🌳 Tom Griffiths – Forests of Ash

Q: What event does Griffiths begin with in Forests of Ash?

A: The 1939 Black Friday bushfires in Victoria.

Q: How did settlers misunderstand fire in the Australian landscape?

A: They ignored its ecological role and Aboriginal fire practices.

Q: What is the significance of the Eucalyptus regnans (mountain ash)?

A: It’s one of the tallest trees, crucial to fire ecology, and symbolizes both destruction and regrowth.

Q: How did Aboriginal people interact with the mountain ash forests?

A: They used them seasonally and managed them with fire.

Q: What does Griffiths mean by "phoenix forests"?

A: Forests like mountain ash that regenerate through fire.

Q: What ecological misunderstanding did colonial settlers hold?

A: They believed the forests were untouched and primeval, not shaped by Indigenous fire management.