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Fire in Australia
For many Australians summer is bushfire time, a time of threat and
devastation.
In the summer of 2003, for example, bushfires devastated parts of
Canberra and the ACT. Four people died and 500 houses were destroyed
together with many wild animals, pine plantations, natural bushland,
farm animals, pets, property and irreplaceable family possessions.
Cartoon by Michael Leunig reproduced with permission
CURRICULUM OUTCOMES
At the end of this unit students will be better able to:
> describe the nature of bushfires in Australia
> decide the extent to which bushfire is a natural hazard in Australia
> analyse the geographical processes associated with it
> discuss its economic, environmental and social impacts
> critically analyse the responses of individuals, community-based
groups and governments to it.
INVESTIGATING A NATURAL HAZARD
All Australia sympathised.
But is it enough just to see bushfires as a natural hazard, or should
we be aware of the complex place of bushfires in Australia? That is
the issue that you will work through in this unit. It is also an issue
that is explored in a display in the National Museum of Australia.
Your task as you explore this issue through the
National Museum of Australias display and other
resources is: to create an annotated bushfire map of
Australia that provides a viewer with ideas of what,
where, when and how bushfires exist, their impacts,
and their management. You will be given more ideas
about this at the end of the unit.
As you work through this unit you will explore these
important aspects of bushfires:
What is a bushfire?
Where do bushfires occur in Australia? Why?
What effects do they have on people and the
built and natural environment?
How can they be managed? For what purposes?
Whose responsibility is it to manage them?
Are bushfires really natural hazards?
National Museum of Australia display:
Fire in the city 1994 Bushfires in Sydney and 2003
Bushfires in Canberra
Photograph George Serras
The National Museum of Australia at Acton
opened in March 2001 as part of the celebrations
for the Centenary of Federation. The Museum
employs a fresh and exciting approach to
Australian history, culture and environment.
Each National Museum unit of work in STUDIES
asks students to consider the stories and
concepts behind Museum themes, objects
and images, and can be used with students in
Society and Environment, History, Geography,
English and Media Studies.
National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media 2004 1
 investigation 1 What do you know? What do you think?
Before tackling this unit answer these 2 One of the natural disasters in this list 4 When do bushfires occur during a
questions. Then come back to this quiz is bushfires. What are the first ideas and year? Why do they occur then?
again at the end of your studies and see if images that come into your mind? List 5 What are the major problems caused
any of your answers have changed. them. by bushfires?
1 Here are the main natural disasters that 3 Where do bushfires occur in 6 What are the major advantages?
have occurred in Australia in the last 200 Australia? Mark them on this outline map. 7 Whose responsibility is bushfire
years. Rank them in order of greatest loss Explain why you have selected those control?
of life (112). (You can check your answers places.
8 What are the three main causes of
on the back cover.) bushfires?
9 What are the three elements needed
Bushfires Severe storms for a bushfire?
Disease at sea
10 List five main elements that
epidemics Tsunamis determine a bushfires severity.
Drought Severe storms 11 Which area of Australia has the
Earthquakes on land most bushfires?
Volcanic Tropical
eruptions cyclones
Heatwaves Floods
Landslides

investigation 2 What is a bushfire?

Heat
produced
When you were asked for your ideas the evolution of native flora and fauna. naturally or
about bushfires in question 2 of the quiz, Australia would not be Australia without by human
chances are that many of your ideas were bushfires. actions
of destruction charred bushland, loss of What is fire?
livestock, destroyed houses, even human
A bushfire is an unplanned fire in an area
deaths.
of natural vegetation. During a bushfire
However, fire is a natural element and three elements are involved:
has been among the driving forces in

The size and intensity of a bushfire is influenced by many factors, including:

Wind speed and direction Weather conditions

Wind affects a fire by Fires tend to be more
increasing the amount severe on hot days with
of oxygen available, and low relative humidity.
affecting the rate of burning. Humidity refers to the
If the wind is blowing in the degree of moisture in the
direction the fire is moving, air. Low humidity dries out
burning material will fly the fuel, making it more
ahead and spread the fire easily flammable.
more quickly. If the wind
changes direction it can turn
the long flank of a fire into
a wide front, increasing the
severity of the bushfire.

