Menu
Australian Bushfires affecting skies on the West Coast.1960`s.
Expand/collapse
About this image
DescriptionDoes anyone remember in the 1960`s the Aussie bush fires and the effect they had on the skies on the West Coast with ash in the air and brilliant sunsets? I remember being able to actually smell the smoke.
Joy Cox.." I remember the smoke and even ash and burnt leaves landing in our back yard in Blaketown."
Bruce Dando.." and ash on the windowsills in Blaketown."
John Nancekivell.."Yep, and the ash was still in small fern and leaf shaped particles,plus smell and pink haze in Hokitika."
Margaret Simpson.." Yes, we had a family holiday at the glaciers, went up onto Franz and the dust discoloured the ice. That was when you could see the base of the glacier from the little church window."
Read more comments below in the comments section.
Photo: "Today at Kumara Junction.10/11/2019."a result of current bushfires in Australia.
Photo by Barry Mathieson.
PhotographerBarry MathiesonDate of Photo1960`sMap[1] External LinkList of Australian BushfiresContributorHeather Newby
Joy Cox.." I remember the smoke and even ash and burnt leaves landing in our back yard in Blaketown."
Bruce Dando.." and ash on the windowsills in Blaketown."
John Nancekivell.."Yep, and the ash was still in small fern and leaf shaped particles,plus smell and pink haze in Hokitika."
Margaret Simpson.." Yes, we had a family holiday at the glaciers, went up onto Franz and the dust discoloured the ice. That was when you could see the base of the glacier from the little church window."
Read more comments below in the comments section.
Photo: "Today at Kumara Junction.10/11/2019."a result of current bushfires in Australia.
Photo by Barry Mathieson.
PhotographerBarry MathiesonDate of Photo1960`sMap[1] External LinkList of Australian BushfiresContributorHeather Newby
Shown in this image
Location (city or town)West CoastEventAustralian Bushfires affecting skies on the West Coast.
Category Information
Category Tagfire
From Facebook
Date Created11th November 2019CommentsBruce Dando AND ASH ON THE WINDOWS IN BLAKTOWN,SILLS.
Heather Newby ohhh,,, thats right!! I just remember that now
Kelvin Henham Probably coming your way again with all the fires over here
Bruce Dando WE GET SOME OVER TO THEM ON A FINE DAYVictor Johnson Yes, and the ash-fall on garments pegged out on clotheslines.
Marilyn Paterson Yes, I do. I can remember being fascinated that it was due to the fires in Australia that our already amazing sunsets were even brighter!!
Daniel Dennehy Nothing's New.....
Joy Cox I remember the smoke and even ash and burnt leaves landing in our back yard in Blaketown
Daniel Dennehy My Grandparents telling me that from the 1930's....from Barrytown...
Heather Newby tonights sunset in Greymouth was amazing,, looked like the sky was on fireAngela Emmerson Heather Newby you seen the sunset... Not a glimpse of it out here in atarau. Rollo Tomasi the whole of South east Queensland where I live has had a smokey haze for the last 3 days, full sunshine with amazing sunrises and sunsets. These fires could burn for weeks as sadly foolish councils have not practiced fire management policy clearing the fuel loads and controlled burn offs for nearly ten years', what did they think would eventually happen.
Joy Cox Im in South Australia and we are not getting any smoke from nsw or Queensland atm
Rollo Tomasi its all being blown east across the Tasman Sea
Rollo Tomasi we need to learn from the Aboriginal people who practiced fire management in Australia for the last two thousand years; knowing when and how much to burn before summer, in this way the entire bush and all its animals were not destroyed by fire. We have lost an entire World Heritage National Park and ll its birds & animals due to foolish thinking and lack of fire management yet all I hear in the media is the blame is climate change.
Greg Taylor Rollo Tomasi it was interesting at a meeting talking to elders about the Bush we have more tree today than then too
Gillian Hill Yes I remember it well
Pam Mcmanus Yes I definitely remember it, it was like that yesterday here in Christchurch.
