Remembering Ash Wednesday

Friday February 16 marks 35 years since the Ash Wednesday bushfires devastated large parts of the Surf Coast.

Many residents’ homes and livelihoods were threatened on February 16, 1983, with a loss of 132 houses in Anglesea alone, not to mention the losses in Aireys Inlet, Fairhaven and in other fires around the state.

Here, the Anglesea Fire Brigade watches the Ash Wednesday fire-front approach Spout Creek in 1983.

Photo: THE CECIL FAMILY