Tablelands farmer vows to rebuild after home destroyed by bushfire

A devastated Tablelands farmer who battled for two hours to try to save his family home before it was gutted by a fast-moving bushfire has vowed to rebuild.

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A DEVASTATED Tablelands farmer who battled for two hours to try to save his family home before it was gutted by a fast-moving bushfire has vowed to rebuild.

Almost half of Allan Stewart’s Biboohra property was wiped out in the fire on Thursday, including the farmhouse his family had been living in for more than half a century.

Priceless possessions, photos and personal items were lost, along with about 3000 mango trees – about $600,000 worth of mangoes.

Biboohra sugar cane farmer George Adil and his dog in his burnt out cane field. PICTURE: STEWART MCLEAN

Mr Stewart, who returned to the house yesterday, described watching the blaze head straight towards them as he, along with son Jack, nephew Brady and his two brothers worked to try and save it, but there was nothing they could do.

“If the fire had of been up the road, it would have jumped into the orchards and we could have put a break in,” he said.

“But it came directly for us. We were home and we saw the smoke.

“I was here trying to battle it but when I went out with smoke inhalation I had my son Jack, nephew Brady and my two brothers out here and they saved the young trees out the back.

“They put fire breaks in with the tractor and they were here battling for about two hours.”

Mr Stewart described losing his home as “a bit of a disaster”.

Allan Stewart's burnt out family home on his mango property at Biboohra. PICTURE: STEWART MCLEAN

“The house has been home for four kids, my wife and myself,” he said.

“It hit my wife pretty hard. She was telling me this morning that she had a lot of crochet and doilies and stuff that she lost.

“We came to the farm in 1964 and started it as a bare block. We started clearing it and developing it since then.

“I think our boys will be here for another 20-30 years in the future.”

Mr Stewart’s son, Jack, said he just moved back to the farm from Townsville.

“Everything was in the house. We didn’t have time to get anything out,” Jack said.

Destroyed mango trees at Allan Stewart’s burnt out property. PICTURE: STEWART MCLEAN

“I am not really sure how the fire started but I think we just got some embers on the room and that was it.

“We weren’t here when the house caught fire. When we left, it looked fine and didn’t look like it was going to catch fire.”

Jack said after his dad left with smoke inhalation, he went to fight the fire at the end of their property.

“When I came back, the house was on fire and that is when the police came and took me out,” he said.

Allan Stewart lost about $600,000 worth of mangoes. PICTURE: STEWART MCLEAN

Allan said the mango trees lost in the blaze were a write-off for this season.

“And we will have to assess it on how they come back next year,” Mr Stewart said.

“We still have 4000 trees. The most trays we have got off the property is 80,000. Out of 3000 trees, we could have lost … $600,000 worth of mangoes.”

He said no matter what, they would rebuild.

“My word, I am going to rebuild,” he said.

Mr Stewart said the community had been generous and he had received letters of support from people that he didn’t know.

Originally published as Tablelands farmer vows to rebuild after home destroyed by bushfire