Australians will always remember February 2009 for the destructive Black Saturday firestorms that left a path of destruction and anguish across parts of Victoria.

Nearly five years since the fires killed 173 people and destroyed more than 2,000 homes, a remarkable memorial will be unveiled in the town of Whittlesea.

Blacksmiths from around Australia and the world have spent countless hours crafting a memorial tree that weighs two-and-a-half tonnes and features more than 3,500 intricate and individually forged leaves.

The massive project has been going since February 14, 2009, just five days after the first Black Saturday bushfires took hold, when a blacksmith suggested forging a tree to remember victims.

He could have barely imagined the beauty and scale of the creation that will be displayed on Saturday.

The tree will be unveiled at Whittlesea's showgrounds before it is installed at a permanent location in Strathewen early next year. Strathewen lost almost a quarter of its population in the bushfires.

Poignant messages for victims, communities and volunteer firefighters adorn about 1,500 of the eucalyptus leaves, which people had the opportunity to sponsor.

The memorial tree will be permanently erected in the fire-affected community of Strathewen. ( Supplied: Amanda Gibson )

The leader of the project, blacksmith Amanda Gibson, says it was emotional seeing the range of tribute messages that were inscribed on leaves.

"The leaf that sticks in my mind that always makes me sad is 'Unknown, 46, Pine Ridge'," she said.

"It was contributed by an anonymous sponsor and we've tried to track them down but there's no way to contact them."

Another leaf that lingered in Ms Gibson's memory was sponsored by a young child who attended one of the public demonstrations held by the project team.

"He stood there for hours, solemnly, and watched us making leaves," she said.

"He disappeared for a while and brought his mum back and he was insistent that he wanted to sponsor a leaf.

"It turns out that one of his school friends was lost in the fires and he wanted a leaf in memory of his classmate."

Hundreds of blacksmiths volunteer their time

All the blacksmiths who have worked on the tree - Ms Gibson is unsure exactly how many there are, but she is sure it is hundreds - have donated their time.

Ms Gibson has been relying on grant money and night-time work as a graphic designer to make ends meet.

"In 2009 I wrote to Christine Nixon and the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction Authority (VBRA) and said 'I'm really broke and I'm running it out a friend's sewing room, please help'," she said.

Since March the hub of activity has been in a Whittlesea factory that was provided for free by a local owner.

"People have spent their RDOs at the factory, all Saturday and Sunday and lots of nights," Ms Gibson said.

"We've been there seven days a week for the past two months."

Tony Petrovski sheds a tear with his mother Helen on February 11, 2009. ( Nic MacBean: ABC News )

The massive amounts of time and effort invested in the project have clearly left their mark on the team.

"When we were tacking the last of the small branches on, our main welder Peter flicked up his welding mask after the last weld and there were tears in his eyes," Ms Gibson said.

Black Saturday survivor Helen Petkovski is going to the Whittlesea Showgrounds to see the statue unveiled on Saturday.

"It means so much that after more than four years people still remember and there are reminders of what happened," she said.

"And it's so special that it's going to be erected permanently in Strathewen because it was sort of one of the forgotten communities of the fires."

A space to reflect

Ms Gibson says it was difficult to decide on the final location for the statue, and one of the reasons the team picked Strathewen in 2010 was because at the time there was no funding for an official memorial there.

"The purpose of the tree was never to be a tourist attraction, it was always a gift to the fire-affected communities and what we want is to provide a space where people can go and reflect and just find peace," she said.

Perhaps when people are looking into the foliage of the tree, they will reflect on the inscription that is written on one of the tree's three branches, which holds leaves that are dedicated to children lost in the fires.

"In memory of the children who were denied the pleasure of gazing at this tree," Ms Gibson said.

It is a lasting reminder that fire holds immense power to create as well as destroy.

The launch event is at the Whittlesea Showgrounds on Saturday November 30, from 1.00-4.00pm AEDT.