Project Aquarius (1984)

This film records the progress of a bushfire research study which was carried out during 1983 and 1984. The study was designed in the first instance to test the effectiveness of large aircraft in controlling bushfires by bombing them with water and fire retardants, but also to research the nature of wildfire, its effects on the bush and the firefighters, and the most effective forms of fire control.

Although the study could not be fully completed, it yielded a much better understanding of bushfire behaviour under Australian conditions and also a realization of the need to improve current fire rating indices.