Ash Wednesday MemorialPrint Page 
The memorial commemorates the firefighters who fought the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983. Mount Lofty Summit was greatly affected by Ash Wednesday when fire destroyed all that remained of the kiosk and parking facilities. An additional plaque was added to the memorial in 1997.
The Ash Wednesday bushfires, known in South Australia as Ash Wednesday II, were a series of bushfires that occurred in south-eastern Australia on 16 February 1983, which was Ash Wednesday in the Christian calendar. Within twelve hours, more than 180 fires fanned by winds of up to 110 kilometres per hour caused widespread destruction across the states of Victoria and South Australia.
Years of severe drought and extreme weather combined to create one of Australia's worst fire days in a century. The fires became the deadliest bushfire in Australian history, until the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.
Location
| Address: | Mount Lofty Summit Road, Mount Lofty, 5152 |
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| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -34.974168 Long: 138.708911 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Disaster |
| Sub-Theme: | Fire |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 16-February-1983 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 16-February-1983 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Thursday 16th February, 1984 |
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In honour of all firefighters who fought the fires in South Australia on Wednesday, February 16, 1983 and especially those who gave their lives in the protection of oOthers
Unveiled by His Excellency, Lieut. General Sir Donald Dunstan, K.B.E., C.B., K.St.J., Governor of South Australia,
February 16,1984
The adjacent plaque is reset overlooking the path of the devastating 1983 Ash Wednesday fires
In ongoing recognition of the efforts of Firefighters in protecting life and property throughout South Australia
Unveiled as part of the Mount Lofty redevelopment by the Hon David Wotton MP Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources
February 27, 1997