2 National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media 2004


Australia is the most bushfire
prone continent. Why?
Australia is dominated by drought- and
fire-tolerant vegetation, such as the
eucalypts. This was not always the
case. Australia was once dominated by
bushfire-resistant rainforest. Why did
it change? We do not know. There are
several theories, but all are based on
limited and fragmented evidence.
Originally Australia was dominated by
rainforest type vegetation. Then climate
changed naturally over time, becoming
drier. So this theory says that drought-
tolerant vegetation gradually took over
from the rain-dependant vegetation,
spreading north.
Another theory builds on this, and
argues that the climate changed
naturally, but was assisted by fire.
The drought-tolerant eucalypts are also
fire-dependant, so as fires increased,
they spread the eucalypt into newer
areas across the continent.
Others argue that climate change
was assisted by the extinction of the
megafauna. (See STUDIES 1/03.) These
animals ate large volumes of vegetation,
in effect keeping the bush clean. As
they died out (either because of climate
change or hunting by Aboriginal people),
vegetation became thicker, creating
larger bushfires that attacked the
rainforest areas, and helped the advance
of the fire-resistant eucalypts.
Topography
Fire usually travels faster uphill than on level ground or downhill. A fire moving uphill moves
more quickly because the flame is closer to the unburnt fuel, and pre-heats it, causing it to ignite
more readily. The rate of spread of a fire doubles with every ten degrees of increase of the slope.
Fire in the Australian Landscape, Victorian Department of Natural Resources and
Environment and Country Fire Authority, 1999, page 14
Testing your knowledge and understanding
Look at this map and answer the questions about it.
1 Fires have started at A, B and C. Explain why locations X, Y and Z are to some extent
protected from the fires.
2 Which fire A, B or C would you expect to burn the greatest area? Why?
3 The fire at A is fanned by strong wind
gusts from the south-west. How could
this lead to fires at B and Y?
4 There are three steep hills, with
houses at S, T and U on those hills.
Which of the three has the best chance of
surviving the fire? Why?
5 Fire B is being fanned by strong T
winds from the west. If all the vegetation
in its path burns, what distance will the S
fire travel to reach the creek?
6 What might reduce the chance of this U
happening?
7 If the winds are causing the fire to
travel at 0.5 kilometres per hour, how
long will it take for the fire to reach the
creek?
8 The fire reaches the creek, and the
wind changes, now coming from the
south-east. Describe the effect of the
wind change on the direction and size of
the fire.
9 What would now be threatened by
the fire?
10 A fire starting at point C burns
towards the east. The creek is dry in
summer, so the fire crosses it. Would
the fire travel faster as it approached the
creek, or as it moved past it? Explain Forests and Fire, Department of Natural Resources and Environment,
Melbourne, 1998 page 24
your answer.
Type of fuel
Different fuels create different types of
fires. Moist fuel creates low-intensity
fires. Dry fuel creates high intensity fires.
State of the fuel
A period of high vegetation growth
followed by hot, dry weather can dry
out vegetation, and provide for a more
intense fire.
Nature of the fire
Fire may be a ground fire (slow,
smouldering fire with no flame and little
Living in the Bush, Country Fire Authority smoke), surface fire (where it is the litter
Victoria, 2004, page 5
and low-lying vegetation burning), or
crown fire (where the fire moves rapidly
through the canopy of the overstorey or
top layer of vegetation). All three types
may be present at the one time.
National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media 2004 3
 investigation 3 Where do bushfires occur in Australia? Why?
Opposite is a map of Australia showing different fire patterns in activity to draw a series of boundaries of fire seasonality in
each state and territory. The numbers refer to the regions in the Australia. One example has been done to help you.
table below. Use the table showing the months of greatest fire