Margaret Simpson Yes, we had a family holiday at the glaciers, went up onto Franz and the dust discoloured the ice. That was when you could see the base of the glacier from the little church window
Heather Newby wow... very widespread then,,
Anne McAllister Yes I was growing up in HariHari at the time, I vaguely remember the hazy coloured sky
Heather Newby and I remember the daytime haze.,.a sort of Yellowy colour.
Angela Emmerson Wow!!
Rollo Tomasi the best display in the skies was during the 1963 Hydrogen Bomb testing in the South Australian desert....Steve Fitz-Gerald They don't tell us how much stronium 90 is in the grass the milking herds are eating like they did when I was growing up so it must be all good now
Fiona Love Im amongst those fire atm and the community spirit is amazing, every person here is helping out and the cancelling of the hazard reduction burns for the last 4 years is burning the whole state
Sue Fraser Fiona Love take care
Val N Merv Brittain Fiona Love You would think they would learn but they don’t. Same for our last huge fire in 2009. In Victoria where a lot of people died and whole towns wiped out. But they don’t q
Lisa Parlane I remember the one about 10 years ago
Graeme Campbell We both remember it, was natural phenomenon not global warming then days though
Peter Robertson I came home from Aus just before those fires and a cousin of the farmer I worked for was killed.he was a fireman
Greg Taylor it's going to get worse for the next few days here so you guy's will get some awesome photos over the next week
Gail Callaghan We have had smokey days for the last fortnight. Luckily for us the very close Stockland Fire was burning away from us. A friend saved his house but lost everything else. But he's okay and that's the most important thing.Janet Birch We even see the effects of Australian bushfires here in Blenheim. The Western corner has a bright red haze.Bronwyn Pardo We are in Clontarf Beach, North Brisbane. Beautiful sunsets, lots of smokey haze over the past few days - thinking of those North and South of us and hope that everyone keeps safe. Bronwyn Pardo We are in Clontarf Beach, North Brisbane. Beautiful sunsets, lots of smokey haze over the past few days - thinking of those North and South of us and hope that everyone keeps safe.
John Nancekivell Yep, and the ash was still in small fern and leaf shaped particlesplus smell and pink haze in Hokitika
Dave Lyes Also things like butterflies got carried across on the thermals. Parrots and other birds.
Wendy Bruce Exactly the same effect as now, and it’s not only on the Coast. The smoke was visible in Tasman mid-week, but not quite as bad as Sydney on the 1st when we landed there
Annette Martin Its smokey skies in Christchurch yesterday raining today nice and coolHeather Newby The 1967 Tasmanian fires: 110 separate fire fronts burnt through 2,640 square kilometres (652,000 acres) of land in southern Tasmania. The destruction included 1,293 homes, around 62,000 farm animals, over 1,700 other buildings, 80 bridges, 4,800 sections of power lines, 1,500 motor vehicles and over 100 other structures.
Christine Stewart Yes, I remember, you could smell the smoke!
Craig Whiteside Could smell the smoke yesterday in Cromwell
Joycelyn Hiha Yes Heather I remember them but earlier than the 60s. I think they were early 50s.
Eninaj Ram Wow its amazing how far the smoke spreads
ManageDes Madgwick West Coaster Get ready for some more smoke from the fires in Australia that are happening right now
George Brown Mother nature rules.
Barb Rodway Yes I remember this.
Jenny Jones Yes we do remember.
James Tarrant I remember a documentary and they said in the winds blowing south from oz. it blows red sand/ dust to our southern alps.
Sharyn Lodge Remember it very well.
Aaron Thomas I remember them from the seventies, and early eighties living in Hari Hari . That's how I recognised what how skies we're up to over here on east coast.
Heather Newby The 1967 Tasmanian fires was the one I seem to remember most
Vern Pattinson Heather Newby yes me as well
Margaret Young Certainly a smokey haze in inland ,mid Canterbury yesterday.
Ian Lyon Yup i remember ash falling on our farm in the west Auckland region, and being told that it was coming from Australian bushfires, now again
Keith Finch Yip only talking about this subject today , because according to the news over here in Aussie , its nearly the first time they have had bush fires (news media ) any way the fires are a absolute disaster and obviously feel for the people involved, but i can remember the beautiful sunsets 50’s 60’s and 70s
Christine Stewart It’s really bad here atm with all the fires . I have to stay indoors and doors ,windows shut to keep out the small of smoke .. I believe because of the winds are driving the smoke across but in saying that I love the sunset photos I’ve seen ....
