A lot can change in 20 years, but as Canberrans look back on the disaster that was the 2003 bushfires, the differences in the affected suburbs can be linked back to the unprecedented power of the event. On January 18, 2003, more than 480 homes were destroyed when a major fire - an accumulation of four burning for over a week on the ACT's fringe - finally reached the nation's capital. According to the CSIRO Fire Research Group, Duffy and Chapman bore the brunt of the bushfires, with 221 and 77 homes destroyed, respectively.
Chapman resident Carolyn Stanistreet and her husband Peter look back at their experience with relief, as a timely change in wind direction meant they were among the lucky ones. "We had been swimming at Phillip Pool in the morning and, as we swam, we noticed ashes and burnt leaves dropping from the sky," Carolyn said. "We returned home and became increasingly concerned about the situation ... we listened to our local ABC Radio station which reported the fire was heading towards Canberra's western fringe.
"The sky darkened and by early afternoon we were in complete darkness ... then we saw the flames coming over Chapman ridge, and they were huge."
The Stanistreets left their home as quickly as they could. When they returned several days later, their street was almost unrecognisable, though their home still stood. "We were grateful, but also felt guilty that we had not suffered like our friends and neighbours." The Stanistreets immediately sought to fix what they had lost, and remain at their residence today.
Brett Hayman of Hayman Partners, who was selling homes in the affected areas when the bushfires hit, said the destruction put significant and immediate stress on the market.
The fires completely stripped what was considered to be a well-established area, at a level that had never been seen, and still hasn't, said Tim Burke of Luton Properties Weston Creek and Molonglo Valley, who was just starting out as a sales agent at the time.
Domain data revealed the median house price in Duffy in the December quarter of 2002, which ended less than a month before the bushfires hit, was $265,500. This rose to $314,500 in the first quarter of 2004, one year after the event and the rebuilds that followed. In a similar vein, the median house price in Chapman in the December quarter of 2002 was $385,000, which rose to $442,500 in the first quarter of 2004.
The rebuilt homes in Chapman and Duffy stood out, with a number of 1970s homes being replaced by more modern 2000s styles, Hayman said. "There are more energy-efficient homes built in their places. Energy efficiency is the number one thing buyers are looking for these days, so that has made the homes, and the whole previously affected area as a result, very appealing."