Place Region Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

NSW 1 Coastal strip SydneyBrisbane

3 Arc from just below the border with Qld and SA

through Canberra to Victorian border

2 Area between the above two

NT 1 Area between Darwin and Tennant Creek

2 Area between Tennant Creek and just above

Alice Springs

3 Just above Alice Springs to the SA border

QLD 1 North Coast coast in an arc from Cairns through

Mt Isa then straight to the NT border

3 From NT border continue to near Brisbane, then

drop to the NSW border

2 The area between the above two

SA 3 Thin coastal strips from Vic border to WA

border

1 Area from WA border across to just below the

NSW/Qld border

2 The strip in between the above two

TAS 1 All

VIC 2 Coastal strip from Warrnambool to SA border

3 Straight line from coast up to NSW border, in

line with Canberra

1 The strip between the above two.

WA 5 From bottom of Perth straight across to the

coast, then in a thin strip following the coast
to the SA border

1 Straight line from NT border level with Tennant

Creek to the coast

4 A line at 45 from under Geraldton to above

Kalgoorlie, then straight across to the SA border

3 An arc from Shark Bay up just below Port

Hedland and then to the NT border, above Alice
Springs

2 The remaining area of WA

= Occasional outbreaks of fire = Normal outbreaks of fire

4 National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media 2004

 DARWIN
1 1
1

2
2
PORT HEDLAND TENNANT CREEK 2
1 How many different fire regions MT ISA

are there in Australia? 3

3
2 Describe the pattern of these ALICE SPRINGS
regions. 3
1
3 Suggest reasons why this pattern BRISBANE
exists taking into account weather GERALDTON 4
2 2 1
and vegetation. KALGOORLIE

4 Compare your map with the one PERTH 3 3

on the back cover. 5 SYDNEY
CANBERRA
5 Below are three weather maps ADELAIDE 1
showing high risk bushfire conditions 3
for three different areas of Australia. 2 MELBOURNE
Match the three explanations to the
appropriate weather map shown, and 1
HOBART
mark the indicated features on them
using the appropriate letters.

The northern Australian fire season occurs during the warm, dry
and sunny winter and spring, when the grasses are dead and the
fuels have dried. In summer, a strong high pressure system over
South Australia can bring south-east to north-east winds that
increase the fire danger in the southern parts of Western Australia.

This caption suits weather map .

The fire season for most of Australias east coast extends from
spring to mid-summer. The greatest danger occurs after the dry
winter/spring period, before the onset of the rainy weather common
in summer. The worst conditions occur when deep low-pressure
systems near Tasmania bring strong, dry, westerly winds to the
Weather map 1 www.bom.gov.au/inside/services_policy/fire_ag/bushfire/highnswq.htm
coast, as occurred in the major New South Wales fires in January
1994.

This caption suits weather map .

Summer and autumn are the most dangerous times of year in

south-east Australia. The highest temperatures occur during these
seasons and in most years the grass and forests have dried out by
mid-summer. A typical dangerous fire situation occurs in south-
eastern Australia when a vigorous cold front approaches a slow-
moving high in the Tasman Sea, causing very hot, north-westerly
winds. This was the situation with the disastrous Victorian Ash
Wednesday fires of 16 February 1983. The passage of the cold
front can cause the winds to suddenly change direction, shifting fire
Weather map 2 www.bom.gov.au/inside/services_policy/fire_ag/bushfire/highwant.htm direction abruptly. Fires driven by a strong, steady wind are usually
long and narrow. When the wind changes with the passage of a cold
front, the long side of the fire can suddenly become the fire front.

This caption suits weather map .

Weather map 3 www.bom.gov.au/inside/services_policy/fire_ag/bushfire/highnse.htm

National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media 2004 5
 investigation 4 What effect do bushfires have on the natural environment, the built
environment , and peoples lives?
You are about to look at the major impacts of bushfires.
As you work through the information, summarise your ideas in a table like this. Some examples have been done to help you.

Impact on Immediate impacts of a fire Longer-term impacts of an inappropriate fire regime

People

Property

Native animals Some perish, many are able to escape, some become prey
through lack of cover, others are able to take advantage of
the lack of cover and find prey more easily.

Vegetation

Insects

Farm

Business

Economy

Water If water in a catchment is polluted by erosion of the soil this

could create a crisis in the areas drinking water supply.

Air

Other? (List any)

Impacts of bushfire on the natural environment

The impacts of bushfires on the environment can differ according
to the nature of that environment.
Here are two case studies of fire in two common but different
vegetation types a eucalypt forest, and tropical savanna. The
description is of the impacts of an individual fire, but the more
important element is not the effects of a single fire, but of a fire regime
in the area that is, the sequence of fires over a period of time.

