Australia will never be the same after the extremely tragic disaster in Victoria. At the last count, I heard that were over 173 killed in this inferno. In a cruel irony, it happened on the 42nd.anniversary of the Ash Tuesday fire in 1967 in Tasmania. 63 died in that event. As I wrote on twitter, many memories came flooding back on when I was manning the telephone switchboard at the Commonwealth Social Services' office in Macquarie Street, Hobart. I vividly remember seeing the smoke from bushfires to the north over Glenorchy and Moonah around lunchtime and is a very short period the skies turned into a orange hue and we could easily smell smoke.
The building was not far away from the Royal Hobart Hospital and there were constant sirens. I was quickly called back because the switchboard went in overload as many were trying to call fellow workers to notify them that the fires were in suburbs and houses were being burnt down.
For days afterwards we had hundreds of survivors came through the offices seeking help, many with odd shoes or clothes. In 1967, telephone communications was primitive compared to today's standards and landlines to the mainland were destroyed and I quickly was able to organise emergency communications via amateur radio for the department. Eventually they did get a warship into Hobart to provide a temporary comms link for telegrams.
But to return to 2009. I am personally aware of one acquaitance losing their home in the present catastrophe in the Latrobe Valley and also a recently drug rehab. facility in Marysville was destroyed. This is operated by missionaries from our assembly and there is concern that one of its workers has gone missing and cannot be found.
A very sad event for the nation.
Robin
