Bushfire History 1983 | portlandfirebrigade

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 1983 - 2002

31 January 1983

Fires in the Cann River forest district burnt more than 250,000 hectares including large areas of State forest.

1 February 1983

A fire at Mt Macedon burnt 6,100 hectares including 1,864 hectares of State forest. Fifty houses were destroyed.

16 February 1983 - "Ash Wednesday"

Australia's most well-known bushfire event. Over 100 fires in Victoria burnt 210,000 hectares and caused forty seven fatalities. More than 27,000 stock and 2,000 houses were lost. Areas severely affected included Monivae, Branxholme, East Trentham, Mt Macedon, the Otway Ranges, Warburton, Belgrave Heights, Cockatoo, Beaconsfield Upper and Framlingham.

February 1983 - "Ash Wednesday" Bushfire Map.

Image courtesy of 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission—Interim Report
Source: (15) Exhibit 11 – Statement of Esplin, Attachment 11

On 16 February 1983, 'Ash Wednesday', widespread, extreme fires fanned by winds gusting to over 100km/h (109 at Laverton, Vic and stronger on coast) and maximum temperature in Melbourne of 43.2 C with relative humidity readings of only 6%.
Similar conditions across much of Vic and SA resulted in a deadly rapid spread of the bushfires. They destroyed approximately 2,500 homes or major buildings.

In Victoria alone, these included 1719 houses (plus approx 300 in SA), 82 commercial properties (hotels, restaurants, stores, etc), and 23 dairies. Additionally, 1,238 farms were damaged in Vic contributing to a total of approximately 1,700 other (minor) buildings damaged in the two states. Also a large number of vehicles were destroyed.

Total deaths were 75 ( SA=28 and Vic=47*, incl 13 CFA & 2 other firefighters) and 2676 reported injuries. (*Note that the exact no. of deaths varies at official levels depending on when initially surviving victims succumbed to their injuries). Worst affected areas in Victoria included Framlingham (9 dead, 83 homes lost), Otway Ranges and Aireys Inllet (3 dead, 730 homes lost),Macedon and Mt Macedon (7 dead, 400 homes lost), Cockatoo (7 dead, 300 homes lost), Upper Beaconsfield and Belgrave Heights (21 dead, 180 homes lost).In SA - Adelaide Hills (12 dead, 150 homes lost, incl 5 dead and 25 homes lost at Greenhill) and in the south-east of the State (14 dead, 40 homes lost mainly in the Mt Gambier area). Of 2676 injuries, 133 required hospitalisation

Over 300,000 livestock died (incl over 250,000 sheep and cattle in SA, 27,000 in Vic, plus thousands of others including poultry, pigs, horses, donkeys, deer, etc) while 15,900 km of fencing and 1.5 million hay bales burnt.In SA alone, over 10,000km of fencing was destroyed across nearly 1000 rural properties.More than 1 million ha burnt in Vic and SA during the 1982/83 summer with about half of that area affected during the main fires Feb 16-18 (210,000ha in Vic).In SA alone, some indicative rural loss (1983) values, as reported by the SA Australian Agriculture Department included: Sheep $5.75m; cattle $2.1m; fencing, $10.2m; fixed assets, including homes, wool sheds, workshops & equipment $50m. These contributed to the State total estimated cost of $200m (1983 Review Team Report).A total of 4,540 insurance claims were paid totalling $176m and a total estimated cost of well over $400m (1983 values) for both states combined.

14 January 1985

A major fire in Central Victoria burnt 50,800 hectares of land, including 17,600 hectares of Crown Land. Three people died and over 180 houses, 500 farms and 46,000 stock were destroyed as a result of the fire. Areas affected include Avoca, Maryborough, and Little River.

21 January 1997

Five major fires broke out including fires in the Dandenong Ranges that caused three fatalities, destroyed 41 houses and burnt 400 hectares. Other areas affected include Arthurs Seat, Eildon State Park, Gippsland and Creswick.

New Years Eve – 9 January 1998

A fire reported on New Years Eve continued for 10 days and burnt a total of 32,000 hectares. Of this area, 22,000 hectares was in the Alpine National Park (12,500 hectares of which is Wilderness or Remote Natural Area) and 10,000 hectares was in the Carey River State Forest. The suspected cause of the fire was a campfire.

Big Desert Fire - December 2002

Lightning in the North West caused two fires - one in the Big Desert Wilderness Park and another in the adjoining Wyperfield National Park on 17 December. Fanned by dry fuel and poor weather conditions, these fires joined to eventually burn 181,400 hectares.

An abandoned house was destroyed, as well as 400 hectares of private property. The fire was later declared safe on 31 December after 25mm rain fell in the area.