2003 Canberra Bushfires - Bushfire Memorial

Bushfire Memorial

On 18 January 2006, three years after the day of the bushfires, a bushfire memorial was opened on land which had been affected by the fires in Stromlo forest.

The ACT Bushfire Memorial was commissioned by the ACT government to acknowledge the impact of the fires, and thank the many organisations and individuals who played crucial roles in the fire fighting and recovery efforts.

The memorial was designed by Canberra artists Tess Horwitz, Tony Steel and Martyn Jolly and incorporates elements requested by the ACT community. It is a journey from the day of the fire through the process of recovery, to the honouring of memory.

The entrance memorial walls are made from the community's salvaged and inscribed bricks which contain messages of grief and gratitude. Beyond the walls, a site framed by a grove of casuarinas contains red glass and metal forms that refer to the force of the firestorm and the lightning strikes that sparked the main fires. An avenue leads to an amphitheatre enclosing a pond and bubbling spring. Glass columns bordering the pond contain details from photos provided by the community which speak of memory and human resilience.

On 18 February 2006, an independent group of fire victims installed a plaque to honour the four people who died in the fires and the volunteer firefighters who fought so hard. The plaque is located at the end of the walkway to the memorial immediately before the memorial walls. Fire victims and residents held a simple ceremony to mark the occasion.

As of early March 2006, the memorial is not quite finished. Apart from the immature casuarina trees, which will take time to grow to full height, there remains landscaping and plumbing work yet to be completed. The area where the memorial is located is undergoing significant redevelopment for recreational purposes, and will not be replanted with pine forest. (Some strategies that have been put in place so this disaster will not occur again are: land management practices, the urban perimeter, the role of Government and community responsibility in bushfire management, urban design and vegetation and housing design.)