How Marysville has changed since Black Saturday

It was the town wiped from existence by fire on Black Saturday when a deadly wind change swept through with little warning. But Marysville’s streets of blackened ruins are no more. THEN AND NOW PICTURE SPECIAL

It was the town wiped from existence on Black Saturday.

The gorgeous Yarra Valley village of Marysville, 90 minutes from Melbourne, fell victim to a deadly wind change at 6.15pm on February 7, 2009, as the ferocious Murrindindi fire swept through with little warning.

The fire killed 40 people, and more than 500 houses were destroyed or damaged, mainly in and around Marysville, Narbethong and Buxton.

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Marysville from above before and after

The moment a home in Lady Talbot Drive went up in flames. Picture: Vicki Moritz/Russell Glenn

A decade on, while some lots still stand empty, many parts of the town have sprung back to life. Trees are green again.

Pictures taken in the days afterwards show the town was little more than a smouldering wreck in the aftermath of the Black Saturday blaze, which started around 2:55pm just to the north of a sawmill in Wilhelmina Falls Road, Murrindindi.

Lyell and Murchison Streets before and after the blaze.

Marysville cradled among the reborn greenery. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Before and after at the Cumberland site

It travelled fast.

By 4:30pm it had reached Narbethong.

Following a wind change that arrived at about 6:15pm, the fire swept through Marysville, Buxton and Taggerty.

The Marysville medical clinic before and after the fires

Marysville’s commercial heart was destroyed along with much of the town’s public infrastructure — including the police station, primary school, kindergarten and health clinic.

The main street before and after

What had been the In Neutral cafe.

The fire not only cost lives, but livelihoods — a picturesque town centred around tourism and hospitality had been left a blackened ruin.

The Marysville fire station before and after the fires

But as time passes, homes are being rebuilt, new residents are moving in and a new Marysville is emerging.