Bushfire History 1926

While bushfires occur every year, some have a devastating impact on communities and landscapes. The most catastrophic of these bushfires have been named after the day of the week in which they occurred;

Black Thursday 1851,
Black Monday 1865,
Black Sunday 1926,
Red Tuesday 1898,
Black Friday 1939,
Ash Wednesday 1983,
and now Black Saturday 2009.

This page gives an overview of Bushfires in Victoria from 1926 - 1952

February - March 1926 - "Black Sunday"

Forest fires burnt across large areas of Gippsland throughout February and into early March. Sixty lives were lost in addition to widespread damage to farms, homes and forests. The fires came to a head on February 14, with 31 deaths recorded at Warburton. Other areas affected include Noojee, Kinglake, Erica, and the Dandenong Ranges. Widespread fires also occurred across other eastern states.

1932

Major fires occurred in many districts across Victoria throughout the summer. Large areas of State forest in Gippsland were burnt and nine lives were lost. Total area burnt in Victoria from the fires between Dec 21, 1931 and Feb 6, 1932, there were 206, 000 Ha burnt from 307 fires.

Source: Foley 1947

Map of Bushfire affected area from December 1938 to January 1939

13 January 1939 - "Black Friday"

From December 1938 to January 1939, fires burnt 1.5 to 2 million hectares, including 800,000 hectares of protected forest, 600,000 hectares of reserved forest and 4,000 hectares of plantations.
The fire severity peaked on Friday January 13 - "Black Friday". The fires caused seventy one fatalities and destroyed more than 650 buildings and the township of Narbethong.
“ Men who had lived their lives in the bush went their ways in the shadow of dread expectancy. But though they felt the imminence of danger they could not tell that it was to be far greater than they could imagine. They had not lived long enough. The experience of the past could not guide them to an understanding of what might, and did, happen. “

The fires affected almost every section of Victoria. Areas hardest hit included Noojee, Woods Point, Omeo, Warrandyte, and Yarra Glen. Other areas affected include Warburton, Erica, Rubicon, Dromana, Mansfield, Otway Ranges and the Grampian Ranges.
Source: Judge Leonard Stretton, authority presiding over the Royal Commission into the Black Friday Fires.

3-4 March 1942

Fires in South Gippsland caused one human fatality, large losses of stock and destroyed more than 20 homes and 2 farms.

22 December 1943

The first major fire of the 1943/44 season occurred near Wangaratta, killing ten people and burning hundreds of hectares of grassland.

14 January - 14 February 1944

Fires in the Western Districts destroyed over 500 houses and caused huge losses in the pastoral industry. Four or more grass fires near Hamilton, Dunkeld, Skipton and Lake Bolac burnt approximately 440,000 hectares in eight hours.

Records indicate that between fifteen and twenty people died as a result of these fires. The total area covered by grass fires that season was estimated to be in the order of 1 million hectares.One of the many bushfires of 1944 occurred on the outskirts of Melbourne at bayside Beaumaris. It burnt an area of 280 ha, directly threatening 118 houses, of which 58 were destroyed and 8 were damaged.

5 February 1952

A fire that originated on the Hume Highway near Benalla burnt approximately 100,000 hectares and caused the deaths of several people.