AS THE anniversary of Black Saturday draws near this weekend many survivors will be taking time to reflect on one of the worst bushfires in Australia’s history.
In 2009, the February fires claimed 173 lives, and waged a high toll on farmers taking out 8000 kilometres of fencing and 400,000 hectares of land.
Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) president, Andrew Broad says the rebuilding effort had been enormous.
Over the past 12 months, VFF volunteers installed over 2000 kilometres of fencing and distributed over 12,000 tonnes of fodder.
In addition, the VFF’s disaster relief fund saw up to $500,000 dispersed to Victorian farmers.
In the immediate aftermath of the disastrous event, Mr Broad said the VFF’s initial intent was just to get feed to stock to keep them alive long enough for a sale.
“The generosity of people was amazing; so much fodder was donated that many farmers were actually able to retain their breeding stock,” Mr Broad said.
However, the recovery process is far from complete and for some it will take a number of years, he said.
“There will be an emotional scar and a significant financial cost, but never underestimate the resilience of Australian farmers,” he said.
The VFF will continue to lobby the State Government for changes to the Fire Service Levy, which would see farmers more adequately insured in the event of future bushfires.
And while farmers around the state continue to repair their pastures and rebuild their sheds, Dixon’s Creek farmer Lyn Mullens still wonders today how she managed to escape the clutches of the fire storm that enveloped her Yarra Valley property last year.
Mrs Mullens rescued her precious Mulbyrn Poll Hereford stud bulls and heifers on February 7, but lost her 100-year-old historical homestead, as well as personal items and most of infrastructure on the farm that she and her late husband Brian had spent 35 years nurturing.
One year on from that terrible day, Mrs Mullens admits she is still traumatised, but has vowed to restore her family farm. Familiarity is what she craves and although the refurbishment of her 81ha property may take a significant amount of time, she is adamant she will see its completion.
For seven months following the fires, Mrs Mullens took up the role of the VFF’s regional fencing coordinator for the Yarra Ranges Shire – a role which she says was “fantastic” and helped her to work through some of the pain she was experiencing.
“Volunteers came from every state of Australia. The whole experience turned out to be very cathartic for the farmers too, because they knew I had gone through the same things they had,” Mrs Mullens said.
She also attributed part of her healing to neighbour Brian White, who volunteered his time over the last 12 months to feed the remaining stock on her farm.
And along with returning her precious Dixon’s Creek farm to its former beauty, Mrs Mullens also hopes to find homes for her last two rising-two-year-old Mulbryn Poll Hereford stud bulls.
“It will take a long time for me to move forward, but I’ve had a lot of people helping me,” she added.
“This year I’m also hoping to finance the restoration of my pasture, so I can start to restock the farm.”
Like Mrs Mullens, Jim Armstrong also stayed behind on February 7 to defend his 60 hectare property in West Gippsland and was lucky enough to come out relatively unscathed.
Although 100 steers and dairy heifers were saved, the Labertouche farmer lost sheds, machinery and precious feed - which he equates to a $250,000 damage bill.
Twelve months on, Mr Armstrong and his wife Val are enjoying the upshot of a good hay season and have partially restored the scorched pastures on their farm.
“I can’t emphasise enough how much we’ve been helped by local organizations over the past year; A tremendous amount of people have given us their support,” Mr Armstrong said.
The rebuilding process for the couple will be ongoing, but the help they have received from the community has been priceless, he added.
Across the paddock, things are looking just as positive with the Armstrong’s neighbour Brian Witchell who is preparing for his upcoming apple harvest after losing a processing shed and several trees in his orchard last year.
To mark 12 months since the fires, Mr Armstrong and his wife plan to attend a special event at the Warragul community church on Saturday night.
“It will be a pretty low key barbeque. It’s really a time for everyone to get together and talk - to reflect,” he concluded.
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