The media headlines today bring to mind the Melbourne Dust Storm on 8th February 1983. This was when south-eastern Australia was coming out of one of the worst droughts since European settlement leaving behind very sparse vegetation cover and a great deal of dry exposed red dust in the Mallee region. Strong north-westerly winds moving ahead of a cold front whipped up the dust into a fast moving wall creating a dramatic sight as it towered above the Melbourne skyline.
In 1852 another notable dust storm occurred in the Melbourne area on Sunday 19th December when The Tmes in London reported ‘a man riding his horse on the outskirts of Melbourne was unable to see the ears of his horse due to the streaming volume of hot, stinging dust’.





