Summary

Digital photograph taken by Trevor Boyd on the fire front at Strathewen on Black Saturday at 5.22pm, 7 February 2009. It was taken at Jacksons Rd, north of Mittons Bridge Rd, looking southwest downhill, in the general direction of where the fire originated. The fire was initially established in a northwesterly direction until the wind changed.

Trevor works for VicRoads and is a CFA volunteer. As 4th Lieutenant in the Plenty CFA brigade he led a tanker during the Black Saturday emergency and attempted to stop the fire front moving towards St Andrews. Trevor had three weeks leave from his paid work to assist in fire defence, searches, fire containment, mopping-up tasks and assisting bushfire survivors. Trevor intended that the CFA use the photos he took during the day as a teaching tool to develop volunteer firefighters situational awareness, and assist in their capacity to interpret, observe and redirect.

This photograph is one of ten images that Trevor offered as part of the community-led 'Bushfire Photo Exhibition' at the Bridges Restaurant/Nursery, Hurstbridge, held between February and March 2010. It was also published in the book 'Footsteps in the Ash' which documents St Andrews' and Strathewen's experiences during Black Saturday.

Description of Content

Photograph of a burning tree with a large flaming branch that has fallen across a wire fence. There is a pall of heavy smoke in the air and the trees in the distance are shrouded with smoke and flames. The wooden fence post in the foreground is also alight, as is the tree to the rear of the picture. Trevor Boyd, the photographer, recalled that 'it was such a change from half an hour before, you went from reasonable visibility of 100 metres in front of you to nothing, it was such a great change and destruction was all you could see.' (Interview, Trevor Boyd, 12 May 2012)

Physical Description

Digital photograph.

Significance

The bushfires of Black Saturday, 7 February 2009 caused significant damage to personal, community and state infrastructure. The capturing of images of burning trees evokes the dramatic atmospheric and visual changes associated with natural disasters, and, the surprising beauty found within these moments. These images reveal and document the photographers own experience of the fires, imbuing each image with the personal reflection of a significant historical moment. Historical significance is embedded in the image as it reflects a moment in time when destruction was imminent, and, allows the photographer to reveal an individual interpretation of the direct impact of a bushfire.

Inclusion in the 'The Bushfire Photo Exhibition', held at Hurstbridge between February and March 2010, adds to its historical significance, an provides an intimate and historical insight of the events of Black Saturday, experienced within the St Andrews and Strathewen communities. Significance is also enhanced as this photo documents this photographers personal experience during the fires of 2009.

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