbours and friends
We are missing their faces
Coming around the road bends

We’re sooty and smudged
And waiting for rain
As homeward we trudge
We’re nursing our pain

Our life’s black and white
No colour between
Just some sepia tree tops
To colour the scene

We’re drawn back to the place
We want to remain
We’re holding our friends
We’re sharing the strain

• Barbara Joyce

In the Valley of the Ewen
We are happy and free
With Sugarloaf Mountain
You and Me
There’s no place
I’d rather be
Than Strathewen

• Bill Scott

Harder are the tears
Sadder is the pain
Inner is the heartbreak
Loving is our gain
Tomorrow is for memories
Yesterday is all gone
But somewhere in these ashes
We can together write our song

• Anon

It’s not so much what we do in life
But more important, what we became
While we are doing it
Strengthened we will become great
My thoughts are with you all
Love Marion Oakley
People are like stained glass windows
They sparkle when the sun comes out
But when the darkness sets in
There true beauty is revealed
Only if there is light from within
Strathewen is constantly in my thoughts

• Marion Oakley

Towards home I look to see something familiar
Searching every horizon Blackened and burnt
I look again, seeing only the burnt backdrop
Our Mountain, Our Statue
Then some how
I feel protected again
In her blackened arms

• Rosemary Zinni Yung

Remembering Black Saturday

Fire damage, Toorourrong Reservoir Park; Wednesday, 11 March, 2009   Source: Matt Dickinson Collection, Yarra Plenty Regional Library

"From Whittlesea, we saw this monstrous cloud covering right across and extremely high over Mt Disappointment. But never realised, never for an instance, thought the fire was racing at high speed across the mountain, totally concealed by this mount of dense smoke cloud..."

So wrote Matt days after Black Saturday in February 2009.
Recently Matt donated copies of over 200 photos he took in the area in the following days and weeks. These have been added to the YPRL Local History Flickr account together with his account on Wikinorthia.

Kinglake 350 author Adrian Hyland in conversation

As Australia remembers the 3^rd anniversary of Black Saturday - Eltham Library will present Kinglake 350 author Adrian Hyland in conversation with Arnold Zable on Tuesday 14 February at 7.00pm

Kinglake 350 is a very readable story of what took place in the Kinglake community on Black Saturday through the eyes of local policeman Roger Wood. If you want to know what actually happened on Black Saturday, this book is a good place to start.

Melbourne writer and author Arnold Zable profiles members of the Flowerdale community who were affected by Black Saturday in yesterdays Age. He ran writing workshops for Black Saturday survivors in Flowerdale and other affected towns in a project supported by the Grace Marion Wilson Trust, Alexandra Library and the Victorian Writers Centre.

Black Saturday

Over a year later images of Black Saturday still have an impact. Visit Black Saturday : photos from St Andrews to view photos.

A huge Bushfires collection on Flickr has a lot to explore.

A media release from the State Government today announces communities will share in more funding from the Bushfire Appeal Fund. Projects that have been approved includes one out of Whittlesea with activities to help bush-fire affected residents share their stories.

We encourage people to share their stories on Wikinorthia: documenting life in Melbourne's north. Read reminiscences of Black Saturday here.

Black Saturday Exhibition

An exhibition of 47 photos of the 2009 bushfires in Stathewen and St Andrews taken by firefighters and witnesses is being held at Bridges Restuarant and Nursery in Hurstbridge until Sunday February 28.

Many of the photographs were used in the book Footsteps in the Ash

Stories of Black Saturday

A year following the tragedy of Black Saturday, stories are being preserved for prosperity.

The following books have been published:

Burn: the epic story of bushfire in Australia by Paul Collins has been re-published with an introduction on the Black Saturday fires. The first edition is available via Google Books

A Day like no other: Black Saturday on the Kinglake Ranges by David A Johns

Footsteps in the Ash: the story of St Andrews and Strathewen in 2009 bushfires

Without Warning: one woman’s story of surviving Black Saturday

A future in Flames – Danielle Clode

Firestorm: Black Saturday’s tragedy

46.4 Research Fire Brigrades Black Saturday

Inferno: the day Victoria burned by Roger Franklin

Black Saturday: stories of love, loss and courage from the Victorian bushfires edited by John McGourty

Worst of Days : inside the Black Saturday firestorm by Karen Kissane

Online resources include

SLV Bushfires guide 2009

St Andrews Recovery

Strathewen Community Website

2335 A new Start
Blog above recovering from Black Saturday

We also welcome stories on Wikinorthia. Read some here

New titles to the collection

Two titles just added to the collections:

46.4 : Research Fire Brigades Black Saturday by Janine Woolnough

Saturday morning, a time to run a time for fun: 40 years of little athletics in the Diamond Valley by Andrew Edney & Andrew Brasier

Visit the history pages at Diamond Valley Little Athletics Centre

Black Saturday stories

Projects are beginning to emerge to record the devastation of Black Saturday that is already part of our history. "Black Saturday: stories of love, loss and courage from the Victorian bushfires" edited by John McGourty has just been released. Copies are availble for loan and are also in our local history collections. Contributions from reporters and photographers from News Ltd. Easy to read, but heart wrenching accounts of Black Saturday that has been described as "the most disastrous peace time event in Australia's history", includes personal experiences of the reporters and photographers there to report the events to the rest of the world.
You can add your own online review of this book via the online catalogue.

People are encouraged to contribute their stories to Wikinorhtia: documenting life in Melbourne's north, where there are already some accounts to be found under the disasters category.

Created in response to the 2009 Victorian bushfires, STORYBOARD provides a creative space to share your photos, videos, artworks and stories with others who have been affected by this devastating event. An ongoing project, STORYBOARD is also a safe place to archive your precious images and record local histories.

STORYBOARD will also play an important role in gathering primary resources that will be of use to the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) with community education programs.
Launching 10 May 2009