Hundreds of lightning bolts rendered the sky, 13 bolts striking across the Australian Island of Kangaroo Island. These ignited the tinderbox of dry expanses 12 bushfires, and many of these joined and became four massive fires across the Island. This night was only the beginning of a catastrophy that would last for ten days and nine nights when it was brought under control by hundreds of fire fighters, planes, water bombers and emergency units which had come in from across Australia.

Anyone living at Woomera, S.A., who had sufficient stamina, could play football in three different codes, each weekend. There was Soccer on Saturday afternoon, Rugby League on Sunday morning and Australian Rules on Sunday afternoon. For a country town of five-and-a-half thousand citizens, it may have been the only place in Australia to have so many different football competitions for that size population.