Newsletter: The Jolly Thing
Find out what goes on in the valley in our bi-monthly newsletter. The Jolly Thing provides not only current entertainment and information, but also, over time, becomes an invaluable historical archive of the people, places and events of Steels Creek.
> Go to The Jolly Thing page for more information – subscribe – submit articles – download current and past editions
E-news: The Steels Creek Grapevine
> Go to the SC Grapevine page for more information – subscribe – submit listings – view current news
Book: Living with Fire
Late on the afternoon of 7 February 2009, the day that came to be known as Black Saturday, the Kinglake plateau carried a massive conflagration down the fringing ranges into the Steels Creek community. Ten people perished and 67 dwellings were razed in the firestorm. In the wake of the fires, the devastated residents of the valley began the long task of grieving, repairing, rebuilding or moving on while redefining themselves and their community.
In Living with Fire, historians Tom Griffiths and Christine Hansen trace both the history of fire in the region and the human history of the Steels Creek valley in a series of essays which examine the relationship between people and place. These essays are interspersed with four interludes compiled from material produced by the community.
A deeply moving book, Living with Fire brings to life the stories of one community’s experience with fire, offering a way to understand the past, and in doing so, prepare for the future.
Hardback, 200 pages $49.95
> Purchase the book from CSIRO Publishing
Newsflash! Living with Fire was shortlisted for the 2013 Victorian Community History Awards. Sadly it didn’t win in its category; nevertheless, a great honour for the authors, publisher and our community.
Book: Black Saturday at Steels Creek
The Black Saturday bushfires killed 173 people — wreaking a greater human toll than any other fire in Australia’s history. Ten of those victims died in Steels Creek, a small community on Melbourne’s outskirts. It was a beautiful place, which its residents had long treasured and loved. By the evening of 7 February 2009, it felt like a battlefield.
Prize-winning historian Peter Stanley tells the dramatic stories of this small piece of country on that one terrifying evening — of epic fights to save houses, of escapes, and of deaths. He also tells the tale of a community — of people’s attachments to the valley and to each other — and how, over the weeks and years that followed, they lived with the aftermath of the fire.
The most detailed account of any one community to emerge from the fire, Black Saturday at Steels Creek shows what Black Saturday means not only for Steels Creek, but also for Australia as a whole.
Paperback, 240 pages $27.95
> Purchase the book from Scribe Publications
DVD Documentary: Afterburn – In the Tiger’s Jaws
‘Afterburn’ is a magnificent achievement!! It is a subtle, rich and reflective portrait of a community and a region with a distinctive ecology and history; a moving and compelling story of three families as they struggle to deal with a crisis and its long shadow; and a very important study of the patterns and experience of trauma. It also has a beautiful and simple power.”
Dr Tom Griffiths, Professor of History, Australian National University
This 60-minute documentary by Moira Fahy follows the stories of three families over three years in one small Victorian community in the aftermath of 2009’s devastating Black Saturday bushfires.
It is the final piece of the Victorian Bushfire Research Project, which seeks to address the gap in understanding of the social, cultural and ecological dimensions of fire experience while also looking at the long-term impact of trauma on these communities.
Copies of the DVD can be purchased from Moira Fahy at One Thousand Productions for $24.99 inc. postage. Order here by email.
