jara, i don't doubt black saturday was one of the worst bushfires in australia's history. it was an awful awesome event and was rated no 1 in terms of human deaths.
here is a bit about black thursday feb 1851. note the population of victoria then was 77,000 and the gold rush hadn't started yet in february. it was quite a monster fire too, burning an incredible claimed quarter of victoria . (i'm sure you know this but others may not)
of course fire fighting facilities then would have been mimimal
Black Thursday bushfires
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Black Thursday bushfires Location Victoria, Australia Statistics Date(s) 6 February 1851 Cause Heat wave, careless burning Fatalities 1The Black Thursday bushfires were a devastating series of fires that swept the state of Victoria, Australia on 6 February 1851. They are considered the largest Australian bushfires in a populous region in recorded history, with approximately 5 million hectares, or a quarter of Victoria, being burnt. Twelve human lives were lost, along with one million sheep, thousands of cattle and countless native animals.
"The temperature became torrid, and on the morning of the 6th of February 1851, the air which blew down from the north resembled the breath of a furnace. A fierce wind arose, gathering strength and velocity from hour to hour, until about noon it blew with the violence of a tornado. By some inexplicable means it wrapped the whole country in a sheet of flame — fierce, awful, and irresistible."[1]