Chris Blakeley Christine Stewart we went to Hillmorton together .. did you go to Spreydon Primary as well ??
I left in term 2 1970 to move to Westport when Mum remarried .. small world !
Christine Stewart Chris Blakeley Oh wow , no went to Halswell then when oaklands opened went there as it was just behind us and then to hillmorton
Christine Stewart Chris Blakeley did 3 years , sat sc then left. Worked for awhile , went overseas to Canada then back to NZ, Married had kids , moved to Aussie but saving real hard atm to come home for good. Have rellies in ch-ch, family on west coast at Ross . Not sure where we ( my son and I ) will end up yet lol.
Chris Blakeley So I moved to Westport , back to Chch to do my nursing training , spent 2 years in UK specialised in ophthalmology . Then went into Aged Care got married , have 2 children .. divorced and nearly retiring .. can’t wait .im over stress and managing staff ..
Vern Pattinson Yes I do remember it very well red sky's
Phil Millar Yeah, we had it over here in Christchurch as well,also some ash left on cars and washing.
Karlene Jane Batchelor My mum told me about them
Colin Tuck It’s ironic that the highest mountains trap the worst weather conditions- when there are larger than normal bush fires in Australia & the correcting winds blow it across the Tasman sea it ends up covering the upper “Neve’s “ of the glaciers with a contamination factor of upper level ash that’s similar to a ground black pepper across the snowfields - has to be seen to be believed or witnessed !
Colin Pattinson Colin Tuck Tuckey how’s things going mate
Colin Tuck Colin Pattinson ho Col
Yes all’s well
Just up in Malaysia doing some work at present …See More
Colin Pattinson Colin Tuck good Nelson creek boy from way back good family
Colin Tuck Colin Pattinson hey Col - old adage — “ Tribes for Tribes “ mate !
Colin Pattinson Colin Tuck Nelson creek / Kopara
Colin Pattinson Morrie , Ven, Lou were great legends of the CoastKen Campbell Yes the Tasmanian bush fires you could see the smoke clouds on the horizon and smell the smoke
Christine Ellis At one point in my life I lived in Fox Glacier NZ, The Glacier discoloured due to the ash from fires in NSW. Ash was blown from Australia to NZ so we weren't alone in Fox
Dave Noot Newton Remember the ash in/on Fox Glacier in my tour driving days
Evelyn Hampton We watched australian tv for most of January as the signal bounced off the clouds ,we could only get tv1 and tv2 in those days ,remember it well...
Wayne Patterson And black ash on the snow or ice creates a lot of heat coursing farsther melting
Rhonda Donaldson Yes i do .
Ray Sutton We could see smoke in the skies over Mairehau on Saturday evening. Did not realise it was from Australia until I read it on the web
Bill Rube Simpson Yes I do
Neil Williams I remember the smoke from the fires.also when television signal was transmitted from Christchurch in the summer the signal from Australia was more powerful than the one from Christchurch
Tex Everett I remember that smell
John Hunt Yes also clearly visible from Ashburton.
Elizabeth Betty Woods Yes, and the 1970s were bad as well. We sat staring into the red sky on Hughy Kennedy's hill up behind our house in Murray Street. :-)
Brian Hope That's not all that was drifting across from Australia- worked with Bill Sara DSIR - part of his job was taking soil samples (out Paroa way ) to send to lab in Wellington- testing levels of radiation from bomb tests .
Dave Bj Henderson Brian, from blaketown??
ManagePeter Gray Boy, a few years under the bridge since we've meet Pete, have a good one cheers
Noeline McCaughan Yes, living in South Canterbury the smoke tinged the daytime sky with an unearthly orange brown and the sunsets were crimson with the clouds assuming a deep bloody hue.
Anne Bruce Oh Yes! The sky was darker even tho the sun was out. Amazing sunsets as well.
Pauline Tucker Yes I do. We used to walk to the beach to watch the sunset and we could smell the smoke too.
