Nandina wrote: >Hello everyone - let's all hope for a safer season this summer. But it is that black day I want to ask about. Can you lead me to a local, Omeo focussed account of those fires? The best eye-witness accounts are the transcripts of the Stretton Royal Commission into the fires, held in the Royal Commissions series at the PRO Vic. I THINK the Commission sat at Omeo. The down side is that the Commission was mainly interested in how the fires started, and was focussed more on the rural areas and milling areas rather than towns such as Omeo. So the best source for towns is still the newspapers of the time. There is a book with a title similar to "The Week the State burned" by W.S. Noble, which I do not have to hand at the moment. It may well have material on Omeo. Linda Barraclough Briagolong List Owner: AUS-VIC-GIPPSLAND email: kapana@netspace.net.au http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~surreal/AVG/