The new owners have rebuilt on the site.
Well what to say. I could compare the original photos with ones taken two years later. It seemed a better idea to take some of the photos taken in the weeks and months after the 18th and compare those.
Friends of the family lost their house. Interestingly the fires arrived a few days after they had sold the house, they had moved out the last of their important possessions that very morning. What about the new owners? Were they insured? Yes, I'm told that they were insured.
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The new owners have rebuilt on the site. |
The first photo is of the back corner of a yard, note the child's play gym. The next is in the days after, this is not the best of backyard views.
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In early March 2003, a grader went through and cleaned up the property behind. The corner also got a cleanup. Here we are trying to work out where the storm water pipes ran.
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Two years later, the owner has put in a huge amount of work. That corner of the yard has never looked this good. |
On the 7th of February I saw this flower growing out of the remains of a garden. In a flash I rushed home to get the camera. At the time there seemed to be an urgent need to capture this flower. In the days after, I wondered what I had been thinking, this flower was nothing special, yet I have four different views of it.
At a BBQ some weeks later, I had a conversation with a neighbor, he talked about the first flowers in his garden. From that point on we both raved on about first blooms, not only were we excited to talk about them but also pleased to find another soul with the same streak on insanity.
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This is that area two years later. he Phoenix
association members have been busy doing their magic,
This association has worked miracles since the fires, designing and rebuilding gardens all over the effected area. |
Remember Aaron and Kristine's back yard.
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In the two years the yard has a new tree in the foreground and the much improved lawn and flower bed. The backdrop is also looking a lot better. |
If there was ever any need to reinforce the old truism that the world is a small place. The following photo was taken during the fires and put on the website. Some time later I found out that the daughter of the householder, who lives in Melbourne, recognized the front yard and also noticed that someone was watering the yard. After some zooming in she recognized her mothers shirt. So when your in Melbourne, how do you get a photo of your mother doing firefighting in Canberra? Simple get on the web.
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Other Comparisons:
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