The
Ash Wednesday bushfires, known in South Australia as
Ash Wednesday II, were a series of
bushfires that occurred in south-eastern Australia on 16 February 1983, which was
Ash Wednesday in the
Christian calendar. Within twelve hours, more than 180
fires fanned by winds of up to 110 km/h (68 mph) caused widespread destruction across the states of
Victoria and South Australia. Years of severe
drought and extreme weather combined to create one of Australia's worst fire days in a century. The fires became the deadliest
bushfire in Australian history, until the
Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.