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Victorian Bushfires Collection
Image: Motor Car - Bushfire Damaged Holden 48-215, FX, Churchill, 2009
Source: Museum Victoria
February 7, 2010 marks the first anniversary of Black Saturday, the greatest natural disaster in Australia's recorded history. In the weeks following the bushfires that ravaged many parts of Victoria in 2009, Museum Victoria set up the Victorian Bushfires Collection to preserve and document objects and stories from the fires. The collection includes bushfire-damaged objects, emergency services equipment, oral histories, artwork, images, and material from public education campaigns.
Museum Victoria hopes the collection will not only lead to greater public understanding of bushfires and their effect on communities but also assist in the healing process through commemoration and the sharing of stories.
The collection will continue to grow as it documents the reconstruction efforts, changing patterns of bushfire response and the effect of climate change on how we understand and engage with our beautiful but dangerous bush.
Significant items:
- A burnt-out 1950 FX Holden 48-215, part of a collection of vintage motor cars destroyed in the Churchill fire
- A chimney from Kinglake, all that remained of the nineteenth-century homestead 'The Uplands'
- Burned and melted domestic objects, from a Box Brownie camera to a child's bicycle
- 'Black Saturday', a painting of Marysville by Glenn Morgan
- Sam the Koala, a koala that became a public symbol of hope and resilience in the aftermath of the fires
- A 'Thank You' sculpture that was donated to the People of Victoria at the Thank You Melbourne and Victoria concert of 7 April 2010
Related Narratives:
Recurring History of Bushfires in Victoria
Healesville Primary School Bushfire Artworks Collection
Collecting & Rebuilding the Black Saturday Chimney
'The Uplands' Homestead, Kinglake, 1890s-2009
Stories Revealed Through Bricks & Mortar
The Making of the Thank You Gift
The Premier Speaks about the Thank You Gift
Items per page: 10 50 (showing 11 - 20) 199 items
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Information Sheet - 'Preventing Heat Related Illness', Department of Human Services, Nov 2 ...
Information Sheet titled 'Preventing Heat Related Illness', published by the Department of Human Services in November 2008. It reflects community safety education and emergency response ...
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Card - 'In The Great Outdoors Be Bushfire Smart', Department of Sustainability & Environme ...
Card with the slogan 'In The Great Outdoors Be Bushfire Smart', issued by the Department of Sustainability and Environment, circa 2008. It reflects community safety education and emerge ...
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Information Sheet - 'Staying in High Bushfire Risk Areas', Tourism Victoria, circa 2008
Information Sheet titled 'Staying in High Bushfire Risk Areas', published by Tourism Victoria, circa 2008. It reflects community safety education and emergency response prior to Black S ...
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Postcard - 'S.O.C. Day' Seeds of Compassion Day, 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires, Victoria, ...
The Seeds of Compassion (S.O.C.) postcard, was created and designed by Rhonda Abotomey, as a bushfire recovery initiative founded on the premise of making a difference one person at a t ...
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Digital Video Recording - 'Rosewood: Before and After the Fire', Black Saturday Bushfires, ...
Bill Putt lives in Strathewen and is best known as one of the founding members of Australian progressive rock band Spectrum. In 2007 he composed a piece of music as a birthday gift for ...
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Letter - Buckingham Palace to Karen Gardam, Black Saturday Bushfires, London, 12 Nov 2009
Condolence letter from Buckingham Palace to Karen Gardam about the Black Saturday bushfires. Karen Gardam lost her mother and brother on Black Saturday, 7 February 2009. The trauma of ...
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Letter - Governor-General to Karen Gardam, Black Saturday Bushfires, Canberra, 4 Dec 2009
Condolence letter from the Governor-General to Karen Gardam about the Black Saturday bushfires. Karen Gardam lost her mother and brother on Black Saturday, 7 February 2009. The trauma ...
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Statement - Karen Gardam to Victoria Police, Black Saturday Bushfires, Healesville, 11 Jun ...
Police statement to Victorian Police by Karen Gardam about the Black Saturday bushfires. In June 2009, Karen Gardam gave a statement to police about the deaths of her mother and brothe ...
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Personal Account - 'Vale Murrindindi', Murrindindi, Black Saturday Bushfires, 8 Feb 2009
Graphic personal account written by David Ross describing his experiences during the firestorm of 7th February 2009. It was written by David on 8th February 2009 in response to the cons ...
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Poems & Writings - 'Insights into Loss Grief and Recovery', Rhonda Abotomey, 2009 Black Sa ...
These poems and writings, written by Rhonda Abotomey, reflect the deeply personal experience her journey following her loss of family members in the February 2009 bushfires. The colle ...
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