A day they will NEVER forget

On February 16, 1983, fires fanned by winds up to 110 km/h caused widespread destruction across South Australia and Victoria. There were 28 deaths in South Australia – 14 in the Hills and another 14 in the South East and 47 in Victoria. Three CFS volunteers, Andrew Lemke from Lucindale, Peter Matthies from Summertown and Brian Nosworthy from Callendale lost their lives, along with 13 CFA (Country Fire Authority) volunteer firefighters. The fires were the deadliest bushfires in Australian history until the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009. The first fire was reported at 11.30am at McLaren Flat, south of Adelaide. Within hours, multiple reports of breaking fires quickly began. The total land area burnt was approximately 2,080 km² (513,979 acres, or 208,000 hectares) in South Australia and 2,100 km² (518,921 acres, or 210,000 hectares) in Victoria. More than 300 homes were lost along with a hotel, a service station and 13 historic buildings. The community of Tarpeena will mark the 40th anniversary of the Ash Wednesday fires with a community event this weekend and Lifestyle1 spoke to two community members – their memories paint a deeply personal picture and for both ladies, re-telling what happened on February 16, 1983, made simple by the fact, those memories are still so vivid – even four decades on.

“I spent the day at school and I remember being told off for gazing out the window. In defence of the teacher I was always getting into trouble for doing that but on that day I noticed the light looked weird.

“We caught the bus to go home although what was interesting was there was definitely some confusion. The buses were supposed to have stopped and many of our parents were under the impression we were being held at school.

“…we got off the bus and walked home just like we normally would so I walked with my best friend to her house, which is what I always did, and by the time we got to her place there were embers flying around us…” Joanne Vine

“Our bus driver lived in Tarpeena and he was really keen to get home to his wife who had come from hospital that day with their newborn baby.

“All I remember is we started heading home in sunlight and the sky just kept getting darker and darker and that was by the time we reached the airport.

“By the time we got to Tarpeena, there was smoke everywhere and the street lights were on and anyone driving had their car lights on – it was like night had fallen – it was pretty scary.

“As one of the older ones on the bus I remember feeling like I really had to keep it together and keep the younger ones calm. I really felt like crying but I thought it was important to stay strong.

“Despite everything going on, we got off the bus and walked home just like we normally would so I walked with my best friend to her house, which is what I always did, and by the time we got to her place there were embers flying around us. It was so weird to be doing what we would normally do yet we felt like there was chaos all around. Her parent were definitely in a bit of a panic.

“I then walked what was basically another 50 metres to my house and met my mother coming out of our driveway with the car. If I had been another five minutes she would have driven off and I wouldn’t have known what to do. “By this stage there was snoke everywhere and embers flying and the wind was blowing hard. “We started driving to the oval. Mum only had time to grab the dog and the cat and a few things and we just got to the oval and sat there thinking we would be safe.

“We didn’t know where my older brother was and then the next thing we knew, the fire hit the oval and we were trying to move away from the flames.

“The fire came at the oval a few times and from a few different directions and with all the vehicles and trailers and things on the oval it was hard to move around. “We were sitting in the car, no air conditioning, and it was so hot but we couldn’t open the windows the get air in as there was so much smoke and fire balls kept rolling past.

“My dad was working at SAPFOR and we didn’t know whether he was safe – he was in the end, he was coordinating the fire units. “It did pass over eventually and it was almost cold and I think most of us had the same thought – ‘what do we do now?’ There was still smoke everywhere.

“We went into the footy clubrooms and were trying to ring our house and it just cut off. Eventually we found out why – my father arrived and told us we had lost everything.

“My brother turned up not long after that and to be honest we were just glad we were all safe, the dog and cat were safe and even our chickens had survived in their chook house. We didn’t lose any family members and didn’t lose any pets and I think given everything else we lost that was really important to have that to hold onto.

“My biggest memory after the fire had gone through was just how kind everyone was – the whole world was so good to us afterwards. “The shop was giving out free food and someone got us a house to go to which was amazing for a family with five children that we got to go straight to a house. We were one of 21 houses lost in Tarpeena. There was no rhyme or reason to which houses got burnt and which survived.

“We thought our house should have been safe as it was relatively new and there were other people who couldn’t believe their homes didn’t burn down – that was just the nature of it.

“…I remember a teacher friend of our family from the Tarpeena Primary School gave me a whole wardrobe of clothes and I am still wearing one of those tops today – every time I wear it I think of her and how kind she was..” Joanne Vine