2009 Black Saturday BushfiresPrint Page 
The mosaic mural "After" commemorates the Black Saturday fires of 2009 in the Central Victorian localities north of Kyneton with many homes and a church lost on that tragic day.
A richly mosaiced fire front landscape scene sets the theme with surrounding black tiles inlayed with fire burned materials. The neighbours, friends and wider community tiles transition from dark colours to lighter depending on their proximity to the event.
The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of bushfires that ignited or were burning across the state of Victoria on and around Saturday, 7 February 2009. The fires occurred during extreme bushfire-weather conditions and resulted in Australia's highest ever loss of life from a bushfire;173 people died and 414 were injured as a result of the fires.
As many as 400 individual fires were recorded on 7 February. Following the events of 7 February 2009 and its aftermath, that day has become widely referred to as Black Saturday.
Location
| Address: | Hutton Street, Town Hall, Kyneton, 3444 |
|---|---|
| State: | VIC |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -37.247063 Long: 144.453324 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Art |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Disaster |
| Sub-Theme: | Fire |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 07-February-2009 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 07-February-2009 |
| Artist: | Kathryn Portelli |
| Link: | http://www.kpmosaicwords.com/AFTER.… |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Sunday 7th February, 2010 |
|---|
Plaque:
Imagine a day that changed us forever – 7th February 2009
A catastrophic fire destroyed fourteen homes, a church, countless head of stock, thousands of kilometres of fencing, 10,000 hectares of pasture, outbuildings, plantations and gardens, in fires to the north of this township. Residents of this region with many others across the State of Victoria, were involved in an event that changed the way in which these people would live their lives from that tragic Black Saturday onwards….and the community rallied to help.
An enormous amount of support was given by the emergency services, CFA volunteers, families, friends, neighbours, businesses, clubs and societies, churches, local, state & federal government agencies and many anonymous total strangers – time, energy and money came from the rich, the poor, young, old, rural, suburban, even from those interstate and overseas.
FIRE BINDS BURNS A COMMUNITY
This mural, called AFTER: Art From The Extended Region, was conceived in the immediate aftermath of that devastating day, as a creative response to our neighbours’ plight and the witnessing of the public’s desire to be involved. Its vision was an inclusive display of strong community bonds and a symbol of transformation of lives and personal possessions into art.
Each dark tile represents a fire affected site, with black signifying loss and grey indicating a threatened home that was saved. Close neighbours are positioned nearby, with the colours becoming lighter the further away the support was from. Every tile contains a unique story, created from donated material from residents connected to our locals in one way or another.
This entire row from dark (close) to light (further away) has been dedicated to fire affected families from regions other than our own. The names of these contributors are listed with all of the many participants, and this being a memorial, some tiles are in memory of loved ones.
