Twelve months after the Ash Wednesday bushfires, the communities of Aireys Inlet and Macedon united for a game of cricket. Thirty years on, three generations take part in ‘The Ashes’ and reflect on the importance of this annual commemorative match to the two townships.

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JAN VENABLES:

On the day of the Ash Wednesday fires, we were burning in Airey’s Inlet and we had many friends in Macedon who were suffering as well, and not long after that there was a wedding and my ex-husband Ray and I and a chap from Macedon called Greg Kennedy, who’s here today also, just came up with the idea. Why don’t the two towns, the two experiences, get together and make something good of a bad, bad day?

[Music plays – acoustic guitar]

GREG KENNEDY:

I think there’s five of us here today that played in the original game, 30 years ago. But it’s good fellowship, nothing’s too serious now. Mainly about having a beer and barbie, and wine for the ladies, as cricket should be probably.

[Music plays – acoustic guitar]

PAT HUTCHINSON:

We’ve had some great games. So, it was in the mountains one year and then the seaside the next. I suppose the original players are Hector and myself. And then the next generation, and then the next gen. So, there’s probably three – over the 30 years – three generations here today.

ANDREW WALKER:

We’re now priming a younger generation. We’re starting our under-11s and then next year, we’ll do under-13s, so that we’ve got generations of kids coming up to keep that tradition going.

30 overs, each team bats for. And we’ll change over and then – well, Mt Macedon are batting now, after their innings, we’ll go in and bat and hopefully we’ll get a nice win.

JOHN EWELS:

I was fortunate enough to play in the first game. Been fortunate to be at every game and probably played in a good two-thirds, maybe more I’ve played in.

HECTOR MOORE:

The original one, that was a terrific crowd, yes. I suppose it would have been about five or six thousand people here.

KENNEDY:

Yeah, it was down here. The ground’s certainly improved since then.

VENABLES:

Not green and beautiful like it is now, it was a lot more black surroundings. The first game was a game of hope I would say, because it had been 12 months on. We sat around the ground and we had a little sign that said ‘Airey’s town won’t go down’ and ‘No worries mate’, and funny little Australian things, because we are good people Australians aren’t we? So hope, the first game was hope.

HUTCHINSON:

It was a very intense game and it got down to the last over. Scottie Holmes, one of our players, made 111 and put us right into the game.

EWELS:

First game down here, the ground was packed and we had bay 13 from Macedon and a bay 13 from Airey’s Inlet and the old behind the shorts got dropped and all sorts of revolting things. But it was a great atmosphere. It’s sort of run along a bit since then, but today was a bit of a high in emotion at the end because of the closeness.

[Music plays]

[Cricket ball hitting bat]

[Crowd cheers and applauds]

[Music plays]

[Crowd cheers and applauds]

EWELS:

You know, the old adage in cricket, the games never over until the last ball’s bowled? And it got down to that eventful last over and we finished up a run ahead. So, in terms of a cricket match, you know, if we had 40,000 here they all would have been on the edge of their seats.

Back in Macedon, in 1983, I was principal of Mt Macedon Primary School and that school got burned down and throughout the next 18 months at that school, we spent all our time trying to get their minds off, you know, living in a caravan, living in burnt-out land. So, there were street parties and games like this is the same thing, it just gets their mind off it and draws them all together. So it’s extremely important.

HUTCHINSON:

Anything that can lift the spirit, whether it be a game of cricket or something else, I think encourages people to get on and build their lives again, yeah.

[Music plays – acoustic guitar]

MOORE:

That urn that we play for, that was dug up by a friend of mine after the fires. The ashes of the fires at Macedon and Airey’s Inlet are mixed in the urn together. And, so I’m led to believe when I cark it mine are going in there as well.

[Laughter]

[Music plays – acoustic guitar]