Bill Flint interviewed by Mary Hutchison in the Canberra bushfires 2003 oral history project [sound recording]
- Bib ID:
- 3416876
- Format:
- Audio
- Author:
- Flint, William, 1926-2015, interviewee
- Access Conditions:
- Access open for research, closed for personal copies and public use.
- Description:
-
- 2005
- 3 digital audio tapes (ca. 195 min.)
- Series:
- Canberra bushfires 2003 oral history project.
- Summary:
-
William (Bill) Flint speaks about his property 'Congwarra'; the property boundaries and neighbouring properties eg. the Tidbinbilla Tracking Station and Pierce's Creek forest (to the west); how the current house on the property extends around a pise house built by his grandfather in 1910 and since the January 2003 fires it is the only survivor of three that remained at that time; his father taking up the Congwarra lease in 1928 and members of his family farming it continuously since; buying the property from his family when he married in 1952; his children growing up there and later Robert (one of his sons) becoming a partner; how at the time of the fire he and his wife were living at 'Congwarra' and Robert and his family at neighbouring Oakey Hill.
Flint talks about 'Congwarra' being sold to a neighbour following the fire and the stock being moved to a property owned by his son near Cootamundra; how the sale agreement allows them to live in the house and keep the home paddock for as long as they wish; purchasing a house in Waramanga for when they need to move into town; how the sale of 'Congwarra' was prompted by the ACT government's new leasehold conditions as the lease was coming up for renewal in 2005; the fire first reaching 'Congwarra' on the evening of January 17, and it being contained at that time but how on Saturday it returned and joined with other fronts and by the end of January 18, Pierce's Creek forest, the Nature Reserve and Birrigai had been severely damaged; 'Congwarra' losing all fences and 95% of its pasture; the house and a number of farm sheds being saved by fire breaks and on the spot vigilance; his feelings about the fire over time and that the fire was not put out when it could have been.
- Biography/History:
-
William (Bill) Flint was born at Tidbinbilla in 1926. He is the third of five generations of Flints in the district. Flint's Crossing and Flint's picnic area are named after the family. He has long experience in fighting fires as a farmer, an employee of ACT forestry (1946-52) and the captain of the Tidbinbilla bush fire brigade (1953-1991). He has vivid memories of the 1939 fire that devastated south eastern Australia and was actively involved in the 1952 fire that nearly burnt the observatory at Mt Stromlo. He was awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal in the 1980s.
- Notes:
-
- Recorded on Mar. 16 & 22, 2005 at 'Congwarra', Tharwa, A.C.T.
- Digital master available National Library of Australia;
- Index/Finding Aid Note:
- Timed summary (8 p.)
- Subject:
- Occupation:
- Farmers
- Other authors/contributors:
- Hutchison, Mary, interviewer
- Also Titled:
- William Flint interviewed by Mary Hutchison in the Canberra bushfires 2003 oral history project
- Related Records:
-
This belongs to the Canberra Bushfires 2003 oral history project.
This collection contains 21 records. - Copyright:
-
In Copyright
Contact us for information about copying. For access conditions return to the record display above.
- Reason for copyright status:
- Until 2075 [Created/Published Date + 70 Years]
Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Sound Recording
- Published status:
- Unpublished
- Creation date:
- 2005
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.
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