Introduction

Around 5.30 p.m. on 6 February 2018, Mount Tomaree, which forms the southern headland of Port Stephens, caught fire. The view of the Mountain at night was likened to an ‘erupting volcano’.

The fire took a number of days to fully extinguish, using helicopters, after having burnt through some 200 square metres of bush. The fire damage was restricted to the top and southern side of the Mountain. Luckily, within a couple of seasons, much of the burnt vegetation had regenerated.

Over millennia, Mount Tomaree would have burnt on many occasions, but the 2018 blaze appears to be the first since 1926. The Raymond Terrace Examiner and Lower Hunter and Port Stephens Advertiser of 26 February 1926, page 3, reported:

‘Nelson Bay, in common with other districts, is suffering with the smoke screen. Bush fires are all round. On a recent night South Head was a great sight, being alight from bottom to top, and with trees and logs alight looked like a town in the distance.’

The following photos show the Mountain on fire in 2018, its aftermath and new shoots of vegetation that had arisen from the ashes.

Mount Tomaree on Fire at Night

View of Mt Tomaree alight at night – 6 February 2018 (Author Photo)

View of Mt Tomaree alight at night – 6 February 2018 (Author Photo)

Following Day – Aftermath

View of Mt Tomaree – Morning of 7 February 2018 (Author photo)

View of Mt Tomaree – 7 February 2018 (Author photo)

                       View of Mt Tomaree – 7 February 2018 (Author photo)

View of Mt Tomaree – 7 February 2018 (Author photo)

View of Mt Tomaree looking up from Zenith Beach- 7 February 2018 (Author photo)

View of the Mountain looking up from Zenith Beach – 7 February 2018 (Author Photo)

Burnt Vegetation

The following photos were taken on a walk to the summit of Mt Tomaree a month after the fire, showing the burnt vegetation:            

Author photo taken on Mt Tomaree summit walk – 2 March 2018

Author photo taken on Mt Tomaree – 2 March 2018

Author photo taken on Mt Tomaree – 2 March 2018

Author photo taken on Mt Tomaree – 2 March 2018

The following two photos show an area on the Mountain marked for asbestos removal which was once the site of an earlier building.

Author photo taken on Mt Tomaree – 2 March 2018

Author photo taken on Mt Tomaree – 2 March 2018

Regeneration

First sign of new shoots appearing from the ashes – 2 March 2018 (Author Photo)

Researched and compiled by Kevin McGuinness

February 2025