With the 2014 fire season as a potent backdrop, Kinglake residents will gather to pay homage to lives lost and others changed forever as a result of Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.
The fifth anniversary commemorations of the deadly blaze, which claimed 42 lives and destroyed more than 500 homes in Kinglake and Kinglake West, will take place at the Kinglake Memorial Reserve (the football ground) on Friday, February 7.
Featuring displays from community groups across the Kinglake ranges depicting their ongoing recovery, the Kinglake Historical Society will present a photographic montage of the area’s bushfire history, while Parks Victoria will highlight the national park restoration over the past five years, especially the popular visitor areas of Masons Falls, Jehosaphat Gully and the Murrindindi Scenic Reserve.
Also on display, courtesy of the Victoria Police Museum, will be
Things of Fire and Ash: Remembering Black Saturday, an exhibition that celebrates the strength
and resilience of young people.
Kinglake Ranges Foundation executive officer Sarah Matthews said there would be a short ceremony at about 7pm, including a minute’s silence, to remember the lives lost.
“This is a positive time for members of the community to come together and reflect upon the journey that has been and the journey that is to come,” Ms Matthews said. “Essentially, this is also a time to acknowledge how far we have come in the past five years.”
Displays will be open from noon and there will be a sausage sizzle and drinks available from 5.30pm to 6.30pm.