Barb Kennedy Yes at night there was a red glow in the skyJill Broadhurst Yes do remember this
John Sweeney In the latte 1940s there were dust storms that crossed the Tasman placing a layer of red over the snow fields of the glaciers. Over time this worked its way down to the terminal over 20 years. It was an interesting phenomena to point out to tourists. One year there was a layer of flys from over the ditch. Smoke is quite common especially notable from higher in the mountains.
Ron Banks Yes we had a farm in Dorie. Rakaia in the 30 and 40 we got the northwesters for days on end the skies were yellow with smoke RON Banys
Steve Gibb Ash weds day fires ... the glaciers turned slightly grey
Mata Holliday Yes, 8th of March 1965, on our Honeymoon, took this photo at lunch time of swans on Lake Rotorua. I think it may have been the fires in Victoria.
Elinor Tibbles We in Greymouth experienced that last night. Lovely red sky.
Charlie Blanchett Yes and could smell the ash for weeks
Graeme Dumelow Charlie Blanchett ya couldn’t here it though, lol
Charlie Blanchett Graeme Dumelow it was racing to hard cheers
Trevor Keith Scott Bring those fires over here Richie, it is persisting down at the moment in Mangawhai Kaiwaka area. Water tanks fill in minutes mind you the gardens will be 100m down the road soon!!
Arthur Dehn I remember in the 1940s in Whataroa all Dad's white sheep all turned red color
Irene Lines Yes can remember that time ash everywhere.
Marilyn Hill Yes i can
ManageBarb Rodway Does anyone else remember , the blue butterflies Barb Rodway Does anyone else remember , the blue butterflies that came along with one of these fires from Australia. During the 60’s I think.
Lynne Jope Yes I do.
Elaine Bolitho I can remember circa 1950 the Aussie bushfire smoke causing a pall across Canterbury - quite an oppressve feeling.
Christine Stewart State of emergency in qld and nsw' smoke haze everywhere and told to stay indoors esp over next couple days . It's going to be worse they reckon over next couple days
Heather Newby what caused the fires?
Christine Stewart Heather Newby some they reckon were deliberately lit . Some are flare ups but if the winds weren't there could make a big difference in keeping them under control. Temps have been way hotter just lately.
Christine Stewart Heather Newby Lives , homes have been lost with some people still un accounted for . They say there's about 97 fires burning in both states
Heather Newby Christine Stewart yes,, the heat doesnt help!! How scary for all concerned!! and how dangerous!.... and unpredictable,
Maureen Kelly Our weather forecast for tomorrow is being called Catastrophic. Australia is just so dry, all the farmland is being whipped up by the winds and some days, the dust clouds are worse than the smoke. I remember when I first arrived in Australia I was staying with an uncle & aunt in Western Sydney and you could see the smoke from the Blue Mountains bush fires.
Helen McIntosh My dad took us outside about 9pm to see two Blue Moon butterflies on the coalbin. They were very dark, about the size of a saucer with a large whitew circle edged with blue on the lower wings.
Marilyn Hill Yes we could smell and see smoke
Heather Newby ohhh,,, thats right!! I just remember that now
Kelvin Henham Probably coming your way again with all the fires over here
Bruce Dando WE GET SOME OVER TO THEM ON A FINE DAYVictor Johnson Yes, and the ash-fall on garments pegged out on clotheslines.
Marilyn Paterson Yes, I do. I can remember being fascinated that it was due to the fires in Australia that our already amazing sunsets were even brighter!!
Daniel Dennehy Nothing's New.....
Joy Cox I remember the smoke and even ash and burnt leaves landing in our back yard in Blaketown
Daniel Dennehy My Grandparents telling me that from the 1930's....from Barrytown...
Heather Newby tonights sunset in Greymouth was amazing,, looked like the sky was on fireAngela Emmerson Heather Newby you seen the sunset... Not a glimpse of it out here in atarau. Rollo Tomasi the whole of South east Queensland where I live has had a smokey haze for the last 3 days, full sunshine with amazing sunrises and sunsets. These fires could burn for weeks as sadly foolish councils have not practiced fire management policy clearing the fuel loads and controlled burn offs for nearly ten years', what did they think would eventually happen.
