The Black Saturday bushfires killed 173 people - wreaking a greater human toll than any other fire in Australia's history. Ten of those people died in Steels Creek, a small community on Melbourne's outskirts. It was a beautiful place, which its residents had long treasured and loved. By the evening of 7 February 2009, it looked like a battlefield.Prize-winning historian Peter Stanley tells the dramatic stories of this small town on that one terrifying evening - of epic fights to save houses, of escapes, and of deaths. But Black Saturday at Steels Creek also tells the tale of a community - of people's attachments to the valley and to each other - and how, over the weeks and years that followed, they lived with the aftermath of the fire.The most detailed account of any one community to emerge from the fire, Black Saturday at Steels Creek shows what Black Saturday means not only for Steels Creek, but also for Australia as a whole.'The most significant topic in this warming world of ours. An important and deeply moving book.' Adrian Hyland, Author of Kinglake-350'Insightful and comprehensive ... what sets it apart is the coverage of the diverse range of experiences.' Dr Kevin Tolhurst, Senior Bushfire Researcher
A large and peaceful pro-independence march along Beach Road in Apia, Samoa. Amidst panic and confusion, New Zealand police open fire with rifles and a machine-gun, killing nine people and wounding fifty. In this BWB Text, Michael Field describes what happened on Black Saturday, 28 December 1929, a day that is largely forgotten in New Zealand history but is vividly recalled in Samoa.
The true story of one of the most devastating wildfires in Australian history and the search for the man who started it. On the scorching February day in 2009, a man lit two fires in the Australian state of Victoria, then sat on the roof of his house to watch the inferno. What came to be known as the Black Saturday bushfires killed 173 people and injured hundreds more, making them among the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in Australian history. As communities reeling from unspeakable loss demanded answers, detectives scrambled to piece together what really happened. They soon began to suspect the fires had been deliverately set by an arsonist. The Arsonist takes readers on the hunt for this man, and inside the puzzle of his mind. But this book is also the story of fire in the Anthropocene. The command of fire has defined and sustained us as a species, and now, as climate change normalizes devastating wildfires worldwide, we must contend with the forces of inequality, and desperate yearning for power, that can lead to such destruction. Written with Chloe Hooper’s trademark lyric detail and nuance, The Arsonist is a reminder that in the age of fire, all of us are gatekeepers.
One hundred and seventy-three people lost their lives in the Victorian bushfires of February 2009, the greatest number from any bushfire event in this nation's history. The memories and thoughts that Peg Fraser heard from the survivors complicate much of what we thought we knew about the experience of catastrophic natural events. Beginning each chapter with an object from the bushfires, Fraser reveals how each person's identity, including as a man or a woman with a particular social position in the town, impacted upon experiences and understandings of loss.
Saturday, 7 February 2009. Truly the worst of days... From dawn, the bush was tinder dry, and hot winds grew and fed off the baked landscape, sucking out every last drop of moisture, whipping sparks from power lines, and stirring up menace and danger. WORST OF DAYS is the behind-the-scenes story of the people who were inside Black Saturday's most deadly firestorm, the Kilmore blaze. It is a powerful and gripping narrative of disaster and resilience, of men and women and children facing the ultimate stress. This is the story of what we do at the very worst of times: from the man who braved the flames to help a mate, to another who refused even to cover the face of a dead man, saying, 'No mate, not my job.' It is the story of officials' bungles and best efforts, towns and their heroes, of survivors, saviours and lost souls.