Case Study 1:
Eucalypt forest
Characteristics Insects
A eucalypt forest is characterised by a large eucalypt Many are killed by the burning of the bark and litter that are
overstorey, with a multi-layered structure of smaller trees, then their preferred habitat. Flying insects can flee.
bushes and grass.
Soils
Trees Low intensity fires result in little change, but high intensity ones
These require a high intensity fire for germination. Such a fire may alter the chemical structure of the soil. They may cause a
also changes the amount of light, transpiration and wind, so change in the soils permeability (its ability to absorb water) and
that the nature of the vegetation cover can be changed. create erosion.
If fires are too frequent, some species, such as the mountain
ash, will disappear to be replaced by others that are more
Water
fire-tolerant. Fires can affect
streamwater quality
The entire overstorey could be changed in this way.
through the flushing of
http://audit.deh.gov.au/ANRA/vegetation/docs/biodiversity/bio_assess_acacias.cfm
soil and nutrients into the
streams if there is heavy
Animals rain soon after the fire.
Many individuals are killed during fires, but rarely so many
as to threaten a species. Others are subject to predation after
the fire through lack of cover. Mobile animals are best able to
survive. Some, such as wombats and echidnas might be able
to shelter in burrows or logs. Snakes flee. Possums may seek
safety up high.
http://audit.deh.gov.au/ANRA/vegetation/docs/biodiversity/bio_assess_acacias.cfm

6 National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media 2004

1 Add information to the table.
2 Use this diagram to explain what happens to light penetration,
transpiration and soil erosion after a major high intensity fire.

Forests and Fire, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Melbourne, 1998 page 22

Here is a food
web found in
an ecosystem.

Forests and Fire, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Melbourne, 1998 page 19

3 Which animals are most likely to escape?

4 A Greater Glider might escape the fire, but
not the after-effects. Why?
5 After fire, animals that live on the ground
and under shrubs are more visible and have
fewer places to hide. Which of the animals above
might benefit from this?
6 Wombats and koalas both live in a forest.
Compare their chances of surviving a fire.
7 Sequence this diagram 14 showing Sequence: Sequence:
different stages before and after a bushfire.

KEY
Mature mountain ash

Regeneration (including canopy

and understorey plants
Burnt tree

Understorey plant

Sequence: Sequence:

Forests and Fire, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Melbourne, 1998 page 21

National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media 2004 7

 Case Study 2:
Tropical savanna
Characteristics
Tropical savanna covers 25 per cent of the Australian landmass.
It is the vegetation and area that burns most frequently. There
are different types of fires, depending on the timing of the fire.
Most fires are started by lightning strikes. Early dry season fires
tend to be low intensity, as the fuel still contains moisture from
the preceding wet season; later dry season fires can be high
intensity, as the fuel has dried out. The intensity of the fire also
depends on how long it has been since the last fire: frequent
fires thin out the fuel available; long gaps between fires leads to
a build-up of fuel, and consequently much fiercer fires.
Air
In a typical year, tropical savanna burning releases about 80
million tonnes of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) into
the atmosphere. This compares with about 70 million tonnes
from Australian vehicles and industry each year. However, the
following growing season absorbs about the same amount each
year in the savanna.
Soil
Each fire reduces the nitrogen content of the soil,
impoverishing it.
Animals
The major effect of fires on animals
in the area is indirect it changes
the nature of the habitat and food
supplies, and creates the risk of
predation due to loss of cover. Some
animals become winners, with easier http://savanna.ntu.edu.au/centre/
prey available, and others become
losers, as they turn into easy targets.
Small mammals such as bandicoots are very vulnerable to fire, as
they cannot escape. Larger species such as dingoes easily outrun
it, and can move into unburnt areas. Tree-dwelling species such
as possums are especially vulnerable to late season, high intensity
fires. There is no one type of fire that benefits all species.
Birds
Many take advantage of fire. Flocks of black kites gather at fire
fronts, eating insects and other small animals flushed out by the
flames. After fire, scavenging birds such as hawks and kookaburras
feed on dead and injured animals, and on exposed seeds and nuts,
and a few weeks later on insects attracted to new growth. Birds
such as Partridge Pigeons and finches and honeyeaters, who often
nest on the ground or very low in trees, lose habitat.

