Burnt Forest

The fires of January 1939 were to be etched into the memories of those involved for the rest of their lives. Flames leapt from mountain to mountain, giant trees were blown out of the ground by fierce winds and large pieces of burning bark were carried for kilometres ahead of the main fire front, lighting up places that had not yet been devastated by flames.Sixty-nine mills were burnt, and seventy one lives lost. At one sawmill settlement near Matlock, east of Melbourne, fifteen people died whilst trying to escape from the fires. Over 1000 homes were burnt, and the townships of Narbethong, Noojee, Woods Point, Nayook West and Hill End were obliterated. The townships of Warrandyte, Yarra Glen, Omeo and Pomonal were badly damaged. Fires raged in the Yarra Ranges east of Melbourne, and affected towns including Toolangi, Warburton and Thomson Valley. The Alpine towns of Bright, Cudgewa and Corryong were also affected, as were vast areas in the west of the state, in particular Portland, the Otway Ranges and the Grampians. Large areas of state forest, containing giant stands of Mountain Ash and other valuable timbers, were killed. Approximately 575,000 hectares of reserved forest, and 780,000 hectares of forested Crown Land were burnt. The intensity of the fire produced huge amounts of smoke and ash, with reports of ash falling as far away as New Zealand. The devastation ended late on Sunday January 15, after rain fell across the state. What started the fires?Although the summer had been extremely hot and dry following a long period of drought, the fires that resulted in ‘Black Friday’ were a combination of human causes. Judge Stretton wrote in his report “…it will appear that no one cause may properly be said to have been the sole cause…”. Land owners, graziers, miners, forest workers and campers either deliberately or carelessly contributed to the 1939 fires by lighting fires prior to January 13. These included burning off for land clearing and grass growth, lighting campfires, inappropriate sawmill operations and domestic fires.