From Melbourne (Mum) : 6.2.83

From Melbourne

6.2.83

Dear Alan,

                                You should have got the papers we sent about the bushfires. We still have had no rains and weather is hot. Today was 32. Yesterday we had elections and Hawke won easily. Fraser resigned today from leader of Liberal party. I don’t suppose it will make much difference to us which party is in.

                We still haven’t got h Commodore back yet so we have only been up to Trentham once since the holidays. Ray took us in his car the first weekend after the fires to see what it was like.

                It was awful. All the forest from Greendale, near Blackwood to Bullingarook to East Trentham then over to Macedon is all burnt. Nothing there but black trunks and scorched leaves on top. The fire started on the dirt road just near the corner where the bitumen turns to dirt.   The only reason our house is still there is because the poultry farm was in the way. The fire was divided and went down Amblers Lane on the other side of the poultry farm and into the forest. By the time the fire reached our place the fire brigades were there and saved the house.

                The tank stand has gone all our fences except along the road are gone. All the blackberries along all the roads except along the fence near our house have gone. The firemen put out the fire near to where the hen house was. How the Cypress trees didn’t get burnt we will never know.

                Almost all the trees we have planted are gone. We will have to start again. But when you consider what some other people have lost we are not too badly off.

                   We should get our car this week and since next weekend is Moomba weekend we are going up there to start cleaning up. Seeing as we have no growth anywhere we can easily see all the rubbish so we will clean up first. Do you remember the paddock at the back and the side full of blackberries. Well now it is nothing but black ash. The forest down Amblers is all burnt but no houses. The house were the fire started and the house before the poultry farm were both burnt.

                There was a bit on the wireless today about Zimbabwe.   If it is right it didn’t sound a very good place to be. There is a cricket team going there soon from Australia. I think maybe South Africa is one of the safest African countries at present.

                                                                                Love Mum