The Stable Climate Of 1939

On January 14, 1939 it was 114F (46C) at Sydney, NSW. Massive fires burned most of the forest from Melbourne to Canberra, and decimated the Koala population. Residents were traumatized for years by the sounds of the Koalas screaming in the forest.

19 Aug 1940 – KOALAS FACE EXTINCTION – Trove

Inferno on Black Friday 1939: 71 deaths, 3,700 buildings, too much fuel and “lit by the hand of man” « JoNova

11 Jan 1939 – HOTTEST DAY ON RECORD IN THREE CAPITALS Seven Deaths: Many People Collapse – Trove

p1 – 14 Jan 1939 – The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 – 1954) – Trove

13 Jan 1939 – HUNDREDS FLEE FROM SWEEPING BUSHFIRE PERIL – Trove

19 Jan 1939 – The Bushfire Peril. – Trove

The Leadbeater’s Possum was presumed to be extinct in the early part of the 20th century. It requires young Mountain Ash forest to feed. But the massive fires of January 13, 1939 cleared out the old growth forest and was replaced with the young forest which the possums need. By 1990, the possum’s numbers may have been at a record high, but decades of fire suppression put them at risk again.