Australian bushfires: A lifetime of memories lost to the flames at Conjola Park

Michael Parris
Updated January 7 2020 - 4:10pm, first published 10:00am
GONE: The remains of my father's two-storey house in Conjola Park, with the Mazda intact beside the driveway.
GONE: The remains of my father's two-storey house in Conjola Park, with the Mazda intact beside the driveway.

As twin fire balls roared through Conjola Park on the morning of New Year's Eve, two of my father's neighbours tried to save his house by putting out spot fires with bottles of Coke.

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Michael Parris

Michael Parris

Journalist

Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.

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