WW2 AUSTRALIAN STAFF SERGEANT'S TUNIC

The object was collected by Michael Brunt and stored in his house at 6 Biala Street Kelmscott and was damaged due to the intense heat from the fire when the building burnt.
The tunic was from a hardware salesman from St Kilda in Victoria to whom it was issued in WW2. The donor cannot remember the name of the owner and the destruction of the documentation has made it impossible for him to confirm his name.
When the tunic was purchased by donor it had the vendors Demobilisation Book in one pocket, this was lost in the fire. Michael had an extensive and well documented collection of World War II memorabilia which was destroyed by the bushfire.
On the morning of 6th of February 2011 a bushfire was accidentally started by an individual using an angle grinder outside, during a total fire ban. Sparks from the angle grinder set nearby dry grass on fire. High easterly winds caused this scrub fire to quickly turn into a bushfire. Over the course of the rest of the day the fire spread westerly out of Roleystone and, down the hill and into Kelmscott. 150 fire-fighters were on the ground during the peak of the bushfire. Residents in the path of the fire were ordered to evacuate immediately. Over 4,000 people were evacuated during the bushfire. Many families lost their homes. 69 homes were destroyed with another 71 badly damaged. Residents were evacuated to the Armadale Arena on Townley Street which was turned in to the emergency evacuation centre. Most residents spent the night there and it was a few days before they were allowed back into the area to see if their homes had survived.
The Armadale Arena remained a one stop resource centre for victims of the bushfire for 2 weeks after the event.
This bushfire is now regarded as one of the worst in WA history due to the loss of homes. No one was killed during the bushfire.
For further information see the Birtwistle Local Studies library