Joy Cox Im in South Australia and we are not getting any smoke from nsw or Queensland atm
Rollo Tomasi its all being blown east across the Tasman Sea
Rollo Tomasi we need to learn from the Aboriginal people who practiced fire management in Australia for the last two thousand years; knowing when and how much to burn before summer, in this way the entire bush and all its animals were not destroyed by fire. We have lost an entire World Heritage National Park and ll its birds & animals due to foolish thinking and lack of fire management yet all I hear in the media is the blame is climate change.
Greg Taylor Rollo Tomasi it was interesting at a meeting talking to elders about the Bush we have more tree today than then too
Gillian Hill Yes I remember it well
Pam Mcmanus Yes I definitely remember it, it was like that yesterday here in Christchurch.
Margaret Simpson Yes, we had a family holiday at the glaciers, went up onto Franz and the dust discoloured the ice. That was when you could see the base of the glacier from the little church window
Heather Newby wow... very widespread then,,
Anne McAllister Yes I was growing up in HariHari at the time, I vaguely remember the hazy coloured sky
Heather Newby and I remember the daytime haze.,.a sort of Yellowy colour.
Angela Emmerson Wow!!
Rollo Tomasi the best display in the skies was during the 1963 Hydrogen Bomb testing in the South Australian desert....Steve Fitz-Gerald They don't tell us how much stronium 90 is in the grass the milking herds are eating like they did when I was growing up so it must be all good now
Fiona Love Im amongst those fire atm and the community spirit is amazing, every person here is helping out and the cancelling of the hazard reduction burns for the last 4 years is burning the whole state
Sue Fraser Fiona Love take care
Val N Merv Brittain Fiona Love You would think they would learn but they don’t. Same for our last huge fire in 2009. In Victoria where a lot of people died and whole towns wiped out. But they don’t q
Lisa Parlane I remember the one about 10 years ago
Graeme Campbell We both remember it, was natural phenomenon not global warming then days though
Peter Robertson I came home from Aus just before those fires and a cousin of the farmer I worked for was killed.he was a fireman
Greg Taylor it's going to get worse for the next few days here so you guy's will get some awesome photos over the next week
Gail Callaghan We have had smokey days for the last fortnight. Luckily for us the very close Stockland Fire was burning away from us. A friend saved his house but lost everything else. But he's okay and that's the most important thing.Janet Birch We even see the effects of Australian bushfires here in Blenheim. The Western corner has a bright red haze.Bronwyn Pardo We are in Clontarf Beach, North Brisbane. Beautiful sunsets, lots of smokey haze over the past few days - thinking of those North and South of us and hope that everyone keeps safe. Bronwyn Pardo We are in Clontarf Beach, North Brisbane. Beautiful sunsets, lots of smokey haze over the past few days - thinking of those North and South of us and hope that everyone keeps safe.
John Nancekivell Yep, and the ash was still in small fern and leaf shaped particlesplus smell and pink haze in Hokitika
Dave Lyes Also things like butterflies got carried across on the thermals. Parrots and other birds.
Wendy Bruce Exactly the same effect as now, and it’s not only on the Coast. The smoke was visible in Tasman mid-week, but not quite as bad as Sydney on the 1st when we landed there
Annette Martin Its smokey skies in Christchurch yesterday raining today nice and coolHeather Newby The 1967 Tasmanian fires: 110 separate fire fronts burnt through 2,640 square kilometres (652,000 acres) of land in southern Tasmania. The destruction included 1,293 homes, around 62,000 farm animals, over 1,700 other buildings, 80 bridges, 4,800 sections of power lines, 1,500 motor vehicles and over 100 other structures.
Christine Stewart Yes, I remember, you could smell the smoke!
Craig Whiteside Could smell the smoke yesterday in Cromwell
Joycelyn Hiha Yes Heather I remember them but earlier than the 60s. I think they were early 50s.
Eninaj Ram Wow its amazing how far the smoke spreads
ManageDes Madgwick West Coaster Get ready for some more smoke from the fires in Australia that are happening right now
George Brown Mother nature rules.
Barb Rodway Yes I remember this.
Jenny Jones Yes we do remember.
James Tarrant I remember a documentary and they said in the winds blowing south from oz. it blows red sand/ dust to our southern alps.
