By JESSE GRAHAM
A sweltering weekend couldn’t deter the spirits of more than 400 people as the annual Black Saturday Remembrance Cruise took off for a third year running.
The cruise was held on Saturday 1 February, with drivers taking off from Lilydale for a drive through Yarra Glen to Healesville Railway Station, where a ceremony was held.
About 400 cars took part in the cruise and event organiser Stacey Kinsmore estimates that the event raised about $6000 for Healesville CFA, though the final figure was not available yet.
Casey MP Tony Smith and Yarra Ranges Mayor Fiona McAllister spoke at the event at the station, before a ceremony was held at the community labyrinth.
Mr Smith said the event, and the fifth anniversary of the Black Saturday bushfires, was a time to reflect on the preciousness of life.
“Five years on, it’s a time to reflect – to reflect on the fact that life is both precious, precarious and passing,” he said.
“We know that, five years on, we will be here… we know that, as the years pass, the memory of those that lost their lives will never dim, nor will the community spirit that was on display then and that we know exists so much today.”
Mrs Kinsmore noted that attendance was down slightly, when compared to previous years, but noted that the weekend’s extreme heat meant that many drivers and event attendees stayed home.
“We were quite surprised and overwhelmed with the amount of cars that turned up,” she said.
She said that a couple of the event attendees had begun the cruise by doing burnouts and that, as a result, they were kicked out of the SS Owners Club they were part of and police were notified.
Mrs Kinsmore said that she and the other organisers – Tony Kinsmore and Wendy Bennett – would have a zero tolerance for hooning behaviour.
“You have got to have respect for the event – we don’t need that trouble and we won’t put up with it,” she said.
Mrs Kinsmore said that no date has been set for next year’s cruise event, but that a Black Saturday Remembrance Cruise Facebook Group is regularly updated with information.
For more photos, visit mail.starcommunity.com.au.
