Benalla volunteer group donates $100k of equipment to help Longwood fire recovery
The work of volunteers assisting bushfire recovery is much more than how many fences are replaced or donations distributed, in many cases it could be the reason a family still has mum or dad around at all.
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Bushfires devastate more than property – they shatter lives in ways that can't be easily quantified.
Overnight, a family can lose everything it ever worked for. In those situations, it can be difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
When volunteers like Alan Stafford or Terry Hubbard arrive, they bring hope. They bring a smile. They offer an opportunity to talk and find connection.
Alan has been part of the Uniting Church Emergency Fencing team since 2009, when it assisted recovery efforts after the Black Saturday fires.
With most of its members getting older, a decision has been made to disband.
But with more than $100,000 worth of equipment the group went on a search to find another volunteer group to donate it to.
Terry Hubbard is part of the Upper Goulburn Landcare Network which UCEF has been working alongside since the Black Saturday recovery effort.
“We thought, all right, what are we going to do with all this gear?” Alan said.
“We decided it would be good to keep it all together and came up with the idea of offering it to the Upper Goulburn Landcare Network.”
The substantial donation includes a tractor with post driver, a Landcruiser, a Polaris off-roader, plus trailers packed with specialised tools and equipment.
On Friday, February 6 Terry met with Alan to pick up all the donated equipment.
He was joined by his son John, UGLN facilitator Chris Cobern and UGLN committee member Roger Cook.
Chris said the timing of the donation could not be better, with half of the area covered by UGLN burning in the recent Longwood fire.
“We were talking to Alan late last year about the handover and we were keen on taking the equipment because you never know when you're going to need it,” Chris said.
“As it's turned out, we've just had the Longwood fire, and need it now.”
The donated equipment will quickly go to areas near Yea, Alexandra and Yarck.
“We've already started pulling out the old burnt, damaged fences on some of the properties in Gobur and Alexandra.
“We've had up to 30 volunteers on different days, clearing and getting the fence lines ready for next week when we'll start rebuilding fences.
“We'll be using this tractor, the post driver, all the tools in the trailer, and some of the other vehicles we’re picking up today will come in handy.”
Alan said all members, past and present of the UCEF were delighted the equipment was going to a group they know so well, that does so much good work.
“What they do, and what we do, is very much needed,” Alan said.
He said while the work they do needed to be done to get properties back to where they were before the fire, it’s the response of the people, many of whom have just lost everything, that highlights the importance of them being there.
“We went to one place (in 2009) and when we go in, the husband dove into the shed,” Alan said.
“You wouldn't see him. We were there one day a week for about four weeks, and when you did see him, he just sat there.
“At meal times he just put food in his mouth and never said anything.
“And on the last day I was talking to one of our volunteers from Shepparton.
“He said, ‘Is that the bloke we saw when we first arrived?’ I said yep.
“He said, ‘You can't shut him up now’.
“I spoke to his wife who said that before we arrived, when they went into King Lake, if he saw someone, he would duck into a shop. It didn’t matter what shop. If he saw someone coming, he would hide.
“She told me when their daughter went overseas, and she said to her, ‘Mum, make sure I don't have to come home to a funeral’.”
After having UCEF there for a few weeks he started to talk and started to get back to his old self.
If they weren’t there that might not have happened.
Chris also has stories of the positive effect on mental health that groups like UCEF and UGLN have on those they help.
“I went to a property the other day,” he said.
“Three families live there. The houses were still there, but they’ve lost so much in terms of fencing and sheds.
“When they see us turn up, it’s a very emotional thing.
“They’ve seen this huge job ahead of them and now they’ve got help.
“The lady ran up to me. She gave me a big hug, with tears in her eyes.
“There’s so much appreciation and relief.”
Chris said that, sadly, with the climate changing the way it is, the need for groups like UGLN to support emergency recovery would only grow.
“In the last five or six years in the UGLN area we’ve had two floods, which badly affected lots of people. Now we’ve had fires,” he said.
“The intensity and frequency of these things is increasing and like good scouts, we need to be ready to respond.
“Thanks to this donation we’re in a much better position to do that.”