Sharyn Lodge Remember it very well.
Aaron Thomas I remember them from the seventies, and early eighties living in Hari Hari . That's how I recognised what how skies we're up to over here on east coast.
Heather Newby The 1967 Tasmanian fires was the one I seem to remember most
Vern Pattinson Heather Newby yes me as well
Margaret Young Certainly a smokey haze in inland ,mid Canterbury yesterday.
Ian Lyon Yup i remember ash falling on our farm in the west Auckland region, and being told that it was coming from Australian bushfires, now again
Keith Finch Yip only talking about this subject today , because according to the news over here in Aussie , its nearly the first time they have had bush fires (news media ) any way the fires are a absolute disaster and obviously feel for the people involved, but i can remember the beautiful sunsets 50’s 60’s and 70s
Christine Stewart It’s really bad here atm with all the fires . I have to stay indoors and doors ,windows shut to keep out the small of smoke .. I believe because of the winds are driving the smoke across but in saying that I love the sunset photos I’ve seen ....
Chris Blakeley Christine Stewart we went to Hillmorton together .. did you go to Spreydon Primary as well ??
I left in term 2 1970 to move to Westport when Mum remarried .. small world !
Christine Stewart Chris Blakeley Oh wow , no went to Halswell then when oaklands opened went there as it was just behind us and then to hillmorton
Christine Stewart Chris Blakeley did 3 years , sat sc then left. Worked for awhile , went overseas to Canada then back to NZ, Married had kids , moved to Aussie but saving real hard atm to come home for good. Have rellies in ch-ch, family on west coast at Ross . Not sure where we ( my son and I ) will end up yet lol.
Chris Blakeley So I moved to Westport , back to Chch to do my nursing training , spent 2 years in UK specialised in ophthalmology . Then went into Aged Care got married , have 2 children .. divorced and nearly retiring .. can’t wait .im over stress and managing staff ..
Vern Pattinson Yes I do remember it very well red sky's
Phil Millar Yeah, we had it over here in Christchurch as well,also some ash left on cars and washing.
Karlene Jane Batchelor My mum told me about them
Colin Tuck It’s ironic that the highest mountains trap the worst weather conditions- when there are larger than normal bush fires in Australia & the correcting winds blow it across the Tasman sea it ends up covering the upper “Neve’s “ of the glaciers with a contamination factor of upper level ash that’s similar to a ground black pepper across the snowfields - has to be seen to be believed or witnessed !
Colin Pattinson Colin Tuck Tuckey how’s things going mate
Colin Tuck Colin Pattinson ho Col
Yes all’s well
Just up in Malaysia doing some work at present …See More
Colin Pattinson Colin Tuck good Nelson creek boy from way back good family
Colin Tuck Colin Pattinson hey Col - old adage — “ Tribes for Tribes “ mate !
Colin Pattinson Colin Tuck Nelson creek / Kopara
Colin Pattinson Morrie , Ven, Lou were great legends of the CoastKen Campbell Yes the Tasmanian bush fires you could see the smoke clouds on the horizon and smell the smoke
Christine Ellis At one point in my life I lived in Fox Glacier NZ, The Glacier discoloured due to the ash from fires in NSW. Ash was blown from Australia to NZ so we weren't alone in Fox
Dave Noot Newton Remember the ash in/on Fox Glacier in my tour driving days
Evelyn Hampton We watched australian tv for most of January as the signal bounced off the clouds ,we could only get tv1 and tv2 in those days ,remember it well...
Wayne Patterson And black ash on the snow or ice creates a lot of heat coursing farsther melting
Rhonda Donaldson Yes i do .
Ray Sutton We could see smoke in the skies over Mairehau on Saturday evening. Did not realise it was from Australia until I read it on the web
Bill Rube Simpson Yes I do
Neil Williams I remember the smoke from the fires.also when television signal was transmitted from Christchurch in the summer the signal from Australia was more powerful than the one from Christchurch
Tex Everett I remember that smell
John Hunt Yes also clearly visible from Ashburton.
