By JESSE GRAHAM
YARRA Ranges residents and community members stopped to reflect the ferocity of the Black Saturday bushfires, almost five years past, at the opening of a new memorial.
Yarra Glen’s new bushfire memorial was constructed by local artist Ernst Fries as a space of reflection, thought and remembrance for those lost and the communities that have since rebuilt.
Over 110 people attended the official opening at 10am on Monday 25 November, where a number of community members spoke about the impact to the Yarra Ranges that can still be felt four years on.
A sheltered screen, made from faceted, coloured glass is the centrepiece of the memorial, which stands in McKenzie Reserve and is surrounded by up-lights honouring individuals lost in the area and a plaque telling a brief story of the tragedy that unfolded on February 7, 2009.
A number of community members spoke at the memorial’s opening, including Dale Ahern, whose parents Charmian and Leigh were killed by the fires in Steels Creek.
Mr Ahern said the memorial was a timely reminder for people around the Yarra Valley to acknowledge the beautiful place in which they lived, but also to understand what it could be capable of in times of disaster.
A common theme among the speakers on the day, which included Deputy Mayor Maria McCarthy, Wurundjeri Elder Joy Wandin-Murphy, Mr Ahern and Heartland Church Pastor Mike Baimbridge, was the idea of community resilience in the aftermath of disaster and always remembering the intensity and the gravity of the event which affected so many lives.
To read more on the memorial opening and to see more photos, check tomorrow’s edition of The Mail and tomorrow’s post on the Mail’s website.
