Residents able to leave the town just prior to the fire were directed to a temporary relief centre at Alexandra High School. Others sheltered overnight in Gallipoli Park before being evacuated to Alexandra. The entire town was declared a crime scene and was effectively closed off while Victorian and Federal police recovered bodies and conducted investigations. It was reopened to the public on 23 March, 2009.
As with all town in bushland settings, Marysville was in constant threat of bushfires. The town came under serious threat during the Black Friday bushfires in 1939, with residents seeing the fire cross from Mt Gorden to Mount Margaret. At that time only one house in Marysville belonging to Stan Postlethwaite was destroyed. The No.1 Mill 5 miles from Marysville was destroyed and the town of Narbethong was wiped out. The Ash Wednesday fires of 1983 also came close to Marysville but burnt around the town and caused no damage to property.
These photos I've taken of the magnificent forests around Marysville were snapped before the last tragic bushfire, which essentially wiped out the town...
This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme.
The following photograph is by Gary Ayton, who has recorded the devastating effects of bushfire on the Australian countryside...
