Fire on record

No-one wishes natural disasters to descend upon anyone, but from amidst the Blue Mountains bushfires has come a Flickr Group dedicated to recording the events now and from the past. The Blue Mountains Bushfires is one way for the people in the region to post their photographs and for the rest of us to attempt to grasp the enormity of the situation.

The photostream of the Flickr group

The Group's banner image is of the Chateau Napier in Leura. The photograph was taken soon after the 1957 bushfire which destroyed large areas of the towns of Leura and Wentworth Falls (more than 150 properties were lost on the 3rd December). Although the Chateau ruins have since been demolished, the site remains undeveloped. The remains have a heritage listing and this has presented certain difficulties for potential developers.From a colour slide, dated Jan 5, 1958, the image is now part of the Local Studies collection of the Blue Mountains City Library.
 

Chateau Napier, Leura

Like the local Grampians bushfires in February, photographs play an important role in the description of and remembrance of major episodes and catastrophic events.

Our thoughts are with all those involved.