THE WEATHER. ( from the Melbourne  “Argus” Newspaper Feb. 8.1851 )
” Thursday was one of the most oppressive hot-days we have experienced for some years. In the early morning the atmosphere was perfectly scorching, and at eleven o’clock the thermometer stood as high as 117 degrees ( 47.2 Celsius ) in the shade; at one o’clock it had fallen to 109 degrees and at four in the afternoon was up to 113 degrees.( 45 Celsius). The blasts of air were so impregnated with smoke and heat, that the lungs seemed absolutely to collapse.

The Victorian bushfires of 13 January 1939, known as Black Friday, were the culmination of several years’ drought in the state, following by high temperatures and strong winds. These conditions fanned several fires – some of which had been burning since early December – into a massive fire front. Fire swept over the mountain country in north-east Victoria, and along the coast in the south-west. Smoke covered Victoria; approximately 75 per cent of the state affected by the fires to some extent.  By 10 January, almost all the forests in the Great Dividing Range were on fire. There was a large outbreak around the town of Erica, north-east of Moe, and at Powelltown between Yarra Junction and Noojee. By 13 January – Black Friday – the temperature reached 44.7 degrees Celsius in Melbourne, and 47.2 degrees Celsius in Mildura with very low humidity levels. Narbethong, Noojee, Woods Point, Nayook West and Hill End were completely destroyed by the fires on this day.

Above the Main Street of Omeo during the 1939 fires that wiped out the town.