New song cycle commemorates 25th anniversary of the Childers Backpackers Hostel fire

The deaths of 15 young backpackers in a deliberately lit fire at The Palace Backpackers Hostel on 23 June 2000 shocked the residents of the small regional Queensland town of Childers, and deeply traumatised the survivors.

“I was very aware of the 20th anniversary and the fact that it hit right in the middle of COVID, and I know that Council had big plans around the 20th that didn’t go ahead. And I guess I was thinking at the time, ‘Gee, wouldn’t it be great to have a kind of creative presence in the 20th anniversary?’ but that didn’t come about. So, I’ve probably been thinking about it ever since, really, in terms of the way [the] arts and creativity can really help with community building and certainly in healing,” he tells ArtsHub.