Dear Amanda Hough,
As a follow on to the email sent a few days ago by District Secretary Tony on my behalf I would like to advise the following.
Firstly - I omitted to acknowledge the fire at Scotsburn the previous week where homes were lost. I only know of 1 Rotarian who had much damage to fencing and land but thankfully the family home was untouched. I had not been advised of this previously. We will offer assistance when advice is received through the appropriate channels or the Ballarat Clubs..
The last few days I have instigated a Bushfire Relief Committee which will be Co-Chaired by 2 Past District Governors who had extensive experience in the aftermath of the Feb'09 Black Saturday fires.
Further advice will follow as the Committee evolves, begins work and we find out where assistance is required.
We are adopting a "watch and see" attitude as we do not want to be seen as adopting a "knee jerk" reaction. The aftermath will be ongoing for a long time and as yet the fire in the Otways is not under control and risks causing further destruction.
A fund will be established and we do have District Surplus Funds which were earmarked some months ago by the District Board as being available for such disasters. And also it must be understood that we could face fires in other parts of our vast District so only some of these funds will be disbursed. And this relief will only be directed to those who have lost their homes not holiday homes.
As well as the District funds we will be appealing to Clubs for monetary donations but not yet.
**Please note that the Surf Coast Shire has advised today that 'material goods donations are not being accepted for people affected by the bushfires'.
I have also been heartened by offers of support from some of my Governor colleagues throughout Australia. One of them is now experiencing fires in WA and and another is dealing with floods in the NT. Such is this continent!
YI.....Attached is an excellent article written by Daryl McClure (Geelong West Rotarian) in the Geelong Advertiser this week.
In the meantime if you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me directly.
regards
Jane
Jane Cox
District Governor 2015-2016
Rotary Club of Geelong Central
Mob: 0418 345 331
Ph: 03 5261 5506
Email: jncox4@bigpond.com
Daryl McLure: A heavy heart for all that is lost in my second home
WYE River, my not-so-secret holiday hideaway since 1974 engulfed in flames – as was next-door neighbour Separation Creek – with around 116 homes destroyed.
I am so terribly sad for the people of this close-knit community who have lost everything at Wye, whether they were homes or holiday houses.
My wife and I and youngest son, James, were to go to Wye on Boxing Day, but newspaper reports and television and radio news bulletins quickly put an end to that on Christmas Day which we spent, with most of our children and grandchildren at our eldest daughter’s home.
It was a wonderful day, but messages began to appear on phones from friends at Wye, telling us of a deteriorating situation as the fire took hold.
News came of the closure of the Great Ocean Road between Lorne and Skene’s Creek and of fears that the damage at Wye was much worse than we were being told on newscasts.
I was shattered when I awoke and turned on the television on Boxing Day, only nine hours after my last Christmas Day television newscast to find that that 18 homes lost had risen to more than 60.
But worse was to come.
Wye River is like a second home to us and over the years we have met many good people down there, both locals and holidaymakers staying in houses or in the two caravan parks.
Our children used to look forward to their Wye River holidays and now it is our grandchildren who do so.
Some of our friends down there were the third generation of their families and now have grandchildren who enjoy Wye.
We found Wye by accident?
Back in 1972, we returned to Geelong after an 11-year absence and hired a caravan at Torquay, but my wife didn’t enjoy the crowds, the pressure on the children to participate in the many paid entertainment on offer: and the time I spent with my East Geelong footy club mates.
After the holiday I asked around the Addy office whether there was anywhere “different” down the coast and the late Gary Cotton, a top reporter back then, said he knew people at Wye River.
He knew store owner and first Wye River Fire Brigade captain, George Moriarty, and somehow we were “in” and have never regretted it.
George’s son Roy, for many years the ranger at the foreshore caravan park, has followed in dad’s footsteps and is now captain of the Wye fire brigade and the whole community, residents and holidaymakers, come together to support the annual fire brigade fete.
In the days before I became known as “the Wisherman of Wye River” – this can happen with age and caution when you are a rock fisherman – one of my better catches, a big salmon, was successfully m auctioned at the fete for $25.
Wye is small enough to retain a great community atmosphere even though the older generation of campers like us, have tended to see many of our generation and older pass away and new people replace them.
But that’s life, anywhere.
I know several friends, and friends of my children, will have lost everything in the horror of the past few days.
We have seen tragedy in the past with 23 caravans being lost in floods in the early 1990s, but Wye escaped the ravages of the Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983.
I think all of us who live in or spend extended time in this beautiful region are aware of the risks involved in relation to the natural elements.
But, I suspect, nothing really prepares you to lose everything: your home, the memories it contains and the work you have put in to make it a home, or a holiday home?
Some of my friends are now in that situation I believe and I will meet them soon, but nothing I do or say is adequate in terms of their loss and I am feeling that before I catch up with them.
Dary Mclure is a member of The Rotary Club of Geelong West
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