The 2019–2020 NSW Bushfires
Over 240 consecutive days from July 2019 to March 2020, a series of catastrophic bushfires raged throughout eastern New South Wales (NSW).
During these eight traumatic months approximately 5,520,000 hectares of land – urban, farm and bush – were burnt, representing approximately 7 per cent of the total area of NSW. The fires destroyed 2476 homes, and there was immense loss of wildlife and wildlife habitat.
Tragically, 26 lives were lost, including six firefighters.
Nationally, in a fire season that affected all of Australia, a total of 34 people died, including nine firefighters.
The Inquiry and Report
In January 2020, the then premier of NSW, Gladys Berejiklian, announced that an inquiry would be held into the causes of, preparedness for, and response to the bushfires in NSW. The inquiry report was submitted to Premier Berejiklian on 31 July 2020 and is available online.
The NSW Bushfire Inquiry received 1967 written submissions, the bulk of which have also been published online.
Images submitted to the NSW Government Inquiry
Image: Jimmy Malecki, submission 0450.
In 2021, records from the inquiry were transferred to NSW State Archives. As part of this process, a selection of images from the written submissions have been made available through this online gallery.
The photographs and other images that accompanied submissions to the NSW Bushfire Inquiry tell many stories and highlight the range of topics addressed. Some images capture the terrible loss and trauma suffered by individuals, families and communities, while others illustrate historical, technical or operational aspects of bushfire prevention.
When individuals made a submission, they indicated if they were willing to have it published with their name, published anonymously or withheld fully from publication. As such, some photographs are identified by name, while others are marked ‘anonymous’. Permission was also sought to publish the images in this online gallery; as such it does not include every submitted image.
Especially graphic images, such as of injured persons or animals, were received and considered by the NSW Bushfire Inquiry, but these were not included in the published report. They were also removed from digitised copies of submissions.
The images received by the inquiry vary in file format, image resolution and size. Where possible, the online gallery maintains the images with their original properties.
Using this gallery
Images are divided into three sections, arranged alphabetically by the respondent’s first name. Anonymous submissions are located in the first section. Click on ‘See all Images’ to view that section, then using the left and right arrows to scroll through the images.
Accompanying each image is the number of the original submission where the context and story behind each image can be understood.
Copyright notice
All images contained in this display are subject to copyright and are presented here with permission. The published Final Report of the NSW Bushfire Inquiry is also copyright. See page 2 of the Report for further details.
Content warning
The following contains images of bushfires and their aftermath that viewers may find distressing.
Photo gallery
A - C
D - J
L - S
Top of page image: Anne Pidcock (Submission 0144)
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