Page 25 - eMuse Vol.9 No.11

spread throughout the land and when British people settled in
other lands they brought the celebration with them.
A highlight of the bonfires is burning an effigy of Guy Fawkes.
Old clothes stuffed with straw, paper or something combustible
are placed on top of the bonfire. Guy is sometimes replaced by
some one politically unpopular. At various times it could have
been the Pope, King James, Duke of York, Paul Kruger, and Mag-
gy Thatcher .
Images of Guy Fawkes often depict him as having distorted,
grotesque facial features and a crippled body. This is meant to
down-grade his image because he is an unpopular figure. Artists
Gun have employed this tactic for centuries. If he did fit the popular
mould at the time of his execution, it would have been physical
Powder evidence of the pain he was subjected to under torture.
Back to my childhood days. A definite culture had developed
in the celebration of Guy Fawkes Night (aka Cracker Night, Bon-
Plot fire Night. . .)
The bonfire was the centre piece of the whole show. It had
become an artform of sorts as every budding pyromaniac in eve-
There was a time when every year, with eager anticipation, ry district had precise ideas about how to build and what makes
everyone, kids and adults, looked forward the 5th November, a good bonfire. Ideally one would build the bonfire several days
the bonfires, and, fireworks. It was a full-on, fun night with earlier. That was always a risky prospect as in every district there
bungers, Catherine wheels and other things that went bang and/ were plenty of "volunteers" around to light it for you in your ab-
or sprayed bright coloured sparks at ground level and in the air sence. The better the bonfire the bigger the temptation as far as
various kinds of skyrockets combined to light up the night sky the "volunteers" were concerned.
with a kaleidoscope of multi- coloured brilliance. To prevent premature ignition by “volunteers”, many built
It was an eagerly anticipated spectacle that came with a load their bonfires in paddocks on the day. Then, while some of the
of customs and traditions dating back to the failed assassination group went home to organise other things for the evening, sev-
of Britain's King James I on 5th November 1605. History records eral minders were left with bonfire to discourage anyone likely
it by various names including the "Gunpowder Plot." Catholic re- to light it in advance .
bels attempted to blow up Parliament House with the King in it. Safety procedures with fireworks were often quite lax —
Traditionally, many blame Guy Fawkes for the plot which is resulting in many minor injuries and an unacceptable level of
not strictly correct. He was the conspirators' PR man and the serious ones. Compounding the injury issues, fireworks made
one who was designated to light the fuse while the actual ring vandalism easy .
leaders and major players were scattered throughout the land at Blowing up letter boxes was a popular "sport" and then there
the time. Guy was the first one caught. were guns made from bicycle pumps. The latter were very un-
stable and dangerous. For instance, one of the many risks in-
volved was when pumps often fragmented with the explosion
and injured the shooter .
In spite of the pleasures of Guy Fawkes night, risks mounted
to a point where doctors, police and other civil authorities in the
interest of public safety worked to have them banned. Progres-
sively each state took action over a short period. In New South
Wales fireworks were banned from 7th June 1986.
Naturally such bans were needed and when they were applied
people seemed to lose all interest in the bonfires and in a short span
of time Guy Fawkes Night vanished from the calendar. Although
safety considerarations were met, it is a shame to lose the fun that
Above: Some of the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot. came with the event.
Although he resisted well initially, Guy eventually broke under Fireworks still exist here as one can see at many events. How-
extreme torture. An indication of the severity of his suffering is ever these displays are controlled by licenced pyrotechnicians .
seen in his once ornate signature which was barely legible. In his In closing, from the latent cynic in all of us comes the caustic
forced confession, he implicated some of the other conspirators observation that Guy Fawkes is toasted as "the last man to enter
who were promptly arrested and also tortured. Parliament with honest intentions".
Guy Fawkes with several other co-conspirators were executed Wally
in plain sight of the Houses of Parliament and in the secret view
of the King and his family. Unlike his partners, Guy was spared
the agonising brutality of dismemberment of the planned execu-
tion. In spite of illustrations to the contrary, he tripped on the
scaffold and died of a broken back. Even so, in spite of his death,
his body was subjected to dismemberment and the pieces dis-
patched to the four corners of the Kingdom.
From 5th November 1605 Londoners were encouraged to
light bonfires to celebrate the King's escape. Fireworks were
added to the mix from the 1650s. These celebrations were

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