Water Reptiles
The effects of savannah burning on streams can be dramatic. Predatory and scavenging reptiles such as snakes and goannas
It creates erosion, and consequently a degraded water quality. clean up after fires.
Some water-borne vegetation benefits from this infusion of
nutrients in the water. Insects
http://savanna.ntu.edu.au/centre/ Fires have little overall effect on them, regardless of the type of fire.

1 Add any information to your table.

The National Museum of Australia includes part of this This earth
statement by Bill Neidjie, an Indigenous man of the Kakadu
I never damage,
area.
2 What effects does fire have on this environment? I look after.
3 Why would Indigenous people in the area want to Fire is nothing,
encourage this?
just clean up.
4 Does this action seem controlled or random? Explain why.
To help you answer this question further, look at page 13, When you burn,
Traditional Aboriginal management and Tropical savanna new grass coming up.
management today.
That mean good animal soon
Might be goose, long-neck turtle, goanna, possum.
Burn him off
new grass coming up,
new life allover.

Bill Neidjie, Stephen Davis and Allan Fox, Kakadu Man, Mybrood P/L, Sydney, 1985 page 35

8 National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media 2004

Impacts of bushfire on the built environment
Destructive bushfires have a long history in Australia. The Museum Murray Nicoll
display includes a list like this: (RADIO ARCHIVE, Adelaide Ash Wednesday bushfires, 1983)
We are crouching down behind behind a farmhouse. There
are children. (Gasps) The sky is red and then white. Its going
crazy. The fires jumped 100 feet high, 150 feet high, straight
over the top of Green Hill Road. There are a dozen people here
with me. We can hardly breathe. The air is white with heat.
Theres smoke and its red and there are women crying and
there are children here and we are in trouble
At the moment, Im watching my house burn down. Im sitting
out on the road in front of my own house where Ive lived for
13 or 14 years and its going down in front of me. And the
flames are in the roof and Oh, God damn it. Its just beyond
belief my own house. And everything around it is black.
There are fires burning all around me. All around me.
And the front section of my house is blazing. The roof has
fallen in. My water tanks are useless. There is absolutely
nothing I can do about it.
www.abc.net.au/dimensions/dimensions_in_time/Transcripts/s678221.htm

National Museum of Australia, Bushfire timeline from 1851 till 2003

Photograph George Serras

1 Brainstorm to create a list of the impacts on the built

environment that such bushfires could be expected to have. For
Approximate or estimated
Year Place example, there would be destruction of telephone wires, water
deaths and building destruction
tanks, farm animals, etc. Add these to your list.
1851 Victoria 12 people killed Impacts of bushfire on the people's lives
12 people killed, The list opposite shows many human deaths from bushfires. While
1898 Victoria this is the most serious of impacts, bushfires can have many other
2,000 buildings destroyed
impacts on people as well. Read the following evidence, and answer
1926 Victoria 31 people killed the questions that follow.

