By JESSE GRAHAM
COMMUNITY members are being asked to come together to reflect on a tragedy now five years past this Friday as part of a special Black Saturday remembrance event.
The event will be held at the Yarra Glen Bushfire Memorial in McKenzie Reserve from 6pm on Friday 7 February, beginning with a barbecue for residents, organised by Heartland Church.
Heartland Church Pastor Mike Baimbridge will be making a speech at the event from 7pm, followed by a speech from Mayor Fiona McAllister, before a choir performs and the event wraps up at 8pm.
Mr Baimbridge said that a number of community groups and agencies had organised the event, and he encouraged anyone interested to come along and mark the fifth year since the tragedy.
He said the event will give the community an important chance to reflect on the times past, to contemplate and remember at the bushfire memorial, which was opened late last year.
Mr Baimbridge said that over the five years that have passed since Black Saturday there appears to be more connectivity between both people in the community and those in the outside world who also experience traumatic events.
“I think there’s more of a connectedness because of that shared journey,” he said.
“I get the impression that there’s a deeper understanding of one-another’s journey that people outside of the area can’t necessarily understand.”
Though hundreds of days currently separate this year’s 7 February and that of 2009, Mr Baimbridge said that many people are still reeling from the event.
He said that it’s important to note that, though each member of the community experienced the bushfires together, every individual person experienced it differently personally.
“As a community, we need to understand that we’re all very different – we deal with trauma in different ways and that no way is the wrong way,” he said.
“It’s OK not to be on top of things.”
The Yarra Glen Bushfire Memorial was created by local artist Ernst Fries and features faceted glass panels in different colours, depicting the event, the aftermath and the area’s recovery.
Bushfire memorials have been constructed by Yarra Ranges Council in Chum Creek, Steels Creek, Dixons Creek and Healesville, with others in Toolangi and Marysville.
An afternoon event will be held from 2-4pm on Sunday 9 February at the Melbourne Museum to mark the anniversary of Black Saturday, with photographic displays, music and activities for children.
For more information, phone the Fire Recovery Unit on 1800 055 714.
