Ash Wednesday MemorialPrint Page 
On February 16, 1983, fires fanned by winds up to 110 kilometres per hors caused widespread destruction across South Australia and Victoria. There were 28 deaths in South Australia - 14 in the Hills and another 14 in the south-east and 47 in Victoria. Three CFS volunteers, Andrew Lemke from Lucindale, Peter Matthies from Summertown and Brian Nosworthy from Callendale lost their lives, along with 13 CFA (Country Fire Authority) volunteer fire-fighters. The fires were the deadliest bushfires in Australian history until the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.
The first fire was reported at 11:30 am at McLaren Flat, south of Adelaide. Within hours, multiple reports of breaking fires quickly began. The total land area burnt was approximately 208,000 hectares in South Australia and 210,000 hectares in Victoria. More than 300 homes were lost along with a hotel, a service station and 13 historic buildings.
Location
| Address: | Princes Highway, Umpherston Sinkhole, Mount Gambier, 5290 |
|---|---|
| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -37.838444 Long: 140.809083 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Seat |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Disaster |
| Sub-Theme: | Fire |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 16-February-1983 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 16-February-1983 |
Dedication
1983 Ash Wednesday Fire
These seats were cut from logs recovered from trees killed by the fires of 14. 2. 83 and stored under water in Lake Bonney until 1987.
After removal from water storage logs were sawn, dried, and preservative treated to act as a lasting reminder of the fire devastation and subsequent salvage operation in our forest plantations.
