Summary

In 2019 Museums Victoria held the 'From the Heart: Remembering the 2009 Victorian Bushfires' exhibition to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires.

In anticipation of the 10th anniversary, Museums Victoria and the Victorian Department of Lands Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) came together in late 2018 to develop a reflective space at Melbourne Museum, focussing on stories of environmental renewal and recovery, and stories of connection, hope and love. This project became the 'From the Heart: Remembering the 2009 Victorian Bushfires' exhibition, which ran from the 5th of February to the 12th of May 2019.

The exhibition was officially opened after the State Memorial which was held at the Royal Exhibition Building on the evening of the 4th of February. The memorial was attended by community members, supporters, members of the essential services, dignitaries including the Governor-General and the Government of Victoria, and politicians including the Prime Minister of Australia, the Opposition Leader, the Premier of Victoria, and former premiers.

Using images, documents and objects from the Victorian Bushfires Collection and with contributions from Museums Victoria's exhibition partners the exhibition featured personal stories of resilience and recovery, and environmental recovery and management with a focus on First Peoples' relationships with the land and cultural burning practices.

The exhibition featured a 'Tree of Remembrance', inviting visitors to leave memories of those impacted by the 2009 bushfires, and messages of love and support. As explained on a label in the space, by leaving a message visitors consented to its possible acquisition into the State Collection of Museums Victoria and use on social media. Of the thousands created, Museums Victoria has acquired 20 leaves which represent the diversity of feelings and responses of the public recorded during the life of the exhibition.

These leaves present the legacy of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires in all its complexity and difficult emotion. Messages of gratitude and hope hanged beside recollections of anger, mourning and hopelessness; the human toll of the fires grieved along with the environmental devastation. Urgent calls for action to fight climate change found meaning and expression through the knowledge of First Nations practices of caring for country. Visitors to the museum from other countries expressed empathy, relating Victoria's experiences to their home country's challenges.

The Tree of Remembrance, as with the exhibition more broadly, was a site for healing, grieving, and firming of community ties. On its branches were deeply personal moments in which each visitor could find their own and our societies' experiences of disaster, resilience and healing laid bare.

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