Childers

Sam di Mauro was responsible for developing the Memorial to the victims of the Palace fire. On the 25th anniversary he reflects on the work he created

Dutch backpacker Rob Jansen escaped the Palace Hostel fire. He has returned to pay his respects and say thank you to the local community on the 25th anniversary

Daiman McIntyre met Seb and Adam as young backpackers in early 2000. In this episode he returns to Childers for the first time in 24 years and reflects on his time spent with his travel buddies

Bob Winkelmann & Hayden Whitaker were the first-responder fire fighters when the Palace Backpacker Hostel was set alight. 25 years on they sat down to reflect on that night, the work required to put out the blaze and the efforts to get people out of the building.

The Childers community has long been applauded and celebrated for how it responded in the wake of the fire at the Palace Backpackers Hostel in June 2000. Those efforts are now the inspiration behind a musical stage production which will be performed during the 25th anniversary commemorations. Its creative director Rod Ainsworth explains the background the project in this episode.

These days Helen Blackburn is the Mayor of Bundaberg Regional Council which will host a 25th anniversary service in a few days time. But she also has her own attachment to the Childers tragedy through a key counselling role in the immediate aftermath of the fire. In this episode Helen discusses her recollections of 25 years ago and how the 25th anniversary of the fire has been approached by Council

It's been five years since Childers: The Full Story was released. Now, as the 25th anniversary of the tragic fire in the small Queensland town is about to be marked, we are re-visiting the story. New episodes are coming soon

Immediately after the fire, the Childers community embraced the backpackers as their own. It made the task of saying goodbye and returning to normality even more difficult. A simple thank you has never felt like enough. 20 years on, their gratitude and appreciation of the small Queensland town they are forever linked to is stronger than ever Written and produced by Paul Cochrane Original music, sound design & editing by Zoltan Fecso Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/childers.