The September fires were bad enough. Then came November, and things got a lot worse.
First for Queensland and then as 2019 dragged to a close, for New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
Unprecedented bushfires. Almost half the east coast on fire. The world watching on in shock as entire towns were decimated and lives were lost.
Most Australians have either been directly affected by the fires or know someone who has.
One of my close friends in Victoria was lucky her house was saved but she lost a cottage, outbuildings, livestock and suffered thousand of dollars damage to several parts of her property.
Other friends suffered through horrendous heat and choking smoke in and around Canberra.
There are too many stories, too many horrible statistics, so I won’t repeat them here.
But the destruction of our land and our precious wildlife had me reflecting on my time on Olkola Country, and what the Olkola people are doing to care for the land and each other.