Summer brought on some of the most severe bushfires Australia has ever seen. The city of Melbourne was blanketed in smoke for days, making exposure to the toxic fumes dangerous. The small tourist town of Mallacoota, located some five hours east of Melbourne, found itself isolated by fire and a rescue mission was undertaken to extract locals and tourists caught up in the horrific ordeal. 

As the HMAS Choules arrived at Navy base HMAS Cerberus, a relief centre was set up in the nearby town of Hastings. I was sent by the Australian Red Cross to photograph families as they were bussed from the Navy base to the relief centre, where they were reunited with their families and provided psychological First Aid. While I don’t feel comfortable with posting images of reuniting families, I felt this doggo made a great statement about the hard work taken by all parties to make sure everyone got out safe.