The Chatsbury/Bungonia Bushfire of 1965 was a series of devastating bushfires that raged from 5th through 14 March 1965 (1) and destroyed the Southern Highlands, New South Wales

Southern Highlands, New South Wales

The Southern Highlands, also locally referred to as the Highlands, is a geographical region and district in New South Wales, Australia and is 110 km south-west of Sydney. The entire region is under the local government area of the Wingecarribee Shire...

 villages of Tallong

Tallong, New South Wales

Tallong is a village of the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in Goulburn-Mulwaree Council. Although officially not a part of the region, it considered geographically and historically part of the Southern Highlands...

 and Wingello

Wingello, New South Wales

Wingello is a village in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. It is about equidistant between Sydney, the capital of NSW, and Canberra, the nation’s capital. It has a station on CityRail's Southern Highlands line...

 as well as most of the surrounding orchard

Orchard

An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...

s. Three people were killed.

28 homes were destroyed in Tallong, 31 in Wingello (2). The fire was eventually stopped (or burnt out) near Nowra on the South Coast.