This project investigates the history of bushfires in Australia during the second half of the nineteenth century, addressing a major gap in existing fire records. Current datasets generally begin only in the early twentieth century, while most historical research has focused on two catastrophic events: Black Thursday (1851) and Red Tuesday (1898). As a result, the broader history of bushfires in this period—how often they occurred, how severe they were, and what impacts they had—remains largely unknown.

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To address this gap, I have constructed the first historical dataset of colonial bushfires (1850–1900). Developed during my PhD, this dataset records more than 110,000 geolocated bushfire events as detailed in nineteenth-century journalism. It is the first comprehensive record of nineteenth-century bushfires, providing a critical foundation for both scientific and humanities research. For scientists, it supplies historical data to strengthen contemporary fire modelling and climate studies. For cultural historians, it opens new avenues for exploring how fire shaped Australian society, culture, and environment.  

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The next phase of this project focuses on digitising historic fire books held by regional brigades in the Country Fire Authority. This begins with the Castlemaine Fire Brigade (CFB)—one of oldest brigades in Australia—dating back to 1850. The CFB archives contain detailed fire records spanning the mid-nineteenth to late-twentieth centuries. These archives provide rare, highly specific accounts of the location, severity, and causes of fires in the Central Goldfields regions, where Castlemaine has longed served as a central brigade. With no other comparable records of fire events from this period, these meticulously maintained documents are unprecedented in their scope and detail. Their digitisation will safeguard a vital resource and enrich Australia’s fire history, helping to further develop a detailed record of colonial fire occurrence that has, until now, remained largely overlooked.