The 1965 Gippsland Bushfires are among the most extensive ever seen in Victoria. The Omeo fires started on the 17th February and the Briagolong to Bruthen fires started on the 21st February. The burnt until the 13th March and the official records show they burnt through 300,000 hectares (740,000 acres) of forest and 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of grassland, killing more than 4,000 stock and destroying more than 60 buildings.

While little information about the fires is readily available memories of them are relived every fire season by those who experienced the drawn-out horror of seeing farms, stock and forest burnt.

A number of people have collected information over the past few years to try to recreate the story of the fires. Most of this is from the western side of the fires including Briagolong and surrounds. Little is known about what happened further east or north.

We are asking that you add to this knowledge base by sharing your memories, photos, etc. This will allow us to;

• Preserve the stories of the people who experienced the fires
• Capture the lessons learned by the people and the agencies

How you can contribute

• Add your memories to the Social Pinpoint Map
• Join one of the discussion forums at https://wbwc.mysocialpinpoint.com.au/1965-gippsland-bushfires-home
• Email your stories and pictures to 1965gippslandfires@gmail.com
• Interview people who lived through the fires and get permission to share their stories with us (by video or audio) 
• Upload your photos to this site
• Upload your videos/audios about the fires to youtube and send us a link