71 people killed,
Jan 1939 Victoria, NSW
1,300 buildings destroyed
51 people killed, Ive lived through two fires. I remember the first one, over
Jan 1944 Victoria 30 years ago, left much bitterness in the community when
700 buildings destroyed
firefighters had to decide which houses to sacrifice, and
NSW Blue 25 homes, shops, schools, which to save. Those decisions have divided that community
1957
Mountains churches and a hospital to this day. And communities have not forgotten. There is
still memory, fear and loss of precious items.
Jan-Feb 9 people killed,
Victoria Canberra resident, interview 2004
1962 600 homes destroyed
Jan-Feb
NSW, Victoria 11 people killed A
1965
65 people killed,
Feb 1967 Tasmania
1,400 buildings destroyed
This wasnt just our disaster. This was a disaster that
Nov-Dec NSW Blue 14 people killed, stretched across two states, and within 100 metres of
1968 Mountains 150 buildings destroyed my place five people died. We just lost a house. They
lost their lives. Thousands of families were affected
23 people killed,
Jan 1969 Victoria that day. That was a bad day for a lot of people.
240 buildings destroyed
Murray Nicoll remembering the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires in Adelaide, www.
Victoria, South 5 people killed, abc.net.au/dimensions/dimensions_in_time/Transcripts/s678221.htm
Feb 1977
Australia 80 buildings destroyed
Victoria, South 103 people killed,
B
Feb 1983
Australia 2,819 buildings destroyed
New South 4 people killed,
1994
Wales 206 buildings destroyed Both A and B above refer to large bushfires in the past. The most
recent major fire was in January 2003. While that disaster affected
4 people killed, Canberra people, their recollections help us to understand the
Jan 2003 Canberra
500 buildings destroyed impact that fire has on all Australians who experience it.
Table based on display in National Museum of Australia and Peter Clack,
Firestorm, Wiley, Brisbane, 2003 pages 1518
National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media 2004 9
 A pair of Delft ceramic clogs sat there smugly, apparently
unharmed by their recent return to the kiln-like heat. Petes Dutch
parents had recently returned from Holland and had taken great
delight in presenting us with those clogs.
The ceramic jug was a modest piece with a history that escapes
me but is clearly a little hero now. All sorts of molten material
seem to have adhered to its body while the handle, weakened by
its ordeal, lay at rest.
The silver and turquoise dress ring was found amongst the
molten remains of my once extensive brooch collection. I was
never known not to wear a brooch. The ring was the first I had
ever bought as a teenager how I loved that ring.
National Museum of Australia
We thought wed try to get back [home] to see whether
anything could be saved. We had hundreds of books,
collected over thirty years, many of them expensive and very
rare medical volumes that cant be replaced. All our medical
equipment and patient records were there too. Chinese
paintings, photos, voice recordings wed made when the
children were little, our sons violin and piano. Everything.
Yang Xue and Xue Song Liu, in Stephen Matthews, How did the fire know we lived here?,
Ginninderra Press, Canberra, 2003, pages 7475
D Ginninderra Press, Canberra, 2003, page 125
Some neighbours told us stories of how
theyd been there all night battling spot
fires. We felt guilty for not having stayed.
But they all shook their heads at us and
said, Everybody understands why you
went. Youve got kids.
Karan Gabriel in Stephen Matthews, How did the fire know we
lived here?, Ginninderra Press, Canberra, 2003, page 154
F have bent over backwards to help. If I had a tear in my eye at different times, it
Our cattle survived but were sold the next
day, as we have no fences, feed or water.
The farm is ruined. It will take years to
restore our sheds, cars, hay, machinery
and infrastructure.
Dorothy Topfer in Stephen Matthews, How did the fire know
we lived here?, Ginninderra Press, Canberra, 2003, page 172
H Brindabella and Namadgi National Parks are now little more than eerily
1 What different types of impacts of bushfires are included
here? For example, there is loss of possessions, but also a loss of
amenity.
2 Are there any good aspects that result from a bushfire?
10 National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media 2004
Boekel Family Belongings (Canberra
bushfires) On loan from the Sue
and Peter Boekel. All the possessions
left: Two Delftware Clogs, Ceramic
Jug and Silver and Turquoise Ring
Sue Boekel
Photograph George Serras
We have all read of some appalling events, such as stealing
from burnt homes, lighting fires and so on, but I want you
to know that there are some wonderful young people in
Canberra All appeared lost [at our home] when, out of the
smoke and grit, four young men arrived with buckets and, by
constant bucketing water from the swimming pool, the house
was saved. Nobody knew who they were no names or
from where they came but these bucket angels worked so
hard and disappeared, no doubt to help someone else.
Joan Hanks in Stephen Matthews, How did the fire know we lived here?,
Thanks to all the volunteers, fire-fighters, police and officials who did their best
in an impossible situation. Thanks to the ACT government and its officials for
the prompt response to people in need. Thanks to the people who manned the
recovery centres for long hours in sweltering temperatures. Thanks to all my close
friends who have supported my family and me since our loss. Thanks to all the
people those that I barely knew, and the perfect strangers who I knew not at
all who stepped up to give me a hug and a word of encouragement. Thanks
to the shopkeepers, the bank officials and the people in government offices who
was not for my situation, but because I was deeply touched by the generosity and
kindness of people everywhere The one low note is the real estate woman who
offered me a house to rent, which I accepted, and then offered it to other people at
a higher rental.
Des Fooks in Stephen Matthews, How did the fire know we lived here?, Ginninderra Press, Canberra, 2003, pages 159160
G
silent graveyards for the flora and fauna that once inhabited them.
I drive through them a few times each week and grieve for what was
lost through what I believe was a needlessly hot and long fire.
David Menzel in Stephen Matthews, How did the fire know we lived here?, Ginninderra Press, Canberra,
2003, page 177
3 Add any information to the table.
4 Talk to people in your community about their bushfire
experience. Are they similar to the stories from the Canberra
people above?
 investigation 5 Bushfire management
Investigation 4 has shown clearly the destructive power of bushfires in Australia
over time. This would seem to lead to a clear-cut conclusion: bushfires need to
be controlled to protect peoples lives and property.
But Investigation 3 has shown that bushfires are a natural and necessary element
of the Australian environment, and are needed to maintain our ecosystems.
How do we balance these two apparently competing elements? How do we
manage bushfires in Australia?
The key word here is management. Management is about control. But it is
also about choices. So, do we manage bushfires for the benefit of people and
property, in which case the environment will change; or do we manage it for the
environment, which means that people have to change the way they live?
National Museum of Australia
Here are some ideas to help you consider that issue.
Fire Danger Forest Bushfire Danger Sign, About 1999 from
Traditional Aboriginal management Canberra. Donated by the ACT bushfire and Emergency Services
Aboriginal people have been in Australia for perhaps 60,000 years. For all that Photograph George Serras

