1965 Gippsland Bushfires

It has been more than 50 years since the 1965 bushfires caused so much devastation across Gippsland and many of the stories have been lost and the lessons learnt forgotten. We want to prepare a permanent record of those fires; where they burnt, the people who fought them, the impacts they had, how individuals, and communities recovered, and the things we should have learnt from those fires.

We're asking people to share their memories, newspaper clippings and photos either by commenting on the social map or forums on this site, by emailing stories, audio/video recordings to 1965gippslandbushfires@gmail.com or by uploading stories to https://1965gippslandbushfires.com

When adding to the map or making comments please remember

Treat online comments as you would a friendly conversation with your neighbour.
Be respectful of others, especially if you disagree with their comments.
Please no profanity or derogatory language. We will monitor and remove posts if this occurs.

What were the experiences of the volunteers?

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What do you remember of the FCV, the workers and the equipment used?

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Tell us about the impacts of the fire - personal, community, economic, environmental.

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What do you remember of the Omeo fires?

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Bruthen and District

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Glenaladale and District

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Briagolong and District

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Bairnsdale and surrounds

What do you remember about the fire?

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Project FAQ's

If you have any further questions please contact the administrators at 1965gippslandfires@gmail.com

Who is managing the 1965 Gippsland Bushfires Project

The project is being coordinated by staff from the Wellington Shire and Gippsland DELWP and Gippsland Safer Together Community Based Bushfire Management Officers.

When will the project finish?

We hope to have a comprehensive 'story' of the fires by December 31st and aim to hold some community events in March 2020 to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the fires.

What will happen to the information that is collected?

No decisions have been made about this but we are hoping get ideas from the communities affected and to hear from local writers, history groups or documentary makers who might be interested in telling the story.

1965 Gippsland Bushfires

A space to share stories and memories, and reconnect with others who were involved in the 1965 fires.

Project FAQ's