Australians marked the first anniversary of devastating wildfires that killed 173 people with a national day of mourning yesterday, grieving those who lost their lives and praying for the survivors.
The “Black Saturday” bushfires, Australia’s worst recorded natural disaster, wiped out entire towns and communities and destroyed more than 2,000 homes as they swept through 78 communities in the southeastern state of Victoria last year.
“One year ago our lives changed forever,” a woman who lost her son and home in the inferno said at a memorial service in Melbourne. “On that day we lost our past, our present and our future. To all of those who have lost your homes, your businesses, your pets, your memories, we feel your pain. To all those who grieve for family, friends and neighbors, you share my pain.”
As flags across Australia flew at half-mast, one minute’s silence was observed at the memorial service at Melbourne’s St Paul’s Cathedral attended by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
“February 7 will be forever etched in the nation’s memory as a day of mourning but also one of tremendous spirit and inspiration,” he said. “Our thoughts today are with the survivors of the bushfires as they remember the people they lost and work to rebuild their lives and towns. Their quiet courage has inspired a nation.”
In the worst affected towns of Marysville, Kinglake and Strahewan, smaller services and events were to be held to remember those lost in the firestorms.
Kinglake West Uniting Church minister Mark Prowse said that 12 months on, the community was still grieving.
“People are telling me today they are still hurting, they are still grieving, they are getting through it,” Prowse told reporters. “Emotionally and physically they are tired. There’s time when they feel they have no hope. They wonder what’s going on.”
Officials warned that the memorials would be traumatic for many.
“Don’t underestimate how significant this will be emotionally, not just to those directly affected, but to the millions of Victorians and Australians who shared their tears and who grieved last year,” Victoria Premier John Brumby said.
The Black Saturday fires prompted an examination of Australia’s bushfire safety measures, including the stay-and-defend policy that allowed residents to remain in their homes during wildfires if they were deemed to be properly prepared.
Christine Nixon, who heads the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority, said the fires had left “an indelible scar” not only on those directly affected, but on Australians and the world.
“Over the past year there have been many tears,” she said. “We’ve all seen and heard things that we would hope never to see again.”
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