time they have had to live with fire.

We do not know exactly how fire has been used by Aboriginal people over time
in different places. However, we do know that Indigenous people used it for National Museum
thousands of years for warmth, hunting, communication, ceremonies, cooking, of Australia
warfare, encouraging regrowth, and providing a fire-safe environment. Different Bushfire Control Road
Sign about 1999.
patterns were used in different places, and probably at different times.
Since 1983 frilled not
Most historians describe Aboriginal use of fire as firestick farming the grilled has been used
deliberate use of fire to control the nature of an environment. This appears to in the top end of the
have been to create a patchwork of different stages of regrowth in different NT by the government.
areas. National Museum of
Australia
1 What would be the advantages of having different stages of growth in
Photograph George Serras
different areas?
2 What knowledge or expertise would be required for this to be achieved?
When Europeans invaded Australia they disrupted these traditional burning practices. Except in areas
where Europeans cleared the land for crops and animal grazing, this led to the creation of a denser
bush, a different environment.
3 Why would Europeans have wanted different fire regimes to those of the Aboriginal people?
4 What impact would the creation of denser bush have had on bushfires?
Tropical savanna management today
Traditional Aboriginal management techniques are still used in parts of northern Australia today. When
undertaken under Indigenous custodianship, burning today is concentrated in non-pastoral, relatively
high-rainfall regions. Traditionally, fires are set in the early to mid-dry season, so that frequent low-
impact burning keeps fuel loads low the clean up burning that Bill Neidje refers to in his earlier
statement.
Where traditional burning in the north has been disrupted by European
settlement the situation is different. Where burning was largely controlled in National Museum
of Australia text panel
the past, today it is caused by lightning strikes. There is a trend towards more
Photograph George Serras
frequent and larger, hotter fires. The increase of monsoon rains creates more
vegetation, which in turn fuels larger fires. This is seemingly tied to climate
change: four of the 10 highest annual rainfalls for the region have been recorded
in the last 10 years. As much as half the area is currently burnt every year, or
two years.
These newer fire patterns differ from traditional Aboriginal burning, where small
patches were burned as people moved through the country, creating smaller
and less intense fires. This tended to create a mosaic or patchwork, rather than
a single environment. Studies in the area concluded that too frequent burning
had the worst impact on the ecosystem. For optimum maintenance of current
biodiversity and ecosystems the need was for burning every three to five years.
A problem is that there are now several different sets of demands on the
environment: the demand of some Aboriginal people to maintain their
traditional practices; the demands of many conservationists to reduce the
impact of artificial management processes; the demands of pastoralists for
the maintenance of an environment that suits their grazing animals, rather
than the natural environment; and the demands of tourists for a smoke-free,
unburned, undestroyed environment. Firefighter putting in a fire break in bushland near Darwin
This issue of competing management demands also affects areas where the Courtesy Bushfires Council of the Northern Territory

bush meets the city or farms in southern Australia.

