BUSHFIRE '88
People & Places Albums
In 1987, Fusion Australia was awarded a grant from the Australian Bicentennial Authority (ABA) to launch this project. Rod Boucher was invited by Fusion to assemble a group of artists to tour BUSHFIRE - initially called “the Great ’88 Family Tour”.
The Bushfire Team - half adults and half kids - assembled at Kilmany Park in Sale, Victoria, late December 1987 to prepare for the year long adventure. The group of 50 people were sent out on the road, travelling clockwise around Australia in 11 motor-homes. The initial aim was to visit 21 major rural towns over the year.
“Bushfire is community, the Body at work, experimenting with new forms, stretching limbs in new directions... a way of coming to grips with the land, to explore what is to many, still a land of mystery and wonder.”
On the arrival at Bunbury, WA, the Bicentennial Authority decided to withdraw subsequent funding. The group was left with the question: Do we continue the journey in some format, or do we disband? The Bushfire Team decided to push on, dividing into smaller groups, asking God to provide for their daily needs.
The teams continued on via northern W.A. to Darwin, regrouped in Alice Springs and had a “half-way” celebration at Simpsons Gap. They continued on to Mt. Isa and then to the Pacific coastal town of Townsville, QLD.
The Bushfire Team then split up into smaller groups and made their way down the East Coast of Australia and finished their time in Tasmania.
Click on the covers to access "The Bushfire Report" for a 14 page overview of the first half of 1988 and "Musings Plus" for an 82 page collection of photos and jottings from the 1988 Tour.
Glenda Whittred requested that the song "Jesus, Lover of Wanderers" be included in the BUSHFIRE '88 website. "It was such a meaningful song for me and many of us as we wove our way around Australia, trusting God for each new step amidst the uncertainty."