By Corey Everitt
This past February saw a very special edition of the Gazette to commemorate 40 years since the Ash Wednesday fires of 16 February 1983.
On Sunday 12 February, hundreds of past and present firefighters, and community members, gathered at the Ash Wednesday Bushfire Education Centre in Cockatoo for a special commemorative service.
The day remembered the 75 people that tragically died in Victoria and South Australia and honoured 14 of whom were firefighters.
CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan attended the event and said at the service: “Today is an opportunity to reflect but never forget and learn the lessons of the past.”
The 15 February edition highlighted the individual stories of tragedy and heroism.
It included the story of Peter Dickinson who at just 20-years-old approached a fire-fighting crew to ask if he could help the efforts to save lives on Ash Wednesday, which began a harrowing story of bravery and started his longtime career volunteering for the CFA.
Another commemorated the firefighters Captain John Minett, Dorothy Balcombe, Lloyd Donovan, Murray Forsyth, Neil Henry, Darrell Wilkes and Keith Busbridge who tragically lost their lives in Upper Beaconsfield, the story retold by Colin Booth who saw them off that fateful day.
The People in Profile feature was dedicated to Lisa and Steve Hicks, both longtime firefighters in Narre Warren North who were newlyweds at the time of Ash Wednesday. Their harrowing story of bravery is told of the day and their family’s continued work in the community today is celebrated.
