Tractor Tales — Story Stop 3: From Ashes, We Rebuilt

Follow the orange tractor trail

From ashes,
we rebuilt.

Story Stop 03 featuring Chug on the orange tractor trail

Ash Wednesday fires viewed from the Upper Beaconsfield cenotaph — Ash Wednesday, 16 February 1983. From the cenotaph, the camera looks from near the Store’s original site towards the location where it stands today.

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Before everything changedThe Store in its early-1980s heyday.

Before the fire, the General Store was part grocer, hardware shop, newsagency and ice-cream stop—a true general store serving the everyday needs of the Hills, much as it does today.

The General Store in its early-1980s heyday: groceries, hardware, newspapers, ice creams and more.

Ash WednesdayA town and its Store devastated.

On 16 February 1983, Ash Wednesday devastated Upper Beaconsfield. The town and the General Store were engulfed. Lives were lost, and the scars and memories remain part of this community.

What the fire left behindTwo views of the same devastation.

From above, the scale was unmistakable. From the front gate, familiar signs still stood—but behind them the General Store had been reduced to ruins.

Aerial view of the General Store ruins after Ash Wednesday — From above: little remained beyond twisted roofing, chimneys and the water tank.

The General Store ruins viewed from the front gate — From the front gate: familiar signs remained against the ruins.

Business almost as usualA wagon, a deck chair and the will to keep going.

With the Store still in ruins, B.U.G.S.—Business as Usual. Almost!—appeared out front. A wagon and deck chair became a makeshift shop, allowing trade to resume almost immediately and helping the town begin to rebuild.

B.U.G.S. has long been the General Store’s nickname—which is why our Barnyard cat is called Bugs today.

B.U.G.S. Business as Usual Almost after Ash Wednesday — Business as usual—almost. Trade resumed while the Store still lay in ruins behind it.

A Store rebuiltA hopeful place to gather again.

Within a remarkably short time, a new General Store opened on the same site. More than a replacement building, it became a sign of hope and a place where the community could gather again.

Across the road stands the building now known as Over the Road—one of the few local buildings to survive the fires.