Portland Fire Brigade, Victoria Australia
Serving the community since 1857
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;
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Black Thursday 1851,
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Black Monday 1865,
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Black Sunday 1926,
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Red Tuesday 1898,
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Black Friday 1939,
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Ash Wednesday 1983,
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and now Black Saturday 2009.
This page gives an overview of Bushfires in Victoria from 1962 - 1981
14-16 January 1962
Fires in the Dandenong Ranges and on the outskirts of Melbourne caused thirty three fatalities and destroyed over 450 houses. Areas severely affected include The Basin, Christmas Hills, Kinglake, St Andrews, Hurstbridge, Warrandyte and Mitcham.
17 January 1965
A major grass fire burning near Longwood in Northern Victoria caused seven fatalities and burnt six houses.
21 February - 13 March 1965
Fires in Gippsland burnt for 17 days, covering 300,000 hectares of forest and 15,000 hectares of grassland. Over 60 buildings and 4,000 stock were destroyed.
19 February 1968
A fire in the Dandenong Ranges burnt 1,920 hectares and destroyed 53 houses and over 10 other buildings. Areas affected include The Basin and Upwey.
8 January 1969
280 fires broke out on the 8th of January 1969. Of these, 12 grass fires reached major proportions and burnt 250,000 hectares. Areas seriously affected included Lara, Daylesford, Dulgana, Yea, Darraweit, Kangaroo Flat and Korongvale. Twenty-three people died, including 17 motorists at Lara, trapped on the Geelong to Melbourne freeway. The fires also destroyed 230 houses, 21 other buildings and more than 12,000 stock.
14 December 1972
A fire at Mount Buffalo burnt for 12 days, covering an area of approximately 12,140 hectares. This area included 7,400 hectares of State forest and 4,520 hectares of National Park.
12 February 1977
Widespread fires occurred across the Western District of Victoria, mostly in grasslands. The fires caused the deaths of four people and burnt approximately 103,000 hectares. More than 198,500 stock, 116 houses and 340 buildings were lost.
28 December 1980 – 6 January 1981
A fire started from a lightning strike on December 28, 1980 and continued to burn through until6 January 1981. The fire burnt 119,000 hectares in the Sunset Country and the Big Desert.