Bushfires in Victoria

Find books, government reports, websites, statistics, newspaper articles and images about Victorian bushfires from 1851 to today.

Resources

In Victoria, 47 people died and over 2000 homes and shops were destroyed in these fires. Lives were also lost in fierce fires in South Australia. The height of the destruction occurred on Ash Wednesday, 16 February 1983.

Advice on using the Library's catalogue, in-house indexes and newspapers collection to research these fires can be found on our Research fires page.

Ash Wednesday by Country Fire Authority
PDF. Fact sheet answering frequently asked questions about the Ash Wednesday fires.
Ash Wednesday 1983
This webpage details causes and effects of the 1983 fires. It indicates what resources were used to fight the fires, and the damage that the fires caused.
Bushfire - Ash Wednesday, Victoria and South Australia 1983 by Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience
Website. Statistics on numbers of:
- deaths of people and livestock
- people injured
- people made homeless
- homes destroyed
- cost
Also includes a detailed description of the fire fronts, and photographs.
Report of the Bushfire Review Committee: on bush fire disaster preparedness and response in Victoria, Australia, following the Ash Wednesday fires 16 Feburary 1983 by Victoria. Bushfire Review Committee
This report can be read online via the State Library's catalogue. It includes an excellent bibliography of sources. It lists the losses caused by the major fires originating on 16 February 1983
Government response to the report of the Bushfire Review Committee
Pamphlet.
The Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria, 16 February 1983
Study by the Centre for Disaster Studies, James Cook University of North Queensland. Looks at the situation leading up to the fires, the events of the bushfires, the response, firefighting strategies, counter-disaster planning and response, and land use strategies.
Ash Wednesday bibliography by Australian Emergency Management Institute
A comprehensive list of books and other resources about Ash Wednesday. Available as PDF/Word document, under 'Downloads'. Search Trove to find out which Australian libraries hold copies of these resources. Note website not currently active. Link now goes to archived version of website on the Internet Archive.
75 perish in the Ash Wednesday bushfires by 80 Days That Changed Our Lives - ABC Archives
Web page. Includes video of '7.30 Report' story about Ash Wednesday 10 years on, and some eyewitness accounts of the day.
State of fire: a history of volunteer fire fighting and the Country Fire Authority in Victoria
This book includes several chapters about fire-fighting and fire prevention before, during and after the Ash Wednesday fires. Includes many photographs.
Great disasters in Australian history
Book. Includes a chapter dedicated to the Ash Wednesday fires.
Aftermath of fire: a people's triumph
This book details the experiences and responses of the Mount Macedon community, emergency services, medical personnel, churches, volunteers, and charities, to the 1983 fires.
It includes personal accounts of the environmental conditions leading up to the fires, and the impact the fires had on the community and environment.
It also provides a critical overview of the media coverage and studies that resulted.
It includes a useful bibliography.
Ash Wednesday 30
A small collection of personal reflections from Ash Wednesday survivors.
Burning bush: a fire history of Australia
This book includes a description of these fires - see pages 410-413.
A study of civilian deaths in the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires Victoria, Australia by Country Fire Authority
PDF.
Drought, dust and deluge: a century of climate extremes in Australia
This book looks at the influence meteorological effects had on the fires. See page 15.
The Bushfire Appeal (1983) Trust Fund: a social evaluation: a project report
Responsibility attribution and helping behaviour in the Ash Wednesday bushfires by Paul R. Amatoa, Robert Ho & Sonia Partridge
Article in Australian Journal of Psychology, Volume 36, Issue 2 August 1984, pages 191-203.
Ash Wednesday in Upper Beaconsfield
Includes map of fire affected area, which indicated timed progress of the fire front. Also includes plan showing which buildings in the area were destroyed by fire, and which survived.

Resources at the Public Record Office Victoria

The Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) in North Melbourne collects records created by Victorian government departments and agencies. They hold many records relating to Victorian bushfires, including:

School pupils' experiences of Ash Wednesday bushfire
Records held by the Public Record Office Victoria. Accounts of experiences of pupils at the Framlingham School
Royal visit 1983 their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales
Records held by the Public Record Office Victoria. Files relate to protocols around the visit by Prince Charles and Princess Diana to the bushfire affected areas.

Maps

Interactive maps and past incident maps (1939-2009) (archived website)
Victorian year-book 1984
Book. Available to read online. Includes maps comparing the extent of damage caused by the Black Friday 1939 and Ash Wednesday 1983 bushfires.

Bushfires in Victoria

Resources

Resources at the Public Record Office Victoria

Maps

State Library Victoria