Mount Lofty Fire Tower
Encyclopedia
Mount Lofty
Mount Lofty is the highest point in the Mount Lofty Ranges. It is located about 15km east of the centre of the city of Adelaide in South Australia and gives unrivalled panoramic views of the city and the Adelaide plains and foothills. It was first climbed by a European when explorer Collet Barker...
(34°58′28"S 138°42′32"E) in the Adelaide Hills
Adelaide Hills
The Adelaide Hills are part of the Mount Lofty Ranges, east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is unofficially centred on the largest town in the area, Mount Barker, which has a population of around 29,000 and is also one of Australia's fastest growing towns.- History :The...
just to the east of the city of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. The 34m high tower has a commanding view over a huge area of the rural areas surrounding Adelaide, and on a clear day the view can extend to as far as Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf St Vincent. Its closest point to the mainland is off Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is long...
to the west, Monarto to the east, the Fleurieu Peninsula
Fleurieu Peninsula
The Fleurieu Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Adelaide in South Australia, Australia. It was named after the French explorer and hydrographer Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin as he mapped the south coast of Australia in 1802.Towns of interest in the...
to the south, and the grassy plains beyond Two Wells to the north. The tower is used to spot fires in the Adelaide Hills
Adelaide Hills
The Adelaide Hills are part of the Mount Lofty Ranges, east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is unofficially centred on the largest town in the area, Mount Barker, which has a population of around 29,000 and is also one of Australia's fastest growing towns.- History :The...
and surrounds on days of very high or extreme fire danger during summer. The spotting crew determine the location of a smoke sighting by taking a bearing and then calculating distance using topographic maps. Details of the sighting are then passed to the Country Fire Service
Country Fire Service
The SA Country Fire Service is a volunteer based fire service in the state of South Australia in Australia. Many parts of Australia are sparsely populated whilst at the same time they are under significant risk of bushfire. Due to economics, it is prohibitively expensive for each Australian town...
Regional Office in Mount Barker
Mount Barker, South Australia
Mount Barker is an expanding city, home to 10 258 residents that is 33 kilometres up the South Eastern Freeway, east of Adelaide, in South Australia. It is the seat of the District Council of Mount Barker, is the largest town in the Adelaide Hills, and is one of the fastest growing areas in the...
who despatch the nearest fire brigade.
History
Cleland Conservation Park
Cleland Conservation Park is a conservation park in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. from Adelaide City centre. Cleland Conservation Park conserves a significant area of natural bushland on the Adelaide Hills face and includes the internationally popular Cleland Wildlife Park and the popular...
, was built in 1980 and initially manned by National Parks and Wildlife Service officers. The Country Fire Service took over responsibility for the tower in 1987, recruiting a paid staff of three fire spotters on a contract basis who between them maintained an eight hour watch for the entire Fire Danger Season from 1 December to 30 April. The spotting crew typically reported close to 200 sightings per season. In the mid-1990s a volunteer unit was established specifically to operate the fire tower, and this was then formally recognised as a Country Fire Service
Country Fire Service
The SA Country Fire Service is a volunteer based fire service in the state of South Australia in Australia. Many parts of Australia are sparsely populated whilst at the same time they are under significant risk of bushfire. Due to economics, it is prohibitively expensive for each Australian town...
brigade in November 2000.
Ash Wednesday, February 1983
The National Parks and Wildlife Service crew who manned the tower during the Ash Wednesday firesAsh Wednesday fires
The Ash Wednesday bushfires, known in South Australia as Ash Wednesday II, were a series of bushfires that occurred in south-eastern Australia on 16 February 1983. Within twelve hours, more than 180 fires fanned by winds of up to 110 km per hour caused widespread destruction across the states...
on 16 February 1983 later recalled the ferocity with which the fire came tearing up through Cleland Conservation Park
Cleland Conservation Park
Cleland Conservation Park is a conservation park in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia. from Adelaide City centre. Cleland Conservation Park conserves a significant area of natural bushland on the Adelaide Hills face and includes the internationally popular Cleland Wildlife Park and the popular...
towards them. The main fire that day started at nearby Mount Osmond and reached the summit of Mount Lofty
Mount Lofty
Mount Lofty is the highest point in the Mount Lofty Ranges. It is located about 15km east of the centre of the city of Adelaide in South Australia and gives unrivalled panoramic views of the city and the Adelaide plains and foothills. It was first climbed by a European when explorer Collet Barker...
well within an hour (a typical bushfire would take several hours to cover this same distance). Visibility was obscured due to severe dust storms generated by the strong winds, and the crew only evacuated the tower as the fire was literally at their doorstep. Although the steel structure of the tower survived intact, the windows of the 34m high tower were completely shattered. The spotters were forced to simply shelter in the carpark below as the fire passed over them.
Australia Live broadcast
On 1 January 1988 the Mount Lofty Fire Tower was beamed live around Australia on Channel 9 television as part of the Australia LiveAustralia Live
Australia Live was a four hour telecast, broadcast live on Channel Nine, on 1 January 1988 to open Australia's Bicentennial celebrations. The telecast crossed live to over 70 locations right across the country to represent a 'typical' day in the life of the Australian people...
broadcast to celebrate the Australian Bicentenary
Australian Bicentenary
The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1970 on the 200th anniversary of Captain James Cook landing and claiming the land, and again in 1988 to celebrate 200 years of permanent European settlement.-1970:...
. The three members of the spotting crew appeared on the broadcast along with former Adelaide radio journalist Murray Nichol, who was awarded a Walkley for his live report from his own street in Greenhill
Greenhill, South Australia
Greenhill is a suburb of Adelaide located in the foothills of the Adelaide Hills either side of Greenhill Road. Adjacent suburbs are Waterfall Gully, Burnside, Stonyfell, Skye, Norton Summit, Summertown and Ashton, and includes Cleland Conservation Park and the western slopes and summit of Mount...
as it burned around him during the Ash Wednesday fires
Ash Wednesday fires
The Ash Wednesday bushfires, known in South Australia as Ash Wednesday II, were a series of bushfires that occurred in south-eastern Australia on 16 February 1983. Within twelve hours, more than 180 fires fanned by winds of up to 110 km per hour caused widespread destruction across the states...
in 1983. Following the Australia Live broadcast the three teenage members of the spotting crew appeared in several local media pieces and appeared in a two-page feature article in Woman's Day
Woman's Day
Woman's Day is aimed at a female readership, covering such subjects as food, nutrition, fitness, beauty and fashion. The magazine edition is one of the "Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines....
magazine.