Legend of Oakbank John Glatz still fighting for life
Former Oakbank Racing Club chairman John Glatz remains in a critical condition in hospital two weeks after trying to defend his hills home and property from the Cudlee Creek inferno.
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Former Oakbank Racing Club chairman John Glatz remains in a critical condition in hospital two weeks after trying to defend his hills home and property from the Cudlee Creek inferno.
Mr Glatz, 73, is heavily sedated and in intensive care at the Royal Adelaide Hospital Burns Unit on North Tce.
A family statement said there had been “some positive improvements” and “ongoing treatment” for burns suffered while fighting the fire to 60 per cent of his body.
Mr Glatz has already undergone skin grafts and other extensive surgery for his injuries.
The Oakbank chairman of more than 25 years was found collapsed on his Woodside property on Friday, December 20.
The bushfire destroyed his home and another house on the landholding.
Mr Glatz’s daughter Lucy Brooks, who also lives in the area with her husband Rob Brooks and two sons, has issued a ‘thank you’ via her Facebook page to hundreds of wellwishers from around the world who have offered sympathy and support.
More than 60 people attended the Glatz and Brooks farms this week to help strip fencing destroyed by the fires from more than 200 acres of land.
“You are all awesome” Ms Brooks wrote.
“From the catering girls, to the BBQ cook and the guys who supplied bobcats, machinery and had the dirty job of rolling wire, pulling posts in the dusty conditions.
“Once again thank you for all of your continued love and support”.
Mr Glatz, who holds a trainer’s licence, has been a leading Australian racing administrator for several decades and received an OAM in the 2016 Queen’s Birthday honours in recognition of his service.
His wife Merri escaped the blaze after Mr Glatz urged her to leave earlier in the day before the Cudlee Creek fire reached Woodside.
The historic Oakbank racecourse, famous for its Easter Jumps Carnival billed as the “world’s biggest picnic meeting” narrowly avoided the bushfire that destroyed houses and properties nearby.
The course has become a livestock relief centre since the fires ripped through.
Co-ordinated by Livestock SA and PIRSA (Primary Industries and Regions South Australia) relief has included the distribution of donated supplies of hay, fodder and other feed and a treatment centre for those animals injured and distressed by the blazes.
“We really have been blown away by the generosity of our community!” a post to the Oakbank FB page reads.
The Oakbank racecourse depot will reopen on Monday for those still needing assistance to care for their animals.”