It’s been 40 years since the Ash Wednesday bushfires swept Australia’s southeast to create one of the country’s worst fire days. 

Hundreds have gathered in Cockatoo, in Victoria’s Dandenong Ranges, to commemorate the occasion and remember those lost in the fires. 

The ceremony is being held at the town’s Ash Wednesday Bushfire Education Centre on McBride Street where more than 200 people gathered to shelter from the fire as flames rained down.

Within 12 hours, more than 180 fires, fanned by winds up to 110 km per hour, caused widespread destruction across the state.

The fires were among the deadliest in Australian history, until the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.

In Victoria, 47 people died, including 14 CFA volunteers.

In South Australia, 28 people died. 

Victoria’s Country Fire Association’s chief officer Jason Heffernan opened the ceremony describing Ash Wednesday as a devastating time in Victoria’s history.

“The day is permanently etched into the minds of several generations of Victorians,” he told the crowd. 

“These brave men and women focused on trying to protect life, to guard life as a primary purpose, as the day turned into night … as the firestorm swept throughout the state … Tragically 47 Victorians lost their lives that day.

“We honour and remember all of those who lost their lives that day.”

Many fatalities were a result of firestorm conditions caused by a sudden and violent wind change, with hot winds up to 110 km/h fanning the flames.

While the exact cause of the fires remains largely unknown, it’s understood years of severe drought and extreme weather fuelled them, according to Forest Fire Management Victoria.

Sparks from damaged electricity power lines and suspected arson were also cited as possible causes.

The memorial continues.