2019 New Year's Eve fireworks cancelled due to windy conditions: City of Greater Bendigo, operator

The family fireworks scheduled for 9.15pm took place after a short delay.

A city spokesperson said the New Year's Eve forecast was favourable for fireworks, but unanticipated windy conditions emerged late in the evening.

The decision to cancel was made at 11.15pm, the spokesperson said.

Read more: Midnight fireworks cancelled due to windy conditions

Wind gusts on top of the Poppet Head - where the fireworks are staged - were more than 24 kilometres per hour at about 11.10pm, the spokesperson said.

This exceeded the 10 kilometres per hour permitted by the Country Fire Authority, the spokesperson said.

Contractor Bendigo Fireworks owner Peter Daley said the company, City of Greater Bendigo and the CFA made a joint decision to cancel the show.

Mr Daley said it was a "safety call" for the operators and the public.

He described the winds as "swirly" and "unpredictable", saying debris could fall outside the set-up exclusion zones.

Read more: What's behind the bang? Bendigo's pyrotechnician prepares

"The last thing we want to be doing is having fallout dropping on people," Mr Daley said.

"I don't like doing it, but unfortunately these things happen.

"These things happen, it's frustrating from my point, you've got to make the call, you've got to do what's safe."

The city will still incur the cost of staging the fireworks.

Mr Daley said reports the Poppet-Head caught fire during the 9.15pm display were incorrect.

He said one of the boxes "got a bit of breeze on it" and started to catch fire after the firework had been set off, but was put out with a fire extinguisher and water.

Mr Daley said this was "just one of those things" that happened in pyrotechnics.

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