Black Tuesday

On the morning of Tuesday 7 February 1967, we huddled in the classroom ... waiting. The air was hot and the sky alternated between burnt red and smokey black, plunging daytime into darkness. The principal entered at intervals, calling random names of my classmates. We knew their house had gone ... or worse.

Our old house in Taroona was a survivor, facing the Derwent while the fires roared down the hills behind, attacking some properties then leaping over others. That morning, my parents thought all would be ok and put me on the bus to school as usual. A few hours later, 62 people lost had their lives, 900 were injured, and 7,000 left homeless.