Des Collins and Alan Lynch are names that have been lost in the chaos of the 1983 fire season, where there was not a lot of focus on firefighters for the Forests Commission Victoria (now DELWP) - let alone Greendale.

"The families are still traumatised," historian and former Forests Commission firefighter Peter McHugh said.

"No one ever told them what happened.

"It was just a case of 'Dad never came home'.

"Well-meaning adults tried to shelter the family and the kids from the facts, but they never got answers."

But this week that changed.

McHugh, the author of 'The 1982-83 Victorian Bushfire Season' was at a low-key 40th anniversary service for family and friends on January 8 at a Greendale memorial rotunda.

"A lady came to me - one of the daughters - she said she never knew that her dad wasn't burnt," he said.

"I went to the State Library and was able to find the Coroner's report.

"The men had both died of shock and asphyxiation after inhaling super-heated air - and they would have died instantly."

He said aerial photos of burnt overhead foliage in the Wombat Forest indicated the blaze had crowned over their heads.

Two hours after the men's estimated passing, their bodies and a yellow Komatsu were found parked against a tree at the fire-break the men had created - with the diesel-powered engine still running.

Mr McHugh said a handheld radio had melted and there were no paint blisters on the bulldozer - with the only sign of damage: a slightly-singed seat.

The machine was checked for faults in the days that followed - and none were found.

Weeks later it was put into service again for Ash Wednesday. With the state on fire, it was all hands - and machines - on deck.

He said Des and Alan were creating a fire break that would have restricted the 15,940 ha fire to just 120ha of state forest - something 133 times smaller that would have taken one day to extinguish instead of 55.

The break was meant to intersect with the Charcoal Track at Dales Creek at the north end of the blaze.

The break - and the men who made it - were caught 30m short of the target, and possible safety.

A small pile of rocks in overgrown bush now marks the site.

"The rate of expansion of those fires was massive. The country was so dry," Mr McHugh said.

"People in the department said that in 30 years of this kind of work they had never seen anything as unpredictable as Greendale that afternoon."

Mr McHugh said the first that wives Carol Collins and Christine Lynch heard about the deaths was a report on television.

His book explains that they immediately went to the Daylesford Forests Commission office, but could not get definite answers.

Confirmation came at 7pm when the office manager door-knocked both homes.

Des - a veteran of the 1966 Battle of Long Tan - left Carol with four children aged three-13.

Christine had two girls aged 8 and 9. She passed away in 2014 and is buried alongside Alan in Daylesford.

"All the kids attended local primary schools and were well known around Daylesford," Mr McHugh said.

"Des and Alan were good friends who had worked for the Commission for 16 and 14 years respectively. They were active members of local sporting clubs and the CFA.

"The outpouring of grief was immediate and widespread for Carol and Christine and their families by the entire community.

"There was a huge turnout of around 1000 people at the funeral.

"It's been an emotional journey for the Lynch and Collins families."

Seven Commission employees gave evidence at an inquest with Coroner Lance Pilgrim SM in Ballarat on 15 April 1983.

Again it was eclipsed: this time by the visit of Charles and Diana just metres away in Ballarat's main street.

"Doing this research, I found the news stories on the day didn't have a lot of detail in them," Mr McHugh said.

"There are also a lot of errors. Usually the early figures are overstated. When the dust settles they can be quite different."

Mr McHugh said he was concerned that the story of the Greendale fire was not widely known.

"You tried to search on Google and there was just nothing," he said.

"The deaths of those two guys shocked the Forests Commission to the core at the time, but a few weeks later it was overshadowed by the Macedon Fire (1 February 1983), a huge Melbourne dust storm (8 February) and Ash Wednesday (16 February).

"We didn't stop fighting fires til about April that year."

Mr McHugh felt compelled to write his 250-page book - and the chapter on Greendale has since been turned into a publication in its own right.

He has made sure the State Library has a copy for generations to come in the form of a free e-book..

Released in October 2022, it attracted 120,000 hits in 48 hours.

"I believed the Greendale story was significant - and I've made it free to view.

"I have a Facebook page about forestry history but my concern was that things on Facebook are transient and don't last."

Last week's service at the Greendale's Egan Reserve was supported by Tony English who is the Deputy Chief Fire Officer of the Forest Fire Management Victoria: the agency the men would have worked for, had they been alive today (following nine name changes since 1983).

Staff from the Daylesford DELWP office were also among the 100 people at the rotunda as well as CFA volunteers and members of a grateful Greendale community.

Carol Collins and Hayley Cummins spoke at the service about their husband and father.

"After the service I got the sense that the families were still grieving but they didn't want to wallow in it.

"They just wanted to get on with their lives.

"There were some tears. Everyone reacted in their own way.

"I knew of Des and Alan - but I didn't know them personally. For me and my wife, recording what happened was one of the most worthwhile things we've done in a while.

"The overwhelming feeling on the day was of thanks."

Peter's work is also available through Trove.nla.gov.au

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