Aussie Bush Fires

[Kevin Mercer]

Just to echo our shipmates wishes to all you families in Oz and in NSW in particular. Hope you come through safely. We think we are hard done to in Lancashire with constant dark skies and permanent rain but there is nothing more terrifying than the kind of fires you are experiencing, wind blown and out of control.
My sister lives in Perth which is safe but the heat is getting to her.
Best wishes
Kevin

[Lou Barron]

I do feel sorry for those people in Aussie .My two daughters in A/Springs say they have had days on end with the temperatures in the 40c and they cannot do much
Having been there a few years ago in the summer time it was to hot for me even though having been up theRed sea and in Singapore
We in Dunedin are gettingthe rain that you folks over there would really like

[Doc Vernon]

Awoke this Morning with lovely cool Temp,a hazy Fog as we normally are used to here in Blackheath with a slight drizzle as well,Oh what a great change to all the Heat! But Als it will be short lived,as they are predicting more Hot days starting as early as Tomorrow (Friday) so will enjoy this day of cool!
Thanks to Ivan and of course all the others once again for the thoughts!
We so far have been very fortunate here in Blackheath and surrounding Areas,with no Fires as yet!
But not too far away in Lithgow (34KM from here)as Richard has posted,they had a bad Fire Yesterday lit by a bleedin idiot once again! Hope that one day the Law will change and they can start to really prosecute even the younger ones! Its really crazy that these kids away with so much these days!
They say that below 16 they are not responsible for their actions! What a load of Bullocks!!
As said these kids should be taken to the Mortuary and shown just waht Fires do to the innocent! Also face them front on with the relatives and show then what the Fires have done to the Homes etc!
Yes i really do think it is time for more severe punishment for these young upstarts! The World sure has changed ,and sadly for the worse in many instances!What happened to the good old National Service where youngsters learnt the way to live correctly,a good bit of strict training and a good start in life!
Now dont get me wrong,i dont want another War where so many youn Men and Women had to sacrifice their lives,but just a better way of teaching these wayward youngsters the correct way in life! Manners especially,gosh there are very few walking around that would try and assist the Elderly,say a daily Hello ,or say a thank you when receiving something!
Oh well thats it,wonder if any of this will or can ever happen again!
Cheers and thanks for reading!
Your old Crock Doc!

http://www.pm.gov.au/press-office/ns...ter-assistance

http://www.triplem.com.au/sydney/bre...shfire-photos/

See jusy how hot is was in parts of Australia some over the 50 degree mark! Whew!!!

http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/...257c%257c%257c

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1...ttle-bushfires

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/new...-1226549906140

[Neil Morton]

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and best wishes. So far here in Victoria we have had no loss of life. However homes have been lost including a National Trust heritage building 120 years old. The fires in this state always seem to be in the Western District and Glen Baker is the only shipmate that I am aware of that lives there. Down in the far south west corner a fire has been raging for days.
Police are looking for a gang of youths who lit fires in the north of Melbourne. I hope they catch the scum and burn their balls off.

[Roger Dyer]

Further to information, thus far, from Doc Vernon and the others. I live on the plain which is at the foot of the Blue Mountains (where Doc and Richard live) and can confirm that the weather of late has been bl--dy hot. On Tuesday (8th Jan) we had 43 degrees, following several days of 35-40 degree temps. Unless it is absolutely necessary, only a fool ventures outdoors in such heat (including mad dogs and Englishmen). Thank heavens for air-conditioning. Yesterday and today it's been blissfully cool with temps around 28 degrees, but the weathermen advise that tomorrow the heat will be back with a vengeance. I live in a built-up area and although there are scatterred areas of bushland nearby, the threat of damage to property by fire is remote, for which I'm truly thankful. However, only two days ago, not far from where I live, three teenagers deliberately set fire to grassland which could have caused a serious problem if not promptly extinguished by the local Bush Fire Brigade. Throughout the country these fire-fighters have given their all, as always, to try and protect the communities in which they live. Mostly unpaid volunteers, they are heroes all. You will, I hope, be pleased to know that the three mindless idiots who started the blaze have been arrested and charged, but, as Doc has already told you, what good that will do remains to be seen.

