Location Victoria, Australia Buildings
destroyed 1000 Fatalities 60 | Date(s) January - March 1926 Injuries 700 | |
During the 1925–26 Victorian bushfire season a series of major bushfires occurred between 26 January and 10 March 1926 in the state of Victoria in Australia. A total of 60 people were killed, 700 injured, and 1000 buildings were destroyed across the south-east of the state.
On Sunday 14 February, later referred to as Black Sunday, bushfires swept across Gippsland, the Yarra Valley, the Dandenong Ranges and the Kinglake area. The fires had originated in forest areas on 26 January, but wind gusts of up to 97 km per hour led to the joining of the fire fronts on 14 February. In the Warburton area alone, 31 deaths were recorded including 14 at Wooley's Mill in Gilderoy, 6 at Big Pats Creek and 2 at Powelltown. Other affected settlements included Noojee, Erica and Kinglake, where St Mary's Church and Thompson's Hotel were amongst the buildings destroyed.