Black Friday (1939)
The Black Friday fires of 13 January 1939, in Victoria, Australia, are considered one of the worst natural bushfires (wildfires) in the world, and certainly the single worst in Australian history as measured by land affected. Almost 20,000 km² (4,942,000 acres, 2,000,000 ha) of land was burnt, 71 people died, several towns were entirely destroyed and the Royal Commission that resulted from it led to major changes in forest management. Over 1,300 homes and 69 sawmills were burnt and a total of 3,700 buildings were destroyed. It was calculated that three quarters of the State of Victoria was directly or indirectly affected by the disaster. The Royal Commission into the fires was to note, "it appeared the whole State was alight on Friday, 13 January 1939".
Read more about Black Friday (1939): Conditions, Effects, Long-term Consequences, Comparison With Other Major Australian Bushfires
Famous quotes containing the words black and/or friday:
“A boy not beautiful, nor good, nor clever,
A black cloud full of storms too hot for keeping,
A sword beneath his mother’s heart— yet never
Woman bewept her babe as this is weeping.”
—John Crowe Ransom (1888–1974)
“This is the only “wet” community in a wide area, and is the rendezvous of cow hands seeking to break the monotony of chuck wagon food and range life. Friday night is the “big time” for local cowboys, and consequently the calaboose is called the “Friday night jail.””
—Administration in the State of Texa, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)