From the ashes

THIRTY years ago, the Ash Wednesday bushfires ripped through the region, leaving devastation and heartbreak in their wake. To acknowledge the community members who fought the ferocious fires, donated their time and those who did not make it through, a special commemorative ceremony will be held in this weekend.
The Ash Wednesday 30th Anniversary Commemorative Ceremony will be held from 6.30pm on Saturday 16 February at Alma Treloar Reserve in Cockatoo.
Fire Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley, Cardinia Shire Council Mayor Brett Owen and Graham Simpson, the former Cockatoo Fire Brigade Captain, will address the crowds and Minister Owen Prout will make a blessing.
There will be a minute’s silence at 7.28pm, the exact time the brigade turned out to the fire in Cockatoo.
The Shelton family from Pakenham Upper was one of many families who felt the ferociousness of the fires and experienced loss at the hands of the flames.
“A loss is a loss – we never lost anyone in lives, but it stills wrecks you,” Keith Shelton said.
“It was a horrific day.”
As an equipment officer in the Pakenham Upper fire brigade, Keith was called out and forced to hide, with his father Bill, from the fire at a dam while his wife Sue waited at their Bourkes Creek Road property with their two young sons.
As soon as the front passed, they sped back to the house to get the rest of the family to safety.
“The crown of the fire was coming and we (Sue and Keith) were standing at the doors of the car and we were shouting across the roof to talk to each other and we couldn’t hear ourselves talk,” Keith said,
“I can’t remember any flames; all I can remember is the noise,” Sue added.
Keith said they rushed back to the property after taking the family to safety but there was nothing left.
“The rest is history. It was so horrific. I only had the clothes I stood up in.”
Their home and most of the family’s historical coolstore business was ash; Bill’s home was the only building still standing.
Now, 30 years later, the Shelton family has rebuilt and is back in business but the pain is still raw.
“We built a new house up here because we had to live somewhere, whether you disappear or live somewhere else, you’ve got to build a life no matter where you are,” Keith said.
“You have a different outlook because you just don’t know,” Sue said.
“We could be sitting here now and tomorrow it could all be gone.”
A combination of lethal factors on 16 February, 1983 meant the day would go down in history as one of the state’s deadliest.
Homes, businesses, meeting places and lives were turned upside down on that day and 75 people died in Victoria and South Australia.
In Belgrave Heights and Upper Beaconsfield, 9200 hectares was burnt out and 1800 hectares was lost in Cockatoo.
Twenty-seven people lost their lives locally; some were fire-fighters protecting properties and fighting for their town, others who had decided to stay and defend their houses.
More than 1500 woke up without a place to call home and 545 businesses and houses perished locally.
The DSE estimates that more than 16,000 fire-fighters attended the Ash Wednesday fires, including park and forest fire-fighters and CFA volunteers.
Also involved were 1000 policemen and women, 500 defence force personnel and many local residents.
The commemorative ceremony on Saturday will also include a sausage sizzle, a memorial service, reading from the book ‘Baked Apples on the Tree’ and a plaque unveiling.
Those attending are encouraged to bring their own chairs and blankets and carpool or walk as parking is limited.
The event will be postponed in the case of a CFA declared ‘extreme’, ‘code red’ or total fire ban day.