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Ernie RichardsPrint Page 
09-January-2016
Photographs supplied by Chris McLaughlin
The plaque commemorates Ernie Richards, a stockman from Cobungra who perished with his horse and his dog in a bushfire in January 1939.
OMEO, Sunday - The Omeo Hospital, the Golden Age Hotel, four shops, and 21 houses were destroyed on Friday night when fire swept through the district. Ernie Richards a stockman, was burned to death at Cobungra Station. Henry Morgan of Cobungra was badly burned on the arms and body. He is in the Bairnsdale Hospital. Thousands of sheep and cattle perished in the flames. For two hours Charles Rowe of Cobungra sheltered in the Victoria River while flames roared over his head. Only his nose and mouth were out of the water but even those areas of exposed skin were badly burned and blistered. He was joined in the water by two terrified kangaroos. When the fire had passed he had to walk seven miles to his home. He just managed to stagger in before collapsing.
Cobungra station homestead, the property of Naughton brothers, was burnt to the ground together with nearly all the homes in the Cobungra district 15 miles from Omeo on Mount Hotham road. All Friday afternoon Omeo and district were in darkness. Street electric lights were turned on. A hot northerly wind raged showering burnt leaves and bark all over the town. Toward evening the heat became intense. The wind brought fires from all directions simultaneously, the worst raging over Mount Mesley and racing down the mount wiped out the pine plantation in a terrific blaze. Sparks and burning bark were blown across the wide Livingstone Creek and ignited buildings in the main street of Omeo. All the shops and buildings opposite the Golden Age Hotel caught fire immediately and the petrol and oil stored there assisted in making this portion of the street an inferno. The three storied brick hotel, although water was continually played on it, was destroyed. The good work of the fire brigade and other helpers confined the fire to this portion of the street. Sparks and bark started fires all around, and the cemetery caught, bringing a huge blaze on to the Omeo Hospital which was destroyed.
Excerpt from Argus (Melbourne), 16 January 1939.
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OMEO, Sunday - The Omeo Hospital, the Golden Age Hotel, four shops, and 21 houses were destroyed on Friday night when fire swept through the district. Ernie Richards a stockman, was burned to death at Cobungra Station. Henry Morgan of Cobungra was badly burned on the arms and body. He is in the Bairnsdale Hospital. Thousands of sheep and cattle perished in the flames. For two hours Charles Rowe of Cobungra sheltered in the Victoria River while flames roared over his head. Only his nose and mouth were out of the water but even those areas of exposed skin were badly burned and blistered. He was joined in the water by two terrified kangaroos. When the fire had passed he had to walk seven miles to his home. He just managed to stagger in before collapsing.
Cobungra station homestead, the property of Naughton brothers, was burnt to the ground together with nearly all the homes in the Cobungra district 15 miles from Omeo on Mount Hotham road. All Friday afternoon Omeo and district were in darkness. Street electric lights were turned on. A hot northerly wind raged showering burnt leaves and bark all over the town. Toward evening the heat became intense. The wind brought fires from all directions simultaneously, the worst raging over Mount Mesley and racing down the mount wiped out the pine plantation in a terrific blaze. Sparks and burning bark were blown across the wide Livingstone Creek and ignited buildings in the main street of Omeo. All the shops and buildings opposite the Golden Age Hotel caught fire immediately and the petrol and oil stored there assisted in making this portion of the street an inferno. The three storied brick hotel, although water was continually played on it, was destroyed. The good work of the fire brigade and other helpers confined the fire to this portion of the street. Sparks and bark started fires all around, and the cemetery caught, bringing a huge blaze on to the Omeo Hospital which was destroyed.
Excerpt from Argus (Melbourne), 16 January 1939.
Location
| Address: | Great Alpine Road, Sharpes Hill, Cobungra, 3898 |
|---|---|
| State: | VIC |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -37.082673 Long: 147.381284 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Tragedy |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 13-January-1939 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 13-January-1939 |
Dedication
Front Inscription
Source: MAIn memory of "Ernie" Richards
A Cobungra stockman who perished with his horse and dog near this place as a result of fire
January 13th 1939
Erected by Omeo Historical Society
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au