Elizabeth Betty Woods Yes, and the 1970s were bad as well. We sat staring into the red sky on Hughy Kennedy's hill up behind our house in Murray Street. :-)
Brian Hope That's not all that was drifting across from Australia- worked with Bill Sara DSIR - part of his job was taking soil samples (out Paroa way ) to send to lab in Wellington- testing levels of radiation from bomb tests .
Dave Bj Henderson Brian, from blaketown??
ManagePeter Gray Boy, a few years under the bridge since we've meet Pete, have a good one cheers
Noeline McCaughan Yes, living in South Canterbury the smoke tinged the daytime sky with an unearthly orange brown and the sunsets were crimson with the clouds assuming a deep bloody hue.
Anne Bruce Oh Yes! The sky was darker even tho the sun was out. Amazing sunsets as well.
Pauline Tucker Yes I do. We used to walk to the beach to watch the sunset and we could smell the smoke too.
Barb Kennedy Yes at night there was a red glow in the skyJill Broadhurst Yes do remember this
John Sweeney In the latte 1940s there were dust storms that crossed the Tasman placing a layer of red over the snow fields of the glaciers. Over time this worked its way down to the terminal over 20 years. It was an interesting phenomena to point out to tourists. One year there was a layer of flys from over the ditch. Smoke is quite common especially notable from higher in the mountains.
Ron Banks Yes we had a farm in Dorie. Rakaia in the 30 and 40 we got the northwesters for days on end the skies were yellow with smoke RON Banys
Steve Gibb Ash weds day fires ... the glaciers turned slightly grey
Mata Holliday Yes, 8th of March 1965, on our Honeymoon, took this photo at lunch time of swans on Lake Rotorua. I think it may have been the fires in Victoria.
Elinor Tibbles We in Greymouth experienced that last night. Lovely red sky.
Charlie Blanchett Yes and could smell the ash for weeks
Graeme Dumelow Charlie Blanchett ya couldn’t here it though, lol
Charlie Blanchett Graeme Dumelow it was racing to hard cheers
Trevor Keith Scott Bring those fires over here Richie, it is persisting down at the moment in Mangawhai Kaiwaka area. Water tanks fill in minutes mind you the gardens will be 100m down the road soon!!
Arthur Dehn I remember in the 1940s in Whataroa all Dad's white sheep all turned red color
Irene Lines Yes can remember that time ash everywhere.
Marilyn Hill Yes i can
ManageBarb Rodway Does anyone else remember , the blue butterflies Barb Rodway Does anyone else remember , the blue butterflies that came along with one of these fires from Australia. During the 60’s I think.
Lynne Jope Yes I do.
Elaine Bolitho I can remember circa 1950 the Aussie bushfire smoke causing a pall across Canterbury - quite an oppressve feeling.
Christine Stewart State of emergency in qld and nsw' smoke haze everywhere and told to stay indoors esp over next couple days . It's going to be worse they reckon over next couple days
Heather Newby what caused the fires?
Christine Stewart Heather Newby some they reckon were deliberately lit . Some are flare ups but if the winds weren't there could make a big difference in keeping them under control. Temps have been way hotter just lately.
Christine Stewart Heather Newby Lives , homes have been lost with some people still un accounted for . They say there's about 97 fires burning in both states
Heather Newby Christine Stewart yes,, the heat doesnt help!! How scary for all concerned!! and how dangerous!.... and unpredictable,
Maureen Kelly Our weather forecast for tomorrow is being called Catastrophic. Australia is just so dry, all the farmland is being whipped up by the winds and some days, the dust clouds are worse than the smoke. I remember when I first arrived in Australia I was staying with an uncle & aunt in Western Sydney and you could see the smoke from the Blue Mountains bush fires.
Helen McIntosh My dad took us outside about 9pm to see two Blue Moon butterflies on the coalbin. They were very dark, about the size of a saucer with a large whitew circle edged with blue on the lower wings.
Marilyn Hill Yes we could smell and see smoke
Editing is temporarily disabled
Cancel EditClick on the image to add
a tag or press ESC to cancel
a tag or press ESC to cancel
West Coast New Zealand History (12th Nov 2019). Australian Bushfires affecting skies on the West Coast.1960`s.. In Website West Coast New Zealand History. Retrieved 26th Apr 2026 22:50, from https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/26498