Bushfire MemorialPrint Page

The memorial was crafted by a prisoner in remembrance of the lives lost in the Black Tuesday fire of 2005.

Adam Gable, 33, spent about 200 hours on the creation, which incorporates timber burnt in the fire, plough shears, cup links from a fire hose, blue stones and nine candles for each of the victims. The timber represents the destruction caused by the fire on January 11, the shears identify farmers, the cup links are the Country Fire Service and the blue stones represent the water surrounding Eyre Peninsula. There are five large candles for adult victims and four smaller for the children who perished.

Gable was involved in the recovery effort following the fires. He grasped the enormity of the destruction it caused to so many people. That inspired him to create the memorial, which he completed in the Port Lincoln prison workshop. "I wanted to do something as a memorial for the people who lost everything. I think it speaks for itself."

In January 2005, Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, was the scene of a devastating bushfire in which nine people were killed and at least 113 injured. It was one of Australia’s worst bushfires since the Ash Wednesday fires of 1983. The fire began in farmland north of the town of Wangary and spread to the east. Eight people, including four children, died in their cars as they tried to flee the firestorm. A local schoolteacher also died when flames engulfed the Shell Museum at North Shields, near Port Lincoln. The fire which was contained on 12 January after burning for two days also caused considerable damage to property and rural infrastructure.

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