ACT Heritage Library Manuscript Collection

HMSS 0358 Sarah Sowry 2003 Bushfires Diary

Scope and Content Notes
Call Number	HMSS 0358
Collection	Sarah Sowry 2003 Bushfires Diary
Date Range	2003
Quantity	0.01m (1 wallet)
Access Conditions	open
Copying conditions	orphan work
Related Collections	HMSS 0238 Wrap Up Canberra Records HMSS 0291 Our Community Remembers Saturday January 18 2003 HMSS 0314 Mt Stromlo Observatory, the Aftermath HMSS 0317 Newell-Sutherland Mount Stromlo photographs HMSS 0332 Keira Bulbs 2003 Bushfire Photographs HMSS 0339 Canberra Alpine Club Photographs HMSS 0340 Patricia Frei photograph collection HMSS 0343 ACT Bushfire Support Unit Photographs and electronic documentation HMSS 0462 Bibaringa Homestead Photographs - Before and After the 2003 Bushfire

The Canberra bushfires of 2003 caused severe damage to the outskirts of Canberra. Almost 70% of the Australian Capital Territory’s pasture, forests (pine plantations) and nature parks were severely damaged. After burning for a week around the edges of the ACT, the fires entered the suburbs of Canberra on 18 January 2003. Over the next ten hours, four people died and more than 500 homes were destroyed or severely damaged, requiring a significant relief and reconstruction effort.

This collection consists of a single project by a primary school student. Sarah Sowry was a pupil at St Francis of Assisi Primary School, Calwell. The project is in the form of a diary from 16 January - 20 January 2003 and concentrates on the experience of the bushfires. The diary contains short typed daily entries pasted into a project book, with an illustration for each day. The illustrations are original photographs, clippings from newspapers and maps. She refers to the experience of living in Curtin in this period.