National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media 2004 11

Management of bushfires at the
urban-rural-bush interface
One big issue in management is the question of fuel reduction
burning controlled periodic fires to reduce litter so that later
natural fires will be less intense and extensive.
The newspaper headline below shows one of the reasons why that
issue is important many fires start in national park areas, and
escape to neighbouring farms.
FARMERS TO SUE GOVERNMENT FOR
FIRE ESCAPES FROM NATIONAL PARKS
If the nature of the fires can be controlled within the national park,
the chances of it escaping can be reduced.
Imagine that a meeting has been called in a town in a fire-
prone area. Over 10,000 people live in the town and surrounding
countryside. The town is surrounded by a national park, containing
small populations of several rare animal and plant species in the
area, and a state forest, where there is logging and a sawmill. These
areas border farms and vineyards. The local area has its own water
supply from the local catchment area, and has various aquatic
recreation facilities. The area is also popular with tourists, particularly
in summer and spring, who enjoy forest walks, local vineyards and
the general beauty and tranquillity of the place. Five years ago the
area was threatened by a major bushfire, and conditions are building
for a high fire probability this coming summer.
A proposal has been put that there needs to be several controlled
hazard burns. Hazard reduction burning involves periodic low-scale
and low-intensity fires to clean up vegetation. The aim is to limit
the amount of vegetation in the bush if a fire does break out, and
therefore lessen the intensity of that fire.
LAKE
NATIONAL
PARK TOWN
1 Allocate the characters to different class members, and prepare
a short statement by each to put at the meeting, best explaining
their view.
2 Select appropriate ideas from the following list to create each
statement.
Included in your statement must be a management plan or strategy
that suits your view. Use these to help create the arguments from
the different characters.
Some aspects of a fire hazard reduction burn:
It creates pollution smoke and ash.
It keeps an area relatively clear for the entry of emergency vehicles.
It can affect sensitive soil.
It is a traditional management method used in Australia by
Aboriginal people over thousands of years.
It is costly, labour-intensive.
Burning creates nutrients in the soil.
Different areas need to be studied to discover the best regime for
that area.
Burning increases plant germination in fire-dependent species
such as eucalypts.
It requires access tracks that can harm wilderness values.
Not all plants are fire-tolerant, so burning will change the natural
balance in an area.
People must learn to live with fire, it is a natural element.
Research suggests that major fires in extreme conditions will
rage despite any previous hazard reduction burning.
Large scale burning is not sustainable. Too frequent fires can
change plant ecology.
Burning creates smoke that can harm some peoples health.
Fires disfigure the landscape.
Controlled burns can only be held a few days a year.
Research has found that doubling the fuel load in an area will
double the rate of spread and quadruple the fire intensity in an
uncontrolled burn.
Most fires are started either by lightning or deliberately by people.
Each area is different and has specific requirements that must be
understood.

3 After all characters have presented their ideas, vote on what you
VINEYARD think is the best management plan (but you cannot vote for your
STATE FOREST own one!). Then see if the class as a whole can come up with a
FARMS better plan that suits all peoples needs.
Bushfire management and citizenship
While bushfire control is about management, values and choice, it
is also about citizenship being responsible for every action you
SAWMILLS take that has an impact on others in your community.
Bushfire management involves governments and individuals. What
are good citizenship actions that can be taken by governments and
Here are eight different people at that meeting, and their major
individuals in relation to bushfire management?
concerns:

Person Main management position >> Continued on back cover

Park ranger Wants to conserve the environment

Government official Burns are costly and difficult
Logger Needs access to good timber for logging
Wilderness Club member Nature must be allowed to find its own way
Tourist operator People want to enjoy the area
Town resident Wants safety and clean air
Farmer Wants safety from fire escapes from the national park and state forest
Bushwalker Wants access to all areas
Volunteer fire-fighter Wants to be able to get to fires quickly and safely to fight them
Ecologist Wants both fire-dependent and fire-vulnerable plants to be able to survive

12 National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media 2004