Once upon a time in Melbourne #1
I remember I was working on the third floor of an office building in StKilda Road. Everything was normal. Co-workers were coming and going, telephones were ringing and being answered. It was when the buzz of a working office stopped I realised something was wrong. It wasn't an abrupt silence but an unsettling hush. Colleagues with desks near the windows began to stand up and gaze outside. Expressions of curiosity changed into disbelief. "Look at this!" I heard someone say. "What's happening?" questioned another. I went over to the window. The day had turned to night. Cars along St Kilda Road had turned their headlights on; most had pulled over. Confused pedestrians were sheltering in doorways as clouds of darkness blotted out the sun and reduced visibility to a strange eeriness. I returned to my desk to call home The switchboard was jammed.
Once upon a time in Melbourne #2
It was a stiflingly, hot summer day in suburban Melbourne, dry and windy. It was one of those days I should have really stayed inside. I needed milk and the local supermarket was only a short walk away. I went the back way, down the lane, thinking it would provide some shelter from the burning wind. I was about halfway to the supermarket when it happened. The wind became fiercer, the blue in the sky faded to black and it went dark. It was only 3pm. I didn't know what was happening. I thought it was the end of the world. I ran back home, and I'm not one for running.
Not really sure...actually, not sure even when it could have happened...I do know the light was eerie with bushfire smoke in my world...earlier this year...
ReplyDeleteHi Gemma. It was the result of a very severe dust storm. I remember it well. It was such a significant phenomenon. Wikipedia tells me it was a consequence of the 1982/83 drought. High winds picked up red soil, dust and sand from Central and South Australia and swept an enormous, thick dust cloud over Melbourne. The Ash Wednesday bushfires followed a week later. There are some amazing images on line https://bit.ly/30XZJ7r
Delete1982 or 83, severe bush fires with many lives lost and with a strong northerly wind a dust storm arrived from the inland. I was on a tram in Swanston Street and I could see the brown cloud coming and suddenly the tram was enveloped in dust with all the seats covered in gritty dust. Once home in East Malvern, our furniture was covered in dust. It came in everywhere.
ReplyDeleteYes .. it was the result of a very severe dust storm. I remember it well. It was such a significant phenomenon. Wikipedia tells me it was a consequence of the 1982/83 drought. High winds picked up red soil, dust and sand from Central and South Australia and swept an enormous, thick dust cloud over Melbourne. The Ash Wednesday bushfires followed a week later. There are some amazing images on line https://bit.ly/30XZJ7r
DeleteThe fires and the dust storm are mixed together in my mind, although I do know they were separate events. The photos are amazing and as I remember the rolling cloud of dust.
Delete