Russell Broadbent (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Reflecting on the 40th anniversary of the Ash Wednesday fires, at the staging point at Akoonah Park Beaconsfield, my truck was stopped and told to stand aside, by the district group officer, until the wind changed path. Two trucks in front of mine from Panton Hills and Narre Warren went onto the ridge to protect Upper Beaconsfield. All crew perished in the ensuing inferno. Back at the Pakenham station, my father in law, brigade captain NM Webster, took the mayday call. He was never the same; none of us were.

This, I know of that time: when the blood of the victims, the ash of the forest and the sweat of those facing the foe, drowned in our tears, new life did spring forth. But until the day came in the new dawn when the sun would rise again over the southern hills of the Great Dividing Range to a clear, smokeless sky, we had work to do: men, women and little children to care for, fires to suppress and communities to rebuild but, most of all, we had a lot of grieving to do, and grieve we did—arm in arm, hand in hand, teardrop by blood-filled teardrop. Here's to you, Fireman Sam, and all who travelled with you.

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