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Listen to Christine Walding
- The colour of the smoke did not look too good - Christine Walding
- Not one blade of grass anywhere - Christine Walding
- I had a really bad guilt feeling because we had our house - Christine Walding
- FULL STORY - Christine Walding
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Christine spent Ash Wednesday separated from her husband Ian, who was a member of the Aireys Inlet fire brigade. She watched from Lorne as flame balls careered towards the lighthouse, and did not find out if her husband was safe until days later when they opened the road.
Christine’s house survived and it took some time for her guilt about this to subside. She was actively involved in the recovery effort from the community hall in Aireys Inlet, and witnessed local tensions and trauma in the period after Ash Wednesday. She reflects on the limited way men would talk about their experiences, and the role of women in keeping families going after losing so much.
