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Feb 7th, 2009, is known as Black Saturday.
It was the day of the worst bushfires in Australian history.
A day when 173 people lost their lives.
It was the day of the worst bushfires in Australian history.
A day when 173 people lost their lives.
Marysville, Victoria
In the small town of Marysville,
a wildfire took the lives of 34 people
and destroyed over 95% of the town’s buildings.
Marysville was one of five towns that completely burned down.
a wildfire took the lives of 34 people
and destroyed over 95% of the town’s buildings.
Marysville was one of five towns that completely burned down.
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| Message to Marysville: Beauty from the Ashes Quilt |
Beauty From The Ashes quilt
Six years later, I stand admiring a beautiful quilt in Marysville’s Tourist Information Centre. The quilt has 131 patches donated to the community by people all over Australia to show they care and to encourage them on the long road to recovery.
You can read more about it here: Marysville Quilt Project.
When Julie and friends put out a call “Calling on crafty and caring people to create a timeless and heartfelt gift for the people of Marysville”
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| Beauty from the Ashes Quilt |
Black Saturday
Black Saturday was a day Victorians will never forget. Our Melbourne day started normally. The kids were back to their first full week at school after the long summer holidays. We’d had an unprecedented hot spell, and school Saturday sport was cancelled because of the predicted extreme heat. We talked about keeping cool at the cinema, but in the end, it was too hot to venture out.
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| Koala: Beauty from the Ashes quilt |
The temperature in Melbourne, a 90-minute drive from Marysville, peaked at 46.4°C. (115.5 °F.) It was the swirling, blustering 100 km per hour winds that were unusual and dangerous. Despite our best efforts that summer, the garden was tinder dry, the lawn was scorched brown, and in the winds, the already sunburnt plants disintegrated, scattered across the garden like confetti. Imagine what it was like in Marysville, a town in a valley surrounded by mountain forests.
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| Butterfly: Beauty From The Ashes quilt |
There had been warnings of the bushfire risk all day. We watched horrified as fire after fire was reported, around 400 fires across the state. By the evening television news, it was apparent Victoria was on fire.
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| Blue Wren: beauty from the ashes quilt |
Last year, we spotted an advert in the Sunday paper for a weekend break in Marysville at the recently opened Vibe Hotel. The deal included a bottle of Yarra Valley sparkling wine and Marysville lolly shop chocolates. It seemed like a perfect way to getaway and support the community as it recovers from the devastation.
I look forward to sharing more Marysville photos. It is remarkable seeing the town six years on.
Update 2024: The Marysville ‘Beauty for Ashes’ Commemorative Quilt is now hanging in the new Re-Building Advisory Center on the main street (Murchison St), just down from the Bakery. For those who want to see and enjoy.
If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy Marysville Magic.
2 comments
Hi Wren, I’m the person behind the Marysville Quilt project. If you’re interested in the back story, here it is! https://marysvillequilt.blogspot.com/
Hello Julie – Many thanks for sending me this I have updated this blog post. I am pleased to note your incredible quilt is still able to be seen in Marysville. I would love to return to see it, next time I am home in Australia. Wren x