Around a Gum Tree

Clip 3: The fire service

1 min 45 sec

Taken from the documentary Around a Gum Tree (1949)

Original title classification not known – this clip chosen to be G

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Curator’s clip description

Shots of bushfires burning are followed by a forest destroyed by fire. The voice-over explains that, to minimise the effect of bushfires, organised firefighters practice emergency response with ‘properly designed’ equipment. Entering a forest on an access road, the team begin a practice drill in preparation for the real thing.

Lookout towers are one way fires in forests can be identified and two towers are shown. The second fire lookout is a ‘natural tower’ adapted from a giant 185 foot (56 metre) Karri tree in Western Australia. The wooden ‘stairs’ spiral around its tall trunk.

australian screen