KEY POINTS:
Words cannot begin to encompass the scale of the tragedy that enveloped Victoria this week. As bushfires ravaged settlements to the north and east of Melbourne, their flames licking almost to the New South Wales border, the losses in terms of human life and property have dwarfed those in the so-called Black Friday and Ash Wednesday fires of 1939 and 1983 respectively.
Incredible though it seems, the events across the Tasman do not add up to the greatest peacetime disaster in that country's short history. Epidemics, shipwrecks and heatwaves have claimed more lives and, just under 110 years ago, the category 5 cyclone Mahina struck Bathurst Bay in northern Queensland, killing over 400 people, most of them sailors in a pearl fishing fleet.
That catastrophe was the country's worst natural disaster and this one was, in a specific and literal sense, natural as well.
Calamitous though its effects may be - and have been here - fire is an integral part of the Australian ecosystem. Some glibly blame global warming for the fires, but more likely is that they are a spectacularly savage manifestation of a pattern as old as the island continent. The most casual wanderer in the Australian bush will see coarse and flammable eucalypt litter and bark. We also know that the green leaves contain highly flammable oils and resins. Fire was well established as part of the landscape long before the country's aboriginal inhabitants - who conducted controlled burn-offs extensively and often. The chemicals in the ash and smoke encourage new growth by stimulating flowering of some species and opening fruits to release new seed, or quicken the germination of buried seed.
The devastation wrought by frequent bushfires in Australia does not, mercifully, always cause the tragic loss of life to which this week has borne solemn witness. But it must be said that the scale of this disaster is, to some extent, testament to the nature of human settlement in a hostile land.
The evangelist Christian leader Danny Nalliah, whose ministry, by the grimmest irony, goes by the name "Catch the Fire", brought disgrace on himself, and shame to other Christians more familiar with the Bible's message of charity, with his ludicrous claim that the bushfires were God's punishment for decriminalising abortion. But in a less apocalyptic and literalist sense, the fires mocked the incautious attitude that has characterised human settlement on the fringes of Australia's metropolitan centres in recent years.
The city-country divide has blurred as town folk seek sanctuary on lifestyle blocks near the large cities. Population densities in the fringe are much higher than the past and there is at least anecdotal evidence that some refugees from the city, in their desire to develop attractively verdant surroundings, have not engaged in the rigorous protocols - such as leaving 30m clear expanses around dwellings and keeping guttering full of water - that country folk have always known was a vital part of their survival strategy.
It seems probable, however, that the scale, ferocity and speed of these fires, however, would have mocked even these measures. The official reviews now under way of all aspects of the disaster will ensure that the lessons that have been bought at such a shocking price are learned and never forgotten. It may be that building code rules about fireproofing homes will need to be strengthened and more federal money spent on fire trails through bushland. Meanwhile, the criminal investigation into suspected acts of arson which, if proven, would, as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has aptly said, amount to mass murder, will hopefully bring the offenders to justice.
In the meantime, the hearts of all New Zealanders go out to our nearest neighbours. They have suffered in this tragedy, but they have also distinguished themselves. They have been confronted - not for the first time - with how harsh life can be in the sunburnt country and how fragile their hold is on it. But they have also rediscovered the indomitable resilience of spirit that has always been part of the Australian character. The generosity of those unscathed; the courage of firefighters; and the strength of those, bloodied and unbowed, who have lost everything, including loved ones will go a long way to easing the pain of this massive ordeal.
New Zealand's Red Cross and Salvation Army are accepting donations for those affected by the fires in Victoria.
Red Cross: Donations can be made by visiting redcross.org.nz, calling 0900 33 200 to make an automatic $20 donation, sending a cheque to Australian Bushfire Appeal, Red Cross House, PO Box 12140, Thorndon, Wellington, 6144, or by visiting any Red Cross service centre.
Salvation Army: Donate online at salvationarmy.org.nz or post to The Salvation Army, PO Box 27001, Marion Square, Wellington, 6164.