As many of you would be aware, many of the fires, that folk are risking life and limb to bring under control, have been purposely lit by people who get their 'rocks off' by the sight of leaping flames and the perverted sense of power some of them derive in knowing that their actions cause such devastation to property. Some of these pyromaniacs are mentally ill whilst others are intrinsically evil ba---rds. At the moment, Oz is like a tinderbox and I fear that we are in for a long, hot, sorrowful, summer. Although I am relatively safe, my thoughts do go out to other shipmates who live here 'down under' and who, potentially, may be under greater threat.

May I echo the gratitude of my fellow ex-pats to Lou and our other mates on this site who have expressed concerns for our welfare.

....................Roger.

[Charlie Hannah]

charlie,
are you south of sydney? anywhere near Sanctury Point? I have a very good friend who lives that place, right on the golf course. her husband Tag, and i were in the MN together. unfortunatly he has since passed on.
are the fires near there?
keith moody
R625978

Keith I live about 6oo k, North of Sydney,The fires are burning Preety bad down the East coast, and in the West of new South Wales,and yes Sanctuary Point is around that area!Its cooled down considerable today but still strong breezes.High tempetures
forecast for the weekend.Tasmania as really copped a hiding,lots of people burnt out there God Bless them and all the Firefighters.

[Richard Quartermaine]

As in Britain with "There'll Always be an England" so joyously shaking the rafters on the "Last Night of The Proms", here in OZ we have a few wizards. A third generation-er of Scottish stock was the poet Dorothea Mackellar (1885-1960) who wrote "My Country", explaining to someone from Britain why she loved her homeland regardless of its climatic harshness at times. My mother came from the woolen mills of Bradford, Yorkshire to Goulburn Woolen Mills in NSW and met my London born sailor father on the SS 'Benalla' on the voyage here in 1924. I hope you enjoy the poem; I learned it by heart at my bush (country) school.

http://www.dorotheamackellar.com.au/.../mycountry.htm

Of course we old(er) timers find it hard to come to terms with the changes that have been foisted upon us but we can only hope that the strengths of our forebears will continue through our offspring and from time to time we will have governments that are credible and will be able to sort out the problems created by those that aren't.

CHEERS!
Richard Q

[Glenn Baker]

Oh my God Neil, I couldnt thiink of a worst form of torture than having a fire under ones family Jewels in an effort to burn them off, struth, that would be worse than watching a collingwood match. Yes a few houses were destroyed in the Carnham Snake valley fires, i was on the CFA as a volunteer for quite a few years until age told me to retire.

45 in the shade is not nice, all the best Glenn

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Hi All.
I'd like to thank everyone for their good wishes. For those in the UK who don't know where Cooma is don't worry you wouldn't have sailed into this place ha ha. We are about 200 miles in from Eden on the South coast, right in the center of the treeless plain, except that Cooma itself is surrounded by bush, it is sheep country. 18,000 sheep have either been burnt or had to be shot in NSW owing to severe burns. The Premier [He who could do something] said he would like to send those teenagers caught lighting fires down to help the farmers with shooting the sheep then they would see what it was like for the people and animals suffering. We are just 80 kilometers from the Southern Alps and the ski slopes, down there today it's around 14 degrees and jacket wearing weather, here it is now a pleasant 23 degrees, but expecting around 40 by the weekend. All I can say is thank God for the volunteer bush firemen, some of whom haven't had a break or slept for two days.
To Vernon, Richard, Roger and all the other members a safe weekend and may you be fire free.

Cheers Des

[Keith Moody]

charlie, thanks for that infomation, i have been trying to get his wife on the internet but no joy yet, they may have moved out of the area for a while, but i will keep trying.
I wish you and all the boys in Aussie a very safe life and as a prairie man i know what it is like as we get them here durring our hot summers, our province has a fleet of 7 water bombers along with some helicoptors for just this purpose, anyway stay well.
keith moody
R635978