Shortlisted Prime Minister's Award and Age Book of the Year Awards, 2012 Black Saturday. February 7, 2009. Roger Wood is the cop on duty at Kinglake when the most devastating fire in the nation's history roars through the ranges onto his beat. His task is to defend his town against the colossus that threatens to destroy it. And, over the course of one nightmarish day, that is what he will do. Even at the risk of his own life. Even after he receives the dreadful phone call telling him his own wife and kids are caught on the front line of the inferno. Adrian Hyland is the award-winning author of Diamond Dove and Gunshot Road. He lives in St Andrews, north-east of Melbourne, and teaches at LaTrobe University. 'A masterpiece of storytelling...The central characters in this special book emerge as Victoria Cross heroes in the heart of a bush community.' Kerry O'Brien 'What sets Kinglake-350 apart is its strong, agile storytelling - particularly Hyland's skill for weaving together small, telling details with big-picture concerns like climate change, weather pattern complexity, the failings of fire management policy and Australia's historical relationship with fire...' Meg Mundell, Readings 'Every Australian, both rural and urban, should read this book. Adrian Hyland pulls no punches in describing the harrowing consequences of living on the planet's driest and most fire-prone continent, and his account of the disastrous Black Saturday fires is a story of courage, dread and fallibility that will never leave you.' Cate Kennedy 'I've been waiting for a writer to look Black Saturday in the eye ever since the flames died down and, finally, Adrian Hyland's done it. In this compelling and moving book, Hyland has captured the character of a town caught, quite literally, in a fireball.' Anna Krien 'Kinglake-350 is about more than Black Saturday. It's about families and communities, the vital nature of ecology and geology; it's about the genesis of life itself. And while there are too many deaths in this saddest of tales, for the lucky ones the outcome was redemption.' Lincoln Hall 'Adrian Hyland has found a path through the smoke and confusion to produce an informed account that brings tears to the eyes of the reader. He has woven a selection of experiences into a seamless and gripping narrative that shows the courage, uncertainty, tragedy and stupidity of that day. Although the causes and lessons of the fire were explored in the report by the royal commission, this book will be more widely read. And deservedly so.' Age Book of the Year ‘Terrifying and moving... Kinglake-350 leaves us with a visceral sense of a harrowing event.’ Australian ‘Gripping and deeply moving.’ Adelaide Advertiser ‘As in the best fiction these characters will stay with you.’ Daily Telegraph
New Zealand ruled Samoa from 1914 to 1962 and during this time managed to kill 25 percent of the population in the space of a couple of weeks through the careless introduction of Spanish influenza. Faced with growing Samoan calls for independence New Zealand responded violently, gunning down eight people in the streets of Apia, including high chief Tupua Tamasese, in 1929. The working title comes from a line in a speech given two years ago by Prime Minister Helen Clark when she went to Samoa and offered a formal apology for the events above. The book relates the story of New Zealand's rule, from the invasion by soldiers from Wellington to Auckland, up to Helen Clark's apology.
Amy is staying in Marysville with her grandmother, and helping in the garden and cleaning out her gutters. It is, after all, bushfire season. As summer arrives, so do the fires, and Dad is busy helping control the flames in bushfires that have started burning in Victoria. But it is early February 2009, and the Black Saturday bushfire is about to encircle Amy and her family, and teach Amy first-hand about tragedy and survival.
The Long Haul distils a series of practical lessons on leadership and public life from John Brumby's thirty years in politics. It offers insights into the challenges and opportunities Australia currently faces and argues for real political reform, a different future for our federation and strong leadership in a world in transition.
Paul Canovilles story is one of extreme racist bigotry, shattering career-ending injury, a decline into drug abuse, battles against cancer, family tragedy and a determination to beat the odds. Canoville was Chelsea's first black first-team player, making his debut in 1982. But as he warmed up on the touchline, his own supporters began chanting 'We don't want the nigger!' The racist bile continued whenever he played, but within a year he had won over the terraces with his explosive pace and skill. Canoville fell out with the Chelsea board and moved to Reading in 1986, where injury suddenly ended his career at the age of 24. This started a downward spiral including the death of his baby in his arms, two bouts of life-threatening lymph cancer, drug abuse and homelessness. But Canoville fought back. In this explosive and shocking story, Paul finally explains why, despite everything, he is more positive than ever and has remained a fervent Chelsea fan all his life. This is a story of hope - eventually - overcoming adversity.
