Australian Bushfire Books

To understand the story of bushfires in Australia it is possible to look closely at the landscape, and doing so, Bill Gammage in his The Biggest Estate on Earth takes his readers on an educational journey to explain this complex ecological story. This is a must read to understand Australian bushfires.

The Still-Burning Bush is an very impressive classic written by an American academic who compiles a wealth of historical Australian data to explain Australia’s Bushfires from an historical lens. If you are interested in the history of Australian Bushfires this is the book to read.

Victor Steffensen has a unique window into Aboriginal Fire in Australia as able to stand between two worlds. Fire Country tells the story of how Victor came to his wealth of Aboriginal Fire knowledge and it is a good read to explain this fascinating subject.

Children interested in learning about Australian Aboriginal Fire will enjoy Victor Steffensen’s Looking After Country With Fire.

In Australian Bushfires has a long historic connection to its Aboriginal people and this is explored in great detail in the Australian classic Bushfires & Bushtucker.

Joan Webster had a passion for helping Australians prepare for the dangers of living in a country frequented by bushfires. She consulted experts on this subject and across her long career developed The Complete Bushfire Safety Book. This is must read for fire safety of living in the bush in Australia.

The 2019-2020 Fires in New South Wales and Victoria became a massive ecological tragedy in Australia as a product of years of Government fire policy miss-management. This study produced by Australia’s CSIRO Scientists, studies these fire events by the lens of their ecological impacts and it is highly recommended to truly understand fire in Australia.