Marysville, a Village Reborn

As dawn broke on Saturday February 7th, 2009, on what was to be Melbourne’s hottest day on record, nobody could predict that this day was also to become the day of Australia’s greatest natural disaster.

Melbourne is located on the south eastern edge of Australia, the world’s driest continent. On the north eastern outskirts of Melbourne, there are heavily forested mountain ranges.  The predominant tree in these ranges, the eucalypt, has an unusual attribute. Being a tree that evolved in a dry continent, it uses oil to transport nutrients through its system rather than water. It has another unusual attribute. When temperatures rise, it emits a fine mist of oil as a cooling mechanism. This oil mist is volatile and highly flammable. When the right conditions hit a eucalyptus tree, it literally explodes.
Marysville Overhead
Marysville before the fires

Marysville after the fires

One of the kiosks in Marysville 		Melbourne has a generally mild climate, but in the height of summer, hot north winds blow down from the central Australian deserts.  In the summer of 2009, Melbourne experienced an abnormal heat wave. 27 days without rain, 10 days of abhorrently high heat, and on the morning of Saturday February 7th, winds were predicted to gust to over 110kms per hour. For want of a better phrase, perfect conditions for a perfect fire storm!

So began the day that would come to be known as "Black Saturday".

At 3pm that afternoon, about the time that Melbourne’s temperature peaked at 46.4oC, smoke was spotted at Murrundindi, about 40 kms north-west of the small mountain village of Marysville.  With a population of 500, Marysville has been a tourist village for over 100 years, where Melbournians frequently holidayed to cool off in the summer months.

Four hours after the smoke was first spotted, the village was annihilated; 90% of its buildings destroyed, and 45 of its citizens dead. It’s hard to comprehend what Marysville went through that afternoon, with a fire reaching temperatures of over 1,000 oC, and flames the height of a 10 storey building, descending on the village at 100kms per hour.

Rebuilding Marysville

There are many stories of outstanding determination and courage from the people of this small village. Not least of all, the way that most are determined to stay and re-build.

NeoProducts, in conjunction with Axial Australia, has played a small part in that.  Working with the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority (VBRRA), we have donated kiosks for a community feedback solution.  They allow visitors and local residents to view updates on the proposed changes for Marysville and the Triangle whilst giving them the opportunity to provide their feedback on specific segments.

The indoor and outdoor kiosks provide:
•    Updates, visual and standard written, on community project status. This includes images of progress to date as well as concept updates and engagement of people for future projects.
•    Visual interaction with proposed plans for Marysville projects with residents being able to drill down into segments of proposed civic projects  and provide their views on proposed changes.
•    Visitors to the township can now see what is being planned via the touch screen presentation.
•    Visitors supply a brief survey on why, when and how they have been involved with Marysville.
•    Local businesses can promote themselves and offer printed vouchers.

The project highlights the effective use of touch screen technology combined with stage of the art graphic and survey design modules to engage with people at the point where they experience the brand. The parties of interest to date include DSE, Dept of Premier and Cabinet, Dept of Justice, Tourism Victoria, Chamber of Commerce Marysville and Murrindindi Shire Council.