Ha yes we had the same. It was a bit of a freak one really as well.
Ash Wednesday was the other one, when I was in grade 6. We were on the coast with the burning leaves falling round us. Third day of 40 degrees and Dad had picked us up from school to go for a swim down at torquay. I might write about it, but since I've been here so long I prob have already 😂
I heard about Ash Wednesday when we first arrived from so many older people who remember it vividly even to this day. Our old friend lost an old school friend in them.
The worst I've experienced were the Sampson Flat ones a few years back. We came out of the shopping centre to see a mushroom cloud in the foothills. It reached our neighbouring suburb and we had an eerie orange sky for a couple of days, like permanent dusk. There was a similar haze when they had fires on the Eyre Peninsula as well, but not as bad with it being further from us.
It is super unsettling when the smoke comes over. Very apocalyptic.