Guide to the Ephemera relating to the 2019 and 2020 Australian bushfire season : from government departments, businesses and individuals., 2019-2020

Collection number:: EPH FC 89
Extent:: Brochures, information sheets, newsletters, booklets, letters, a bar coaster, advertising material, newspaper clippings, leaflets, charity promotion material, a memorial booklet, posters, a mask, stickers, clothing, benefit concert program.
Language:: English and English
Availability:: Available

Content Summary:: A collection of ephemera documenting information and response to the 2019 and 2020 Australian bushfire season.The 2019–20 Australian bushfire crisis, also known as 'Black Summer', was one of the most significant Australian natural disasters in recent history. Hundreds of fires, mainly in the southeast of the country, burnt through an estimated 24.3–33.8 million hectares, demolishing over 5,900 buildings, forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate and directly killing at least 34 people. It is estimated that nearly three billion animals died in the fires. Hazardous smoke from the bushfires blanketed all the southern and eastern states for weeks at a time, affecting 80 percent of the Australian population and resulting in the deaths of 445 people. At the peak of the smoke cloud, air quality in some places measured the worst in the world. The bushfires attracted ongoing political and social debate, particularly regarding the roles of climate change, drought and back burning in such extreme fire activity.

Access and use

Location of this collection:: National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia